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▶ 0:03:50you ready Hey listen before we start
▶ 0:04:34the committee will now come to order today we'll proceed with the consideration of the fiscal year 2025 concurrent budget resolution I want to thank the ranking member my friend Mr Bole for working with me to develop a structure for this markup that closely follows what we've done in the past our goal is to have a markup in which both sides will have uh the equal opportunity for debate uh to debate the framework this 25 budget resolution and uh I want to thank everybody in advance
▶ 0:05:04for their cooperation consistent with the agreement that I have with ranking member uh Bole who is Riding High after the success of his Fighting Irish and the Philadelphia Eagles um uh we uh we have a list of things that he has not objected to and these are again guide guidelines that we've used in the past uh uh for s hearings the ranking member and I have each have five minutes for an opening statement
▶ 0:05:35members will then each be recognized for five minutes to make opening statements after opening statements we'll have up to an hour for a technical and factual question and answer session with the majority staff on the budget resolution the document will be considered as read and open for Amendment at any point the Amendments considered by the committee will uh be those submitted pursuant to the agreement I made with Mr Bole the Amendments will be organized into two tiers tier one and two debate
▶ 0:06:05time for tier one the tier one amendments will be limited to 15 minutes debate time for tier two amendments will be limited to 12 minutes debate time will be evenly divided between the sponsor only a government uh somebody in the federal government could have come up with these rules Ralph but I'm going to keep reading them the proponent of the amendment will have one minute reserved to close to accommodate floor votes later in the day the chair may be authorized to declare recess at any time the committee roll any requests
▶ 0:06:35for a roll call vote okay like to thank everybody again for joining us here today as we undergo the most important duty of the committee and in accordance with the Congressional budget Act of 1974 the consideration of the annual concurrent budget resolution now I'd like to yield myself uh five minutes for an opening today we will deliver on the people's mandate by advancing the fy2 budget resolution
▶ 0:07:06to restore the fiscal health of our great nation by reigning in Reckless spending and reigniting economic growth in addition we will provide critical resources to our commanderin-chief to secure our border strengthen our military and provide for the common defense this budget resolution provides the fiscal framework for what will be one of the most most consequential pieces of legislation in modern history and the principal legislative vehicle for delivering
▶ 0:07:36on President Trump's America First agenda the era of wasteful woke and weaponized government is over this balanced budget resolution will achieve the following objectives to make America prosperous again we will provide tax relief for working families and small businesses who've suffered through one of the worst cost of living CR IES in our nation's history we will reverse the Biden Harris administration's whole of government assault
▶ 0:08:06on domestic energy which will bring down prices for consumers breathe life back into our economy and reestablish American Energy dominance we will put an end to the administrative State and the barrage of burdensome regulations that are crushing our small businesses and compromising our freedoms we will re in The Reckless spending that Lit the fuse on inflation and record interest rates weakening our economy and pushing our nation to the brink of a debt crisis
▶ 0:08:36we will rightsize this bloated bureaucracy we will root out the massive waste and fraud in the federal government and to make America safe again we will provide critical resources to our border patrol agents and to our troops to strengthen our military secure our border and bolster our commander-in-chief in his first and most important job to provide for the common this reconciliation process is not just an exercise
▶ 0:09:07in matching revenues with outlays more importantly it's reconciling the difference between the American people's interest expectations and values and a federal government that has lost its way forgotten who it serves and too often has failed to Faithfully fairly and efficiently execute the laws of the land and what we learned from November's election and I think what is abundantly clear to all the American people want their
▶ 0:09:37country back they want normal they want to return to Common Sense the American people want their streets safe their border secure their enforce they want their country to be secure their commanderin-chief to be strong and they want to be respected on the world stage again they want their troops trained not indoctrinated and they want a military ready to fight and win Wars not
▶ 0:10:07focused on the latest Progressive cause celeb they want an opportunity for a better job a bigger paycheck and a better quality of life for their families they want to keep more of their hard-earned money to pay their bills and provide for their families and maybe every now and then take their spouse out for dinner they want their government to Ste their tax do responsibly they want an efficient effective and accountable government they want to help people they want to
▶ 0:10:37help their fellow Americans in their time of need but they expect their fellow Americans when they're able to help themselves we have an unprecedented opportunity and I believe a sacred obligation to meet this moment with the urgency it demands now more than ever is the time for republicans in Congress both House and Senate to demonstrate the courage of their convictions take bold action to meet this historic moment this budget
▶ 0:11:07resolution is more than numbers on a ledger it's a blueprint for restoring America's security prosperity and leadership in the world it's a promisory note for our children to preserve the land of liberty and Opportunity by safeguarding it from an unwieldy government and the unbridled spending taxing and regulating that threatens to destroy it together under the leadership of President Trump we will Usher in the Golden Age of America
▶ 0:11:38and with that I yield five minutes to my friend and ranking member Mr Brenan Bo thank you uh chairman Arrington um there have been areas where we have worked hard and achieved common ground this budget is not one of them let's be clear this plan is a republican betrayal of the middle class it does not support hardworking Americans it undermines them instead of investing
▶ 0:12:08in Working Families House Republicans have crafted a plan that takes from working Americans to give to their billionaire donors the facts speak for themselves this budget rips Health Care away from Millions while handing out $45 trillion dollars in tax breaks the overwhelming majority of which go to billionaires and Wealthy corporations it slashes at least $230 billion
