| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
Diverting Funds from Barracks
00:02:18
|
||
|
unidentified
|
California. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Secretary Driscoll and General George, for being here today. | ||
| I really appreciate your time. | ||
| Secretary Driscoe, you know, diverting a billion dollars away from barracks, like sort of like a $30, $40 million parade. | ||
| You're being forced to make 8% cuts for projects, for pet projects that the Secretary and the President want. | ||
| And this is all happening while we're under a CR. | ||
| I'm kind of getting the impression that is the Army just flush with cash and got extra money to spend that it can give away? | ||
| You know, are we giving you too much? | ||
| And, you know, really, how is this? | ||
| I know it's kind of been answered already a little bit, but just to go more into depth, like, you know, our service members, how is this affecting the quality of life of our service members if we're moving this money away from the barracks? | ||
|
unidentified
|
You can watch the rest of this on our free C-SPAN Now video app as we take you to the U.S. Capitol, where the House is gaveling in. | |
| You're watching live coverage on C-SPAN. | ||
| The House will be in order. | ||
| The prayer will be offered by Chaplain Gibbon. | ||
| Would you pray with me? | ||
| Loving God, draw us nearer to you this day, that we may enjoy your loving tenderness and so be inspired to share both your grace and your mercy with those around us. | ||
| As sure and confident as we may be in our intellect and abilities, in your presence we are humbled to acknowledge how much more in your omniscience you know. | ||
| And yet you allow us our mistakes and missteps. | ||
| As you have forgiven us our faults, may we forgive others. | ||
| As strongly and passionately as we are in the positions we take, in your perfect will we are enlightened by your impartial embrace that receives us all despite our disparate leanings. | ||
| As you value our ardor, may we find it in ourselves to respect others. | ||
| As adamantly opposed as we are, not just in our politics, but our personalities, in your peace, a peace that passes our simple understanding, we are compelled to set aside our enmity and strive for amity as we seek to serve your people. | ||
|
Pledge and Purpose
00:08:23
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||
| Because you first loved us, may we love one another. | ||
| Live in us this day, O Lord, as we pray in your merciful name. | ||
| Amen. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceeding and announces to the House the approval thereof. | |
| Pursuant to clause one of Rule 1, the journal stands approved. | ||
| The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by the gentleman from New York, Mr. Morelli. | ||
| Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. | ||
| 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? | ||
| Speaker, I ask the animal's consent to address the House 11 for the project semi-related. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| On October 19, 2023, I gave a one-minute speech, which is sadly more true today than ever, with all deaths in Gaza being solely responsible to Hamas with the invasion and then using of children as human shields as directed by Iran, which must not have a nuclear weapon. | ||
| The enemies of civilization are gruesomely clear in their murderous intentions, as detailed in the Hamas Covenant of August 18, 1988. | ||
| Article 7, quote, the day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. | ||
| Then the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees. | ||
| There is a Jew hiding behind Iraq. | ||
| Come and kill him, end of quote. | ||
| The goal of Hamas financed by Iran is to murder all Jews worldwide. | ||
| It's fake news that they care about the Palestinian people. | ||
| Suffering by the Hamas-opressed people of Gaza is solely Hamas dictated, which uses Palestinians as human shields to be murdered. | ||
| In conclusion, God bless our troops as the global war on terrorism continues. | ||
| Donald Trump is reinstituting existing laws to protect American families through peace, through strength, revealing war Colonel Putin lies, insulting and mocking Trump with record drone attacks, murdering civilians. | ||
| And now 4,000 Soviet-built tanks have been destroyed by talented Ukrainians, 20 years of productions. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentleman from Massachusetts seek recognition? | |
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the Trump administration is going after the food budgets of regular people, canceling programs that improve access to nutritious locally grown produce. | ||
| And it's bad for consumers, it's bad for hungry people, bad for public health, and bad for farmers. | ||
| Last week, Trump doubled down on his cruelty, cutting the benefits for fruit and vegetables in the WIC program by two-thirds. | ||
| I mean, who does that? | ||
| WIC provides pregnant women, new moms, and young children with the nutritious food they need to remain healthy. | ||
| And the fruit and vegetable benefit has meant families can eat more nutritiously. | ||
| This budget would mean young kids get just $10 per month and breastfeeding moms would just see their benefits reduced by $13 per month. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, you've been to the grocery store. | ||
| $10 doesn't buy you a whole lot of nutritious food in Trump's economy. | ||
| I urge my Republican colleagues in Congress to do the right thing for once. | ||
| Reject Trump's budget, fully fund WIC to support pregnant women, new moms, and young kids. | ||
| Reverse the cuts to food programs and end hunger now. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the 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. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I rise today to honor an extraordinary leader, visionary, educator, and friend, David C. Munson Jr., on his retirement after eight transformative years as president of the Rochester Institute of Technology and over four decades in higher education. | ||
| Under President Munson's leadership, RIT soared into the top 100 national universities, doubled global learning opportunities, expanded PhD programs, and guided over $500 million in capital projects that have reimagined the student experience. | ||
| His visionary work has positioned RIT as a nexus of technology, design, and global impact. | ||
| Dr. Munson's legacy will continue to inspire generations at RIT. | ||
| I'm grateful for his friendship, unwavering commitment to creativity, and belief in the limitless potential of students and scholars alike. | ||
| I wish him and his wife Nancy all the best in his well-earned retirement. | ||
| With that, I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
For what purpose does the gentleman from Rhode Island seek recognition? | |
| Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 15th time to call on the Trump administration to honor its commitment to restore funding for life-saving food aid for children around the world. | ||
| This is plumping up. | ||
| This is used to treat malnourished children and get them back to health. | ||
| It saves millions of lives a year, or at least it did until the Trump administration cut off funding earlier this year. | ||
| Now, a couple weeks ago, Secretary Rubio was back here at the Capitol testifying to the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee, and he said that the Trump administration was going to restore funding for this emergency food aid. | ||
| He is the Secretary of State. | ||
| He is also the acting U.S. AID director. | ||
| He said that they are going to do it under oath. | ||
| So why haven't they? | ||
| As we speak, this is sitting in warehouses in the United States. | ||
| Production has virtually shut down while we wait for the administration to honor its commitment. | ||
| I will continue to speak on the floor every legislative day until the administration follows through on its word to save the lives of starving children around the world. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman's time has expired. | |
| For what purpose does the gentleman from Oregon seek recognition? | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I ask 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. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Oregon's Crater Lake National Park is a national treasure. | ||
| As a lifelong hiker and camper, I have deep affection for it, among other national parks. | ||
| During my high school and college years, road trips to national parks like Crater Lake were all I could afford, but they offered what they offered was priceless, awe, adventure, and connection. | ||
| For families across this nation, these parks provide an affordable way to explore, learn, and build lifelong memories. | ||
| But just as Oregonians are gearing up for a summer of enjoying our most treasured places, Trump is driving out the public servants who protect them. | ||
