A House Republican who supports lowering the voting age to 16 said it falls on the GOP if the newly enfranchised voters did not support Republicans.

“If what we are afraid of is they’ll vote Democratic, then that’s on us,” Rep. Michael Burgess Michael Clifton BurgessIgnore the misinformation: The FDA will ensure the safety of any COVID-19 vaccine House goes postal for one day GOP lawmaker calls asymptomatic testing crucial after CDC revises guidance MORE (R-Texas) told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson on Tuesday. “We need to talk to people. We have better ideas. We’re the party of emancipation.”

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Earlier this month, Congress voted down an amendment lowering the voting age to 16 that Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Pressley applauded on House floor after moving speech on living with alopecia San Francisco considers changing local voting age to 16 MORE (D-Mass.) was pushing to add to a larger voting rights bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE (D-Calif.) said the following week she supported efforts to reduce the age.

“My first thought was ‘Oh no, that’s not a good idea,’ but as I thought about it, you think about things through the lens of your own experience,” said Burgess, the only Republican to vote for the amendment, citing the fact that as a 16-year-old he already participated in society in various ways, including working and paying payroll taxes.

Burgess also noted “this generation of adolescents is going to inherit more debt than any other generation,” as well as structural debt and student loan debt.

Carlson pushed back, arguing 16-year-old voters would support policies that incur further debt.

“What are we afraid of? Sixteen-year-olds are going to be 18-year-olds in the next election cycle,” Burgess said. “They’re not going to be in charge of the government any more than 18-year-olds are.”