▶ 0:12:39from food assistant programs at a time when grocery price prices remain at record highs and it proposes and I hope every American listens to this it proposes at $880 billion do in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act do you know how many Americans rely on Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act about 20 million Americans rely
▶ 0:13:09on the ACA or Obamacare and more than 72 million people rely on Medicaid that includes children seniors and individuals with disabilities all so billionaires can get even a bigger tax cut that they don't need and the hardwork people this country can't afford to give them let's not forget during a very long presidential campaign Donald
▶ 0:13:39Trump promised to lower costs and I quote on day one I was just of the grocery store have you noticed prices going down have you seen eggs recently that's a broken promise but he is keeping his promise I have to admit Donald Trump and Republicans are keeping their word when it comes to billionaires as he said to billionaire donors of his gathered at Mara Lago you're
▶ 0:14:09rich as hell we're going to give you tax cuts this Republican plan makes good on that Trump promise at maral Lago and let's talk about the hypocrisy here I can't tell you how many times over my adult life I have heard anytime there's a democrat in the White House my friends on the other side of the aisle bemoaning the size of the
▶ 0:14:41debt well here we have a republican Trifecta Republicans control the house the Senate and the White House where is their debt reduction plan it's not here in fact they increased the national debt by $4 trillion we shouldn't be surprised after all when it comes to adding to our national debt no president in American history added more than Donald Trump and it looks like
▶ 0:15:12he and his Republican compatriots are about to double down on the size of that addition to our debt we will not stand by on this side of the aisle and further undermine working let me be clear Democrats will fight back yes we're in the minority but we're not going to give up we are going to do everything we can to educate the American people
▶ 0:15:42on what is in this budget and why it is so bad for them and families we will not stand by while Republicans undermine Working Families to put billionaires first so we're going to have a lot of time together today we're beginning early in the morning and we'll be here late at night and all throughout the day to have this vigorous debate on the Republican ripoff the Republican betrayal
▶ 0:16:13of the middle class of this country and with that I yield back I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania and now uh we're going to move to members uh opening statements and I yield five minutes uh to the gentleman from the paleta state Mr Ralph Norman you know it's it's pretty apparent we live in two different universities two different views of where this country is is headed um you know
▶ 0:16:43when you when you talk about government and when when you talk about giving money back to the taxpayers uh Jody what your team has done under your leadership has reduced the deficit by a minimum of 1.2 trillion which has be the first time in my lifetime that we have done that uh never before have we had a opportunity because 77 million people voted for Donald Trump they voted for his vision
▶ 0:17:13they voted for what he's doing uh for America uh and as he did the previous four years as promises made Promises Kept and what a what a unbelievable job we have to get this budget out today which we will do what an unbelievable opportunity we have for We the People to uncover uh what's been hidden for such a long time through what under Donald Trump's courage
▶ 0:17:43and Elon mus brain power to uncover the dollars waste Fraud and Abuse that Americans have been yearning for they didn't expect it would become this quick but folks it's here now and uh representative B what we're giving back to the American people uh and to to children and taxpayers all alike the 16 million that was uncovered that went to Vietnam for um unknown reasons the condoms
▶ 0:18:14that were delivered to foreign countries with Millions the 20 million on Sesame Street that went to Iraq I could go on list after list after list it's up to 54.3 billion dollars where we sit right now this is just the first agency and we've got many more to come like Social Security uh we have many more to come uh like the Department of Education they're going to see the the
▶ 0:18:44American people are going to see where their tax dollars have been spent and I I invite all my colleagues on my left who want to protest the dollars that have been known to to go out to not back in their pocket to to foreign country to foreign leaders and who knows where it is such a a pleasure to finally see the 4.5 million to compat combat disinformation in K kakistan
▶ 0:19:14uh $1.5 million dollar for art for inclusion of people two million for sex change operations and LGBT activism Guatemala uh 5 million to Echo Health Alliance which is one of the key NOS funding bat viruses at the Wuhan lab uh get this 20 million for a group related to a key player in the Russian gate impeachment hoax get this 1.1 million to an
▶ 0:19:45Armenian LGBT group uh 1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers how does how does that work folks this is undisputable and just think we're just getting started there is a reason Donald Trump has a 69% approval rating and the golden age is here we're going to give T the one of the greatest things about what we're doing today is giving Americans tax
▶ 0:20:15cuts it's their money and the amazing thing about this the left still doesn't realize it's not their money it's the taxpayers money and it's going to be exposed for this type of abuse this type of Fraud and this kind of waste so it's a new day in America and Jody under your leadership thank you for bringing this up we're going to fight and I tell you I hope we sit here all day today and if it takes all weekend let's sit here let's do it so thank you and I yeld back
▶ 0:20:45I thank the gentleman from South Carolina now yield five minutes to my friend from the great state of Texas Lloyd doggin Mr chairman I respect you for undertaking the Herculean task of putting together a budget resolution that yields to Trump's demands for trillions in new tax breaks for his billionaire buddies attempts to avoid an unacceptable acceleration of the national debt all without betraying the middle class by denying Health Care to the sick and opportunity to the young but Mr chairman it's an impossible task the numbers
▶ 0:21:15simply don't add up and you cannot just adopt the Trump approach of making things up and announcing alternative facts though there are some parts of your proposal that appear to do just that indeed the independ bipartisan citizens for responsible federal budget concluded last night that your proposal actually adds an astounding 5 a half to6 trillion dollar to our national debt the true name for this bill is wck because you make