| Kevin Heatley, Crater Lake National Park Superintendent, has resigned. | ||
| Trump cut off half of his permanent staff, leading to unsustainable workloads and the deterioration of care that Crater Lake demands. | ||
| Experienced professionals are being driven out under this administration's corrosive leadership. | ||
| Our public lands deserve better. | ||
| Americans deserve better. | ||
| I will not stand by while Trump attacks our public lands. | ||
| We must protect our national parks and the public servants who protect them. | ||
|
House Resolution 458 Considered
00:15:48
|
||
| Hands off Crater Lake, hands off our national parks. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'd like to welcome all the students to your Congress. | |
| Thank you for joining us here today. | ||
| For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Minnesota seek recognition? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 458 and ask for its immediate consideration. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The clerk will read the resolution. | |
| House calendar number 30, House Resolution 458. | ||
| Resolve that at any time after adoption of this resolution, the Speaker may, pursuant to Clause 2B of Rule 18, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of the bill, H.R. 2483, to reauthorize certain programs that provide for opioid use disorder, prevention, treatment, and recovery, and for other purposes. | ||
| The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour. | ||
| Equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, or their respective designees. | ||
| After general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. | ||
| In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Energy and Commerce now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-4 shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as the original bill for purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions of the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| No further amendment to the bill as amended shall be in order except those printed in Part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. | ||
| Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report. | ||
| It may be offered only by a member designated in the report. | ||
| Shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. | ||
| Shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. | ||
| All points of order against such further amendments are waived. | ||
| At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the committee shall rise and report the bill as amended to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section two, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill. | ||
| H.R. 2931, to direct the administrator of the Small Business Administration to relocate certain offices of the Small Business Administration and sanctuary jurisdictions and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Small Business now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in Part B of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further 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 small business or their respective designees in two, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section three, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill. | ||
| H.R. 2966, to require the administrator of the small business administration to require an applicant for certain loans of the administration to provide certain citizenship status documentation and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Small Business now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further 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 small business or their respective designees in two, one motion to recommit. | ||
| Section four, upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill. | ||
| H.R. 2987, to amend the Small Business Act to require a limit on the number of small business lending companies and for other purposes. | ||
| All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. | ||
| The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Small Business now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. | ||
| The bill as amended shall be considered as read. | ||
| All points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. | ||
| The previous question shall be considered as order on the bill as amended and on any further 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 small business or their respective designees in two, one motion to recommit. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Minnesota is recognized for one hour. | |
| Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
| During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. | ||
| I ask for unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| We're here today to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2931, the Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 2966, the American Entrepreneurs First Act, H.R. 2987, the CEASE Act, which will be considered under a closed rule, and H.R. 2483, the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, to be considered under a structured rule. | ||
| One hour of debate each for H.R. 2931, H.R. 2966, and H.R. 2987 shall be equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Small Business Committee or their designees. | ||
| One hour of debate will also be provided for H.R. 2483 and shall be equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee or their designees. | ||
| The rule provides a motion to recommit for all four bills. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we're here to deliver on the Trump administration's agenda and solidify his executive actions with common sense legislation. | ||
| With Congresswoman Van Duyn's American Entrepreneurs First Act, we are going to help codify the work that the Small Business Administration is doing to ensure that businesses receiving federal benefits are 100% owned by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. | ||
| And businesses that employ illegal immigrants are ineligible for these funds. | ||
| This is part of our ongoing effort to stop subsidizing previous open border policies. | ||
| It makes sense that only law-abiding American citizens should have access to programs that American taxpayer dollars go towards. | ||
| We are also relocating SBA offices out of sanctuary cities and into places that do not limit their cooperation with federal agencies that are charged with immigration enforcement. | ||
| The SBA administrator announced that the agency would be relocating offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle and moving them to less costly and more accessible locations that better serve the mission and comply with federal immigration law. | ||
| With Congressman Finstead's bill, the Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, we are supporting this plan with legislation giving the SBA 120 days to deliver on this commitment and relocate those offices. | ||
| Sanctuary cities need to be held accountable and they need to see the consequences of their disregard for federal law. | ||
| And with Mr. Bresheen's CEASE Act, we are strengthening SBA's program by limiting the number of nonprofit small business lending companies licensed by the SBA to 16. | ||
| This will allow the agency to provide the necessary oversight to ensure that they are effectively serving the small business that Congress intended. | ||
| Finally, we're here to debate the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. | ||
| And thank you to Mr. Guthrie for introducing this important legislation. | ||
| This bill reauthorizes the 2018 legislation President Trump signed into law and strengthens it. | ||
| I am glad to say that across the country we are seeing a decline in overdose deaths. | ||
| But of course, the work is not over. | ||
| We want to make sure we are investing in those in overdose prevention and equipping communities to counter substance abuse disorders. | ||
| The Energy and Commerce Committee has taken a hard look at what worked best from the 2018 law and built off its success by continuing to provide resources for prevention, education, treatment, recovery, workforce, and law enforcement to help patients struggling with substance use disorder. | ||
| It ensures first responders are able to administer life-saving drugs, ensures HHS cannot require states to use one specific vendor over another, clarifies that substance abuse and mental health service administration's state and tribal opioid grants can be used for test strips, and requires that administration to identify and address serious mental illness. | ||
| This bill is part of President Trump and the Congressional Republicans' promise to stop the flow of fentanyl by securing our borders and then combat the crisis caused by these drugs in our communities. | ||
| President Trump has done his part to secure our border, and we will supply him with more resources to do so in the one beautiful big bill. | ||
| Through the Support Act, we will combat the existing opioid crisis in our communities. | ||
