Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026
Floor Speech
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach) for yielding me the customary time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
It is great to see you all, Mr. Speaker. We have been looking for you guys everywhere. Where the hell have you been?
Imagine my shock when I found out that you guys went home. Republicans have been on 8 weeks of taxpayer-funded paid vacation. Why did Republicans do it? They did it because Democrats had the audacity to ask them to try to lower people's healthcare costs.
While they sat on their couch for 8 weeks, we were working. We listened to people who told us their health insurance premiums are doubling and tripling. We heard from people who don't understand why you guys moved at the speed of light to give tax breaks to billionaires but won't lift a damn finger to extend the tax credits that help ensure people's health insurance premiums don't skyrocket.
This CR, this dirty CR, which does nothing to solve the healthcare crisis, is one of the most immoral, unethical, evil things that I have ever seen happen in all of my time in Congress. It is just part of a larger pattern of indifference from Republicans that we have seen time after time after time.
When the billionaire class needed another tax cut, when they wanted to funnel money to the people who write their campaign checks, boy, did Republicans deliver. They rammed through their awful, big, ugly bill in a nanosecond. What the hell is wrong with them?
While regular people are struggling to pay bills, Donald Trump's net worth has gone up by $3 billion since he became President.
People's health insurance premiums are doubling and tripling, but Republicans say there is no affordability crisis, even as their tariffs are costing people an extra 1,200 bucks per year.
Regular people can't afford the rent, and Republicans are letting Trump gild his bathroom and build a ballroom to host the rich and powerful elites who own the GOP.
These guys are bailing out Argentina. They are giving $40 billion to an entirely different country rather than helping the 42 million Americans who can't afford to put food on the table.
Here is the clincher, Mr. Speaker: Buried in this CR is a corrupt kickback for eight Republican Senators, a million-dollar payday funded by taxpayers taken straight from the Treasury and deposited directly into their pockets.
What the hell is wrong with this place?
They promised to put America first. The only thing you guys put first is yourselves, yourselves and the rich and powerful people who pull your strings behind the scenes.
These people don't care. They don't have to call the insurance company because their claim was denied. They don't buy their own groceries. If you have a private jet, an offshore bank account, and an invite to Mar-a-Lago, go ahead and support your Republican Representative. If you are a regular person who feels like you are getting screwed over, and if you are fed up with the status quo here in Washington that only works for those at the top, this majority is not fighting for you--but we are.
Democrats are on your side, and we will fight with you every step of the way against the corruption, the lies, and the BS coming out of this administration. We will not back this so-called deal. It is not a real solution, and it is certainly not a clean CR. This CR leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their healthcare.
Mr. Speaker, you have to love the Republicans. The gentlewoman from Minnesota says that they weren't on vacation. I want to remind her that they haven't voted for 8 weeks, and most people define ``vacation'' as you don't have to show up to work and you get paid.
That is exactly what Republicans did. They didn't show up to work, and they got paid. It was a paid vacation.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson).
Mr. Speaker, I love my Republican colleagues. The majority is introducing legislation to repeal provisions in a bill that they are going to vote ``yes'' on. Figure that out.
Mr. Speaker, the previous question is the House Democrats' last attempt to make a change to this rule before it gets voted on, and I use this opportunity to talk about a last-minute provision that was slipped into this CR in the Senate. It is an outrageous giveaway to pad the pockets of eight Republican Senators, and it is one of the most corrupt things that I have seen in my life.
Mr. Speaker, if the House defeats the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to consider as adopted an amendment to the continuing resolution, offered by Representative Subramanyam, which would strike the corrupt giveaway out of the text of this bill so that it does not make it into law.
Mr. Speaker, this is a massive payday for Republicans. It would allow eight Republican Senators to shovel millions--millions--of dollars into their own wallets. I am talking about cash money. It is not for their States and not for their constituents. No, no. It is for their own personal bank accounts.
Why should a United States Senator or any party get a special right that nobody else has? No State legislator, no Governor, no judge, and no citizen in the entire country has this right, but we are creating it for a handful of Republican Senators. It is immoral. I say it is unconstitutional.
It is wrong, and it is probably the most brazen theft and plunder of public resources ever proposed in the United States Congress. It was tucked into this legislation, and I speak directly to Republicans who say that they can't vote with us because it will delay the reopening of the government.
First off, that is exactly what these corrupt Senators were hoping they would say. Second, we absolutely can send this back to the Senate. They can quickly strip it and send the bill to the President. They finished this package in less than 2 days. This is one small thing that needs to be deleted. It is easy, and it could be done very fast.
Mr. Speaker, please spare me the excuses that we will get this done next week with a new bill. Once this is law, that is it. It is signed into law forever. It will never change. It is permanent, and the majority voted for it. Republicans all know that. So they shouldn't say that they are going to pass some new bill next week to address this. That is just an excuse to do nothing that would fix it.
Republicans moved at the speed of light to give tax breaks to billionaires, and the least that they could do is to give the same urgency to stop this shamelessly corrupt fleecing of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I get it. Trump is suing the U.S. Government for $230 million, and I guess these Senators want in on the action. They want their own payday. I have never seen this level of grift, shameless corruption, and theft of public money in my entire life, ever.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam).
