Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Department of Energy Relating to ``Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-Fired Instantaneous Water Heaters''; Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to ``Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions''; and Providing for Consideration of H. Con. Res. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025

Floor Speech

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the House Republican budget resolution, a blatant attempt to strip healthcare and food aid away from everyday Americans.

With up to $2.5 trillion in Medicaid cuts and $230 billion slashed from SNAP, this budget plan would leave millions of families and seniors without essential support. Rural America would suffer the most.

Nationwide, more than 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid, and SNAP participation is higher in rural areas than urban ones. In my home State of Hawaii, over 350,000 people rely on Medicaid, and nearly one in five depend on SNAP to eat. Rural Americans, who live in 181 of our congressional districts, red and blue, already face some of the harshest health disparities, living 3 to 10 years less than their urban counterparts. These cuts will only deepen such inequities and leave them with no safety net.

Let me be clear. These cuts will cost lives. These are not just numbers. They are real people. They are our neighbors, our grandparents, and our children. At a time when too many are struggling, Republicans are delivering tax breaks to billionaires on the backs of our working families.

Americans in rural America deserve better. Our country deserves better. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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