| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
Trusting in Each Other's Intentions
00:02:13
|
||
| About taxes, about economic policy. | ||
| You can give us a call. | ||
| He's the president of Americans for Tax Reform. | ||
| The numbers are Democrats 202-748-8000. | ||
| Republicans 202-748-8001. | ||
| And Independents 202-748-8002. | ||
| I want to ask you about this, the Truth Social post that President Trump put out recently, and I'll put it on the screen. | ||
| I won't read all of it. | ||
| It says the problem with even a tiny tax increase for the rich, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help lower and middle-income workers. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We'll leave this here to take you live to Capitol Hill, where the House is about to gavel in to start legislative business today. | |
| Live coverage here on C-SPAN. | ||
| The House will be in order. | ||
| The prayer will be offered by Chaplain Kibben. | ||
| Would you pray with me? | ||
| Heavenly Father, you loved us first and you love us perfectly. | ||
| Help us to experience and appreciate the depth of your love today. | ||
| May we know that you intend for us to live a life that is fruitful and fulfilling. | ||
| And with that knowledge, may we yield to your intention by trusting in your direction. | ||
| May we understand that you desire for us to honor one another as brothers and sisters, together, your own children. | ||
| And with that understanding, may we obey your commandment to love one another, trusting in your perfect will for your people. | ||
| Thus submitting ourselves to you, obeying your law, and trusting in your grace plan, may we live our lives that they would reflect the selfless love you have shown and with which you uphold us daily. | ||
| We pray that you would be pleased with our efforts and that your name be glorified this day and always. | ||
| It is in your loving name we pray. | ||
| Amen. | ||
|
Without Objection
00:10:48
|
||
|
unidentified
|
The chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces the House the approval thereof. | |
| Pursuant to clause one of Rule One, the journal stands approved. | ||
| The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson. | ||
| Everyone, including our guests in the gallery, please join in. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. | |
| The chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentleman from South Carolina seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House one minute or twice family lord. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| History indicates President Donald Trump would have prevented the invasion of Ukraine by War Criminal Putin as part of the Putin scheme to resurrect the failed Soviet Union by annexing Belarus, occupying Moldova, invading Georgia, and then Ukraine, supported by the Chinese Communist Party and the Iranian terrorists. | ||
| In his first term, Trump deterred mass murder by providing javelin missiles to Ukraine, troops to Poland, and stopping Nord Stream 2 funding of the Putin war machine. | ||
| America has correctly provided $165 billion to stop the mass murder by Putin. | ||
| Funds have been monitored by 29 inspectors general with a Trump executive order, resulting this week in a report of the most accountable aid ever for the people of Ukraine. | ||
| The vast majority of defense spending of Ukraine has been in the United States. | ||
| With Trump encouragement, Europe has provided $185 billion for Ukraine to successfully defend itself. | ||
| As a percent of GDP, 19 European countries exceed the American GTP spent on Ukraine. | ||
| In conclusion, God bless our troops. | ||
| As the global war on terrorism continues, Trump is reinstituting existing laws to protect American families with peace through strength, revealing that Putin lies, insulting Trump with massive drone attacks Saturday and Sunday before the Monday phone call with Putin as Putin continues murdering civilians of Ukraine. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. President. | |
| For what purpose does the gentleman from New York seek recognition? | ||
| I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Antoinette Brown Blackwell, a trailblazer born in my district in Henrietta, New York, and the first woman ordained as a Main Street Protestant minister in the United States. | ||
| Antoinette dedicated her life to justice, equality, and faith. | ||
| She captivated audiences as a lecturer on women's rights and temperance, preached wherever she was welcomed, and in 1850 proudly stood at the first National Women's Rights Convention. | ||
| Committed to voting rights, she lobbied President Theodore Roosevelt for suffrage and remained a steadfast advocate for women. | ||
| At age 95, she cast her very first vote. | ||
| Proof her decades of advocacy helped transform our nation. | ||
| She was a minister, a reformer, a writer, and above all, a woman of courage and conviction. | ||
| We remember Antoinette Brown Blackwell not just for what she achieved, but for the path she paved for generations to follow. | ||
| Let us honor her on her 200th birthday and follow in her footsteps as we fight to protect every American's right to vote. | ||
| With that, sir, I yield back. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentleman from Massachusetts seek recognition? | ||
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I have news for insomniacs. | ||
| Republicans have scheduled the Rules Committee meeting on their one big beautiful bill at one o'clock in the morning. | ||
| This is the bill that will cause millions of Americans to lose their health care and nutrition assistance in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. | ||
| Like, who does that? | ||
| And why are they meeting at 1 o'clock in the morning? | ||
| Because it turns out their big, beautiful bill is really a big, ugly bill. | ||
| Republicans don't want you, the American people, to know what they are doing. | ||
| So tune in tonight at 1 a.m. and call your congressperson and tell them to vote no on this garbage and watch as Democrats fight like hell to protect you, the American people. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Members are reminded to direct their comments to the Chair. | |
| For what purpose does the gentleman from Pennsylvania seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we request unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Thanks so much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Military Appreciation Month. | ||
| This month, we pause to honor the brave men and women of our armed forces, past and present, who have worn the uniform of the United States of America. | ||
| Our military has stood for freedom throughout our history in times of peace and peril. | ||
| They do not ask for recognition. | ||
| They do not serve for applause. | ||
| They serve because they believe in something bigger than themselves. | ||
| They serve out of duty, honor, and love of country. | ||
| This month is to remember our POWs and MIAs, to support our Gold Star families, to stand with our veterans, and to thank those currently serving. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we stand by our veterans and we reaffirm our duty to provide our service members with the support they have earned both in uniform and after. | ||
| May God protect our service members and their families this month and every month. | ||
| We honor and thank them, and we will never forget their service and their sacrifice. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Illinois seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to address the House for one minute to revise this. | ||
| Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to honor Mayor Tyrone Eccles of Venice, Illinois, and to congratulate him on his retirement after more than 40 years in office. | ||
| As a graduate of Madison High School and Southern Illinois University, Mayor Eccles is a true son of downstate Illinois, and he has dedicated his career to serving our community. | ||
| Before he was elected mayor, Mayor Eccles worked as a city alderman, a union steward for the International Operating Engineers, and a legislative aide to the state representative Jim McPike, as he proudly led as president of the Illinois chapter of the National Conference of Black Mayors. | ||
| As mayor, he prioritized bringing new business opportunities to Venice and making sure that his door was always open to constituents. | ||
