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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, before I get into my statement, let me begin by saying that I keep on hearing from the other side that this is just a budget resolution and that it doesn't have any actual policies in it. Yet, the gentlewoman referred to all the tax cuts.

Can she point me to where the resolution says anything about tax cuts? Of course, the answer is that it doesn't.

What it does is simply instruct our tax-writing committees to write legislation to spend $4.5 trillion, just as it instructs our SNAP committee to cut $290 billion and our Medicaid committee to cut $880 billion.

Republicans cannot have it both ways and pretend that the harms aren't real while the tax cuts are, but we know the harms are real. We know what is planned, and we have seen the leaked document.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, it looks like facts and truth have absolutely no place in this administration or in this Republican Party. We already knew that this administration lies like a rug.

First, we heard that the United States was sending $50 million worth of condoms to Hamas, which was a lie.

Then we heard it was Ukraine that started the war, not Russia, which is another lie.

Then we heard that the terrible plane crash here in Washington happened because of diversity programs, which was also a lie.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin) wants us to believe that not a single thing in the budget she is arguing for is going to hurt anyone at all and that there isn't a single tax giveaway to billionaires in their budget.

Guess what, Mr. Speaker. It is simply not accurate.

We all saw this coming. We did. Last month, at Trump's inauguration, who was in the front row? It wasn't people on Medicaid. It wasn't factory workers. It wasn't nurses or teachers or firefighters. It wasn't even his own Cabinet. It was the richest people in the world, and that is who this Republican budget helps.

It steals from taxpayers and funnels the money to those at the very top. Imagine stealing from school meals for kids so that billionaires could get another tax giveaway.

Last night, in the Rules Committee, the gentlewoman claimed: No, no, no. Democrats can't prove there are any cuts in this budget. Except, Mr. Speaker, we can. We can. Let me lay it out as simply as I can for people.

The Republican budget cuts, for example, $330 billion from programs related to education, and the same Representative who wrote this budget, the chair of the Budget Committee, Mr. Arrington, also wrote this document right here, Mr. Speaker, which I have in front of me. It says in black and white that those education cuts include $12 billion from school meals. How dare my colleagues on the other side of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the gentlewoman doesn't like these facts, but they are facts.

School meals are just one example. This budget makes deep, deep cuts to Medicaid, including long-term care; deep cuts to food assistance for hungry families; and deep cuts to Pell grants. These cuts are going to hurt people.

I ask the gentlewoman a simple question: Whose side is she on? Does she want to stand with the school kids in her district who rely on school meals to get through the day, or does she side with the billionaires who are getting another tax giveaway in this budget?

Does she stand with the 178,119 constituents in her district who are on Medicaid? Does she stand with the thousands and thousands of kids in her district who rely on school meals, or does she stand with the greedy corporations who are price gouging struggling families?

I know where I stand, Mr. Speaker, and we are going to fight like hell to oppose this awful Republican budget because we know whose side we are on. We are going to fight like our constituents' lives depend on it because they do.

Mr. Speaker, there are just a couple of points I will make.

I am still waiting for the gentlewoman from Indiana to tell me where the tax cuts are in this budget. My colleagues can't have it both ways. They can't say there are all these tax cuts in this budget, yet there are no cuts. The reality is, there are cuts in this budget.

To the gentleman who just spoke from South Carolina, he may need a reminder. Maybe he could do a townhall in his district. He might get an earful. Mr. Speaker, 74,000 of his constituents received coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

By supporting this resolution, he is betraying the 148,948 constituents in his district who depend on Medicaid for their essential care and the 85,000 constituents in the Fifth District who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

Maybe do a townhall and listen to constituents rather than just big donors.

Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the Republican budget resolution that utterly betrays middle-class Americans and threatens to explode the deficit.

This deceitful budget would gut Medicaid, schools, and affordable housing, all so Republican billionaire donors can get more tax breaks.

Instead of cutting costs for families, it undermines veterans' benefits and forces millions more families to live paycheck to paycheck. Instead of lowering prices at the pharmacy or the supermarket, this budget will bleed Americans dry. Billionaires get a windfall, and taxpayers get stuck with the bill.

This budget would swipe food from seniors and children, and in my district, ACA healthcare premiums would leap by almost $500. A 60-year- old Broward County couple with a household income of $85,000 would see their ACA premiums jump $16,000 a year, a 226 percent increase.

How does this Republican rip-off help American families? Long story short, it won't.

I urge my colleagues to reject this billionaire buyout budget that would crush working families, make Americans less safe and secure, blow out the debt, and devastate lifesaving resources that families need.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman is talking about what was said in the Rules Committee last night. I will take a couple of minutes to talk about how people voted in the Rules Committee last night.

We gave Republicans a chance last night in the Rules Committee. We said if they really don't believe that this budget cuts funding for school meals, if they really believe what they are saying, then they can vote to ensure the American people that they are not going to steal school meals from kids in order to give tax breaks for millionaires. Every Republican voted no, every single one of them.

Then, Democrats offered an amendment to protect Medicaid. Medicaid, as you know, Mr. Speaker, covers 41 percent of all births in the United States, nearly half of children with special healthcare needs, and five in eight nursing home residents. We asked them not to cut Medicaid in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires. Every Republican voted no.

Then, Democrats offered an amendment to extend tax cuts for people making under $400,000 while ensuring that corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. We asked Republicans to continue tax cuts for only those who need it the most because those are the tax cuts they let expire while their tax cuts for greedy corporations were made permanent. We asked them to prioritize working families over greedy corporations. Every Republican voted no.

