Medicaid

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are ramming through $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. Look it up, Mr. Speaker. We are not making it up. So when I hear people say that is not what is happening when it is very evident, when Republicans are cutting $880 billion, specifically in a committee that works on Medicaid, where do people think it is going to come from?

For this Chamber to be able to pay for the cuts for the billionaires and powerful corporations, they are literally ripping healthcare away from millions of our families. Nearly 80 million people across the country rely on Medicaid and the children's health insurance program for access to healthcare.

Medicaid is a program that provides prenatal care for expectant mothers, vaccinations for our children, and treatments for chronic conditions. It is a program that ensures that people don't have to choose between paying for their medication and putting food on the table.

We all know our healthcare system is broken. It is inhumane. They can't do it alone.

For those who rely on Medicaid, it is not just a service, Mr. Speaker. It is the difference between life and death. Right now, the future of Medicaid is under threat. It is clear as day when Republicans cut $880 billion.

Under the budget that many of my colleagues passed last night, more than 250,000 people alone in my own district will be impacted. Mr. Speaker, 2.6 million across the State of Michigan will be impacted.

These are not just numbers. They are our neighbors, our friends, our families, and parents who have special needs children. They depend on Medicaid for treatment and medication that is life or death, for health services they simply cannot afford elsewhere because we have sick care in our country, and we haven't had the courage to take on the industry.

Among them, of course, are thousands and thousands of children. I know seniors and people with disabilities will be at the top of being directly impacted.

Medicaid, Mr. Speaker, is the primary source for long-term care in our country. Long-term care in our country depends on Medicaid funding.

In my district alone, I have 22,000 seniors above the age of 65 who rely on it. Again, many of them rely on the necessary care and services because of Medicare, to live in dignity in their later years.

Without Medicaid, our seniors could be forced to live without healthcare protections at the moment they need them the most.

Make no mistake: Republicans want to give away trillions of dollars to the richest people in the world. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to pay for it by risking the lives of children and seniors. The majority is fully aware of what the impact is in their own communities, but my Republican colleagues did it anyway because the majority is convincing themselves that it is not happening and it is not going to happen.

We will see. Remember those words when Republicans said it wasn't in there. We will see what the impact will be on our families.

Please, to all our residents across the country: Raise your voices and fight. Fight for our families. Share your stories. We must continue to demand that healthcare is a right in our country and not a privilege. We will not allow them to fund tax cuts for billionaires, who can afford healthcare, by stripping away healthcare for our most vulnerable. Federal Workers

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, we are not an experiment for Elon Musk to play with. We are not. The Trump administration's ongoing attacks on the Federal workforce is out of control. It is chaotic. It is harmful.

Mr. Speaker, two children froze to death in the city I grew up in because they couldn't access housing resources. They kept calling. At that moment, though, we were letting go of the HUD workers who oversaw compliance of the Detroit Housing Commission.

I see that, within the Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit, 28 veteran workers, some who cleaned the surgical equipment, were fired yesterday. What happens?

Cuts to our Federal workforce have real-life impacts. Dozens of workers have just been fired, not only at the Dingell VA Medical Center, but with our HUD programs, FEMA, EPA, you name it.

This administration is sending a message that they couldn't care less about not only our veterans, but the fact that we have a right to breathe clean air and we have a right to be protected by those who abuse their power.

What the administration is doing is so incredibly harmful that they keep reversing their decisions, again creating this kind of chaos that is creating fear among our families and impacting their services.

Mr. Speaker, these unaccountable billionaires are coming after all of our Federal workers, and it is an important reminder that it is not just a worker, but that these are individuals. Behind every single worker is a Federal program that helps our families.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source