| His dedication to public service is truly an inspiration, and I'm honored to call him my friend. | ||
| Mayor Eccles, thank you for all that you've done for our community and congratulations on your retirement. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentleman from Rhode Island seek recognition? | |
| I asked to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 12th time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for life-saving food aid for malnourished children across the globe. | ||
| Adesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, manufactures this nutritional paste, which has saved millions of lives. | ||
| But when the Trump administration began, funding for this program went away, and now there are kids literally starving around the world while thousands of boxes of this life-saving food aid sits in a warehouse in Rhode Island. | ||
| But when we abandon our commitment to helping solve malnutrition around the world, we're not just hurting those children who are hungry, we are hurting our own credibility as a country. | ||
| Our adversaries, like China, are happy to step into the void that we have left to make those countries beholden to them. | ||
| But make no mistake, China's help doesn't come for free. | ||
| It comes with a price. | ||
| So this is not just about doing the right thing for these starving children around the world. | ||
| It is about maintaining America's position of leadership globally. | ||
| Restore the funding, restore the food aid. | ||
| I will speak every day until this is done, and I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentleman from North Carolina seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to address the House for one minute to revise and extend. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Mr. Speaker, there was standing room only at Wilson Community College in Wilson, North Carolina. | ||
| It was so touching. | ||
| Residents and family came from far and near in support of the Fitch family and renaming the Wilson Post Office in commemoration of Mr. Milton F. Fitch Sr. | ||
| Mr. Fitch was not just one of the first African-American mail carriers, he was an Eastern North Carolina icon and a great American. | ||
| He served our country honorably in World War II, returning home to raise his family and make a difference in his community. | ||
| And indeed, he did exactly that. | ||
| He and his wife, Cor embedded a legacy of service into their children. | ||
| Jerry, Toby, Patricia, Christine, and Ernestine. | ||
| We're grateful for the U.S. Postal Service for working with us, the North Carolina delegation, and all of the community who came out in support. | ||
| Eastern North Carolina and America is better because of Milton F. Fitch Sr. | ||
| His name now itched in the Wilson community will inspire all who enter the post office to realize the endless possibilities that await us in Eastern North Carolina. | ||
|
Joint Resolution Consideration
00:04:33
|
||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentleman from California seek recognition? | |
| Mr. Speaker, by the reference of the Democratic Office. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I sigh for a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. | |
| The clerk will read, will report the resolution. | ||
| House Resolution 430. | ||
| Resolved that the following consent that the resolution be considered as read. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the resolution is agreed to, and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. | |
| For what purpose does the gentleman from New York seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 426 and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The clerk will report the resolution. | |
| House Calendar Number 28, House Resolution 426. | ||
| Resolved that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the joint resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 13, providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title V United States Code of the rules submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the Department of the Treasury relating to the review of applications under the Bank Merger Act. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived. | ||
| The joint resolution shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the joint resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on financial services or the respective designees and two, one motion to commit. | ||
| Section two, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the joint resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 31, providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title V United States Code of the rules submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to review of final rule reclassification of major sources as area sources under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived. | ||
| The joint resolution shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the joint resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. | ||
| One hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on energy and commerce or their respective designees, and two, one motion to commit. | ||
| Section three, the requirement of clause 6A of Rule 13 for a two-thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee on Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is waived with respect to any resolution reported through the legislative day of May 23rd, 2025, relating to a measure providing for reconciliation pursuant to Title II of House Concurrent Resolution 14. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from New York is recognized for one hour. | |
| For the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
| During the consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| House Resolution 426 provides for consideration of SJRES 13 under a closed rule, with one hour of debate each equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority members of the Committee on Financial Services or their designees and provides for one motion to recommit. | ||
| Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of SJRES 31 under a closed rule with one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member, minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their designees, and provides for one motion to commit. | ||
| Finally, the rule provides for the flexibility to consider a rule related to the reconciliation on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee in order to expeditiously enact President Trump's agenda. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the underlying legislation. | ||
|
Biden's Overreach in Regulation
00:07:11
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||
| The rule before us presents an important opportunity for Congress to continue its work to reverse the last-minute attempts at regulatory overreach by the former Biden and Harris administration. | ||
| The rule includes consideration of SJRES 13 to provide for congressional disapproval of a Biden-era Office of the Controller of the Currency regulation titled Business Combinations under the Bank Merger Act. | ||
| In September 2024, the OCC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, revised their approach to evaluating bank merger applications. | ||
| The updated rule restricts banks' abilities to scale, manage risk effectively, and broaden product offerings, ultimately discouraging mergers altogether. | ||
| By dismantling a long-standing standard in eliminating automatic approval for certain applications, the Biden administration's actions risk stifling competition and innovation in the financial sector. | ||
| These changes will delay strategic decision-making among financial institutions and limit access to innovative financial services for everyday Americans. | ||
| From small and mid-sized banks in particular, the rule imposes additional red tape and bureaucratic hurdles that hinder their ability to merge and compete with larger financial institutions. | ||
| Despite what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may claim, the Biden administration's rule strengthens the dominance of the largest market players while undermining smaller community-focused institutions, limiting consumer choice and consumer access. | ||
| We should strive for a regulatory environment that is streamlined, balanced, and rooted in practical oversight, one that protects consumers without obstructing innovation and competition. | ||
| What we don't need are more Biden-era regulations that distort the market and smother opportunity with overreach. | ||
