Protecting Medicaid for Californians

Floor Speech

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform folks throughout California and the entire country of one of the biggest scandals in our State's history, which is that Governor Newsom is literally bankrupting Medicaid in our State. He is driving it insolvent through a policy that exists nowhere else in the country, in no other State, a policy of offering free, comprehensive, universal Medicaid, or Medi-Cal as we call it, to the entire population of illegal immigrants in our State who meet the income threshold. No other State has done this, and in California, it has been an absolute disaster.

Initially, it was estimated that this unprecedented expansion would cost just a few billion dollars. It turns out that it is going to cost $9.5 billion just for this year.

Because of that enormous cost overrun, because of the resulting shortfall of some $6 billion, Governor Newsom has just taken out an emergency loan from the general fund in order to cover payments. On top of that, he has asked the legislature to appropriate even more money, billions more.

Think about what this means over, let's say, the next 10 years. If the cost has grown from a few billion dollars to $9.5 billion just in this first year, what can we expect year over year going forward? We are likely talking about hundreds of billions of dollars of money from California taxpayers that will be spent this next decade implementing a policy that exists nowhere else in the country to provide comprehensive care, comprehensive government-provided healthcare, to those who are in our State illegally.

Here is the worst thing. Not only is this fiscally unsustainable, but those are funds that could be going to shoring up Medicaid, Medi-Cal, and improving the system, improving access to care, and improving the quality of care for our own legal residents.

If you are a California citizen on Medicaid right now, the kind of coverage that you get, the kind of actual delivery of service that you get, likely is not that good. Doctors throughout the State simply will not take Medicaid patients because the reimbursement rate is so low.

This policy of Governor Newsom and the supermajority in California is a conscious decision to put the entire solvency of our system at risk, to diminish access to care for our own residents, and to, in fact, make it harder to get appointments because now there is a whole new population that is looking to get into the system and doing so in a way that has no precedent anywhere else in the country.

In fact, in many cases, it actually costs the State more money to provide Medicaid to a person who is in the State illegally because, number one, there is no Federal funding for such enrollees, so the State bears almost the entire cost. Even the overall cost, forgetting about who is paying for it, can be higher. When you look at, for example, the rebates for prescription drugs that are available at the Federal level because the Federal Government negotiates in bulk, that is not available for this population that is covered by State funds, so we are actually paying more than we would for our own citizens.

Mr. Speaker, this outrageous policy simply cannot continue. I am calling on Governor Newsom and the State legislature to reverse it immediately. That should be the obvious next step when the system has gone insolvent to the extent that the Governor is forced to take out an emergency loan.

Here in Congress, I have introduced legislation that will preserve Medicaid benefits in California and across the country for only those who are legal residents of our country. I think we also have an opportunity to rein in what Governor Newsom is doing through the reconciliation process, and I look forward to doing that in order to protect Medicaid for Californians. Update on California's Failing High-Speed Rail Project

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the latest unbelievable revelations concerning high-speed rail, the high-speed rail disaster in California.

Yesterday, California's legislative analyst testified before the State legislature that the project faces a $7 billion budget gap and that the funds must be secured by next June. The legislative analyst's spokesperson said: ``There is no specific plan to meet that roughly $7 billion gap. We also think there is some risk that that gap could grow.''

Indeed, the hearing at which the legislative analyst testified was very brief because the California High-Speed Rail Authority submitted an incomplete update to those who had organized the hearing. The high- speed rail authority can't manage to complete anything on time, even its own reports to the legislature, let alone a high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco or even that very first segment from Bakersfield to Merced, which is now projected to miss the 2033 deadline.

Listen to the bipartisan pushback that this is getting. Assembly Member Steven Bennett, a Democrat from Ventura, said: ``We have no plan. We have a good likelihood it is going to get worse, and we have a short time to solve the problem.''

``The definition of insanity,'' said Democrat Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris, ``is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.''

The truly amazing thing is the legislative analyst testified that this update that the rail authority provided, even this incomplete update, assumes there will still be Federal dollars. They are saying there is a $7 billion budget shortfall for just the next few months, and that has an unrealistic assumption that goes with it that there is going to be further Federal funding.

I can say this right now: There will not be further Federal funding. How do I know that? Because I was at a press conference with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, where it was made very clear that this project is a failure. In fact, there is now an investigation that has been launched by the Department of Transportation to claw back billions of dollars that have been granted.

I have also asked for an investigation by FBI Director Kash Patel to figure out how it is exactly that they have already spent $17 billion, that the overall cost has grown to in excess of $130 billion, yet no track has been laid after 16 years of some kind of work supposedly being done.

Finally, I have introduced legislation to make the high-speed rail project ineligible for further Federal funding at any point going forward, which, again, the rail authority is entirely reliant on the assumption of Federal funding just to get to a point where there is only a $7 billion budget gap for just the first next few months.

The fact of the matter is that this project has failed. It is not going to happen. There is absolutely no justification for spending another dollar of taxpayer money, especially when our roads continue to crumble and be rated among the worst in the world.