▶ 0:21:46a wreck of our national debt and ever bringing it under control and you take a wrecking ball to vital initiatives that our middle class needs Donald Trump promised so much but his Focus was on prices he said starting on day one we'll end inflation make America affordable bring down the prices of all Goods he said he'd do it on day one when he takes the oath of office and as recently as this past month he said we're going to have prices down I think you're going to see
▶ 0:22:16some pretty drastic price reductions well he's fulfilled a lot of prices and done a lot of cutting but now he shifted to a new statement that Americans will feel a little pain from his 25% Trump tariff grocery tax today's Bill offers so many Cuts but it's not to grocery prices or drug prices all to pay for his billionaire tax bonus in my hometown of Austin about half of all children receiving Care at Dell Children's
▶ 0:22:46Hospital have Medicaid about half of all the births in Austin are covered by Medicaid as are nearly 300,000 pregnant Texans this Draconian bill will undermine Healthcare access for these folks for the millions who face the diagnosis of cancer Alzheimer or other dread diseases Republicans are cutting Innovative medical research and design denying consumers the hope of a cure Trump is asking to fire 40%
▶ 0:23:16of the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention CDC at the time we may face another pandemic among the first to feel the pain will be nursing home residents with the planned repeal of new safe sta Staffing standards it's a double bonus for the wealthy owners the private Equity people who own these nursing homes because they can provide less care not provide adequate support for the most vulnerable while they get new tax breaks and Dodge any accountability and as
▶ 0:23:46for Education the proposal to dismantle the Department of Education threatens education for those with disability and education for our most Ed economically disadvantaged citizens as as well as students hoping to have the chance to uh get a higher education giving given new troubling developments yesterday one obvious place for revision of your budget that I would recommend is defense because since president Trump has declared his intent to Pal with Putin and attack
▶ 0:24:17our allies he seems set to engage in the greatest act of appeasement on Ukraine since Neville Chamberlain abandoned Czechoslovakia in 1938 unless there is an unexpected Ed push back that I haven't heard yet from our Republican colleagues the Republican party will forever be stained as the party that lost Ukraine and perhaps much more yes Trump has promised a new golden age for America and with this budget imposing new burdens on the sick and the hungry
▶ 0:24:47we see who gets the gold the billionaires on the front row of his inauguration not America's middle class which has been betrayed I yield back I thank the gentleman from Texas and now recognize Mr Glenn grothman from Wisconsin for five minutes thank you uh I I realize there's going to be a lot of debate today uh though we don't have them all filled in yet
▶ 0:25:18among some reductions in spending over where we were historically one thing I want to point out in the year we're currently in according to CBO if we don't do anything anything else you can expect that we're going to have to borrow about 27% of what we spend last year it was 26% next year it'll be about 24% and I personally believe that's going to go up because right now the amount of Interest we're having
▶ 0:25:48to spend on our debt is going to go up not only because we're issuing new debt but right now we've uh a um um we've got to uh uh refinance our debt uh the debt that's coming due right now is at 0% we're going to be issuing new debt at over 3% so we don't do anything in that room it's a significant increase in spending final thing I'll point out this is the first uh
▶ 0:26:18first stop on a long process towards reconciliation and towards the budget that we're eventually going to pass uh for the current fiscal year we had a hearing yesterday in which it was pointed out that right now we are we have a marriage penalty of about $28,000 per couple um that uh an unmarried couple would have to pay if they become married uh become married and have a child
▶ 0:26:49we can no longer continue down the path in which we bribe $28,000 a couple in at least one uh to not get married so hopefully eventually that'll be taken up but in any event remember right now we're 27% of what we spent it's time for base of action thank you I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin um we the votes have been called this morning so
▶ 0:27:19when you have time go ahead and go vote and come back we're going to continue the hearing and so you're going to have to you're going to have to get the timing right but if you leave and you're in order you come back I'll go back to you but Mr Bobby Scott I yield five minutes to you and again if you have time go vote and come back we're going to keep this uh rolling Mr Scott thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman this budget resolution exemplifies my your my colleague's willingness to to betray the American people in the name of so-called fiscal responsibility
▶ 0:27:50but Democrats routinely prioritize reducing deficits without sacrificing safety net programs at Working Families rely on and while some people make speeches about deficit in national debt Democrats have been finding Solutions have been cleaning up the Republican mess the last six decades as um as this chart shows you look closely you'll notice that every Democratic president since Kennedy has left for their Republican successors
▶ 0:28:21a better better deficit situation than they inherited in every Republican Administration since Nixon has left for the democ left for Democratic successes a worse deficit situation than they inherited during its first term Donald Trump was well away well on his way to continue that Trend even before the pandemic in fact if you look at the cumulative improvement improvement in the deficit over the Democratic years is about 16% of GDP and G
▶ 0:28:51Republicans added to the deficit 22% in today's $2 trillion deficit created by the Republicans uh if you look over the over those years they contributed 6.65 trillion dollar in the deficit and Democrats contributed $4.5 $4.7 trillion in reducing the deficit and that's how we get the $2 trillion deficit so Mr chairman when you say both sides did it
▶ 0:29:21you ought to give due credit where credit is due give the Republicans credit for $65 trillion mess and Democrats 6 and2 $4.5 trillion doll in cleanup and while the Democratic budgets suff fiscally responsible Americans have been enjoying great job growth you'll notice that um Joe Biden created more jobs than any president
▶ 0:29:51in the history of the United States in in um in four years in fact more than any Republican president whether they served four or eight years all the time with responsible budgets now this Republican budget makes cruel cuts and countless programs that Working Families depend on as a ranking member of the committee on education and Workforce I'm particularly offended by the cuts being demanded for in educational programs for students and nutrition programs for children this budget