Then, Democrats offered an amendment preventing tax giveaways for people earning over $1 million a year. Every Republican voted no.

We wanted to see if there was anyone so rich that Republicans don't think they deserve a tax giveaway, so we asked them to vote against tax breaks for people earning over $100 million per year. We asked them to side with factory workers and firefighters over hedge fund managers and billionaire bankers. Every Republican voted no.

We even offered an amendment preventing tax cuts for people with a net worth of over--get this--$1 billion. Every Republican voted no.

They betrayed their constituents. They voted to steal from the American people in order to protect tax breaks for billionaires.

Again, this is about whose side you are on. Republicans showed us last night with their votes whose side they are on, and it is not the working people of this country.

We are here talking about billions of dollars of cuts to Medicaid, school meals, and food for children, and this guy is talking about tankless water heaters. I mean, read the room.

I should just say that by supporting this budget resolution, he is betraying 125,952 constituents in his district that depend on Medicaid for their essential care.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Morrison).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I notice there are not a lot of people on the other side wanting to defend this budget.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't know if the gentlewoman wants to give us some of her time because we have a lot of speakers over here. I guess not.

Tokuda).

Let me just say, by the way, Mr. Speaker, how is that mandate going for you guys now that voters are realizing that you betrayed them?

Let's look at some newspapers from around the country: ``Georgia Congressman confronted by angry crowd over support for Trump's agenda.''

This is from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ``U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick was peppered with boos and catcalls throughout a townhall meeting in Roswell late Thursday, as hundreds of critics jeered the Republican for backing President Donald Trump's agenda during his first month in office.''

There is another one. ``U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman faces hostile crowd in Oshkosh townhall meeting.'' That is in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

``Protesters urge Rep. Scott Perry to say no to Medicaid cuts.'' That is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

``Outside Congressman's office, protesters make noise over potential Medicaid cuts.'' That is from Representative Ryan Mackenzie's district in Salisbury Township in Pennsylvania.

I could spend an hour reading these into the Record, Mr. Speaker. Republicans are getting chewed out at all of their townhalls. Something is happening in this country right now, and you can feel it. People are waking up to the betrayal, and they are angry. They have a right to be angry.

My Republican colleagues need to remember that when they vote for this budget, they are on record. They have made it clear that they serve the billionaires and not their voters.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time both sides have remaining.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I note the gentlewoman doesn't seem to have any other speakers. I was wondering whether she might want to lend us some of her time.

Pelosi), the Speaker Emerita, a powerful leader in the Democratic Caucus and for the country.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this article details how these cuts would hurt working families more than any tax relief that they might receive.

Stansbury).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, this letter makes clear that they know that Medicaid, Pell grants, and SNAP will face harmful cuts if this budget passes.

Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of an amendment to the budget resolution which prevents tax cuts for billionaires if Medicaid is cut by a single cent.

Madam Speaker, 72 million Americans, including 30 million children, rely on Medicaid for critical healthcare and other lifesaving services. With this budget resolution, House Republicans are betraying the most vulnerable Americans to give tax breaks to billionaires.

Representative Gray submitted an amendment that would prevent Republicans from betraying Medicaid recipients in order to give billionaires tax breaks. It shouldn't be controversial.

I offered that amendment last night in the Rules Committee and, to my shock, every single one of my Republican colleagues voted against it, standing with billionaires over Medicaid recipients.

I am now giving every House Republican a chance to go on the record. Voting ``yes'' on the previous question means my colleagues want to cut taxes for billionaires, even at the expense of vital Medicaid coverage. Voting ``no'' gives my colleagues an opportunity to ensure that Medicaid is protected. It is that simple.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gray), the sponsor of this legislation.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I say to the gentlewoman that Republican Members are raising concerns about these cuts. Maybe we can share some of those press clippings with her.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I say to the gentlewoman the facts do matter. Her Members are complaining about the cuts in the Republican budget. Read them.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute in the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, may I inquire of the gentlewoman how many more speakers she has? I can't remember the last time she had one.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, a majority of Americans now say that Donald Trump is doing a bad job at handling the economy. I don't blame them. Prices are going up on everything in large part because of Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, wages for workers have not kept pace with inflation for decades. Home ownership is slipping out of reach for more and more people.

I will end this debate where we began. Whose side are my Republican colleagues on? Talk is cheap, Madam Speaker. This place runs on hot air from corrupt politicians whose only care in the world is where their next campaign check comes from.

Last night in the Rules Committee, Democrats gave Republicans a chance to show whose side they are on. Every single one of them voted against protecting Medicaid so they could give tax breaks to billionaires. That is how they voted.

Every single one of them voted against protecting the child tax credit so they could give tax cuts to billionaires. Every single one of them voted against protecting food assistance for hungry families so they could give tax breaks to billionaires.

The gentlewoman can claim whatever she wants. The truth is this budget betrays the middle class in favor of tax giveaways for billionaires. It gives trillions in handouts to the ultrawealthy, billionaires, and greedy corporations to the tune of $314,266 each every year for the top 0.1 percent. That is an average. Some of them will get millions.

That is a bigger giveaway to the ultrarich than most people make in a year. To pay for it, they are stealing from the American people. They are stealing from Americans. They are betraying the people who voted for them. This is the betrayal on a scale I don't think we have ever seen before.

Madam Speaker, I am going to fight to expose it and to stop it. I have said this over and over again. We need tax relief for workers, not the ultrarich. We need to preserve Social Security and Medicare, not gut them to pay for corporate handouts. We should protect Medicaid and food benefits for working families because we know these are programs that people rely on and need when times get tough.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, you can shut me up but you can't silence the voice of the American people.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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