Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 426(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, I make a point of order against consideration of the rule, House Resolution 566.
Section 426(a) of the Budget Act specifically states that the Rules Committee may not waive the point of order prescribed by section 425 of that same act. House Resolution 566 states that it is in order to consider a motion that the House concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 1: ``Without intervention of any point of order.''
Therefore, I make a point of order pursuant to section 426(a) that this rule may not be considered.
Mr. Speaker, let me say this once again: We will not stand by and watch Trump and his billionaire friends destroy this country without putting up one hell of a fight.
Because this rule waives the point of order against unfunded mandates, it is not in order to consider it on the floor.
The bill Republicans are attempting to jam through the House today cuts nutritional assistance for moms and dads, kids, people with disabilities, veterans, and senior citizens. It goes after the most important people in our lives, our families, to fund massive tax breaks for the richest people in the world. I think that that is wrong, and I think it is immoral.
More than just a massive betrayal of the American people, this bill is also a massive, new unfunded mandate on States. Don't just take my word for it. The nonpartisan experts of the Congressional Budget Office said title I of the bill, the Agriculture Committee's portion of this awful bill, would impose intergovernmental mandates by requiring States, for the first time ever, to provide State funding for food assistance benefits, increasing the share of food assistance administrative costs paid by States and requiring State agencies to perform additional administrative duties. This massive, new unfunded mandate would cost States a whopping $19 billion each year.
Mr. Speaker, where the hell are States going to come up with this kind of money? They can't. What will happen is, people will get kicked off of food assistance, and they will go hungry.
State after State has written to Congress begging us not to pass this awful bill. They have made it very clear that if this bill goes through, States will be forced to cut benefits, kick eligible people off of food assistance entirely, or raise taxes to pay for this massive new bureaucracy that Republicans are creating in every State in this country.
The chairman of the Agriculture Committee's home State of Pennsylvania would have to come up with over $1 billion to cover the State's share of benefit costs. There is no State in this country who is able to take on this kind of massive, unfunded mandate.
We are talking about basic needs for people. It is a food assistance benefit of $2 per meal so people don't go hungry. By the way, that money not only lifts people out of poverty, it improves health and it uplifts local economies, too.
Hunger costs this country, and food assistance programs save us money. People who have enough food to eat are more productive at work. Kids who are not hungry are able to learn better at school. Seniors who take their medication on a full stomach are less likely to go to emergency rooms.
No American should go without food. This is a human rights issue. We live in the richest country on Earth for God's sake. Not a single kid in this country should go to bed hungry, not a single damn one, especially not when Republicans are giving millionaires and billionaires a big, fat tax break.
Mr. Speaker, what is wrong with my Republican colleagues? In this bill, they provide a $2 billion tax break for gun silencers, but they cut SNAP benefits for vulnerable families, which, by the way, is on average $2 per person per meal. Jesus Christ, what are you people thinking?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, we have a letter from the Congressional Budget Office confirming that there are unfunded mandates in this bill.
Brown).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
Mr. Speaker, I don't think any of my Republican colleagues have read this provision in the reconciliation bill. In fact, the Agriculture Committee never even did a hearing on it. Yet, billions and billions of dollars in new costs are going to be thrust upon States. States are going to have to decide whether to cut other programs in order to make sure that no one loses their nutrition benefits, or they are going to have to cut people off their nutrition benefits.
The SNAP benefit, on average, is about $2 per person per meal. That is it. You can't buy a damn cup of coffee in the Capitol with that. My Republican friends are obsessed with trying to throw people off of this benefit. I have no idea why.
Most of the people on the benefit are children and senior citizens. They include veterans. Many of them are working full time and can't afford to put food on the table. This benefit helps them provide for their families.
My Republican friends have basically gone on an attack on this most basic, effective program that is about food. You can live without a lot of things, but you can't live without food.
Mr. Speaker, for those Republicans who think it is okay to give Jeff Bezos a tax cut and, at the same time, cut food benefits for struggling families, let me say clearly that we don't share the same values.
Unloading billions of dollars in new costs on States, money they do not have, will force them to cut benefits and throw needy people off of SNAP. It is a rotten thing to do.