| SJRES 13 will ensure that future bank regulators cannot repeat this ill-conceived rulemaking and that financial institutions can continue to make strategic, innovative decisions that will ultimately benefit American consumers. | ||
| Also, the rule provides for consideration of SJRES 31, providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Biden EPA relating to the review of final rule classification of major sources as area sources under the Clean Air Act. | ||
| Section 112 of the Clean Air Act lays out stringent compliance standards for facilities emitting over 10 tons of a single hazardous air pollutant or 25 tons of an aggregate. | ||
| Facilities below those thresholds are classified as area sources and subject to more flexible requirements. | ||
| In 2020, under President Trump, the EPA adopted a more rational approach, allowing facilities that significantly reduce their emission to be reclassified as area sources. | ||
| This common sense change rewarded emissions improvements and reduced unnecessary regulatory burdens on American manufacturers and energy producers. | ||
| To no one's surprise, the Biden administration reversed course by reimposing the outdated and rigid once-in, always in policy. | ||
| This framework permanently locks facilities into a strict major source status, even if they make substantial efforts to reduce harmful emissions. | ||
| It's not only unfair, but it discourages environmental progress. | ||
| And who did the Biden administration hurt? | ||
| They hurt the chemical manufacturing sector, which includes thousands of mid-sized companies representing hundreds of thousands of jobs. | ||
| These companies have invested millions into cleaner technologies and equipment upgrades, and under this Biden-era EPA rule, their investments will not be rewarded with a lighter regulatory touch. | ||
| And in fact, despite upgrades to reduce emissions, they will continue to face the same higher regulatory costs. | ||
| And there's the pulp and paper industry, a critical employer in states like Georgia and Wisconsin and Maine. | ||
| Mills that switch to cleaner fuels or have to implement advanced scrubber systems will receive no regulatory relief under the Biden-era EPA's once-in-always in rule. | ||
| In a sector that already faces stiff foreign competition and very narrow margins, the Biden administration heaped further unnecessary burdens onto this industry, jeopardizing the jobs of thousands of Americans that work in the process. | ||
| And then there's the independent and smaller scale refiner that often lack the scale of larger competitors, but serve critical regional fuel markets. | ||
| They may have made substantial environmental progress in reducing hazardous air pollutant emissions, but the Biden-era once-in-always in rule locks them into compliance regimes that do not reflect their improvement of their emissions profile. | ||
| And finally, let's not forget our small and rural manufacturing facilities in communities across this country, including in my own district in New York's southern tier. | ||
| These facilities include metal fabricators and food processors, many of whom have taken proactive steps to cut emissions in very good faith. | ||
| Under the Biden-era, once-in, always-in rule, these improvements to reduce hazardous emissions do not matter. | ||
| They will still be treated with the same costly, burdensome regulatory regime. | ||
| Simply put, the Biden EPA and its once-in, always-in rule not only disincentivizes innovation and cleaner operations, but it also threatens plant closures and kills jobs. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, you'd have to be more concerned with appeasing environmental extremists than protecting American workers to support this punitive and counterproductive regulatory framework. | ||
| Through SJ Res 31, House Republicans stand up for the American workers and job creators. | ||
| The CRA ensures regulatory fairness and restores real incentives for emissions reduction. | ||
| Without this CRA, even the most environmentally responsible facilities are punished, trapped under heavy-handed rules that do not reflect their cleaner operations. | ||
| Since returning to office, President Trump and House Republicans focused on restoring common sense governance, prioritizing American jobs, economic strength, and practical solutions. | ||
| SJRES 31, like other measures, undoing ill-advised Biden-era policies, represents a decisive step in the right direction. | ||
|
Dealing with Corruption
00:06:57
|
||
| Let's get back to smart, forward-thinking policies that actually serve the American people, not far-left activists and D.C. bureaucrats. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from New York reserves, the gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized. | |
| Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the gentleman from New York for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman is recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, we are here today for a rule on two measures, two lousy measures doubling down on Republicans' agenda to help big banks and big polluters. | ||
| SJRES 13 is a gift-wrapped giveaway to Wall Street, plain and simple. | ||
| It would make it easier for big banks to get even bigger, hurting small businesses and communities in the process. | ||
| SJRES 31 is even worse, a blatant handout to big polluters, putting corporate profits ahead of our constituents' health and safety. | ||
| And this isn't new, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| That's been the Republican playbook all Congress long. | ||
| Help the polluters, help the banks, help Wall Street, help CEOs, help everyone except the working people who actually need it. | ||
| And you may ask why. | ||
| I would say follow the money. | ||
| Look at the donations. | ||
| One of the things we need to get serious about in this Congress, and hopefully when Democrats take control of the House after the next election, this will be a priority, and that is campaign finance reform. | ||
| All this excessive money from big industry, from big banks, from corporations, from people like Elon Musk, pollute this chamber in a way where the needs and the wants of regular people get put to the side. | ||
| It is disgraceful, if we are being honest here, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| But as bad as these two bills are, and don't, you know, I can't emphasize enough, they're really bad, they're just the Warm-Up Act. | ||
| In fact, this is filler. | ||
| We weren't even supposed to be dealing with these bills. | ||
| We were supposed to be dealing with the budget reconciliation bill. | ||
| And because of the disarray within the Republican Conference, all of a sudden these bills appeared. | ||
| Because in just over 13 hours, Mr. Speaker, the House Rules Committee will meet starting at 1 o'clock in the morning to debate a bill that steals from the American people so they can help out the billionaire donors who write them big checks. | ||
| Now let me ask, if this bill is so great, so big, so beautiful as Donald Trump says it is, then why the hell are we debating it in the middle of the night? | ||
| Why not debate it in broad daylight where the American people can tune in and hear what it's really about? | ||
| Well, we all know the answer. | ||
| We all know the answer. | ||
| And I encourage the American people to pay attention to what's happening very, very, very early in the morning here in the United States Capitol. | ||
| Watch what happens in the Rules Committee at 1 o'clock in the morning. | ||
| To all the insomniacs out there, tune in at 1 o'clock in the morning and watch what unfolds in that committee. | ||
| Republicans do not want you to pay attention to their tax scam. | ||
| Hell Trump doesn't even want Republicans to pay attention to what's in this bill. | ||
| He told you guys to close your eyes and vote for this garbage. | ||
| Republicans were ordered not to say a word in committee, just fall in line and rubber stamp it. | ||
| And now listen to this. | ||
| Now they're sneaking a change into the rules buried in the fine print of this rule to give themselves same-day authority to bring the bill to the floor with a moment's notice. | ||
| This bill is over a thousand pages long. | ||
| They want to ram it through the Rules Committee, potentially changing it, and we know that there are changes coming, and then vote on it just hours later. | ||