| I am proud to stand in support of these bills, and I look forward to this debate. | ||
| I hope my colleagues can stay focused on the topic in front of us today as we discuss these proposals that are important to the American families and taxpayers. | ||
| With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Minnesota Reserves, the gentleman from Massachusetts, is recognized. | |
| Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the gentlelady from Minnesota for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. | ||
| I yield myself such time as I may consume. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, last time we were here, House Republicans rammed through their latest GOP tax scam, a bill that would rip health care away from over 15 million Americans by slashing Medicaid and, let's be honest, likely Medicare. | ||
| And I'm sorry the gentlelady doesn't think that that's in the interest of the American people, but we on the Democratic side do. | ||
| We think when you're taking away people's health care in this country, it's a big deal. | ||
| This bill, this tax scam bill, would literally take food out of the mouths of kids, takes nutritious food from senior citizens and veterans, and for what? | ||
| To give massive tax breaks to billionaires and to add trillions, trillions of dollars to our national debt. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, their ugly big bill is a disgrace and it does not serve working people. | ||
| It serves the GOP's donors. | ||
| It is a scam, a handout to the rich paid for by nickel and diming moms and dads who are just trying to get by. | ||
| And even Elon Musk, even Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump's top advisors, called the Republican bill, quote, a disgusting abomination. | ||
| Let me repeat that, a disgusting abomination. | ||
| He said, quote, shame on those who voted for it. | ||
| You know you did wrong. | ||
| Now let that sink in. | ||
| Let that sink in. | ||
| Elon Musk, the man who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, is now saying members should be ashamed of themselves for voting for this disgusting bill. | ||
| Remember when Republicans were falling all over themselves, calling Elon a genius? | ||
| He could do no wrong? | ||
| I've got to be honest, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| It gives me whiplash. | ||
| I think I need a neck brace to deal with all these contrary quotations coming in. | ||
| And the icing on the cake, Mr. Speaker, is the number of Republicans who are now publicly claiming buyers' remorse for voting for this bill. | ||
| This is a tweet from one of our Republican colleagues from Georgia. | ||
| You've got to love this. | ||
| She says, quote, full transparency. | ||
| I did not know about this section on pages 278 to 279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years. | ||
| I adamantly oppose, I'm utterly opposed to this, and it is a violation of states' rights. | ||
| I would have voted no if I had known this was in there. | ||
| This needs to be stripped out of the bill, end quote. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this takes my breath away. | ||
| I mean, all my colleague from Georgia needed to do was to read the bill. | ||
| I know that's a tough thing to ask members of Congress to do, but read the damn bill. | ||
| And if she wasn't going to do that, if she was like our president who doesn't like to read and only gets his information from the TV, she could have tuned in to the Rules Committee meeting where for 20 hours, beginning at 1 a.m., beginning at 1 a.m., we debated not only this bill, but even this policy that she was concerned about. | ||
| In fact, I offered an amendment to strike the awful AI provisions from this bill. | ||
| We had a debate on it, and every single one of her Republican colleagues in the Rules Committee, every single one of them, voted against it. | ||
| And get this, and get this. | ||
| According to this article in the New York Times entitled, After Muscling Their Bill Through the House, Some Republicans Have Regrets, our colleague from Georgia wasn't the only Republican who didn't read the bill before voting to pass it. | ||
| Another one of our conservative colleagues from Nebraska admitted he did not know the bill makes it harder for the courts to hold the Trump administration officials in contempt for defying a court order. | ||
| And get this, he claims he would have voted against the bill had he known it was in the bill. | ||
| I mean, you can't make this stuff up. | ||
| And we had another conservative Republican colleague from Pennsylvania tweet, quote, so Elon Musk is right to call out the House leadership. | ||
| I wish I had a nickel for every time the Freedom Caucus sounded the alarm and nobody listened, only to find out the hard way that we were right all along, end quote. | ||
| Right all along? | ||
| I mean, from what he just said, you would have thought that he voted against the bill or that the entire Freedom Caucus voted against the bill. | ||
| But he voted for it, and so did the Freedom Caucus. | ||
| I think every Republican but one voted for the bill. | ||
|
Backbone Where?
00:07:39
|
||
| So here's the deal. | ||
| Republicans are really good about making statements and speeches, but that's about it. | ||
| But where is their backbone? | ||
| And if they believe some of this stuff is bad, why didn't they vote against the bill? | ||
| I mean, one by one, they caved. | ||
| The budget hawks wanted a bill that wouldn't add to the debt. | ||
| Well, this bill adds trillions to the debt, and they caved. | ||
| Moderates who said they wouldn't vote for a bill that slashes Medicaid and threw people off of health care. | ||
| Well, this bill did that. | ||
| And guess what? | ||
| They folded. | ||
| They folded. | ||
| Now, where I'm from in Massachusetts, that's what we call a cheap date. | ||
| Republicans from across the ideological spectrum caved and got nothing. | ||
| And they listened to Donald Trump. | ||
| They closed their eyes and they just voted for it without reading it, without a CBO analysis. | ||
| Whatever Trump wants, Trump gets. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, it's embarrassing. | ||
| It's embarrassing for this institution and it's embarrassing for our country. | ||
| It is making a mockery of this House of Representatives. | ||
| Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. | ||
| I thought all of us ran for Congress regardless of party to try to help people. | ||
| And what Republicans did a little over a week ago was about not only hurting people, but screwing them over. | ||
| And that's sad. | ||
| And then look at today. | ||
| Some of the bills at one time were bipartisan. | ||
| I mean, H.R. 2483 reauthorizes funding for programs that help communities fight the opiate crisis, something I support, something I voted for in the past. | ||
| You know, Mr. Speaker, over 20,000 lives have been lost in my home state of Massachusetts alone to this crisis over the past decade. | ||
| But in Massachusetts, we actually saw a 33 percent drop in fatal overdoses for the first time last year, showing that public investments that we all voted for, public investments in treatment and in prevention, are actually starting to make a real difference. | ||
| And so I am like horrified and I am outraged that Trump is actively dismantling our ability to respond to the opiate crisis moving forward. | ||
| The administration recently sent over more details about Trump's, quote, skinny budget, which proposes very large cuts to health programs that American families rely on. | ||
| And these include eliminating programs of regional and national significance at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, otherwise known as SAMHSA, which encompass nearly all programs aimed at substance use and mental health, including the ones in the bill before us today. | ||
| I mean, it is hard to take Republicans seriously when they are actively dismantling the very programs and the very agencies that this bill is trying to reauthorize. | ||
| I mean, if they were serious about this crisis, they would stop undermining the solutions. | ||
| I mean, I guess maybe the rationale for Republicans bringing this bill to the floor is to have some cover as Trump basically undoes all the programs that are authorized under this bill. | ||
| But what a cynical thing to do. | ||
| And it's going to cost lives. | ||
| I mean, this isn't a game we're playing, you know, and this really at this point shouldn't be about pleasing the guy in the Oval Office. | ||
| This should be about serving your constituents, you know, and supporting what is already working and showing some promise. | ||
| And then Republicans claim the other three bills in this rule support small businesses. | ||
| But you know what? | ||
| No surprise, they do the exact opposite. | ||
| Doge already shuttered an SB office in my district of Massachusetts, forcing a lot of rural small business owners to drive hours to get to the office in Boston. | ||
