Rescissions Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, people will die. That is not hyperbole. It is reality.

When you cut PEPFAR, which is the signature program that President George W. Bush created to eradicate the AIDS epidemic, people will die. OMB Director Russ Vought confirmed that the bill cuts PEPFAR by $400 million.

When you cut funding to family planning programs, tens of millions will be denied modern contraceptives, resulting in millions of unintended pregnancies and tens of thousands of preventable pregnancy- related deaths.

When you cut funding for international peacekeeping and to people escaping violence, people will die.

When we reduce development assistance that ensures people have access to food and clean water, people will die.

When you cut money to Ukraine for food security and energy grid resilience, more people will die in their war against the Russian invasion.

USAID is our strongest soft power vehicle. Even if you don't care about how many people will die, it is one of our strongest assets to saving money by decreasing military conflict risk.

I also want to speak up for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides critical kids' educational programs.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is bad for America. People will die.

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