| A bill that adds trillions to the deficit and kicks millions of people off their health care. | ||
| Now, you guys once bragged about requiring 72 hours to review legislation. | ||
| Remember that? | ||
| Now you're ready to toss that promise in the trash to serve Trump's demands. | ||
| And if my colleagues in the Freedom Caucus vote for this rule, they will have reached a new height of hypocrisy. | ||
| It is unbelievable to me that they cry and whine about passing bills without the time to read them, and then they come down here and support ramming a bill through committee in the middle of the night and bringing it straight to the floor. | ||
| Unbelievable. | ||
| Hypocritical. | ||
| Let's be real. | ||
| This bill that we will be debating, this budget reconciliation bill, is a disaster. | ||
| It is unpopular. | ||
| It is indefensible. | ||
| This is all about massive, huge tax breaks to billionaires paid for by stealing from working Americans. | ||
| That's not hyperbole. | ||
| That is just the truth. | ||
| It rips away Medicaid from parents and grandparents. | ||
| It slashes food assistance for children. | ||
| The biggest cut in food assistance in history is contained in this bill. | ||
| It drains resources from the moms and dads all to fund giveaways for those at the very, very top. | ||
| And any backroom deals made in the next few hours to twist arms into buy votes, well, they're only going to make this terrible bill even worse. | ||
| And this is not what democracy looks like. | ||
| This is what corruption looks like. | ||
| And shame on every single person who votes to advance this awful process by torching any semblance of a fair process. | ||
| A vote for this rule is a vote to allow Republican leadership to jam this bill through the House without enough time to even read it. | ||
| Zero transparency. | ||
| Zero respect for this institution or the members here. | ||
| Just close your eyes and vote for it. | ||
| That's what Trump told you to do. | ||
| Close your eyes and vote for it. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a hell of a lot better than this rushed, reckless process. | ||
| They deserve leaders who work for them, not for the billionaires. | ||
|
Promoting Cleaner Air Through Regulation
00:03:59
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||
| And I urge a no vote, and I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair. | |
| The gentleman from New York is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| The budget reconciliation bill is the work of 11 committees that have gone through full markup, that went through the full bipartisan process. | ||
| I sat through 27 hours in the Energy and Commerce Committee, so I know full well I had a front seat to the longest markup, just as my colleague did with his service on the Agriculture Committee. | ||
| But that's not what we're here debating. | ||
| Despite what some of my colleagues across the aisle are saying, the CRA that we're discussing right now is addressing standards for major and area sources that will actually promote cleaner and more environmentally conscious operations among manufacturers, refiners, and energy producers. | ||
| The rule implemented by the Biden administration reflects a flawed approach, one that eliminates incentives for voluntary emissions reductions and imposes excessive regulatory burdens without delivering clear environmental benefits. | ||
| Under this policy, facilities that successfully reduce their actual or potential hazardous air pollutant emissions below the major source threshold are still prohibited from reclassifying as area sources. | ||
| This means that even after substantial improvements, these facilities remain subject to the strictest and costliest regulatory framework forever, indefinitely. | ||
| This not only increases operational costs but also removes a key incentive for companies to invest in cleaner technologies and practices, something we should all be encouraging. | ||
| Take, for example, a chemical plant that emits hazardous air pollutants like benzene or formaldehyde. | ||
| Under the Biden-era rule, if they invest millions in cutting-edge emissions control systems that reduce their pollution below the regulatory threshold, they get no relief from the major source permitting burdens. | ||
| The Biden-era rule entangles them in permanent red tape, discouraging innovation and undermining progress. | ||
| Under the Trump-era rules that SJ Res 31 would pave the way for, companies would have a financial incentive to invest in pollution controls, since doing so will actually reduce their compliance costs and regulatory delays. | ||
| The result is cleaner air, a cleaner environment. | ||
| The reality is that most of these companies and the people who run them live in the very communities affected by emissions. | ||
| They have every reason to care about cleaner air and healthier environments. | ||
| What they need is smart, flexible policy, not arbitrary and capricious restrictions that stifle growth and reduce competitiveness. | ||
| SJ 31 would restore a proven framework that recognizes and rewards emissions reductions. | ||
| It allows regulatory classifications to reflect a facility's current environmental impact, not a legacy status based on past emissions. | ||
| This flexibility fosters continuous improvement and aligns environmental goals with economic incentives. | ||
| This is not about weakening protections. | ||
| The contrary, actually. | ||
| It's about applying regulation in a way that actually works, delivering clean air, encouraging innovation, and maintaining the strength of America's industry. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this is a common sense path forward to a cleaner, more sustainable future for my colleagues who claim to be the champions of effective environmental policy. | ||
| But let's not be fooled by their rhetoric. | ||
| The reality is that many on the other side of the aisle are beholden to a vocal and uncompromising wing of the environmental lobby. | ||
|
Voting to Cut Billionaires' Hands Off Medicaid
00:15:18
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| Groups that would rather see American workers laid off, manufacturing plants shut down, and entire communities economically gutted than support balanced, common sense regulatory reforms. | ||
| And, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from New York Reserves, gentleman from Massachusetts, is recognized. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Just a couple of things. | ||
| First of all, I want to correct the record. | ||
| The gentleman said that this budget reconciliation bill reflects a full and fair and open process in all the committees of jurisdiction. | ||
| I hate to tell them. | ||
| I'm on the Agriculture Committee, and the Chairman actually cut off debate when there were dozens of amendments still yet to be offered. | ||
| So that's not a full and open and fair process. | ||
| Maybe by Republican standards, it is, but by most people's standards, it isn't. | ||
| And the gentleman is on the Rules Committee, and we are debating the rule. | ||
| And so I have a question for my Rules Committee colleague. | ||
| This rule contains a fast-track process for the Republican tax scam, the so-called budget reconciliation bill. | ||
| But we all know, we all know that deals are being made behind closed doors, changes are still being negotiated, big changes, we're told, big changes. | ||
| So I'd like to know if the majority will commit to ensuring a congressional budget office score is available on the final bill before it moves forward. | ||
| Because we need to know the impact on our constituents, not only how much it will cost. | ||
| how many people will lose their health care and how quickly they will lose their health care. | ||
| Those are legitimate questions that, quite frankly, Democrats not only want to know, but Republicans should want to know as well. | ||
| So I guess, I mean, can we get some Can I just get the gentleman to kind of give us an assurance that we know the impact? | ||
| Will he commit to ensuring a Congressional Budget Office score is available on the final bill before it moves forward? | ||
| I'm happy to yield to him. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'll address him very much. | |
| I guess we're not going to get an answer. | ||
| I mean, I guess we all know why they don't want the nonpartisan expert analysis to be made available before a vote on this bill, because this vote is a monstrosity. | ||
| This vote is going to throw off at least 14 million people off of their health care. | ||