| Now, under this bill, if Republicans force the closure of the Boston office out of political spite, which they seem to be really good at, it will leave small businesses in Massachusetts with nowhere to turn. | ||
| But it's not just Massachusetts, it's a whole bunch of other states that will fall under these cuts. | ||
| It will also have disastrous long-term consequences for the rural entrepreneurs and working-class families in my home state who rely on the SBA to navigate federal assistance and recover from economic setbacks like the increased costs they're facing because of Trump's reckless trade war. | ||
| I mean, while we're having this debate and Trump's having tantrums day in and day out and tariffs this and tariffs that, you know who's paying the price? | ||
| Small businesses. | ||
| You know what's happening in this country? | ||
| People are beginning to get laid off. | ||
| And again, silence, silence from the other side. | ||
| Because let's be clear, Trump's tariff chaos does in fact punish small businesses the most. | ||
| And unlike the mega donors who bankroll Republican campaigns, small business owners can't hedge against the kind of volatility that we see playing out in the economy right now. | ||
| And every time Trump throws another tantrum on trade, Republicans are tossing small businesses into a tailspin with no warning, no help, and frankly no concern. | ||
| But maybe that's the point. | ||
| Republicans don't care about new small business entrepreneurs or those struggling or those people struggling with opiate addiction. | ||
| If they did, they would uplift successful programs and agencies like SBA or SAMHSA, not gutting them. | ||
| And unless you're a mega donor or a loyal mega mouthpiece, you do not matter to this Republican majority. | ||
| And what is happening here isn't just irresponsible. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it is immoral and it's a damn disgrace. | ||
| And I reserve the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves, gentlewoman from Minnesota, is recognized. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I'm just a little confused. | ||
| My colleague mentioned whiplash, and I'm feeling a little whiplash over here because Democrats liked Elon Musk, then they hated Elon Musk, and now they like him again. | ||
| I'm just a bit confused. | ||
| Want to make sure that maybe someone can clear that up for me because it goes back and forth, and I think feel like the whiplash is you know what? | ||
| I will yield one minute. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman is recognized. | |
| Okay. | ||
| But Mr. Speaker, it sure does feel like they're no longer that they are going back and forth on him and there's lots of whiplash going on. | ||
| So they need to make it clear because now they're quoting him on the floor. | ||
| And what's embarrassing really truly is that the Democrats adhere to their talking points and repeat them and repeat them and repeat them. | ||
| And this is a perfect example of where Democrats are spreading misinformation. | ||
| They want the public to believe that Republicans are cutting Medicare or Medicaid, excuse me, and we are not. | ||
| We are making sure it goes to those people who need it and we use every taxpayer dollar wisely. | ||
| That means we're making sure American tax dollars go to American citizens. | ||
| And that means strengthening the system so care can get to those who need it most and we weed out waste, fraud and abuse. | ||
|
Public Safety vs. Sanctuary Cities
00:02:50
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| Individuals who are suffering from substance addiction, like those we are working to help with the Support Reauthorization Act, are not subject to the work requirements in the one big beautiful bill. | ||
| And 11 Democrats voted for the Support Act coming out of committee. | ||
| And I think that we need to make sure that we are sticking to the facts instead of Democrat talking points. | ||
| And with that, I will yield three minutes to my colleague from Minnesota. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Minnesota is recognized for three minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my good friend and colleague from Minnesota for yielding. | ||
| I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill, H.R. 2931, the Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act. | ||
| Over the past four years, the Biden administration's open border policies have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to pour into our country. | ||
| Making matters worse, Democrat politicians in cities across our country have enacted sanctuary city policies that have further encouraged waves of illegal immigrants to come into our communities, circumventing federal law and raising serious public safety concerns. | ||
| Last November, the American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump with a clear mandate to secure the border and restore public safety in our communities. | ||
| And since taking office, President Trump has delivered on this promise. | ||
| Despite the incredible efforts by this administration to secure our border and remove criminal aliens from our country, Democrat mayors have doubled down on their failed sanctuary city policies that harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. | ||
| In my home state of Minnesota, the local SBA office is based in the city of Minneapolis, and it's responsible for serving all 87 counties throughout Minnesota. | ||
| For years, Minneapolis has passed several sanctuary city policies while at one point attempting to defund its own police department, further jeopardizing public safety. | ||
| My legislation, the Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, would require the Small Business Administration to relocate its offices out of sanctuary jurisdictions to better ensure resources benefit American small businesses and rural communities without being entangled in local policies that promote lawlessness. | ||
| Our small business owners and those who rely on the SBA for loans, disaster relief, and support deserve access to these services in a safe, secure environment. | ||
|
Blocking SNAP Cuts
00:13:38
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|
unidentified
|
This bill would codify two of President Trump's executive orders, protect SBA employees, and safeguard the entrepreneurs who fuel our economy. | |
| I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman from Minnesota yields back. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota, Reserve. | ||
| The gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized. | ||
| Yeah, Mr. Speaker, I think the idea that quoting somebody means that you like them is kind of absurd. | ||
| I quote Trump a lot, and I can assure you he's not anywhere on my top two millionth list of people that I like. | ||
| So in any event, earlier today, Mr. Speaker, I just, for the record, I want to point out that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office put out new estimates on the Republicans' tax scam, which shows that this bill is even worse than we thought, if that's even possible. | ||
| And I ask unanimous consent to enter the new CBO cost estimate into the record. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| Mr. Speaker, the document shows that their bill, the Republican bill, the bill that the gentlelady supported, will blow a massive hole in our deficit, costing taxpayers close to $3 trillion over the next decade. | ||
| Their bill, and here's what's particularly galling, would also kick more than 15 million people off their health care through devastating cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, including the millions of Americans who will lose coverage on the exchanges once Republicans let the premium tax credits expire. | ||
| This isn't me saying it. | ||
| This is the CBO saying it, that their bill is going to throw millions and millions of our fellow citizens off of their health care. | ||
| And they're doing it. | ||
| And they're going forward with it like it's no big deal. | ||
| At the same time, they're giving a tax break to billionaires. | ||
| And why, again, are they adding trillions to our debt and kicking millions off of their health care? | ||
| Again, to hand out $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, which overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly benefit billionaires, wealthy heirs, and corporations. | ||
| And it pains me to say that I agree with Elon Musk on some of his criticisms here, but the Republican tax scam really is a disgusting abomination. | ||
| And I would urge people who watch this debate: you know, don't take my word for it. | ||
| Don't take the gentlelady's word for it. | ||
| Actually, Google CBO. | ||
| Look up what the facts are. | ||
| And the facts, quite frankly, are damning. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Two weeks ago, House Republicans jammed through their multi-trillion dollar budget scam by a one-vote margin, a one-vote margin. | ||
