Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I have to say it is like deja vu all over again because we were on the House floor about a month ago to have a debate about the House Republican budget reconciliation resolution, which included trillions of dollars in big giveaways that mostly benefit the top 1 percent, paid for, in part, by the biggest Medicaid cuts in American history, combined with trillions of dollars in new debt.
Here we are again a month later and after the Senate Republicans made their changes, we have even more in tax-cut giveaways. Instead of $4.5 trillion, it is now $7 trillion, most of which one penny doesn't even pay for it, except, again, for cuts to Medicaid, as well as cuts to other programs.
Now, there is a little bit of confusion here on a couple aspects, and I will quickly address them.
First, on tax cuts, there is no question that there will not be a tax increase on working Americans. There is widespread agreement, on both sides of the aisle, when it comes to tax cuts on those making under a million dollars a year.
In fact, in the Rules Committee a few weeks ago, a Democratic Member offered an amendment to say we agree. Where the disagreement lies is in those who make more than a million dollars a year. The top 1 percent, in fact, the top one-half of 1 percent.
Every Democratic Member voted in favor of that amendment that would make clear we would be extending the tax cuts for everyone who makes up to $1 million. That is a massive amount of money. Every Democrat voted for it. Every Republican voted against it.
Don't be confused and don't be scared by this scare tactic. If you are a middle-class American, if you are in the 99 percent, you will not see your taxes go up next year. There is no question about that. What is at issue is the tax cuts for multimillionaires, billionaires, and big corporations.
Now, there is another part that has gotten confused or obscured, and that is with respect to the Medicaid cuts. As CBO confirmed in a letter they sent to Mr. Pallone and to me, there is no question that this piece of legislation before us calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts, the largest in American history.
There are some on the other side who have said the word ``Medicaid'' technically doesn't exist in the bill, therefore, these cuts don't exist. Give me a break.
The instruction in this piece of legislation directs the Energy and Commerce Committee to identify at least $880 billion of cuts in those programs where they have jurisdiction.
Guess what. Mr. Speaker, 93 percent of their jurisdiction is Medicare and Medicaid. You can literally cut everything else that they have jurisdiction over and that only gets you about $380 billion, so at least $500 billion, by definition, in order to follow and carry out these instructions, have to come from Medicaid.
Now, finally, because I know we have a lot of speakers on this side, there is something additional in this new version of the reconciliation resolution. It is called current policy baseline. It is a fraud, and to House Republicans' credit, actually, in their proposal, they didn't rely on this fraud.
Current policy baseline, with a straight face, wants you to believe that permanent extension of the tax cuts won't cost one dime. This would establish a dangerous new precedent here.
For 51 years, we have operated under the Budget and Impoundment Control Act. For 51 years, we have had the Congressional Budget Office and we have had these rules, as imperfect as they may be, that we have to follow, that things have to be paid for within a 10-year window.
Current policy baseline means that rule goes out the window. If we think that, in establishing this new precedent, this will be the only time it is ever used, that is crazy. If we think that we have a national debt issue right now, which we both agree on, it will get far, far worse if the new standard becomes this phony fraud of current policy baseline.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the rest of the debate, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Craig), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, this budget is a bad deal. It takes billions of dollars from programs that working families rely on and gives that money to the very wealthiest Americans in the form of $7 trillion in tax breaks.
It slashes funding for programs like Medicaid. Nearly 2 million people in my State of New Jersey rely on Medicaid for healthcare. It raises the healthcare costs for folks who get their coverage through the Affordable Care Act. In my district, folks could see their premiums go up by $1,400 per year under this budget.
Though I know my colleagues across the aisle are very concerned with the Federal debt, this budget adds more than $5 trillion to the deficit. This is a rip-off for working families, and I strongly encourage my colleagues to oppose this measure.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Plaskett), a distinguished member of the House Committee on the Budget.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the majority leader just said something absolutely remarkable. He said that there should be a parade for President Trump.
I have very good news for him. There is going to be a parade for President Trump thrown by Donald Trump in honor of himself paid for by taxpayers to the tune of $92 million.
Oh, but to the 72 million Americans watching at home and are on Medicaid: You are still going to get your Medicaid cut.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Escobar), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Kaptur), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
(Mr. NEAL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Chu), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Omar), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Balint), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Jayapal), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Stansbury), distinguished member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Mr. Speaker, I think it has been a good debate that has brought out a couple of clear facts. Even though President Trump directed House Republicans last night to ``close your eyes'' and just pass the resolution, I believe the speakers on this side have opened the eyes of the American people.
These are indisputable facts: the largest cut to Medicaid in American history in order to help pay for a tax cut, 83 percent of which goes to the richest 1 percent of Americans.
Indeed, this is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires.
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