Chaos, Confusion, and Manufactured Crises

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, Brad Schneider, for organizing this Special Order hour so that we can talk about the Trump-Vance-Musk administration's erratic and senseless attacks on the Federal Government, their Federal hiring freeze, their ill-conceived and shortsighted actions in the first 2 weeks, and how they are actually going to raise costs for the American people and not lower costs for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, you have heard about the tariffs that were on, then off, then paused, except against China. Before the tariffs were announced, I was meeting with local leaders across my district from the rural southern end to the urban northern end. My farmers were worried about the trade war that the tariffs would unleash and how it would decimate the largest industry in Virginia which is agriculture.

The seniors across the district were worried about the impact that rescinding efforts to reduce prescription drug costs would have on their healthcare bills. Other seniors were worried about how attacks on energy efficiency programs that they use to weatherize their homes and reduce their electric bills would lead to higher utility bills.

We have seen whole flocks of the chickens on poultry farms having to be put down which will impact the cost of eggs that so many people supposedly voted this election because of their worry about.

We have seen hardworking Federal employees whose jobs are at risk who fear whether or not they will receive their pension if they take this illegal offer to buy them out. If they read the fine print of the documents that just now are starting to be given to them, they will find that they just might.

I don't think any of that lowers costs. What it does is throw the American Government, which so many people rely on, into chaos and grinding it to a halt, and that was the point. However, what we are going to find is that that does not lower costs. It hurts the American people, and the New Democrat Coalition will fight it every step of the way.

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