| And now we're learning that some Republicans didn't even know what was in the bill, which is inexcusable. | ||
| But anyway, that's what they're claiming publicly. | ||
| Well, let me remind you: more tax breaks for billionaires, wealthy heirs and corporations, while lower-income Americans are made worse off through the largest cuts to health care and food assistance in our nation's history. | ||
| Our nutrition programs have this is the biggest cut to our nutrition programs in the history of our country. | ||
| Again, Elon Musk called this bill a disgusting abomination. | ||
| But it's not too late. | ||
| Republicans can still correct their grave injustice and vote to protect health care and SNAP for millions of Americans by voting 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 materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Without objection. | |
| And Mr. Speaker, to discuss that proposal, I'm happy to yield two minutes to the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Orszewski. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Maryland is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my friend and colleague from Massachusetts for the time and for offering this resolution, which is simple. | ||
| It would block any budget reconciliation language in the House or Senate that reduces Medicaid or SNAP benefits. | ||
| In other words, it would block any legislation that would unnecessarily increase human suffering, that would harm fellow Americans. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, this is day 152 of the 119th Congress, and American families have seen no relief. | ||
| Instead, this Republican majority is poised to make things worse through the reconciliation process. | ||
| In pushing $300 billion in cuts to food support, congressional Republicans will make groceries even more expensive for the 42 million families already struggling to put food on the table every day. | ||
| 80% of these households includes a child, a senior, a disabled person, or a veteran. | ||
| Let that sink in. | ||
| SNAP provides $6 a day in food assistance to hungry Americans. | ||
| It's a small amount, but it's enough, Mr. Speaker, to lift millions of Americans out of poverty and to create a foundation of health and well-being. | ||
| Just $6 a day can create a pathway to opportunity. | ||
| Republicans want to take food away from hungry people, not to balance the budget. | ||
| We know the bill actually increases the deficit by nearly $3 trillion. | ||
| And they're not doing it to better serve our veterans. | ||
| The bill actually reduces funding for our vets, too. | ||
| No, Republicans are doing this to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest of individuals and big corporations. | ||
| And if that's not enough, the House Republican bill slashes nearly every bit of Medicaid funding needed. | ||
| $1 trillion, taking away health care from 14 million Americans, including children, mothers, seniors, and low-income families. | ||
| Many will die. | ||
| And while a Senate colleague correctly pointed out this week that, yes, death is inevitable, we should not actively work to expedite it. | ||
| I would hope, I would pray, that we can all agree on that point. | ||
| We are public servants. | ||
| We're called to lead with compassion to feed the hungry and care for the sick. | ||
| There isn't a single member of Congress. | ||
| I yield an additional minute to the gentleman. | ||
| There isn't a single member of Congress who doesn't represent families who rely on SNAP or Medicaid to make ends meet. | ||
| It's simple. | ||
| These cuts will lead to suffering, and we must stop them. | ||
| I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that we can bring this important legislation to the floor. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman yields back. | |
| The gentleman from Massachusetts. | ||
| I reserve. | ||
| Reserve. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I was just thinking about what we are talking about, and the notion that my colleagues are really considering voting against the Support Reauthorization Act is baffling to me. | ||
| Really, I think it all shows that is that they hate President Trump and so much that they are willing to vote against legislation that would help communities combat opioid abuse. | ||
| They want to stick to their anti-Trump, anti-Republican talking points and avoid talking about the bills that are in front of us. | ||
| Now, I'd like them to try taking that message, the message that they refuse to provide legislation, that they perfuse to provide resources to their communities to combat opioid abuse. | ||
| I want them to try to take that back to their constituents. | ||
| This bill brings resources to our constituents to combat opioid abuse. | ||
| That's what we're talking about. | ||
| It is that simple. | ||
| You know, they can hate the president or they don't have to, but don't let these people facing substance addiction and our communities suffer for their talking points. | ||
| I reserve. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gentlewoman from Minnesota Reserves, gentleman from Massachusetts, is recognized. | |
| Mr. Speaker, let me just respond to the gentlelady by saying I don't know how Democrats are going to vote. | ||
| I think some will vote for the bill and some will vote against the bill. | ||
| But what people are really upset about is the fact that we're bringing a bill to reauthorize programs that as we speak, Donald Trump is cutting, and my friends on the other side of the aisle are saying not a damn thing. | ||
| So this is kind of a, this is what is, this is what the American people hate about Congress, is when members of Congress get up and say one thing and then do another thing. | ||
| He's trying to eliminate SAMHSA. | ||
| He's firing people as we speak. | ||
| I mean, every state is being negatively impacted by this. | ||
| I supported these programs and this reauthorization in the past. | ||
| I support the underlying programs. | ||
| But I'm just furious that as we're having this debate, making believe to the American people that somehow we're on their side, oh, that we're fighting substance use disorder, that we're fighting addiction and the opiate crisis, that we're really serious about this. | ||
| While we're having this debate, the President of the United States and this administration are gutting these very programs, and my friends are saying not a damn thing. | ||
| Maybe the gentlelady supports what the president is doing. | ||
| Maybe she supports cutting these programs. | ||
| But I don't. | ||
| I don't. | ||
| And if you truly support what these bills are authorizing, you would be screaming as loud as we are. | ||
| This is bad for our constituents. | ||
| This is bad for our country. | ||
| We have made progress in my home state of Massachusetts in reducing the number of opiate-related deaths. | ||
| And we could point directly to some of these programs that have made a real difference. | ||
| But as we are speaking right now, these things are being undermined. | ||
| And that is what has us so upset. | ||
| So, I mean, let's make no mistake about it. | ||
| We, in a bipartisan way, moved these programs forward in the past. | ||
| That's because we believed it was all real, that it wasn't fake, it wasn't show business. | ||
| What's happening here is not real. | ||
| And, Mr. Speaker, right now, I yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Seitz. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair, and the gentlewoman from Ohio is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Today I rise to talk about an issue that touches every community in this country, mental health. | ||
| More than one in five adults in the United States lives with a mental illness. | ||
| These are our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our family members. | ||
| And for many of us, the issue is deeply personal. | ||
| And whether you live in a big city or a small town, almost everyone has a person in their life that is struggling, and chances are you know someone who struggled or you could be struggling yourself. | ||
| In Ohio, we've seen just how urgent this crisis has become, where we only have about half of the mental health behavioral workforce that we need to meet the demand. | ||
| In fact, there's just one psychiatrist for over every 6,000 Ohioans. | ||
| And that's not just a workforce problem, that's a public health emergency. | ||
| The Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act would authorize hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed federal funding to address this crisis. | ||
| It also includes my bipartisan legislation, the Mental Health Improvement Act, which provides tens of millions of dollars annually to expand our behavioral health workforce, helping to train, recruit, and retain mental health professionals across the country. | ||
| It's a common-sense solution that will bring resources directly to communities like mine and yours, Mr. Speaker, helping to address addiction, reduce suicide, and ensure more Americans get the care they need when they need it. | ||
