Providing for Consideration of H.R. Rescissions Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, before we even get to the rescissions, let's be really, really honest about what is going on here. This isn't just a debate about cuts, because in this rule, Republican leadership snuck in a rewrite of their big, ugly bill.

Yes, that is right. A vote on this rule is effectively a revote on their reconciliation package, a do-over. It is a desperate attempt by Republican leadership to fix the mess they made with their awful tax scam.

Now, when they rushed it through in the middle of the night, they included provisions that aren't even allowed under the Senate's reconciliation rules. Moreover, instead of coming clean and holding a straightforward vote on the corrections, they are trying to bury it in this rule for the DOGE rescissions package, hoping that nobody will notice. Think of it like a Trojan Horse, Mr. Speaker.

Let's be clear: The rescissions could be brought to the floor anytime. You heard that right, Mr. Speaker, they could be brought to the floor anytime. They are privileged. Speaker Johnson doesn't need this rule to move them. The only reason these things are being tied together is to trick certain Republicans into voting for a bill that they have already said they regret.

Now, it should be said that Republicans have an opportunity right now to change the bill before it goes to the Senate. Last night, in the Rules Committee, we could have voted to strip out the State artificial intelligence moratorium for the reconciliation bill, or we could have dropped the controversial language on contempt that some Republican Members objected to.

Nonetheless, Republican leadership deliberately decided not to do any of that. They decided that the very stuff their members are concerned about doesn't matter and, instead, are entirely leaving changes up to the Senate, as if we had no power or influence here in this House.

As the gentlewoman from North Carolina, the chairwoman of the Rules Committee, said herself last night during the meeting: ``Any Member who has any regrets about his or her vote on the first bill has the opportunity to vote `no' on the rule tomorrow.''

She didn't recommend a ``no'' vote, but she pointed out the choice that Members have.

I agree with her. Members have a choice here. Those who didn't like this bill have a choice to stop it right here in this House.

So to all of the Republicans who said they regret voting ``yes'' for this reconciliation bill, especially those who complained about how much this will add trillions to the deficit and debt: This is your chance for a redo. This is your chance for a redo. Vote ``no.'' Vote ``no'' here to stop this big, ugly bill from moving to the Senate. If Republicans have the courage of their convictions, then they will vote ``no.''

While Republican leadership is busy playing procedural games trying to slip this through, let's talk about what they are attaching this rewrite to.

The Republican rescission package is based on a scam, a con job, and a grift. This is not about actual savings, nor is it about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. This is based on cementing stupid, preposterous, and self-defeating DOGE cuts into law. These are DOGE cuts that, I might add, have already illegally been in place for months when the Trump administration wreaked havoc on our government systems by freezing critical funding.

From day one, DOGE has been one big excuse to reward Trump's wealthy donors, gut public services, and funnel resources away from programs that help ordinary people and into the pockets of the wealthy and well- connected.

Let's not forget: This is the same DOGE review that cut off funding to USDA bird flu experts in the middle of a bird flu outbreak. They sent pink slips to the people who secure our nuclear warheads. They gutted the National Weather Service so badly that right now we might not have enough meteorologists to warn communities about tornadoes and hurricanes.

DOGE was a total, complete failure, and now Republicans want to lock their disastrous cuts into law?

Come on. That is insane. That is crazy.

Mr. Speaker, look at what these cuts are targeting: funding for global health, clean water, food security, and democracy programs; funding for UNICEF and the World Food Program; funding for diplomacy, humanitarian aid, and for world peace, for Christ's sake.

People think our foreign budget is some huge, massive thing. We are talking about something that is 1 percent of our budget. So, please, do not come down here and pretend as if this is a serious attempt to cut funding.

Mr. Speaker, if you want to go after waste and save taxpayer money, then count me in. Count me in. I wish my Republican friends would express some concern about the fact that their President is spending maybe up to $40 million for a parade of military tanks on his birthday.

Really?

We are cutting money to save lives in this rescission package, but $40 million-plus is no big deal, as long as Donald Trump is happy.

We should start with the Pentagon if we are serious about getting after waste, fraud, and abuse. The Pentagon, by the way, has never, ever passed an audit. They have never passed an audit.

Let's look at tax breaks for Big Oil. We can't do that because they write big checks.

Let's go after the loopholes for billionaires. Let's end the corporate giveaways.

No. No. No. Republicans don't want to touch any of those things.

Meanwhile, the cuts in this rescission package hurt America. They weaken our leverage around the world. They pull back critical funding for our allies. They strip away tools we use to prevent conflict and promote stability. These cuts will lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, devastating the most vulnerable in the world.

At a time when China, Russia, and Iran are working overtime to challenge American influence, this bill says: Go right ahead. This is China's dream come true, the U.S. pulling back our soft power from around the world.