I believe there is a special place in hell for people who take food away from veterans, seniors, children, former foster youth, and hungry families. This is sick. This is disgusting.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 212, nays 211, not voting 9, as follows: [Roll No. 186] YEAS--212 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Boebert Bost Brecheen Bresnahan Buchanan Burchett Calvert Cammack Carey Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Collins Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Davidson De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Downing Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Fine Finstad Fischbach Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Gill (TX) Gimenez Goldman (TX) Gonzales, Tony Gooden Gosar Graves Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kean Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood LaLota LaMalfa Langworthy Latta Lawler Lee (FL) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mace Mackenzie Malliotakis Maloy Mann Massie Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McDowell McGuire Messmer Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Murphy Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Onder Owens Palmer Patronis Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner (OH) Valadao Van Duyne Van Orden Wagner Walberg Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--211 Adams Aguilar Amo Ansari Auchincloss Balint Barragan Beatty Bell Bera Beyer Bishop Bonamici Boyle (PA) Brown Brownley Budzinski Bynum Carbajal Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Conaway Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Davis (NC) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Doggett Elfreth Escobar Espaillat Evans (PA) Fields Figures Fletcher Foster Foushee Frankel, Lois Friedman Frost Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gillen Golden (ME) Goldman (NY) Gomez Gonzalez, V. Goodlander Gottheimer Gray Green, Al (TX) Harder (CA) Hayes Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy (NY) Khanna Krishnamoorthi Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lee (NV) Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Liccardo Lieu Lofgren Lynch Magaziner Mannion Matsui McBath McBride McClain Delaney McClellan McCollum McDonald Rivet McGarvey McGovern McIver Meeks Menendez Meng Mfume Min Moore (WI) Morelle Morrison Moskowitz Moulton Mrvan Mullin Nadler Neal Neguse Norcross Ocasio-Cortez Olszewski Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pelosi Perez Peters Pettersen Pingree Pocan Pou Pressley Quigley Ramirez Randall Raskin Riley (NY) Rivas Ross Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Schakowsky Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Simon Smith (WA) Sorensen Soto Stansbury Stanton Stevens Strickland Subramanyam Suozzi Swalwell Sykes Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Tran Underwood Vargas Vasquez Veasey Velazquez Vindman Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Whitesides Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) NOT VOTING--9 Burlison Dunn (FL) Fitzgerald Garbarino Hern (OK) Latimer Meuser Miller (OH) Van Drew
Messrs. GARCIA of California, GARCIA of Illinois, Mrs. McCLAIN DELANEY, Messrs. CROW and SMITH of Washington changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Messrs. JACKSON of Texas and HARRIS of Maryland changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the question of consideration was decided in the affirmative.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
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, this process is an abomination, legislative malpractice. Final text of this bill came out less than 24 hours ago. We met in committee an hour after it was posted, and now, we are here considering a rule that allows for only 1 hour of debate.
This bill is within the jurisdiction of 12 different committees. One hour is ridiculous. Every minute, we are finding out new things that were snuck into the bill, like a tax cut for whalers. Now, we are learning about a gambling tax.
Republican leadership and the White House are jamming this bill down our throats. For what? We are not on a deadline. There is no looming crisis.
We are here because Donald Trump wants a Fourth of July party to celebrate this garbage bill. He wants fireworks, flags, and cameras, not for this country, but for himself. He says to close your ears, close your eyes, and vote for this bill. Honestly, it sounds more like a cult than a Congress to me.
Some Republicans promised their voters no cuts to Medicaid and no new debt. Now, they are flipping faster than pancakes at a campaign breakfast. The House passed it hoping the Senate would kill it. The Senate passed it hoping the House would grow a spine.
Everyone is playing a game of legislative chicken, voting for a bad bill and thinking the other Chamber will be the one to fix it. This is nuts.
Trump says: ``Have fun, and Vote `YAY.' '' Have fun gutting Medicaid? Vote ``yea'' on taking away food from poor families? Are you serious?
This bill is catastrophic. It is not policy. It is punishment.
Let's talk facts. It slashes Medicaid, cuts Medicare, and dismantles the ACA. It shutters rural hospitals, closes nursing homes, and wipes out health centers. It takes food off kitchen tables, throws clean energy workers out of jobs, and spikes utility bills. Why? So billionaires and oil companies can cash in. Big Oil gets handouts. Billionaires get tax breaks. Working families get scraps, if that.
Jeff Bezos just had a $50 million wedding in Venice, and they want to give him another tax break. Meanwhile, families making under $50,000 a year get less than a buck a day in tax cuts. You can't even buy a cup of coffee with that.
The cost? Over $3 trillion added to the debt and a $5 trillion debt ceiling raise brought to you by the very people who won't shut up about so-called fiscal responsibility.
This isn't tax reform to relieve the middle and working class. It is a robbery that will result in the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich our country has ever seen.
Let's not lie to the American people. This is about taking from the most vulnerable to pay off the already powerful. It is about pleasing one man who is holding this Congress hostage with primary threats and social media tantrums.