| This is going to constitute the largest cut in food assistance in history. | ||
| People are going to see their nutrition benefits reduced, which will impact children, which will impact senior citizens, veterans, and those with disabilities. | ||
| And again, I mean, and it's relevant to what we're talking about here today, is because in this rule, you provide the authority to just immediately bring the budget reconciliation bill to the floor without giving people time to debate the bill, you know, to be able to analyze the bill, for CBO to do their work on this, for us to even know what the impact is going to be on our constituents. | ||
| I mean, this is, I mean, on something this big, and by the way, you know, I hear Republicans talking a lot about, oh, we have this deadline, we have this deadline. | ||
| There's no deadline. | ||
| There's nothing magic about having to pass this bill by tomorrow, the next day. | ||
| You could do this right. | ||
| You could actually have a rules committee hearing in markup in the light of day. | ||
| And you could do it when you come back after the Memorial Day recess. | ||
| But people should ask the question, why are they rushing so quickly? | ||
| Why are they doing everything they can to jam this through before people have a chance to understand the full impacts of this bill? | ||
| The reason why is they don't want the American people to know what they're doing. | ||
| They're ashamed of what is in this bill. | ||
| Again, throwing people off of health care, throwing people off of food assistance. | ||
| Why? | ||
| To give a tax cut to billionaires? | ||
| Give me a break. | ||
| We're here to help lift up people in this country, to be there for people who are struggling. | ||
| And instead, this Republican Congress is about enriching those who are well-off and well-connected. | ||
| I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen from Massachusetts Reserves, gentleman from New York is recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, you know, we're hearing a lot of dramatic words from my friend and colleague across the aisle about the reconciliation process. | ||
| But let's take a moment to remind them of what they did when they were in the majority. | ||
| During the 117th Congress, when a Democratic-led House considered the last reconciliation bill, also known as the Build Back Better Act, the process was a little messy to say the least. | ||
| And the gentleman talks about CBO scores, and it's certainly something that we're working very hard on. | ||
| But as Mr. McGovern in a meeting on the 4th of November of 21 was reading the manager's amendment to be self-executed, his response to not having a CBO score was, I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will do everything they can to slow this process down. | ||
| I will also assure the gentleman, as he knows, that this cannot become law and will not move forward in the Senate without a CBO score, and that will have to happen. | ||
| Regardless, if we do have a JCT score or a CBO score or what that score says, I don't think any of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will vote for this bill at the end of the day. | ||
| So, you know, people in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones here. | ||
| You know, in fact, this process on their side of the aisle was so messy that two separate rules had to be passed out of the Rules Committee, each one self-executing a new manager's amendment as negotiations were ongoing and changes continued to be made. | ||
| It was constantly a shifting landscape and, frankly, chaos at times. | ||
| Now, I know that the gentleman from Massachusetts won't let facts get in the way of a good story, and he pounds the table over the use of same-day authority. | ||
| But the reality is the first rule for Build Back Better extended what is essentially a martial law procedural lockdown of the House floor, granting broad same-day authority that allowed the majority to jam through changes without proper scrutiny. | ||
| And let's not forget the second rule for that bill was brought to the floor and voted on the very same day. | ||
| It was reported from the Rules Committee, exactly the kind of tactic our colleagues now are clutching their pearls opposing. | ||
| The fact is governing is hard. | ||
| The process is rarely a smooth one. | ||
| But the American people elected President Trump a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a Republican majority in the United States Senate and gave us unified government with a clear expectation for Congress to deliver on this agenda. | ||
| The Rules Committee will continue to use the tools at its disposal to facilitate the passage of historic legislation, just as our colleagues did when they were in charge. | ||
| And I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentleman from New York Reserves, gentlemen from Massachusetts is recognized. | |
| Yeah, I'm really confused, Mr. Speaker, after listening to the gentleman from New York complain about same-day authority. | ||
| And then in this bill, the Republicans put in same-day authority to be able to jam this tax scam through. | ||
| And the gentleman didn't answer my question. | ||
| I guess he's basically saying that, no, the Republicans will not commit to a CBO score for people to be able to know what, in fact, the bill will do and the impacts the bill will have. | ||
| Yeah, I mean, this bill is so awful, I can't imagine any Democrat voting for it, but it's so awful that I would like to think some Republicans who have a conscience wouldn't vote for it either. | ||
| And I would like to think it would matter to Republicans. | ||
| We now know that 14 million Americans will lose their health care. | ||
| What if that number went up to 20 million or 30 million? | ||
| I mean, is there any number that will be so high that maybe some Republicans might not pause and say, wait a minute, maybe we should not go down this road? | ||
| I mean, this is crazy. | ||
| And by the way, the difference in legislation that we're talking about, the Build Back Better bill, I would remind the gentleman, was about helping people. | ||
| This bill is about screwing people. | ||
| And there's a difference here. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 2753, the Hands-Off Medicaid and SNAP Act, which would block the Republican budget from cutting Medicaid or SNAP benefits and kicking people off these life-saving programs. | ||
| While we vote on two measures that would give even more power to big banks and large industrial polluters, Republicans are trying to jam their multi-trillion dollar budget scam down our throats in the dead of night by holding a hearing at 1 o'clock in the morning in the Rules Committee, hoping the American people won't notice. | ||
| Shame on my Republican colleagues. | ||
| Well, the American people are noticing, and they are pissed off that working families are going to have to foot the bill for massive tax cuts for multi-millionaires, wealthy heirs, and corporations. | ||
| Republicans claim they don't want to cut critical benefits for working people. | ||
| I've heard many of you do press conferences and sign out the letters. | ||
| Well, now here's the chance to prove it by voting for my amendment to bring up the Hands-Off Medicaid and SNAP Act. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote in the previous question without objection. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Boyle. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen from Pennsylvania is recognized. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the ranking member. | ||
| Late Sunday night, the House Budget Committee on which I serve as ranking member passed out, with only Republican votes, a draconian tax bill that cuts almost 14 million Americans off their health care and ensures a few million more lose their food assistance. | ||
| Now, you might ask yourself why. | ||
| The reason is in order to help pay for tax cuts for billionaires. | ||
| Interestingly, we were originally supposed to pass this on Friday, but on Friday around lunchtime, enough hardline conservative members on the budget committee withheld their votes and voted no, not because they objected to 14 million Americans losing their health care, not because they objected to millions more losing their food assistance, but because they looked at those numbers and said, well, that's a good start. | ||
| We want those numbers to go up. | ||