| But it's important that this program and others that are included in this bill actually reach the communities who desperately need assistance. | ||
| And that's why I urge my colleagues to not only pass this bipartisan legislation, but to also continue to advocate for its implementation. | ||
| Just a few weeks ago, I visited a federally qualified health center in my district. | ||
| It's called the I Promise Health Quarters and supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation. | ||
| And in meeting with the behavioral health services there, they said they don't have enough people to work for the need that is in our community. | ||
| And this bill would be able to help it. | ||
| And while we have worked and come up with a serious solution to this crisis, the administration has proposed cuts and fired hundreds of workers at agencies that are supposed to implement these very programs. | ||
| This is unacceptable, undermining the Medicaid program and getting people kicked off so they can't even support this really great underlying bill because of the funding mechanisms. | ||
| This is unacceptable. | ||
| And this is why we must show the American people that when we put partisanship aside and put people first, we can deliver meaningful results. | ||
| We need to put our money where our mouths are. | ||
| We need to put programs in place that will help our citizens save lives and keep our communities safe. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I yield back the balance of my time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman yields back. | |
| The gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves, the gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I know that my colleagues on the other side have been using the same anti-Trump, anti-Republican talking points for months and months. | ||
| And I understand that they don't like what the House Republicans are doing and they don't like what the President is doing, but the American people do. | ||
| Poll after poll is showing that an increasing number of people now believe this country is heading in the right direction. | ||
|
Worst Calls for a Police Officer
00:03:16
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| Erasmus and reports survey shows that this is the first time in 20 years that the majority of respondents have felt that way. | ||
| So go ahead and vote against these things, and these things will increase work to stop the opioid crisis, curb wasteful spending of the American taxpayer dollar, and address illegal immigration. | ||
| But know that it will be a vote against the will of the American people. | ||
| And I would like to yield two minutes to another colleague of mine from Minnesota. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman from Minnesota is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| This is an important topic. | ||
| As a former police officer in Duluth, Minnesota, one of the worst calls you can get is an overdose. | ||
| Because when you go there, individuals deceased, you make sure that it was an overdose, that nothing else took the life of that individual. | ||
| And then you have to formulate a plan on how you're going to notify mom or dad or the next of kin. | ||
| That is the most gut-wrenching thing a law enforcement officer can do. | ||
| It's like rock slag. | ||
| Very hard to do that. | ||
| To knock on that door. | ||
| You are about to give their loved one the worst news ever. | ||
| You knock on that door and they open the door. | ||
| They see a police officer in full uniform. | ||
| They know something is up. | ||
| And then you have to tell them. | ||
| And you have to be straight up with them that their son or daughter or their loved one died. | ||
| And the first question is how. | ||
| Mr. So-and-so, Mrs. So-and-so, we believe it was a drug overdose. | ||
| The toxicology tests will confirm, but we believe it was a drug overdose. | ||
| And then, all holy, you know what breaks out in the House. | ||
| From crying to tears to frustrations at the individual that delivered the worst news in their lifetime. | ||
| They never forget that police officer. | ||
| What he or she looked like, the demeanor he or she had, what they smelled like, what time of a day it was, how hard the knock was, how many times you rang the doorbell. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it's tough. | ||
| This is a very good bill to stop drug overdose. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman yields back. | |
| The gentleman from Minnesota Reserves, the gentleman from Massachusetts, is recognized. | ||
| So, Mr. Speaker, just for the record, I mean, again, what we are objecting to is the fact that all the programs that are contained in this bill that are being authorized are being gutted by this administration, and my friends are saying nothing about it. | ||
|
Tax Hike Prevention Failed?
00:15:54
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| And that's the ultimate kind of cynical maneuver here. | ||
| I mean, this administration is cutting money for first responder training, cutting money for pregnant and postpartum women, for programs to help prevent children from going down the road to addiction, cutting programs to track opioids, cutting comprehensive opioid care centers. | ||
| They're proposing that they're totally eliminated. | ||
| So, I mean, we're having this debate. | ||
| Well, as we speak, they are gutting these programs, and my friends are saying nothing. | ||
| Like, no, everything's great. | ||
| Give me a break. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, at this point, I'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico. | ||
| No, no, no. | ||
| I'll get it in my hand right here. | ||
| Two minutes to the gentleman from California, Ms. Kamala Giardov. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentlewoman from California is recognized for two minutes. | |
| Oh, thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I want to thank my colleague from Massachusetts. | ||
| You know, I rise in strong opposition to this rule and to the divisive, destructive bills that it brings to the floor, especially H.R. 2931, the so-called Save the SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, because in reality, this bill doesn't save anything. | ||
| It continues to eviscerate small businesses in order to benefit the greediest, the biggest corporations and their CEOs who don't even need the Small Business Association. | ||
| But you know who does? | ||
| Small businesses who just want customers, employees, and the chance that SBA affords them to attain success. | ||
| No, this bill actually punishes small businesses and immigrant communities to score cheap political points. | ||
| Forcing the SBA to close or relocate offices in cities like Los Angeles, my home, simply because we refuse to bend the knee to the president and to MAGA Republicans' anti-immigrant agenda is about retaliation, not good governance. | ||
| Immigrants start businesses, and you know what? | ||
| They hire other immigrants. | ||
| And you know who benefits? | ||
| Everyone. | ||
| Because they are paying taxes, they are hiring our neighbors, they are delivering us service, they are growing our economy. | ||
| LA is home to over 244,000 businesses. | ||
| So, is the goal for this administration to shut all those businesses down? | ||
| Red businesses, blue businesses, independent businesses, because there's a problem with LA because they don't like immigrants. | ||
| Businesses like Doolands, a family-owned business in my district that's been open for 30 years. | ||
| And after the LA urban fires, they fed victims. | ||
| They need SBA. | ||
| They deserve SBA, as do the millions of small businesses like them. | ||
| And this bill gives them the finger on top of the chaos of the taco taxes. | ||
| So I am urging a vote no on the rule and the cruel, unnecessary legislation that it brings forward. | ||
| This is an alternate reality this floor when I'm hearing from Republican colleagues who are not talking at all about the millions of Americans that are going to be harmed by these destructive bills. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentleman's time is expired, the gentleman yields back, the gentleman reserves, the gentleman from Minnesota is recognized. | |
| I'm prepared to close. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The gentlewoman is reserves. | |
| The gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I know the general lady doesn't want me to talk about Elon or what Elon said, but we're going to talk about it anyway. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, as Elon Musk said, Trump's one big beautiful GOP tax scam is a, quote, disgusting abomination. | ||
| Well, let me break it down for you and for the American people. | ||
| Ten of the most egregious abominations in this bill. | ||
| One, the GOP tax scam is a massive giveaway to the wealthiest in our country. | ||
| And we're talking about investment and hedge fund managers paying a lower tax rate than regular income earners like school teachers or firefighters. | ||