This bill is cruel. It is cowardly. It is a betrayal of everything this country is supposed to stand for.
I want to alert all Members to something about this rule. It has a mistake in it.
Republicans have rushed this process from the very beginning to meet Trump's artificial July 4 deadline, and this rule is no exception.
We found an error in the rule at 2 a.m. after the Rules Committee reported the rule. This is going to sound a little in the weeds, but they forgot to do something called considering the previous question as ordered on their big ugly bill.
Now, let me put that in English. What that means is they won't have an escape hatch once they start debate on this bill. If they start it and they realize they don't have the votes, they still have to take the embarrassing vote. There are also other consequences, but this Speaker's timeout authority is the one Republican leadership is most afraid of.
Now, I expect they will try to fix this with an amendment, but I have a question for Members. If this Republican leadership cannot get a one- paragraph rule right, can we really trust them to get an 870-page bill right?
Not only are we going to find things that were sneaked into this bill, we are going to find massive mistakes that have unintended consequences for people and industries across this country.
This whole process has been lousy, and this rule is no exception.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of low energy on that side.
I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on House Administration.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I know a Senator from North Carolina who disagrees with everything the gentleman just said, including a lot of hospitals in North Carolina that disagree with what he just said.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I read the bill, too. I want to know why Jeff Bezos and multimillionaires and multibillionaires are getting tax cuts.
Last night, I offered an amendment to let Trump's tax cuts expire only for people earning more than $1 billion a year. Every single Republican voted against it. What is that all about? Follow the money.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, cult much? That gentleman's poster says it all. It is not about American families. It is about one big party for Trump. It is about swelling up his ego.
Pelosi), the Speaker Emerita.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Waters), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if I could inquire of the gentlewoman, if she doesn't have many speakers, maybe she can lend us some time. We have a ton.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I say that because here in Congress, we measure how much people really believe in their position by whether they are willing to come and join their leaders on the House floor.
I count 4 Members on the Republican side, and we have over 75 here. If I were them, I wouldn't want to be associated with this bill either.
Mr. Speaker, I urge we defeat the previous question. If we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule to consider amendment No. 156 offered by Leader Jeffries, which strikes all provisions that will cause millions of Americans to lose healthcare and food assistance.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Ocasio Cortez) to discuss our proposal.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this vile Republican plunder of working families, seniors, and veterans, all so the richest Americans can be showered with even more wealth.
This billionaire bailout would strip healthcare coverage from 17 million Americans, nearly 2 million in my State of Florida. It would push millions into crowded, costly emergency rooms and saddle them with medical debt.
Trump's big, ugly bill also steals record food assistance from millions of kids, seniors, and veterans.
It makes cancer screenings and prenatal care harder to get by defunding Planned Parenthood.
It cripples solar and wind projects and kills millions of clean, green manufacturing and construction jobs, all so the rich can get huge tax breaks.
No family is unscathed because this bill also blows up the national debt by $4 trillion, which drives up interest rates on car loans and mortgages and triggers billions in Medicare cuts, cutting healthcare for our seniors.
This bill makes life less affordable and more painful. Instead of uplifting lives, it will end them.
When history looks back on this bill, its legacy will be: Trump lied, and people died.
Vote ``no.''
Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am an occupational therapist. I helped people live the fullest life they could given the cards they were dealt. I worked at a school for children with disabilities and a nursing home, helping seniors maintain their independence.
I know exactly what it means to cut $1 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, which is exactly what this big, ugly bill does.
Taking away healthcare for 17 million Americans won't make us any healthier. Stealing food away from the neediest children, seniors, and veterans won't make us any stronger. Giving billionaires a tax break won't make us any richer. Children will go hungry. Seniors will lose their healthcare. Students will lose their financial aid. Hospitals will close. Americans will die.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to stand up; grow a spine; stop bowing down to your king, Donald Trump; represent your constituents like you were elected to do; and vote ``no'' on this horrible, big, ugly bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if there are no other Republican Members willing to speak for this bill, we can send some Members over to you just to state the facts as to what is in this bill. Let's do the public a service.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if you can't find a job, just enroll in a training program. That is hard to do when Republicans are cutting and gutting the training programs that exist in this country.
Johnson).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Stevens).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I feel the excitement on the other side of the aisle.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, Democratic Leader Jeffries has an amendment to strike the devastating cuts to healthcare and SNAP, and I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
Ms. CLARKE of New York.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Omar) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Sewell) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Waters) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, are you sure you don't want to check with the gentlewoman from North Carolina just in case she changed her mind?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Adams) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Crockett) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Brown) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. McClellan) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Simon) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Bynum) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Kamlager-Dove) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
Mr. TORRES of New York.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Williams) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Strickland) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Lee) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Kelly) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Garcia) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Bonamici) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Salinas) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Johnson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Randall) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Budzinski) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Tokuda) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Meng) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Houlahan) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Pressley) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, does one Republican Member have the power to block an amendment to protect Medicaid and SNAP?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. That kind of seems like a silly rule.