This is self-sabotage masquerading as savings, and it is not even a lot of money. These slivers of our Federal budget, these dollars that generate enormous return by keeping people alive and preventing crises before they happen that is what this money does. That is what Republicans are cutting.

This isn't just penny wise and pound foolish, Mr. Speaker. It is like saving money by burning down your house so you don't have to pay for the heat.

I would like to think that America's greatness comes from our humanity. It is clear Republicans believe that America's greatness is found in our inhumanity and in cruelty and callousness. I believe everyone can agree that is a truly dark, dangerous, and morally bankrupt place to govern from.

The American people deserve better than this. They deserve smarter than this. They deserve a government that prioritizes what works, not what flatters the egos of billionaires hopped up on ketamine.

Mr. Speaker, this rule is a disgrace, and the underlying bill is a disgrace. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let me try to explain this again because I don't know why this is such a tough concept for my Republican colleagues to understand.

Two things can be true. These Republican DOGE cuts can be incredibly cruel, which they are, and at the same time mathematically insignificant compared to the massive trillions of dollars that Republicans are adding to the deficit and the debt because of their reconciliation bill. So two things can be true. I don't think that is that hard for the American people to understand.

Mr. Speaker, as we have made clear time and time again, the big, ugly GOP tax scam is set to add $3 trillion to the deficit, $3 trillion. To be clear, that isn't me saying that. That is the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, CBO.

It isn't just CBO. Every other reputable independent analysis of the bill, including the Joint Committee on Taxation, Yale Budget Lab, and Penn Wharton Budget Model came to the same conclusion. Even the right- leaning Tax Foundation agrees that this bill explodes the deficit, explodes it.

Yet, here we are with Republicans patting themselves on the back over the Trump-DOGE rescission package, a package that in all reality barely makes a dent in the very debt that they ballooned.

Since they want to talk about the debt, let's talk about the debt. I want the American people to take a look at this chart, Mr. Speaker. I want the American people to look at this chart. The red indicates the $3 trillion that Trump's big, ugly bill will add to the deficit. Then we see this tiny, little blue sliver. Thank God, I am wearing my bifocals here. I can barely see it. That little, tiny blue sliver-- again, you might need a magnifying glass to see it--that is the $9.4 billion that the Republicans are trying to save through these rescissions.

To break that down a little bit more, the $3 trillion deficit increase in the GOP tax scam is 320 times bigger than the $9.4 billion that Republicans are trying to rescind through these DOGE cuts.

The real kicker here is that under their GOP tax scam, CBO says that the top 5 percent of earners will get $1.6 trillion in total tax cuts. That is 170 times bigger than the $9.4 billion Republicans want to rescind.

Republicans are cutting $9.4 billion in Federal spending so they can try and justify the trillions and trillions of dollars they plan to add to the debt so they can deliver massive tax cuts to their billionaire friends.

So these rescissions, they are not even a drop in the bucket. They are a drop in the ocean compared to the multitrillion-dollar deficit- busting bill that Republicans are trying to jam through.

Just because the sliver on this chart seems small doesn't mean these Republican rescissions are not harmful. Republicans want to cut $900 million from global health programs, including $400 million for PEPFAR, an overwhelmingly bipartisan program created by President George W. Bush to combat HIV. This program has saved more than 26 million lives over the past 28 years.

That is not fraud, waste, or abuse. That is a big deal. That is something we should be proud of. Not properly funding PEPFAR means people will literally die. That is not hyperbole. It is just the truth. In fact, because DOGE and the Trump administration illegally suspended PEPFAR already earlier this year, tens of thousands of people have already died, including thousands of children. It is despicable. They want to cut $2.5 billion in development assistance that our allies and partners use to build schools, help farmers grow food, fund clean water projects, and combat poverty. They want to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Ukraine and our allies at the border of Russia. They want to completely eliminate Federal funding for public TV and radio, which are trusted sources of news and educational programming for millions of American households, particularly in rural areas. I don't know what my colleagues have against rural areas, but those areas will be particularly hard hit by those cuts.

It is important to note, once again, that many of these rescissions, especially to foreign aid, have already started to hurt and even kill people. That is because the administration illegally froze USAID programs, which has threatened the lives of millions of people who rely on this funding to prevent or treat disease, afford food, and access to clean water.

Mr. Speaker, according to the Boston University School of Public Health--and listen to this--more than 50,000 adults and 6,000 infants have died of HIV due to the disruption of PEPFAR. People are already dying. More than 29,000 children have died of malaria, and 25,000 people have died of tuberculosis because the Trump administration froze funding.

Republicans want to rubberstamp the Trump administration's illegal funding freeze into law, and they claim that they are reining in the debt. Well, as we can see, Mr. Speaker, that is a huge load of garbage.

