Read the transcript for this report below.
ELIZABETH ARAKELIAN, HOST: Constituents in Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s district urged the House Speaker to preserve benefits such as Social Security and Medicare. The calls came [Thursday] as negotiations in Washington, DC over raising the nation’s debt limit appeared stalled. KVPR’s Joshua Yeager reports.
JOSHUA YEAGER: A dozen demonstrators gathered in Yokuts Park, just outside Speaker McCarthy’s Bakersfield office. They included local veterans, healthcare workers and teachers like Jesse Aguilar with the Kern High School District.
JESSE AGUILAR: Speaker McCarthy has catered to the most extreme elements of his party and has forgotten about the issues that affect the rest of us every single day.
YEAGER: For Aguilar, those issues include SNAP benefits and school lunch programs. Thursday’s event is the kick-off for the Back Off Our Benefits bus tour. Organizers say the tour will conclude in DC on McCarthy’s 100th day as speaker.
For KVPR News, I'm Joshua Yeager.