▶ 0:30:21will mean kids and seniors will go hungry and employers will not be able to find the skilled workers they need and it will make it more expensive for students to go to college and in addition to these cuts the budget will also cut Health Care coverage for millions of Americans all to extend tax cuts for the top 1% in corporations it does all this while making wildly absurd economic assumptions to continue the force that cutting taxes for corporations and the richest Americans will not
▶ 0:30:52increase our deficit and the budget does nothing to improve the lives of middle class families it does nothing to bring down the cost of eggs which that cost has gone up since the president was inaugurated and nothing to reduce the cost of gas or rent or child care and the budget will not help future Generations realize the American dream Mr chairman I hope we defeat this budget and replace it with something responsible thank you I Y back gentleman y's back Mr Roy
▶ 0:31:30I thank the chairman uh I'm going to be brief the American people expect us to do our job to balance the budget and to stop spending money we don't have our country is suffering from rampant inflation our younger Americans are unable to buy homes the interest on the debt is over a trillion dollars as we refinance our debt we're going to be looking at hundreds of billions of of additional interest every year
▶ 0:32:00and this budget put forward by the chairman is a giant step forward to reduce spending the primary driver of the inflation and the expansion of the government laress that is strangling the future of our children and grandchildren I proud of what the chairman has put forward I believe that it is responsible and I believe it is a balance of what we're supposed to do we have a moral respons ability to leave more dollars in the hands of the American
▶ 0:32:30people who produce wealth and produce Prosperity we have a moral responsibility to take dollars out of the laress of government which is wasting that money but more importantly spending that money in ways that is making the lives of our children and grandchildren unaffordable this is step one of many steps and it is just the beginning but our government spends too much and we have to stop that and the American people deserve to have more money in their
▶ 0:33:00pockets this budget accomplishes both of those two objectives I yield back General you is back uh Miss plaset thank you thank you Mr chair and thank you for having us at this budget committee to discuss um what is revealed as just another set of scams to
▶ 0:33:30cover what I as a native New Yorker would identify Donald Trump as one of the greatest Hustlers that has ever been in the States now we're going to hear a lot about the general lady is reminded of the house rules that forbid such references to the president of the United States that's on the house for proceed proceed in order if she does it again further sanctions will be required
▶ 0:34:01what something we hear a lot of is a refrain of budget is a statement of values and the values that we are showing here are the values that are not shared by most Americans there are a lot of cuts that are that are written into this budget the bulk of those savings will come from making changes to Medicaid which currently ensures more than 70 million Americans another 10 million American children children get their health care through the children's health insurance program chip
▶ 0:34:32the Republican budget calls for 880 billion in cuts for Energy and Commerce Committee with Health Care coverage for 80 million Americans on the table in the Virgin Islands over 20,000 people on Medicaid or at risk of losing their health care under Republican budget plans first out of the gate the biggest Republican Cuts kill healthc care coverage for children and the poorest now as they said they will be talking about values
▶ 0:35:03in the budget going against wokeness I want to talk about what is written in our Bible which I thought my Republican colleagues were so interested in Proverbs it tells us whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing but one who ignores the poor will receive many curses in Leviticus it tells us if any of your fellow people become poor and are unable to support themselves among you help them so they can continue
▶ 0:35:33to live among you I know that's not something that unfortunately my Republican colleagues are interested in anymore I know that because I was a republican until I saw the party move away from me and I realized that it's become even more so when I saw recently a post by President Elon Musk calling the poor the parasite class calling the poor Among Us
▶ 0:36:03parasites that's what you've come to that's what you're believing in now that is just so uphor so if we're not interested in the poor if that's not the group that we want to be concerned with let's talk about the middle class let's see how long you guys are going to be supporting the middle class I don't think that's going to last very long because when I look at the cuts that are coming you all talk about money coming back into the pockets of Americans
▶ 0:36:34we know that that's not the truth this budget is not for the middle class this budget is for the wealthy there are proposing 330 billion in Cuts in education much of which are for pel Grants much of this are for workingclass Americans who are trying to put their children through school it's for school lunches it's for pensions while at the same time extending a tax break for business purchasing equipment they're cutting
▶ 0:37:04nutrition assistance for low-income families not poor families not non-working families but those who are living on the margins who need help affording groceries like uh eggs remember that by at least 220 billion while providing a tax cut for the one in 1,000 Estates worth over 14 million per couple these are the things that this budget is going to be doing in
▶ 0:37:35my home in the US Virgin Islands Early Head Start programs in the territory operate under the jurisdiction of Lutheran Social Services taking a hacksaw to funding is tantamount to tearing up the pages that should be giving us this wisdom while pushing their agenda to give trillions in deficit busting handouts for the richest few Republicans continue to be eerily quiet on the things that really matter to Americans the Republican budget plan will do nothing
▶ 0:38:05to lower costs they will actually do the opposite the budget rips off hardworking American families and drives up costs of everything that the Americans actually need to live I leave you for a moment with one last quote from Proverbs he who has a generous eye will be blessed for he gives his bread to the poor this budget not only takes from the poor it takes from those hardworking Americans who are trying to get by who believed the lies