I will be advancing my legislation here, and I am calling on Governor Newsom and the legislature to do the right thing and bring an end to this failed and embarrassing project once and for all. Condemning Classification of Israel as an Adversary

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, today on the House floor, there was an amendment offered that suffered the most overwhelming defeat that I have ever seen in the United States Congress, and for good reason. It is perhaps the most abhorrent legislative proposal I have ever seen in the United States Congress.

The Representative from Michigan, Representative Tlaib, introduced a measure that would classify Israel as an adversary of the United States alongside the likes of China, Iran, and North Korea.

Fortunately, this proposal was swiftly and nearly unanimously rejected by the House of Representatives. Look at the vote total. A grand total of three people, including the author, voted ``yes.'' Every single other Member, Democrat or Republican, over 400 Members, voted ``no.''

This sent a very important message regarding what was being suggested with this proposal, that one of our most important allies in the entire world, Israel, at this time when it faces so many challenges, is somehow a country of concern, an adversary of the United States comparable to Iran or North Korea, and to single out this one country, Israel, of all the countries in the world.

We have seen across America, and in particular on college campuses, deeply disturbing, abhorrent anti-Semitism, which has absolutely no place and that we never thought we would ever see anything like it in this country. I think when you have proposals in Congress that encourage that, that are very much thematically aligned with the pro- Hamas, anti-Semitic encampments that took over universities in the country, it is very important that that is condemned strongly and unequivocally. I am very proud that that is exactly what the House of Representatives did today. Zero Job Growth in California

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy has just released an absolutely stunning report that shows how deeply Governor Gavin Newsom has driven our State's economy into the ground. Among the findings was that for the month of January, job growth in our State was nonexistent.

The number of net jobs that were added to the California economy was exactly zero for the month of January. By comparison, Texas added 27,900; Florida added 16,500; and even New York added 20,100. California added zero. Indeed, California is one of only five States in the country that has not recovered the jobs that it lost during the COVID shutdowns.

As things now stand, our unemployment rate is the second highest in the country. It is the second highest out of all 50 States. Indeed, there are 1 million Californians who are unemployed, and that has been true for 13 straight months. What is more, even those jobs that have been created in the COVID recovery are entirely government or government-dependent jobs.

So to quote the spokesperson, or the head, of the California Business Roundtable, Rob Lapsley: ``To put it more directly, other than in trade, California has not grown jobs during the past 4 years of recovery; it has bought them with public funds.''

We would have zero job growth and zero recovery if it weren't for government jobs.

What is more, beyond that, even when you look at folks who are employed, Mr. Speaker, the average number of hours per week is shrinking in California as well.

This is truly stunning, Mr. Speaker, when you consider everything that our State has to offer, not only being a place that has a greater diversity of natural wonders and attractions and beauty than just about any place on Earth, but it also has so many dynamic and thriving industries, so many incredible companies and employers. It has such a rich history of innovation and of driving the Nation forward.

Somehow this Governor and the existing legislature have managed to turn it into the State that does the absolute worst when it comes to jobs of any State in the country.

So why is that the case?

It is no mystery, Mr. Speaker. You can just look at misguided policy after misguided policy which has served to discourage companies from starting, discourage companies from adding jobs, discourage companies from staying here, and indeed, has made more people leave this State than any other for several consecutive years.

I am working on legislation in Congress inasmuch as we can use the levers we have here at the Federal level to try to bring some sanity back to the economic policy environment in California because there are areas where Federal and State policy intersect.

For example, we are getting rid of all of these EV mandates or electric train mandates or electric truck mandates or electric lawnmower mandates. I will soon be introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution to end Gavin Newsom's plan to ban gas-powered cars in California.

Beyond that, there are a number of State policies that everyone knows are causing immense harm and yet remain on the books. So if our State's leadership has the chance to look at this report and get a little dose of reality and has any inclination to actually try to turn things around and help folks in our State, here are a few suggestions:

Repeal AB 5, which has effectively banned independent contracting in our State and has put countless freelancers out of work.

Overturn the Private Attorneys General Act, PAGA, which is the bane of many small businesses' existence and accounts for the nonexistence of many that have been forced to close because of the harassing lawsuits that it leads to.

Reexamine every mandate that we place on employers, especially those that don't exist in any other State, and evaluate the impact they have on the incentive to hire.

Take a cue from President Trump who has said we are going to repeal 10 regulations for every new regulation that we offer.

If there is any place where the regulatory thicket can rival or even surpass that of the Federal Government, it is the bureaucracy that we have in California.

Speaking of the bureaucracy, find ways to rein in these massive, unelected policymaking bodies we have in California such as CARB, the California Air Resources Board.

These are just a few suggestions, but our State has absolutely enormous potential that currently is being dramatically underutilized. It is truly a sad thing as we see it in every community in this State. You see your favorite restaurant or another cherished small business that suddenly closes its doors for good, and you see so many of our fellow citizens who are lacking the sort of opportunities that a well- governed State would allow them.