Gillen) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Morrison) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Brownley) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Kaptur) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Chu) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Velazquez) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Dexter) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
Mr. KENNEDY of New York.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Elfreth) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. McBride) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Balint) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Hoyle) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Castor) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Matsui) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Titus) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Sherrill) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Escobar) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. DelBene) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Jayapal) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Ross) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Goodlander) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Pelosi) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, over 100 Democratic Members just asked to allow an amendment to protect Medicaid and SNAP, to just give us a vote. That is all I ask.
I will say that we are here standing up for the American people, no matter where they live, and this is what it looks like to fight for the American people, to make sure that this administration and this Republican Congress don't rip away their healthcare and their food benefits. That is disgusting.
In the gentlewoman from North Carolina's district alone, 142,000 of her constituents would lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, and five rural hospitals are at risk of closure.
My Democratic colleagues and I are here to help people, not to screw them over.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't know if the gentleman has ever read the Medicaid statute, but undocumented immigrants are not entitled to receive Medicaid benefits, and they don't.
Our solution to make sure that our children are not saddled with debt is to not give billionaires, millionaires, and corporations big tax cuts. Jeff Bezos doesn't need a tax cut.
Why don't you come down here and explain to people why it is so important that you protect his tax cuts? We tried to go after the billionaire tax cuts in the Rules Committee last night, and every single Republican voted ``no.''
That is how we are going to do it. We are going to invest in people who need help. We are going to make sure people have healthcare. We are going to make sure people have food assistance. We are not going to screw them over.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the big, ugly bill is going to throw 16 million people off of healthcare and give people like Jeff Bezos, millionaires and billionaires, a tax cut. If that is what you are about, I hate to tell you, that is not what the American people voted for.
Mr. RILEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, where I come from, we make things. Generations woke up before the crack of dawn, went off to the factory, punched a clock, worked their hands to the bone, and came home and counted nickels to make sure they could keep a roof over the kids' heads and keep food on the tables.
We have kept our heads down. We have kept our sleeves rolled up. We have kept our shoulder to the wheel. All we have asked for is a fair shot and for this place to stop screwing us over, but you can't help yourselves.
You got us into terrible trade deals that made Wall Street rich and shipped all of our jobs overseas. You bail out the banks while neglecting rural America. You have rigged the economy so the corporate PACs that are funding your campaigns make huge profits, jacking up costs on folks who can't afford it, and now this.
This bill will kill good, blue-collar manufacturing jobs that we need to rebuild the economy in this country, close rural hospitals, and defund healthcare, all to give trillions of dollars in tax cuts to your cronies.
Don't tell me you give a shit about the middle class when all you are doing is shitting on the middle class.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I hope when the President comes here next, you will admonish him for the language he uses.
McBride).
I don't want to close, but I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is a moral failure. It rips healthcare away from millions. It pushes more families into hunger, and it leaves seniors stranded all so billionaires can keep more of what they will never spend.
Republicans say: If you lose your job, too bad. If hospitals shut down, good luck. If you can't afford groceries or insulin, figure it out. But if you are Big Oil, a CEO, or trust fund baby, don't worry, we have got you covered. This bill is about who matters and who doesn't. Guess what. Working people didn't make the cut.
I want my Republican colleagues to know they don't have to do this. They don't have to sell out their own communities. They don't have to vote for a bill that goes against fundamental things they claim to believe in.
Crazy as it sounds, they don't have to hurt people to keep Trump happy. Find a spine. Find a conscience, for God's sake, because the American people are watching. They know the difference between real leadership and bootlicking.
A vote for this bill is a vote for cruelty. It is a vote for fiscal irresponsibility and a vote to screw over your constituents to give more to the ultra wealthy. This bill is a middle finger to working people.
We can still stop this. We can still do the right thing. Vote ``no.'' Go back to the table. Work with us on tax relief for people who are not making millions and billions of dollars. Don't let this be your legacy.
That so many of you are blindly going along with this just to please the guy in the White House is shameful. You have a responsibility to care for the people in your districts, and you are voting for a bill that is going to throw millions off of healthcare and rip food off kitchen tables all across the country. It is shameful. It is shameful. I am disgusted that we are here debating this trash.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and a ``no'' vote on the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source