▶ 0:38:36of our president in that campaign Reality Bites General lady uh yields back Mr Cary for five minutes thank you Mr chairman um listen this is uh been a long time coming but today marks the first step toward fulfilling our promise to the American people it is the beginning of our efforts to extend the tax cuts and
▶ 0:39:06jobs act secure funding for Border Protection and move toward an American Energy Independence after enduring significant inflation American families small businesses urgently need tax relief to make ends meet we must pass our budget resolution today to start the budget reconciliation process that advanced the policy IES that the Americans uh our American families expect and desperately need this budget resolution includes much needed deficit reduction
▶ 0:39:37a lot of debate on what that number should be uh for which our children and grandchildren will be grateful it also contains instructions for the Ways and Means Committee which I am a member allowing us to extend the successful tax cuts 2017 additionally it increases funding for our border and defense and ensuring that we can combat fentanyl trafficking and maintain our position as the strongest nation in the world I support this budget resolution today as
▶ 0:40:07a significant step towards American success and security and urge my colleagues to do the same well there may not be everything in this bill for everybody it is the right first step let's get it over to Ways and Means let's get this done for the American public thank you and I you back gent he's back Mr Panetta thanks Mr chairman appreciate this opportunity and I recognize that uh obviously
▶ 0:40:37writing this type of budget resolution is no easy task as we're going to find out over these next 10 to 12 hours it requires tough choices serious trade-offs and a cleare eyed assessment of how current policies impact growth and revenues Done Right a budget resolution show knows what we value and how we intend to steer the country forward that is why it is so important to get this right and frankly
▶ 0:41:07it is why the details of this budget resolution or at least the details that we did kit are all the more disappointing my district on the Central Coast of California the 19th congressional district is reeling already from these chaotic funding freezes caused by the administration while schools are trying to assess if the federal government will continue to support their students while families are being squeezed by high prices at the grocery store this budget threatens to rip away critical lifelines
▶ 0:41:38that help Working Families Medicare food assistance student loans other Assistance programs that help the Working Families this budget resolution does this while the administration is digging through taxpayers sensitive information and causing chaos with economically disastrous policies like tariffs on our closest and most extensive trading partners this Administration does this
▶ 0:42:09basically as it begins its mass deportation policies that is either removing or scaring those people who are working from going to work I'm not talking about the criminals I'm talking about the hardworking families who come here and contribute to do our way of life and again do jobs that no other American will do you take them away you scare them away you will hurt our nation's economic growth and despite the high prices the policies that hamper growth and the inclusion of
▶ 0:42:39reconciliation in instructions that Tee up deep cuts to critical safety nets this resolution wishfully projects a $2.6 trillion growth the resolution does this while instructing the Ways and Means Committee my committee to increase the dep deficit by up to 4.5 trillion and allowing up to 3.3 trillion in increases there used to be a time where Republicans used to Value the
▶ 0:43:09issues when it comes to our debt and deficit and I can tell you that trying to make these numbers up from economic growth are going to be very very difficult getting three trillion in additional revenue from economic growth over a decade would require a sustained real growth of around 3.2% the difference between 1.8 and 3.2% is huge as Douglas Holtz ekin recently said if you can use move the US economy
▶ 0:43:39by 0 4% in 10 years that's an enormous success however you have to have really good deregulation you have to have really good tax policy and you have to have a really good deficit reduction we do not have that in this buzet resolution and that's why it's going to hurt our economy especially given the tax cuts proposed that will not and cannot place our nation on a safer fiscal footing my constituents cannot afford these policies
▶ 0:44:09my our country cannot afford them and most importantly our children in the future cannot afford this budget b budget resolution and for that reason I will strongly oppose this thank you Mr chairman I yeld back gentleman yelds back Mr smucker thank you Mr chair I'd like to recognize uh the hard work that the chairman has put into coming uh to achieving this and coming to this day uh there's been there was input from uh
▶ 0:44:39every uh side uh every individual in our conference uh and there is a lot that our conference will be proud of in this bill uh it has extremely strong support and I think at the end of the day uh we'll have unanimous support for this bill on the floor uh I think uh my friend from California just mentioned and I agree with him on a lot sorry I lost my chair here my uh my friend from California talked about the details
▶ 0:45:10being important in this bill and I think uh he's exactly right and that's why I'm so proud of this resolution that we're advancing out of this committee today this resolution will be the vehicle to implement Trump agenda to to pass the Mandate that he received from the American people what am I talking about number one after four years of inflation driven by
▶ 0:45:40Reckless government spending uh the American people will continue to see more dollars in their pocket through uh low tax rates uh this will this bill will protect American families from the crime and drugs flooding across the southern border it includes uh 175 billion to finish the wall support law enforcement upgrade our capacity to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country in the first place as I said provide tax
▶ 0:46:10relief to Working Families and let's talk just a little bit about the successes of the tax guts and jobs act uh we heard that this is just for the billionaires couldn't be further from the truth the our income tax system became more Progressive after the implementation of the tax cuts and jobs act and I'll ask I'll ask you to ask any of your constituents whether they did better under the policies implemented through the tax cuts and jobs
▶ 0:46:40act under the policies of the Trump Administration or did they do better under the four years of the Biden Administration I can tell you what every one of my constituents will answer I'll I'll put our policies up any day against the policies that are being espoused on the other side uh of this today it's going to uh jumpstart America energy production using our own resources to enrich our own citizens instead of sending cash to pad the coffers of foreign Nations and we're going to