So I would hope that if anything could be a wake-up call, then this latest stunning report with this very round number of zero new jobs will serve as that wake-up call that can catalyze and motivate some real reform in California. SpaceX Rescue

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and thank SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule for successfully returning the two astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stranded in the International Space Station for 286 days.

Most Americans are now familiar with the story and with the issues that arose with the Boeing Starliner that made them unable to return on that vessel and the delays that ensued after that such that these astronauts had to overstay their planned trip by many, many, many weeks.

It was just on March 18, a little over 1 week ago, that they finally were brought home thanks to SpaceX and splashdown in the Gulf of America.

This was a great moment for our country, certainly a great moment for the astronauts and their families, and I think it serves as a reminder of how important America's lead is when it comes to the commercial space industry.

We saw just this last year repeated efforts by the Biden administration to hold back that progress and to specifically target SpaceX.

Now, it needs to be noted that SpaceX accounts for over 90 percent of the total payload brought into orbit in the entire world, and so targeting SpaceX is truly weakening our own country given how important our global dominance in space is. So this latest demonstration of the capacity of this particular company and American ingenuity in general to accomplish amazing feats should hopefully serve as a reminder that we have now turned a page, that we are now encouraging innovation, and that we must never return to the misguided policies and, frankly, discriminatory treatment that prevailed during the administration of President Biden.

So I thank SpaceX again and welcome home, a long delayed welcome home, and welcome back to Earth to our astronauts. Artificial Intelligence Announcement

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I have the honor of chairing the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over all of K-12 education, and I wanted to let folks know about a very important hearing that we are having next Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. eastern time on artificial intelligence and its uses in education.

Now, some folks might hear the topic of that hearing and think about things like: Is AI making it easier for students to cheat, or is this going to absorb young people even further into digital worlds?

Those are certainly concerns. However, the focus of our hearing is going to be on the upside. It will be on the tremendous potential, the boundless opportunities that AI--even as it exists right now, let alone what its capabilities are going to be in a matter of weeks, months, and years, the unbelievable opportunities to close achievement gaps and advance student achievement.

I firmly believe, if it isn't already true now then it will be true in a very short time, that every child in America now has the ability to get a richer and more immersive education than any child did just a few years ago.

I was part of an organization when I was a teacher that was aimed at closing achievement gaps in America. The different opportunities that are afforded to young students depending on the ZIP Code that they live in is an ongoing failure of our public education system. There are many policy changes that we need to make to address that, such as providing for greater choices for students and their families.

However, the use of artificial intelligence is another incredibly powerful tool for closing these achievement gaps. That is because now, no matter where you were born, the ZIP Code that you live in, or the neighborhood school that is closest to you, Mr. Speaker, you, as a young person growing up in America, can access the entirety of human knowledge. It can be conveyed and given to you in a way that meets your own starting knowledge level, your own ability level, and your own strengths and weaknesses in the modality that fits you.

We are seeing incredible things that are being done already at different schools across the country as well as with platforms like the Khan Academy where you can have a direct dialogue with a chatbot or, for example, a reanimated version of Albert Einstein that teaches you physics, or you can have a dialogue with a historical figure as you are learning history, or with a literary character as you are reading a classic novel.

In addition, beyond giving the student this novel, immersive experience that is uniquely tailored to them, it also liberates teachers to focus on those sorts of things that only a caring human instructor can do. So we are still in the very early stages, and the capabilities of AI systems are growing by the day.

I think this is going to be a very important moment for us to look at what is being done now and what we can do going forward to expand these incredible learning opportunities to every child in America.

So you can tune into our hearing next Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. eastern time.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Grass Valley

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I wish to mark and to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Rotary Club of Grass Valley based in California's Third Congressional District.

The Rotary Club of Grass Valley was established in 1925 by 25 local business and professional leaders who were inspired by the Rotary movement's ideals of service and ethical business practices.

Club members represented a cross section of the community and included businessmen and professionals associated with and directly involved with the major regional economic activities of mining and timber harvesting.

The outbreak of World War II had a profound impact on the activities of the Rotary Club as many of its members were called to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. Those who remained in Grass Valley continued to support the war effort through various initiatives, such as organizing blood drives, collecting scrap metal, and helping military families.

The history of the Rotary Club of Grass Valley is a testament to the power of community spirit and collective action.

Today, the Rotary Club hosts several community events meant to support the numerous programs and activities that provide the resources needed to promote the quality of life of Grass Valley residents, the surrounding region, and communities across the globe.

For more than 10 decades now, the club has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to service, fellowship, and leadership. Their contributions are an indelible part of the Grass Valley community and have made a lasting impact on our region.

Therefore, on behalf of California's Third Congressional District and the United States House of Representatives, I am pleased to recognize the Rotary Club of Grass Valley for their outstanding contributions throughout their 100-year history, and I commend them for their ongoing and tireless devotion to community service.

Here is to another great 100 years.

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