| And it would cut taxes for the top 5% of taxpayers while reducing critical resources for the poorest households, setting off what would be the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Two. | |
| Two, Trump's bill guts Medicaid and likely Medicare too. | ||
| If this bill is signed into law, we will expect to see widespread hospital closures and 15 million individuals, 15 million individuals, including sick children, seniors, and the disabled, could lose their health care coverage. | ||
| Three, it raises costs for people on individual health insurance plans. | ||
| Republicans, under the radar, tweaks to the Affordable Care Act, could increase health insurance premiums by hundreds of dollars and force tens of thousands of people out of the marketplace. | ||
| Four, this bill attacks food stamps. | ||
| Millions will lose access to their snap benefits, taking food off the plates of hungry families, seniors, and veterans. | ||
| Five, it terminates the IRS direct file program, a successful free tax filing service that helped over 140,000 people file their taxes in 2024. | ||
| Six, it increases fees on asylum seekers and dumps billions into Trump's mass deportation efforts. | ||
| Seven, and get this, Republicans' bill is great for big oil and gas. | ||
| It turns over millions of acres of public lands to big corporate drillers and would allow them to pay to get their projects rubber stamped without any input from the public. | ||
| Eight, it guts green energy subsidies, including investments in renewable energy projects that are already underway. | ||
| Nine, it blocks state AI regulations and a giveaway to big tech, completely trampling over state legislators. | ||
| Ten, and it scraps a nearly a century-long tax on gun silencers. | ||
| Like, who does that? | ||
| Who does that? | ||
| Truly horrendous. | ||
| We have a gun violence epidemic and the Republicans want to make it easier for dangerous people to access deadly gun attachments. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, clearly this tax scam bill is no good and that this is just the tip of the iceberg and I reserve my time. | ||
| The gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves, the gentlelady from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to clarify a little thing. | ||
| You know, my colleague continues to talk about the tax bill, which is not actually in front of us right now, which is we are talking about different things, but I do feel the need to address that in that tax bill that he is talking about, in the reconciliation bill, that he trashes and says that it is tax breaks for billionaires. | ||
| I just want to use my district as an example. | ||
| In my district, in the 7th District of Minnesota, this bill, the reconciliation bill that he opposes, would prevent a 25% tax hike for most people in my district, where the average income is $70,000, not billionaires, $70,000. | ||
| It also increases the standard deduction. | ||
| It increases the child tax credit. | ||
| It helps small businesses through the $199.8 deduction. | ||
| So this is a solid tax bill. | ||
| We looked at what we can do to help the average citizen in the country, and we made sure that it was a solid tax bill. | ||
| And so I just wanted to make sure that we are correcting some of the talking points that the Democrats are using, because this does provide tax breaks for the middle income. | ||
| And with that, I reserve. | ||
| The gentlelady from Minnesota Reserves, the gentleman from Massachusetts, is recognized. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, let's talk about people in the gentlelady's district in Minnesota. | ||
| And I point this out because I'm learning that a lot of Republicans didn't read what was in the bill. | ||
| So let me just provide some information for her. | ||
| Under this bill, 5,800 people would lose coverage under the Affordable Care Act in her district alone. | ||
| 15,367 in her district alone would lose Medicaid coverage. | ||
| 21,167 people in her district alone would lose their health insurance outright. | ||
| I mean, really? | ||
| I mean, is that what representation is all about? | ||
| Please, that is what is in this bill that most of you never read. | ||
| I now yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico, Ms. Stansbury. | ||
| The gentlelady from New Mexico is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| You know, I find it laughable that for the last several decades, the GOP has branded themselves as the party of fiscal responsibility and economic development when they are trying to pass a bill right now that would blow a hole through the deficit in $37 trillion over 30 years while they are trying to gut the infrastructure that helps small businesses survive. | ||
| They've attacked the Small Business Administration. | ||
| They've got a bill on the floor this week that would take SBA out of our communities. | ||
| They slashed the New Mexico Minority Business Development Agency. | ||
| We're talking about millions of dollars in lost revenue. | ||
| They've paused JobCorp and are going to cut it in communities across the country. | ||
| They've gutted funding for NGOs and paused funding on the IRA, and they are trying to directly attack our small businesses. | ||
| Now, when I think about the impacts of these cuts, I cannot do so without thinking of John Garcia, who is the director of SBA for the last eight years, a Vietnam veteran who has dedicated 40 years of his life to ensuring that our communities and our veterans have the resources they need to thrive. | ||
| And yet, Doge didn't care. | ||
| Elon Musk didn't care because he is one of those federal employees who just a few months ago was planning to do an expansive economic development plan across the state of New Mexico when he received the fork in the road letter. | ||
| These are real people's lives. | ||
| And you all are standing around here clowning us, pretending like you actually care about the American people and the economy and the deficit. | ||
| And it's just a lie. | ||
| You're running a scam on the American people. | ||
| You're running a scam on yourselves and you're hurting real people. | ||
| And I stand against this rule and the bill that it would advance. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentlelady from New Mexico yields back. | ||
| Gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves. | ||
| The chair would remind that all remarks are to be made to the chair. | ||
| The gentlelady from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And again, I always have to take the opportunity to correct things. | ||
| What we are doing in this bill with Medicare or in the reconciliation bill, because this bill in front of us is not what they're talking about because they have digressed into Democrat, anti-Trump, anti-Republican talking points. | ||
| But I do have to make a few things clear. | ||
| With the Medicaid in the reconciliation bill, we have for able-bodied individuals without dependents, there is a work requirement. | ||
| That work requirement could also be schooling or it can be community engagement. | ||
| We will be removing illegal immigrants who should not be on Medicaid. | ||
| We also are looking at that waste, fraud, and abuse, those items, and those people that will be removed should not have been on Medicaid in the first place. | ||
| So they shouldn't have been there anyway. | ||
| They shouldn't have been on the rules. | ||
| So it is not, we are not removing people that need Medicaid because those people who need it will be getting it. | ||
| It's that work requirement. | ||
| It's the illegal immigrants and those who should not have been on it in the first place. | ||
| And with that, I reserve. | ||
| The gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized. | ||
| Yeah, well, first, let me just say to the gentlelady that, according to the CBO, undocumented immigrants are not receiving federal funds for Medicaid. | ||
| So, I mean, read CBO. | ||
| I mean, don't listen to your Republican talking points. | ||
| Actually, read the stuff that we pay people to provide us the information to make sure we have the facts. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, these bills are not standalone ideas. | ||
| They're part of a larger Republican playbook, one that protects the powerful and punishes the rest. | ||
| More tax breaks for billionaires, more crumbs for working people, more favors for Wall Street, more struggles for Main Street, more cruelty toward the vulnerable, more indifference to anyone who isn't writing a campaign check. | ||
| We have never seen pay to play as much as we have seen in this Congress and in this administration. | ||
| This isn't governing. | ||
| It is greed. | ||
| It is corruption and cruelty masquerading as policy. | ||
| And the American people deserve a hell of a lot better than this dark vision. | ||
| The idea that you're going to take health care away from people is unconscionable. | ||
| And you do so with a straight face is unconscionable. | ||