▶ 0:47:10save money by identifying waste and fraud in our system we're asking committees uh of this Congress to look at all of the expenses uh and to find areas where we can uh trim our government spending this is something to my friend from California's point we know we have 36 trillion in debt we have to change the fiscal trajectory and we can do it in a way that still protects the vulnerable who rely
▶ 0:47:41uh on uh Government funding to ensure that um they can um um eat and achieve their their daily uh their daily needs uh so the point I'm making is we can do this in a fiscally responsible way and that is exactly what this bill does we have a president in the White House who's going to work with us to grow the economy very very important that we grow
▶ 0:48:11this economy is we're going to unleash American Energy dominance we're going to re in burdensome regulation and we're going to identify cost Savings in government through the implementation of this bill so I'm very uh excited about what we can do together again I thank the chair for all his work bringing us to this point uh and I yield back Mr chairman J yields back uh Miss Coleman Mr chairman thank you I rise in strong
▶ 0:48:41opposition to this cobbled mess of a budget resolution this resolution is a republican betrayal of the middle class as one of the newest members of this committee I find it important to raise how evil I find this proposed budget resolution to V my Republican colleagues want to double down on damaging tax cuts and jobs acts which overwhelmingly benefited the ultr rich and the corporations at the expense of everyday Americans This resolution instructs
▶ 0:49:12the Ways and Means Committee to find $4.5 trillion doll in tax cuts at the same time this resolution will instruct several other committees to cut spending by at least two trillion to offset the cost of thex tax cuts which will benefit the O Uber Rich this amounts to a plundering of our government and the services that it provides each and every American so what are they cutting well let's look at the Energy and Commerce Committee which is
▶ 0:49:42instructed to cut $880 billion in spending now the budget resolution doesn't tell the Committees what programs they need to cut to reach this goal but the chairman has very generous to share a list of what he and other Republicans think that they can cut Medicaid is a prime target for cuts under the Republican ripoff plan this would include pulling federal dollars out of State Medicaid programs and forcing each state to take on more of the cost which we know
▶ 0:50:13will cause state governments to cut back on the type of necessary health services that are available to Medicaid beneficiaries and to impose onerous work requirements on folks the vast majority of whom are already working nearly 80 million Americans rely on Medicaid and the children's health insurance program for their care and in my district alone at 103,000 residents have access to affordable health care because of the federal investments in these programs
▶ 0:50:44imagine telling these families that they could lose health coverage because Republicans want to use that money to cut the tax bills for corporations whose profits have never been higher that is heartless this budget resolution will also lead to a tax on the Affordable Care Act a favorite Target of the Republicans for the past last 15 years on the same list of proposed Cuts as Medicaid Republicans suggest over a 100 billion in cuts to the ACA this includes repealing the
▶ 0:51:14prevention Public Health fund and limiting health program eligibility based on citizen ship status Energy and Commerce might be the Republican's biggest target but it isn't the only place they are cutting funds from to pay for their tax breaks the Republicans will instruct the agriculture committee to cut $230 billion in spending this will translate to Cuts in snap which feeds 40 million Americans including children
▶ 0:51:44seniors veterans and working parents how can my colleagues across the aisle take money that is meant to put food on people's tables and instead use that money so a CEO can deduct the cost of a private jet the education and Workforce committee is instructed to cut 330 billion which will lead to massive defunding of education programs and then much of the federal support for student loan programs and while thousands of students struggle to pay off their NeverEnding debt to further their education
▶ 0:52:15Republicans look for ways to help the ultra Rich avoid paying their estate taxes it is truly hard to imagine how a party that Pride itself on being Believers in Christian values look at this resolution ution and think this would benefit the Common Man unlike the president I have read the Bible and I know the teachers of Jesus I do not recall cutting aid from the poor the weak or the huddled masses in favor of those who hoard their wealth as one of his sermons it is hypocritical of my Republican
▶ 0:52:45colleagues to say they care for the American people because if they cared they would never have brought this resolution to the committee the only reason we are meeting right here right now is because house Republicans don't want to be upstage by their colleagues in the Senate the Senate budget committee has was ahead in putting together their resolution and not to be outdone House Republicans who still can't agree among themselves how much they want to hurt the American people decided to bring this farce of a budget resolution to markup
▶ 0:53:16today this resolution is again is a betrayal to every hardworking American I strongly express my opposition to this wholly insufficient budget resolution for the sake of American people we must not let this resolution leave this committee I ask my Republican colleagues where is your Humanity I yield the remainder of my time G lady's time has expired Mr Moore thank you chairman um I'm actually looking forward to today it's going to be a long day most of us are going to miss our
▶ 0:53:46flights uh but I appreciate everybody showing up in fact I joked with the press that are outside the door here said what is this the oversight committee or something you guys looking for a down bite or whatever um they got to they got a chuckle but the point is we've been battling this out for I've been on this committee for three and a half years about we've been battling this out here and we've been going back and forth and as you you've you've heard from the gentleman from California like I sat
▶ 0:54:16there and watched him take a vote that was very difficult that would have been one of the best things to actually you know go after our deficits last Congress when we did the fiscal commission Act I hope we can re reup that I hope that that that's part of what we're going to do and I hope it can actually be a lot more supported by my Democrat colleagues if we can get that going we have been in these worthy fights for a long time now we don't get a lot of attention on the budget committee except for this one moment I hope we can actually sustain this attention