| We want even more people to lose their health care and more people to lose their food assistance. | ||
| So the vote went down Friday. | ||
| We come back Sunday night, and suddenly the vote is called again. | ||
| I raise the question as a parliamentary inquiry. | ||
| I simply asked what has changed. | ||
| What deals have been made? | ||
| The American people deserve to know. | ||
| We as members on both sides of the aisle deserve to know before casting our votes. | ||
| I was assured that nothing had changed. | ||
| There were no agreements made. | ||
| Then the very next Republican Speaker, who's one of those hardline conservatives, gave the game away and said he was flipping his vote because of the agreements that were made. | ||
| Backroom deals deny the American people the transparency that they deserve. | ||
| Now, one of the things we keep hearing on the other side of the aisle is that we need to get this done, otherwise, taxes will go up on the American people. | ||
| Apparently, the President said that today while he was here in this building. | ||
| It's completely false. | ||
| Just this past week, Democrats introduced an amendment that would ensure the extension of the tax cuts for every American making under a billion dollars. | ||
| Every Democrat voted yes. | ||
| Every Republican voted no. | ||
| So you see, this really is about the tax cuts for billionaires. | ||
| Now, the President has also said, and I quote, he would love and cherish Medicaid. | ||
| Well, my Republican friends have an opportunity, all of those included who have said that they would protect Medicaid, they have an opportunity to prove it. | ||
| Right now, at the well of the House chamber, is a discharge petition that would force a vote on my legislation, the Hands-Off Medicaid and SNAP Act. | ||
| It would stop permanently these outrageous cuts from happening. | ||
| It would preserve health care. | ||
| I yield a situation to the gentleman. | ||
| It would ensure these cuts do not happen. | ||
| Right now, we have 211 signatures, all from Democrats. | ||
| We just need a few Republican members to sign that discharge petition, and we will be able to love and cherish Medicaid as well as SNAP. | ||
| That's all it would take, just a few Republican members, to save health care for millions and millions of Americans and save food assistance for millions more. | ||
| I think it is clear, Mr. Speaker, the difference in the priorities between this side of the aisle and the other side. | ||
| It is the members on this side of the aisle that are fighting to save health care for the American people, and it is that side of the aisle who are fighting for the billionaire class. | ||
| With that, I yield back to the gentleman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves, gentlemen from New York, is recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, our friends on the other side of the aisle, they love to cherry-pick the facts when it comes to the timing of committee proceedings, especially in reference to the Rules Committee's upcoming meeting. | ||
| They bemoan the late start and the timing of tonight's meeting, yet they actively ensured one committee markup after another for the legislation before us tonight ran hours and hours, if not days, on end. | ||
| And why did those markups run as long as they did? | ||
| Because Democrats engaged in the legislative process, which is their right. | ||
| The same principle applies to the Rules Committee. | ||
| On this committee, we have a long tradition of meeting late into the evening to complete our work. | ||
| This isn't new, and it's not unique to our current majority. | ||
| It's simply how the legislative process operates when the House has its full agenda. | ||
| We need only look to the committee's operations under Democratic control to see a long history of meetings in the dark of night. | ||
| Under Democratic control of the Rules Committee, we've seen things like HJ Res 587, which the report was filed at 3.46 a.m. | ||
|
Late Night Work Ethics
00:15:47
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| HJ Res 481, the report was filed at 2.09 a.m. | ||
| HJ Res 597, the report was filed at 3.43 a.m. | ||
| HRES 903, the report was filed at 2.25 a.m. | ||
| And for HRES 445 in the 116th Congress, the committee adjourned at 12.20 a.m. | ||
| Late night sessions are not partisan anomalies meant to out and unique to the Democrats. | ||
| These are precedents that Democrats themselves have helped maintain for years. | ||
| So let's be clear. | ||
| This is the way the Rules Committee has operated when necessary, regardless of which party holds the gavel. | ||
| It's about getting the work done. | ||
| In fact, tonight, we may not be reporting in the dark of night at all, but rather as the new day has begun. | ||
| And I expect Mr. McGovern to take full advantage of our unlimited debate rules in the Rules Committee to make sure that that happens. | ||
| And I see my second sunrise in a couple of weeks here. | ||
| I invite my colleagues to set aside the theatrics and focus on the work at hand. | ||
| And I encourage my colleagues on the other side to prove me wrong. | ||
| But once again, my colleagues across the aisle are spreading and doing what they do best. | ||
| They spread misinformation and they try to sow fear into the hearts of the most vulnerable in this country about Republicans' work through the budget reconciliation process. | ||
| So let's set the record straight. | ||
| President Trump and House Republicans are working to strengthen and secure and sustain Medicaid. | ||
| Democrats, through their reckless spending and unwillingness to enact common sense guardrails themselves, have worked to undermine this critical program. | ||
| We are laser-focused on protecting the absolute most vulnerable among us, Americans with disabilities, pregnant women, children, our beloved seniors, by putting in place common sense guardrails to ensure that those truly in need always get the care that they deserve. | ||
| And that means making sure that precious Medicaid resources go to the living, breathing Americans who actually need the care, not bureaucratic bloat, fraud, or people that have come into this country illegally and have been put on this system. | ||
| We are also ensuring Medicaid's long-term sustainability by rolling back costly Biden-era regulations that are driving up the program's price tag by hundreds of billions of dollars. | ||
| Let's be clear: Medicaid should always serve American citizens first and foremost. | ||
| And that's why reinforcing citizenship verification, another common sense step that the American people believe in, not only protects the program but saves the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. | ||
| And yes, we are reintroducing Clinton-era work requirements. | ||
| One of the most popular things Bill Clinton achieved in his presidency, and he worked with Congress to get it done, was bringing common sense work requirements to social welfare programs. | ||
| It would only apply to able-bodied adults without dependents. | ||
| It's something that we should all be able to agree on. | ||
| If you can work, you should work. | ||
| It's a step that was once broadly bipartisan. | ||
| But today, our Democratic colleagues would rather let Medicaid spiral into insolvency with no solution in sight than support a basic principle that if you're able to work, you should. | ||
| Now, Mr. Speaker, we've heard noise from across the aisle, words like cruel and harsh and all of the hyperbole you could expect thrown around to score political points from their base. | ||
| But let me be clear, those labels belong not to those fighting for reform, but to those who would refuse common sense changes today and instead allow this critical safety net program to become fiscally unsustainable, leaving behind the very people that depend on it every single day. | ||
| If we want Medicaid to be there in its entirety for the next generation, for those that truly need us, that we need to be working for every day, we must act now. | ||
| House Republicans are committed to doing just that, and I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from New York Reserves, gentlemen from Massachusetts, is recognized. | |
| First of all, Mr. Speaker, can the gentleman name for me one meeting that the Rules Committee had when Democrats were in control, where the hearing portion began at 1 o'clock in the morning? | ||
| I didn't serve that. | ||
| But I thought you were intimating that that was the case. | ||
| I don't know of a single meeting where we began taking testimony and whatever. | ||