| This big, ugly bill is a disgrace today for taxing small businesses and your attack programs that help combat the gentleman from Massachusetts in this country. | ||
| Vote no. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| The gentleman's time has expired. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized. | ||
| May I inquire, Mr. Speaker, how much time I have left? | ||
| Or how much both sides? | ||
| The gentlelady has 14 and a half minutes. | ||
| Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I'd actually like to, Mr. Speaker, take an unorthodox step and associate myself with the remarks of one of my Democrat colleagues from New Mexico in the Rules Committee. | ||
| I guess it was last night. | ||
| What's astonishing is that my Democratic colleague finally admitted what we've been telling the American people for weeks. | ||
| And as we mentioned, we were talking about the illegal immigrants. | ||
| You know, in light of the CBO score, that 1.4 million legal, illegal immigrants are indeed on the rolls of state health care systems. | ||
| Now, our colleague tried to take us down a rabbit hole, and she ended up twisting herself in knots to find the terminology to aid her in the talking points. | ||
| The latest argument, apparently to hide the fact that illegal immigrants are accessing Medicaid, is that they are only accessing state health systems, not the Medicaid program. | ||
| But I'd like to point out in a news flash, Medicaid is a state-administered program that supports state health systems. | ||
| And don't take it from me, let me quote the Congressional Research Service. | ||
| Medicaid is a joint federal-state program. | ||
| The federal government requires states to cover certain mandatory populations and benefits, but allows states to cover their other optional populations and benefits. | ||
| Due to this flexibility, there is a substantial state variation in factors such as Medicaid eligibility, covered benefits, and provider payment rates. | ||
| In addition, several waivers and demonstration authorities and statutes allow states to operate their Medicaid programs outside of certain federal rules. | ||
|
Defending Medicaid Funding
00:03:58
|
||
| Now, even Democrats are admitting that Medicaid dollars are being used, are being used to benefit illegal immigrants, and that's what we are trying to stop. | ||
| Draining this program of funds that are intended to help American citizens in need. | ||
| I reserve. | ||
| And, Mr. Speaker, as expected, my colleagues are unable to focus on the task at hand. | ||
| Instead, they want to continue their fear-mongering and falsehoods about what is in the One Big Beautiful bill. | ||
| For the record, again, it does not cut Medicaid for any U.S. citizen who needs it. | ||
| It does strengthen the system and make sure it benefits the people who really need it. | ||
| We need to be responsible to the taxpayers, and we are going after waste, fraud, and abuse. | ||
| And I will say it again: anyone who needs Medicaid will have it. | ||
| I reserve. | ||
| The gentlelady has the only time remaining. | ||
| Oh, you're out of time. | ||
| I'm sorry, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I didn't understand that he was out of time. | ||
| Does the gentlelady yield? | ||
| No, I will continue my closing statement. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
| Recognized. | ||
| Gentlelady from Minnesota. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You know what? | |
| I'll reserve. | ||
| Why can't I? | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota has the only time remaining. | ||
| Oh, I apologize, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I understand now. | ||
| He has no time, so you won't be doing a closing. | ||
| Closing. | ||
| I would like more time. | ||
| The gentlewoman is recognized for her closing statement. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And I apologize for that. | ||
| I was not clear. | ||
| I assumed he had a few minutes left. | ||
| Where's my phone? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah. | |
| There it is. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And as expected, my colleagues deviated completely from the task at hand we had today. | ||
| And instead, like I said earlier, they wanted to continue these attacks on one big, big, beautiful bill. | ||
| And I have mentioned repeatedly that it does, Medicaid is not cut for those who need it. | ||
| And we are ensuring that American taxpayer dollars are going to help American businesses. | ||
| The American Entrepreneur First Act does not prevent people from with temporary visas or other legal immigrant statuses from holding jobs at American businesses or from owning their own small businesses. | ||
| It just says that if you want support from American tax dollars, you need to be an American citizen or a lawful permanent resident. | ||
| And the Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act further supports that mission, a mission that the majority of Americans support to end illegal, pro-illegal immigration policies by showing these cities that the SBA is serious and is going to move its offices if sanctuary cities do not start following federal law. | ||
| And here, we are here to further the great work that is being done by our communities to put a stop to the terrible overdose and substance abuse issues in this country through the Support Act for Patients and Community Reauthorization Act. | ||
| Excuse me. | ||
| I do not believe that there is a person in this chamber who does not see this as one of the most serious issues facing our nation today. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. | ||
| With that, I yield back the balance of my time and I move the previous question. | ||
| The gentlewoman from Minnesota Yields, the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. | ||
|
Debates Unfolded
00:04:05
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||
| Those in favor say aye. | ||
| Those opposed, no. | ||
| In the opinion of the chairs, the ayes have it. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I ask for a recorded vote. | ||
| Yays and nays, I'm sorry. | ||
| 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 the Rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. | ||
| Pursuant to Clause 12A of Rule 1, the Chair declares the House at recess for a period of less than 15 minutes. | ||
|
unidentified
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Today in the House, members are considering legislation to update and reauthorize opioid abuse treatment and prevention programs, signed into law by President Trump during his first term in 2018. | |
| Later this week, lawmakers will consider several small business-related measures, including one to remove and relocate small business administration offices from sanctuary cities. | ||
| Watch live coverage of the House when members return here on C-SPAN. | ||
| Mr. President, no doubt about it. | ||
| This is today's historic in many ways. | ||
|
unidentified
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The proceedings of the United States Senate are being broadcast to the nation on television for the first time. | |
| This week, we mark the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Senate's first live television broadcast on C-SPAN 2. | ||
| Join us as senators take to the floor to reflect on this landmark moment in American democracy. | ||
| Thanks to C-SPAN 2, this public service allows our constituents to see the swearing in of newly elected members, watching all-night sessions during voter mask, and tune in to history being made. | ||
| That's why on its 39th birthday, Senator Grassi and I wanted to highlight how important it is for all television providers, including major streaming services like YouTube TV, owned by Google, and Hulu Plus Live TV, owned by Disney, to provide the American public with C-SPAN and the opportunity to see their government work on the Senate floor. | ||
| C-SPAN does not receive one penny of taxpayer dollars. | ||
| It's funded primarily from satellite and cable providers. | ||
| We're at a different stage in our history, and a lot of people are seeing their news this way, so we need to expand it and make sure we're on all of those platforms, as well as the ones we already are on. | ||
| So thank you again to Senator Grassley for working with me to highlight C-SPAN's critical role. | ||
| And thanks to everyone who has had a hand in C-SPAN's success. | ||
|
unidentified
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Happy birthday. | |
| C-SPAN 2, 39 years of bringing the U.S. Senate live into homes across the country, thanks to the support of our cable partners. | ||
| Together, we bring you democracy unfiltered. | ||
| Democracy. | ||
| It isn't just an idea. | ||
| It's a process. | ||
| A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. | ||
| It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. | ||
| Democracy in real time. | ||
| This is your government at work. | ||
| This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered. | ||