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Mr. McGOVERN.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the gentlewoman thinks that trying to stop people's healthcare premiums from doubling and tripling and quadrupling is political theater, but we don't. I don't have time to address all the BS coming from my colleagues across the Chamber, but it is clear this Republican leadership is not only failing to deliver on their promises but they are selling out at the expense of the basic needs of the American people.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't think we ought to be lectured by somebody who, over the years, has been the king of government shutdowns and who worked for a United States Senator that pushed for a government shutdown to object to the Affordable Care Act.
I just want to make it clear to everybody: This is a Republican shutdown. They control the White House. They control the House. They control the Senate. This government shutdown is because they don't want to negotiate. It is their way or the highway. This is a Republican shutdown. They own it.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Bonamici).
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, we are getting lectured on governance by a guy who is just coming off an 8-week paid vacation. Give me a break.
Sherrill), the next Governor of New Jersey.
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Mr. McGOVERN.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that the gentleman from New York sounds as extreme as his voting record. Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman who just spoke, by supporting this bill, he is betraying 7,000 constituents in his district who rely on the ACA to afford their healthcare. Boy, I am glad he is not my Representative.
Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as the Representative of western New York, where so many people in my community, like others across the country, are already struggling to afford healthcare, I urge my colleagues to reject this disgraceful bill.
As an occupational therapist, I know exactly who these cuts will hurt. I have heard from so many who are desperate for a lifeline, like Iris, a mom in Buffalo, who is worried about how she will keep her kids' healthcare insurance; or Andy, a nursing home resident in Tonawanda, who relies on Medicaid to get the services he needs; or the kids at Bornhava, a special needs school where I provided therapy, who depend on early intervention services.
Donald Trump and congressional Republicans began their assault on the people of our country in the big, ugly bill.
This bill further devastates healthcare and leaves millions of Americans to pray they don't get sick. Shame on anyone who goes along with it. This country deserves better.
I will be voting ``no,'' and I urge all my colleagues to do the same.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, there is some big news, some breaking news in the last hour. I am proud to say that our newest colleague, Representative Adelita Grijalva, just became the 218th signature on the Massie-Khanna discharge petition to compel the release of the Epstein files.
To all my Republican colleagues who refuse to sign on: Time is up, you need to figure out where you stand on this because you are about to go on record. Is your loyalty to Trump more important than going after pedophiles? Make no mistake, these files will come out. It is no longer a question of if, only when, and whether the White House chooses to stand with the survivors or throw them under the bus.
Dexter).
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am surprised the gentlewoman brought up the unanimous consent request, but I am glad she did because I want the Record to be clear. I didn't hear any objection on the floor. The Republican chair basically ruled it as an improper unanimous consent request, and so that is why it didn't move forward.
However, I do know this, because I am on the Rules Committee, and I do know the gentlewoman time and time and time again voted against releasing the Epstein files. I know my Republican friends are hoping that they don't have to go on record because they don't want to get Trump upset at them, but the bottom line is every single Republican will go on record, and you will have to make clear whether you are on the side of a pedophile or whether you are on the side of the victims.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Jayapal).
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Mr. McGOVERN. Ocasio-Cortez).
Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me just say to the gentlewoman this Republican shutdown didn't need to happen. All they needed to do was extend ACA tax credits so the American people wouldn't get screwed on their health insurance bills.
I would also point out to her the President of the United States illegally withheld SNAP benefits. Two Federal judges, basically two court orders, backed us up on that. He is the first President ever in history to shut off food benefits to people during a shutdown. Shame on him.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the ACA polls at 65 percent. Donald Trump is at 37 percent.
Pressley).
Mr. Speaker, I don't have enough time to rebut all the absurd claims made by the other side. Suddenly, they all have an opinion on healthcare. They had a decade to come up with a plan, and they came up with nothing.
I am glad they finally acknowledged that this is a dirty CR that shovels millions of dollars into the pockets of Republican politicians. They hate this bill so much that they are all going to vote for it.
They say that we shut the government down.
Really, Mr. Speaker?
The last time I checked, Republicans are in charge around here. We heard for months about their mandate. They control the House, the Senate, and the White House. They have a duty to keep the government open, and they failed. They did not have the votes. They refused to negotiate with us because we wanted to help regular people instead of billionaires, and now they want to blame us for the consequences of their own actions.
What the hell is wrong with them?
Give me a frigging break.
America is the richest country in the history of the world. We are blessed with an abundance of so much. There should not be an affordability crisis. Every single person in this country should be able to have a good job, a living wage, affordable food and healthcare, and have a shot at a better future. That is what I am fighting for. That is what we are fighting for. That is how I want to make America great. That is the Democratic vision for what this country could be.
From a moral perspective and from a set of values, we believe it is immoral to have a system that gives so much to just a few billionaires by depriving so many of the basic things they need to live a good life. It is clear to me after this debate that Republicans do not share those same values.
I am going to fight like hell, and we are going to fight like hell because I believe in America. We believe in America, and we believe that the hopes and the dreams of the American people will prevail.
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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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