| We may have reported our rules late at night, but taking testimony. | ||
| And secondly, let me just say to the gentleman, with all due respect, I don't view it as theatrics to stand up for people's health care and food assistance. | ||
| I feel that that is my job. | ||
| And if he thinks that somehow that people are not going to be adversely impacted, read the CBO score, read the CBO score on the current draft of the bill. | ||
| Again, it's going to get worse on the current draft of the bill. | ||
| We're told that because of the changes in this bill and because of the inactions by Republicans, CBO estimates right now 14 million Americans will lose their health care. | ||
| That's not me. | ||
| That's the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. | ||
| Republicans rely on that. | ||
| Democrats rely on that. | ||
| And somehow that People aren't going to be adversely impacted by the cuts in nutrition. | ||
| I don't think you understand the nutrition title, if that's what you believe. | ||
| Under this bill, if a mother of a seven-year-old loses her job for whatever reason, she has three months to find a new job, otherwise she loses her food assistance. | ||
| So you've lowered the age of when work requirements are mandatory. | ||
| And it's a cruel thing to do because, I mean, this is about children. | ||
| And I don't know, I mean, but if you're a single parent and you've got a seven-year-old, by the way, some schools end the day at 2 or 2:30. | ||
| How do you pay for child care? | ||
| How do you try to make ends meet? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Summer vacation. | |
| You know, what about the summer vacation? | ||
| I mean, what about when school is not in session? | ||
| I mean, my Republican friends are so in the pockets of billionaires and the well-off and the well-connected. | ||
| I don't think they know what real life is like for so many people in this country, how difficult it is. | ||
| And when we talk about programs like SNAP, I have a news flash for you. | ||
| The majority of people on SNAP who are able to work work. | ||
| They earn so little, they still qualify for the benefit. | ||
| And by the way, the benefit is on average of about $2 per person per meal. | ||
| You can't buy a cup of coffee in the United States Capitol complex for $2. | ||
| You know, and then what my friends don't talk about is how they're shifting some of the cost burdens onto states. | ||
| And now all of a sudden, states are going to be required to come up with hundreds of millions and in some cases billions of dollars in order to prevent people from losing their food assistance. | ||
| Like, who does that? | ||
| Who does that all by giving tax breaks to billionaires? | ||
| It just makes no sense to me. | ||
| I mean, look, all we're asking for, and I think some Republicans may agree with me on this, all we're asking for is before you bring the bill to the floor, and I appreciate the gentleman saying that there'll be a CBO score by the time it gets to the Senate. | ||
| But, I mean, don't House members deserve to know what the hell they're voting on before they vote on it? | ||
| We ought to insist that we all go into this with our eyes wide open, that we know, in fact, what the impact is going to be on our constituents. | ||
| I don't think that that's a radical thing to demand or to ask for. | ||
| And yet, my Republican friends seem to think that that's unrealistic. | ||
| Yeah, this bill, it's going to take major changes for me to even take another look at this bill. | ||
| It's so the priorities don't represent my values. | ||
| We don't share the same values. | ||
| It's clear when I look at this bill. | ||
| But the bottom line is the process right now and what's relevant to this rule that we're debating right now. | ||
| I mean, you put in a same-day rule authority to expedite this so people won't even have adequate time to be able to find out how it impacts their constituents. | ||
| And with that, I reserve my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlemen from Massachusetts Reserves, gentlemen from New York is recognized. | |
| Well, we had to go and do a little research, but in the 110th Congress on August 1st, 2007, when considering H.R. 3162, the Democrats did indeed convene a rules committee meeting at 1 a.m. | ||
| And they gabbled out at 3.07 a.m. | ||
| So they've done exactly the same thing that you've heard the ranting and raving and the waving of arms about here today. | ||
| What's good for the goose is good for the gander, but rules for thee and not for me is typically the way this works. | ||
| We will do the work of the rules committee. | ||
| We will continue on To pass this legislation and deliver the real relief for working families in this country. | ||
| I mean, we've listened to a lot of rhetoric about how millionaires and billionaires, it sounds like Bernie Sanders is in the chamber, but really this is about the working people of this country. | ||
| And if we do nothing and the tax cuts expire in this country, it will be a $4.5 trillion tax increase on the American people. | ||
| It will cut the child tax credit in half. | ||
| It will cut the standard deduction in half that puts real money into the pockets of working families. | ||
| In my district, it's about $1,700 a month that the current Tax Cut and Jobs Act delivers. | ||
| We deliver even more in this reconciliation package. | ||
| That might not sound like a lot to some of the people on the other side of the aisle, but for my constituents, that's a couple of mortgage payments. | ||
| That means real relief for working families in Western New York. | ||
| But at this point, I have no further speakers if the gentleman's prepared to close. | ||
| You reserve? | ||
| I reserve. | ||
| First of all, Mr. Speaker, that's not the right way. | ||
| So I got to go back and look 20 years ago. | ||
| But I can tell you this: Democrats never, ever, ever did anything like you were doing here today. | ||
| Never. | ||
| Nobody remembers. | ||
| And I mean, I don't even remember what maybe you could invite us what the bill was. | ||
| But on a major budget reconciliation bill, you're jamming this through. | ||
| You're jamming, you know, it's going to add to the deficit. | ||
| It is going to throw people off of food assistance. | ||
| It's going to throw people off of health care assistance. | ||
| That's not me saying that. | ||
| That's the Congressional Budget Office. | ||
| Nothing, nothing like this has ever been done. | ||
| Nothing like this has ever been done. | ||
| And you're doing it with a straight face as if it's no big deal, as if if people lose their food assistance, who cares? | ||
| You know, and the gentleman talks about, you know, that if we don't do something, that taxes will be increased. | ||
| The reason why taxes are going to be increased is because when my friends passed this tax bill when Trump was last in office, they made all the tax cuts for middle-class families temporary. | ||
| They all expired. | ||
| But you know what they didn't make temporary? | ||
| The tax breaks for corporations. | ||
| Those are permanent. | ||
| And that says it all there. | ||
| That's the difference between the two parties. | ||
| Is that I don't know. | ||
| I think we have different priorities. | ||
| We have a different set of values. | ||
| And yeah, I am really deeply concerned about those who will go without food. | ||
| And I am deeply concerned about those who will go without health care. | ||
| Yeah, those are my priorities. | ||
| I'm sorry it makes the gentleman and the Republicans uncomfortable, but that's where I'm coming from. | ||
| I don't give a damn about whether Elon Musk gets another tax break or not. | ||
| Maybe my friends do because he poured so much money into the last campaign. | ||
| Again, that's why we need campaign finance reform. | ||
| We need to get this place to focus in on what regular people are concerned about, not what billionaires and corporations are concerned about. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, before Republicans try to cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits in the dead of night, I should also point out that they're giving gifts to big polluters in broad daylight. | ||
| And I ask unanimous consent to insert in the record a letter signed by nearly 100 public health and environmental organizations laying out the extreme risk of increased incidence of cancer and birth defects if SJ Res 31 is enacted. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| Mr. Speaker, the truth is that Republicans have betrayed the middle class of this country time after time after time. | ||