▶ 0:54:47on this most important issue outside of just one day and um and I look forward to continually working um in a collaborative way to get this done this today though this is a moment that um we are going to as Republican house conference we have been breaking our backs trying to get to where we are today this has been an enormous amount of work and I'm thrilled at what we've come up with
▶ 0:55:17this is a framework today's budget framework that will for the first time in my time in con Congress which hasn't been you know it's going on my fifth year this the first time I've seen us be serious about coming up with real spending reform spending cuts savings to our overall expenditure if we don't do that this one stat will
▶ 0:55:47continue to get worse our revenues for decades have been at 177% of GDP for a while our spending was about 17 16 18% of GDP and over the last few and over the last 15 years it's skyrocketed to 26% of GDP that is what we mean when we say we do not have a revenue problem that's been consistent whether we've had tax cuts whether those have expired over the last 20 years and you've gone through a different reform process
▶ 0:56:18we have kept revenues at 177% but our spending has grown to 26 and if that continues to happen that's where we enter into a sovereign debt crisis we do not have a revenue problem in our country we have a spending problem this budget today admittedly will not solve our deficit it will not solve all of the issues that we have on this front I wish it were this is the very best approach to be able to get at that
▶ 0:56:48problem and we're going to hear a lot of things um today from my colleagues from the minority and the one thing that will there's two things that will really frustrate me and we're going to work it out and I hope that um we'll be able to hear from both sides on this the first thing is they're going to make a bunch of claims about what's in this bill about what's being cut what's being you know what what from this Medicaid Program or this welfare program or this
▶ 0:57:18this is a framework of dollars about what we're going it's just a balance sheet it does not have specifics about programmatic changes we're going to hear all the claims and they're already going out to districts saying this or that and and and and and and that is not what we're talking about today this is not about specific items within the budget this is about the framework about what we're going to do to create progrowth tax policy and also find spending
▶ 0:57:48cuts with an assumed growth rate that is very conservative very reasonable and something that we actually hope we o exceed and if we exceed that that's when we will be able to actually you know dig in and truly go after more deficit so we can get into all those specifics the other lie you're going to hear is that the tax cuts and jobs act from 2017 was all about the wealthy it was all about the billionaires that so so doubling the child tax credit was all about the billionaires
▶ 0:58:19so doubling the standard deduction was all about the billionaires right so the fact that we created a progrowth tax policy that grew wage growth was all about the billionaires without inflation you did not see a rampant rise in inflation after the tax cuts and jobs act when did we see a rampant rise in inflation after the American Rescue plan in 2021 when Democrats had the White House House and Senate you saw the worst inflation that we have ever seen don't take my word for it Larry summer said it's it's because the relief spending Democrats when they get this
▶ 0:58:49opportunity they spent when Republicans get this opportunity we were trying to cut as much as we possibly can with that I hope we have a lot more discussions about this today and I yield back to gentleman's time has expired Mr Peters thank you Mr chairman Billy Graham said give me five minutes with a person's checkbook and I will tell you where their heart is well if we look at the Republicans proposed budget resolution unfortunately we can see where their heart is and it's not with the middle class because budgets are about choices this budget chooses to drastically
▶ 0:59:19cut revenues and increase the national debt at a time when the nation is already borrowing money just to pay our expenses just to keep the lights on the US borrows nearly $2 trillion a year just to pay our operating expenses this budget cuts revenues at a time when interest from past Investments is poised to become the biggest item in our current budgets we spend more on interest on our $36 trillion national debt then we devote to Medicaid schools or child care or the Defense this budget
▶ 0:59:49cuts revenues at a time when the economy has low unemployment and high interest rates and does not need more stimulus for more spending what it means is higher interest rates and more inflation home ownership will get more expensive and the cost of gas and groceries will continue to rise just yesterday the Department of Labor announced that inflation went up another percent um Mr Moore I consider one of my really good friends in this Congress um but I would just remind us all that
▶ 1:00:20the growth projections for the tcja were wildly optimistic I think senator McConnell said something like 4% and they actually ended up being um under half of that these tax cuts don't pay for themselves and they don't induce growth in an economy that's already as hot as this one with low unemployment and high interest rates this budget would cut Revenue by extending tax cuts not primarily for the middle class although there are some parts of it certainly
▶ 1:00:50that benefit the middle class the bulk of this goes to people at the High um the highest top tax rates and those are the very people who are best positioned to help us close this Gap let's talk about 177% and 26% what we learned in the testimony In This Very hearing is that um the problem is that things have gotten more expensive as our demograph demographics have changed over time so it's not fair to say 177% was what we spent before because things are more expensive now
▶ 1:01:20um uh Healthcare is more expensive because our population is older we're going to have to have more money to pay those expenses even if we kept General spending the same my colleague Mr Norman uh ticked off a bunch of outrages um and I you can't really argue that some of those spending um items that he he identified ridiculous but all of them started with an M they were all millions of dollars like single digigit millions of dollars we're talking about billions of dollars and trillions of dollars here
▶ 1:01:51I'm happy to work with my colleagues they know I am to come up with spending cuts we proposed do doing this in a bipartisan way through a commission that would force us to F face facts I'm afraid we're not facing facts um and um I would just say to everyone um I know that President Trump got elected I don't I an election denier uh he got a majority of the votes and that's great and he got over 50% of the votes um but every one of us every one of us was elected