This rescissions package is a moral failure masquerading as fiscal responsibility, and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

Mr. Speaker, I don't even know where to begin after that. The gentleman talked about $100,000 here and $1 million there but not a word about the $3 trillion added to the deficit because of the big, ugly bill that he and Republicans voted for and supported. There was not a word about all that is going to be added to the debt.

Maybe the gentleman forgot this, but I am looking at a FOX News story here when the gentleman referred to the $9.4 billion as a teardrop in the ocean when he was interviewed. I don't know what happened, but somehow the gentleman couldn't bring himself to talk about the $3 trillion that Republicans are adding to the debt.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question. If we do, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up amendment No. 1 to H.R. 4 offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Goldman), which would block Republicans from zeroing out Federal funding that Congress has already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Public TV and radio are trusted sources of news and educational programming for millions of households across America and are particularly important in rural areas, where public stations are often the only source of local news.

This is a $1.1 billion cut, Mr. Speaker. Let's compare that to the big, ugly Republican reconciliation bill, which adds $3 trillion to the deficit and--get this--includes a provision that Republicans have been bragging about that removes a tax on gun silencers, which has been on the books for a century.

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the JCT, this new tax break on silencers alone will increase our Nation's deficit by $1.5 billion. That is more than the $1.1 billion Republicans are ``saving'' by eliminating all funding for public TV and radio.

Mr. Speaker, let me ask the American people and my Republican colleagues: Is this whole tradeoff worth it? Public broadcasting in exchange for cheaper gun silencers? I mean, really?

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on my amendment to President Trump's reckless and stunningly shortsighted rescissions package, which would, among other harmful cuts, entirely eliminate Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Mr. Speaker, let's be very clear. This is not cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. This isn't trimming around the edges. This isn't the teardrop in an ocean. This is all Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is PBS, NPR, and local public television and radio.

This is not just an attack, though, on PBS and NPR, as so many of my Republican colleagues have said. The majority knows full well that more than 70 percent of this cut will be felt by the local radio and television stations in their own communities and across the country.

These stations use federally funded CPB radio towers and infrastructure to disseminate lifesaving emergency alerts. They don't just inform rural Americans and serve news deserts to discuss local news, which, of course, they do, and they are often the only source of educational programming for children around the country, but they are also essential for disaster response and emergency preparedness.

There are 20 States that list NPR in their emergency response plans. This infrastructure is essential for emergency alerts, geotargeted text messages, and first responder communications. My colleagues know all of this. The Republicans know how devastating this defunding will be.

Even Chairman Aderholt acknowledged yesterday in the Committee on Rules that these cuts will harm his State's public broadcasting networks and that he would like to work on it with Democrats. The gentleman's chance is right now, on the previous question, which, if my colleagues vote ``no,'' we can work together on funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, this is not about actual funding. This is caving to Donald Trump's thin skin and his inability to deal with facts rather than to stand up for local stations, local communities, and the First Amendment, which specifically prevents Congress from abridging the freedom of the press.

To every Republican listening, this is yet another chance to oppose Donald Trump's attack on any objective form of accountability and to do what is best for your constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and to choose their constituents over Donald Trump.

Mr. Speaker, wow, that is something.

We were trying to keep up with the gentleman as he was ticking off all the initiatives that he doesn't like, and we were looking at these accounts. I think they all added up to $23.5 million. I don't know about some of the programs that the gentleman talked about. I am happy to look into them.

He came up with $23.5 million in programs that he doesn't like. I just want my friends to understand that that is half of what Donald Trump is going to spend on his 1-day parade on Saturday. That is half. I mean, give me a break.

Then, the gentleman said that the CBO doesn't assume a growth rate. Not only did the CBO take into account the growth rate, but so did every other think tank that did a budget analysis on the great big, ugly bill that Republicans passed.

I should also say to the gentleman and to the gentlewoman that many of these programs have already been halted illegally by the Trump administration.

Just for the record, it is estimated that over 107,000 adults have died as a result of the denial of funds, along with over 224,000 children.

I am ashamed that our government has pulled funding for programs that save people's lives. Maybe my friends think that is fraud, waste, and abuse. I don't.

People are already dying. People are already dying because the Trump administration has illegally halted funding from many of these programs, just withholding the money from USAID. I am happy to share with them the statistics.

Mr. Speaker, I also point out for my colleagues that the big, ugly way in which Republicans have advanced this big, ugly bill is just the tip of the iceberg.

Last Congress, the Republican majority presided over the most unproductive, dysfunctional Congress in modern American history. What an achievement. I know they are all proud.

Republicans shattered their own record by issuing 115 closed rules, meaning 115 times when the House could not debate a single amendment on the House floor.

Did they learn anything from being the most unproductive Congress in the history? Of course they didn't.