| And we're seeing that today with these CRA measures that uplift big banks and big polluters at the expense of our health, safety, and economic security. | ||
| I mean, does anybody think that big banks need more help? | ||
| That we want big banks to get even bigger? | ||
| We want big banks to swallow up community banks. | ||
| Like, I don't know, on what planet is that a good idea? | ||
| It's a good idea only in the Republican-controlled Congress here. | ||
| And we will see it the rest of this week, you know, Republicans' priorities all twisted as they jam through Trump's one big, awful tax scam. | ||
| The Speaker has ordered Republicans on the Rules Committee to meet at 1 o'clock in the morning. | ||
| That's in the middle of the night. | ||
| And again, here's what puzzles me. | ||
| We were supposed to meet at 12 noon yesterday. | ||
| And we're meeting at 1 o'clock in the morning instead. | ||
| And we know there are going to be changes. | ||
| They could have taken testimony and hearings from all the committees and waited to report out the rule until whenever they made their final deals with their members. | ||
| But they're deliberately choosing to meet at 1 o'clock in the morning. | ||
| I mean, on something this consequential, and I think the gentleman thinks it's a good idea. | ||
| He says that I will use my time and try to take every moment I can to make my points. | ||
| I could say to the gentleman, you bet your life I will be. | ||
| I'm going to be fighting like hell for the people of this country. | ||
| I'm not going to sit back, and I can say this for the other Democratic members and others who will come to testify. | ||
| We're not going to sit back and watch our constituents get screwed over. | ||
| We're just not going to do that. | ||
| So you could do it at 1 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the morning. | ||
| We're going to be there and we're going to stay there and we're going to offer our amendments and we're going to make our points. | ||
| And so I would urge my colleagues to be prepared to be there for a very, very, very long time. | ||
| And I hope that the gentleman could give us some assurance that unlike in the Agriculture Committee, where the chairman cut off debate and cut off amendments, even though there were many, many amendments that were pending, that we won't see the same thing happen in the Rules Committee. | ||
|
Protecting Americans from Rushed Regulations
00:05:19
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| Clearly, our debate on this bill is something Republicans don't want you, the American people, to see. | ||
| So I invite every American, every single American, doesn't matter if you're Republican, a Democrat, or Independent, someone who doesn't follow politics, to tune in, to tune into the Rules Committee. | ||
| It will be up on our website. | ||
| I'll be live streaming on YouTube. | ||
| It'll be on C-SPAN. | ||
| Hell, maybe even cable will carry us live. | ||
| But watch it. | ||
| Watch it. | ||
| And judge for yourselves what this bill means for you and your family and your community. | ||
| And you'll see how Republicans are gutting regular order to jam this thing through. | ||
| You'll probably see them walk in with a huge amendment at the last minute, one that could dramatically change the bill, including accelerating the timeline for kicking millions of people off of their health insurance. | ||
| And as soon as next year, people could start losing coverage. | ||
| That's what we're being told might be coming down the way. | ||
| And if today's rule passes, if the one that we're talking about right now passes, they'll be able to rush that newly changed bill to the floor just hours later, giving members and the American public zero time, zero time to read it or to review it. | ||
| So make no mistake, a vote for today's rule is a vote to give the Republican leadership a blank check to fast track Trump's one big, ugly bill through this House. | ||
| And here's what really gets me. | ||
| Members of the House Freedom Caucus have said over and over again that bringing a thousand-page bill to the floor without time to read it is corrupt and immoral. | ||
| They were the loudest voices demanding the 72-hour rule. | ||
| So let's see if they mean it. | ||
| Let's see if they actually mean what they say or if they fold under pressure. | ||
| So, Mr. Speaker, I urge every member of this House, every member of this House, to vote no on the PQ and hell no on this rule and no on the underlying legislation and to send a strong message that we reject this Republican obsession with screwing over middle class, the middle class, to give tax breaks to billionaires. | ||
| And with that, I yield back my time. | ||
|
unidentified
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Gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves, gentlemen from New York. | |
| The gentleman yields back. | ||
| The gentleman from New York is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I am prepared to close and I yield myself back the balance of my time. | ||
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unidentified
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The gentleman is recognized. | |
| We're here once again to protect Americans from the heavy hand of Biden-era regulations. | ||
| The slew of midnight rules forced on the American people by the last administration pose a direct harm to our nation's economy and its threatened jobs. | ||
| The pieces of legislation before us today under this rule are not filler, quite the opposite. | ||
| The resolutions passed by the Senate and here before the House are law-making exercises. | ||
| Democrats' dismissal of these CRAs speaks volumes as to their lack of care and compassion for the serious ramifications that the regulatory agenda has had on the economy, on consumer choice, and on the environment. | ||
| My Democratic colleagues certainly wouldn't want to focus our time today on these CRAs because they are part and parcel to dismantling the regulatory agenda that they had wedded themselves to for four long years under President Biden. | ||
| What was the result of their commitment in the Biden-era regulatory agenda? | ||
| $450 billion in new regulatory costs on the economy that may just be numbers on paper for a D.C. bureaucrat, but the amounts of jobs lost, manufacturing shuttered, and communities decimated for folks outside the Beltway is what it's really all about. | ||
| The CRAs before us will allow Congress and the Trump administration to continue its important work of reversing harmful regulations and unleashing the promise of the American economy. | ||
| I strongly support the rule before us today, and with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and I move the previous question on the resolution. | ||
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unidentified
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The gentleman from New York yields back. | |
| The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. | ||
| Those in favor say aye. | ||
| Those opposed, no. | ||
| In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask for the yeas and nays. | ||
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unidentified
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The yeas and nays are requested. | |
| Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. | ||
| A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. | ||
| Pursuant to clause 8 of Rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. | ||
| 12A of Rule 1, the chair declares the House in recess, subject to the call of the chair. | ||
| The House is in recess, but will return later to debate legislation that would repeal Biden administration regulations, including a rule expediting bank merger reviews and another seeking to overturn a rule limiting toxic air pollutants from industrial facilities. | ||
|
A Town Finds Common Ground
00:00:42
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unidentified
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Live coverage of the House continues here on C-SPAN when members return later today. | |
| In a nation divided, a rare moment of unity, this fall, C-SPAN presents Ceasefire, where the shouting stops and the conversation begins in a town where partisan fighting prevails. | ||
| One table, two leaders, one goal, to find common ground. | ||