Parsley
Floor Speech
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Mr. POCAN. Madam Speaker, if you have ever had a steak dinner, you have likely seen a little sprig of parsley on the plate. Yes, it is food, but clearly it is meaningless to your dinner. It is simply a splash of color, likely left on your plate when you are done that will get washed off or thrown away in the garbage because ultimately it is meaningless, which is how the Republican majority in Congress is acting during this moment in our Nation.
As Donald Trump bends and breaks the Constitution and congressional authority, almost every Republican lawmaker is sitting back and playing the part of parsley. They are silent, maybe a little colorful, but ultimately useless. That is too bad.
As a coequal branch of government to the executive branch, Congress has an obligation to steer our country's direction. The current majority doesn't even have a steering wheel, much less a car. They are sitting on the sidelines cheering on the takeover of our constitutionally given powers acting like pieces of parsley.
Well, House Democrats won't stand by. We may not be in the majority but we are going to call out every illegal action and improper use of power that the executive branch is taking that is hurting our country. We are going to encourage, and where we can, participate in lawsuits, and we are going to expose those who sit quietly by and allow a want- to-be authoritarian and his billionaire benefactor to attempt to destroy our democracy.
We will fight Republicans' enabling agenda in Congress. We won't be washed off the plate. Too much is at stake. Elon Musk
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Mr. POCAN. Madam Speaker, Elon Musk is the 47th President's financial benefactor. He has invested $277 million of his own money into electing Donald Trump and other Republicans, and now apparently, he thinks he owns them.
Elon Musk is destroying our Federal Government. He doesn't understand how things work, and he is breaking it agency by agency every single day while Republicans sit idly by.
I think the worst part is that Elon Musk profits mightily from contracts with the Federal Government. His company's contracts total over $20 billion, more than $3 billion in the last year alone. Now, he has the new title of special government employee, for all practical purposes, a Federal employee himself.
Now, if you follow the law, Federal employees can't also profit from the Federal Government via a Federal contract because they can use their position to swing contracts their way. USAID doesn't offer much profit for Musk, so he wants it dismantled, but NASA does, and his contract likely won't get touched. Maybe it will even grow.
That is why we have laws that prevent Federal employees or other officials, including Members of Congress, from profiting off the Federal Government. It is grifting from the taxpayers, and it is against the law, except apparently, if you are Elon Musk.
Enough is enough. I am introducing legislation to ensure that special government employees like Musk cannot profit off of government contracts. Elon Musk can't be both the beneficiary and decider of where Federal funds are spent simply because he feels he bought himself a President.
It is unconscionable that Elon can collect $20 billion from American taxpayers with one hand while slashing funds for childcare and healthcare, nutrition assistance, and public education with the other.
The Eliminating Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy Act, or the ELON MUSK Act, would put a stop to this grift on the taxpayers. Let's pass it. Politics Should Not be a Spectator Sport
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Mr. POCAN. Last week, Donald Trump tried to do what many authoritarian leaders and dictators in other countries have done. He tried to steal money that Congress appropriated for the American people so that he could provide a tax break to Elon Musk and other billionaires and multimillionaires across the country.
His main focus has been to raise the $4 trillion that he needs to fund his tax break for the wealthiest for the next 10 years.
That theft will ultimately take away funds from education and housing, healthcare, veterans benefits, and funds for working people so that we can give billionaires an extra home in the Cayman Islands or membership to Mar-a-Lago.
Social Security and Medicare should beware. A privatized post office is possible. Programs like Medicaid, healthcare and long-term care for people with disabilities and those in need, for sure beware.
Everything we warned you about in Project 2025 is coming true and more. Shutting down Federal agencies won't lower the costs of groceries one dime, but it sets up a gigantic tax break for Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
Now is the time to ensure you don't treat politics as a spectator sport. It is about our survival.
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