In just 5 months, the Republicans have racked up over 50 closed rules. More than 90 percent of the bills they bring up have no amendments, no discussion, no input. It is just take or leave it.

What are we even doing here? Republican leadership has blocked over 800 amendments, and we have yet to see a single bipartisan amendment make it to the House floor this year, not even one.

Only 14 amendments have been selected by Republican leadership to be debated across just four bills. That is a 98 percent rejection rate. They block 98 out of 100 ideas they receive.

Mr. Aderholt, who was testifying before the Rules Committee said: Oh, this rescissions bill gives us an opportunity to vote up or down on whether we want to support public broadcasting. The bottom line is, no, it doesn't because we are not having separate votes. You have to take the whole package or leave it. We can't even vote on the individual cuts that are being made a part of this rescissions package.

Republicans have blocked debate on amendments that would help States protect against deadly wildfires and post-disaster recovery. They blocked amendments that would support new mothers and infants impacted by substance use. They blocked amendments to protect SNAP and Medicaid for millions of Americans.

Really?

It is no wonder why no one likes Congress. Republicans are happy to debate trivial issues passionately but important ones not at all.

Mr. Speaker, here is the kicker: At this point in our majority, Democrats gave Republicans more chances to debate their ideas than their own leaders do.

In 5 months, only 6 of the 220 Republicans in this Chamber have had amendments made in order. I mean, that means over 97 percent of Republicans have not had a single amendment debated.

Are my Republican colleagues proud of being excluded from the legislative process?

Mr. Speaker, I say, again, to the gentleman from Texas who just spoke, I am sorry. Don't lecture us about deficits when you voted for a bill that added $3 trillion to the deficit.

It is shameful. The so-called budget hawks around here talk a tough game, and then they cave. We did have a debate in the Rules Committee about this last night, but the gentleman was absent.

Every major organization that does budget analysis says that they are going to add trillions to the debt. The only people who don't are the gentlewoman from North Carolina. I am sorry. I didn't know that you do independent budget analyses, but every other one does.

There is one Republican in this House who is not afraid of Mr. Trump and that is Mr. Massie.

Let me read a couple of tweets that he posted. He writes: ``Why didn't Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act make tax cuts permanent?

``Because the impact of the tax cuts on debt after 2025 was understood by them to be too great. Now they're employing new math to claim that renewing the tax cuts, without cutting spending, won't impact debt.''

He writes: ``Hidden inside of a resolution we will vote on today to bring rescissions to the floor is an order to pass H. Res. 492 without a vote. H. Res. 492 changes the text of the BBB after it already passed the House. Sneaky.''

Can we at least be honest about what is happening here?

Stansbury).

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of talk today about tightening belts and making tough choices. This bill doesn't make tough choices. It makes stupid choices.

These rescissions would gut PEPFAR, a program that saved millions of lives by preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS. It would slash funding for malaria prevention, for maternal and child health, for clean water, and for food assistance.

These programs are not giveaways. This money isn't a handout. These are smart, strategic investments that make Americans safer and save this government money down the road. Every dollar we spend on global health, on diplomacy, on humanitarian aid can save $10, $100, even $1,000 later by preventing conflict, disease outbreaks, refugee crises, and wars.

This bill eliminates those smart investments. It strips away those tools. It tells the world at a time when it is desperate for American leadership that we are walking away. It will let China, Russia, and Iran fill the power vacuum that we leave behind, and for what?

All so Republicans can say they cut spending while they protect billions in tax breaks for Big Oil and billionaire donors.

Let's be clear: This bill isn't serious about fiscal responsibility. If it were, there would be a rescissions package for the Pentagon. We would be debating clawbacks for defense contractors who charge $10,000 for a toilet seat. We would be looking at whether Elon Musk's companies should be getting massive government subsidies, but no.

The party of billionaires would rather defund ``Sesame Street.'' They would rather go after Elmo, and they would rather go after programs that help save lives.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, this is about Trump's military parade, too. The Army estimates it can cost between $25 to $40 million.

Let's do the math. We are going to kill disaster relief, gut UNICEF, and stop investing in global AIDS prevention. Yet we are fine with Donald Trump throwing himself a birthday party with tanks and missiles in the streets like it is North Korea.

What the hell are we doing here, Mr. Speaker? This is why people don't trust government. If we want to be serious about budgeting, fine. Let's be serious. Let's look at where the waste, fraud, and abuse runs rampant.

Let's audit the Pentagon. Let's go after corporate welfare and Big Oil handouts. Let's close the loopholes that let billionaires pay zero in taxes. But let's not pretend this bill is about any of that.

This bill is a fraud and a con job. America deserves better. The world needs better. This is a revote on the reconciliation bill.

Vote ``no'' if you are against gutting Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Vote ``no'' if you oppose $3 trillion----

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

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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