▶ 1:02:21on the exact same day to do a job here and I know personally how hard it is to to Buck your party in this context because in in the trifactor that the Democrats said I voted no on the budget and let me tell you it rained down on me it was very unpopular people screamed at me but I thought there was a part of our proposal uh that would have done great damage to the private investment in drug discovery which is a huge part of my economy they call me all sorts of names from the
▶ 1:02:52left uh but I I held my ground and PE people at home knew I was standing up for them and they sent me back and I would just ask you some of you I think see parts of this and and you disagree with it please just don't go along please do your job the job let's all do our jobs the jobs we are elected to do on the exact same day as president Trump was elected uh I'm really concerned uh that um from from the Speaker
▶ 1:03:22of the House on down that people are not standing up for this institution as a co-equal branch of government as the government with the power of the purse uh and we are not here uh to work for a president we work with a president we're not here to work for interest groups we work with them but we don't report to them we report to our own people independently as independently elected people and I hope you all consider that it's not wrong to do your job it's our duty to do our job I yeld back
▶ 1:03:53gentlem he's back Mr Estus but thank you Mr chairman and and I want to thank chairman Arrington for his all of his hard work and dedication and shepher in this budget through a very difficult process I just want to add a few words here about how important and needed this budget budget resolution is while I think the framework go further to give the Committees of jurisdiction the flexibility to lower the tax burden on everyday Americans I'm glad we've agreed to cut mandatory spending by a minimum of $1.5 trillion dollar over 10 years
▶ 1:04:24that is a floor not not a ceiling for us to find waste Fraud and Abuse for years politicians even some of my Democrat colleagues have talked about the need to address runaway spending and frankly little has changed in Washington and for the last four years the Biden Administration pushed our fiscal state of the nation spiraling down a troubling path in the final four months of the Biden Administration deficit spending ballooned to $838 billion a staggering $36 billion
▶ 1:04:54more in deficit spending than over the same 4month period one year earlier if we want to make sure we can afford the programs and services that are important to our country and and our constituents and enact real policy change we must reign in spending and root out waste Fraud and Abuse throughout the federal government this is a mandate on which the Americans elected president Donald Trump and elected a republican L house and a republican L Senate we must reign in spending protect our borders bolster our National Defense
▶ 1:05:25Ensure Americans especially middleclass Americans do not see a record tax increase and to promote progrowth policies and that's what we aim to deliver starting with today's current budget framework as you all know our nation is $3.4 trillion in debt and we're borrowing more than $70,000 per second that's nearly $6 billion borrowed each and every day this budget resolution we passed today will also allow me and my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to responsibly extend and enhance
▶ 1:05:55the progrowth tax reforms from the tax cuts and jobs act permanently while many of my colleagues May disagree with the facts the reality is pretty simple without extending the Trump tax cuts taxes on nearly every American will go up the average taxpayer in Kansas will see it a tax increase of $2,200 if the Trump tax cuts are allowed to expire but by extending the 2017 tax cuts will avoid this tax hike and allow workingclass families and small businesses to keep more their
▶ 1:06:25hard-earned money and to make this happen we need a common sense budget framework like the one we're marking up today and making the Trump tax cuts permanent will do more than provide sorely needed relief to individuals and families these tax cuts also help the businesses and innovators who create and sustain countless jobs in communities across our country leading to job creation and economic growth and higher wages that includes Common Sense bipartisan tax policies like R&D or expensing that has received broad support from my colleagues
▶ 1:06:55on both sides of the aisle promoting growth and productivity in our economy is absolutely critical to strengthening the American economy that has been weakened by failed policies from the Biden Administration today Republicans in this on this committee are defending lower taxes and working to root out waste Fraud and Abuse through this Common Sense America First budget something 77 million Americans just voted for us to address unfortunately what we're hearing from the left is a defense of the unrestrained bureaucratic government and
▶ 1:07:25higher taxes on families and small businesses the tax cuts and jobs act in 2017 jump started the economy uh we're now seeing a Slowdown in that economy just because of inflation and some of these failed policies over the last four years but if you look back their actual tax revenue to the US Treasury over the last seven years has been higher than what CBO estimated even taking inflation into account for so many of the businesses that are paying more in taxes now than what they did before
▶ 1:07:55we need to not raise taxes and to go backward in an economy because that's what would be the result there's been enough political rhetoric it's time to actually take action I'm looking forward to voting for this resolution and to begin enacting the policy agenda that the American people sent us here to achieve and with that I yel back gentleman Ys back Miss Escobar thank you Mr chairman I want to speak directly to the American people because it's so important that they understand what is going on here today
▶ 1:08:26and why the action that this committee takes will impact every single American in a very negatively consequential way but first let's look at what was promised by Donald Trump and other Republicans Donald Trump said on day one he would lower the cost of living for Americans he would defeat inflation and we would be entering into a golden era in the United
▶ 1:08:56States well Donald Trump has been in office for nearly a month uh Congress has been in office for about six weeks at we were sworn in January 3rd and in case you didn't see the news inflation is up and Americans are demanding that we address the High Cost of Living that they are enduring the price of eggs through the roof housing is is unaffordable
▶ 1:09:27and we have yet to hear Republicans do anything to address the high costs that that this last election hinged on and instead what do we get we're getting this budget markup which will make the rich richer and because of the cuts it will make millions of Americans sicker poorer and hungrier and let me tell you Democrats
▶ 1:09:57we all want to cut waste Fraud and Abuse don't let them fool you into thinking that we don't want to cut waste Fraud and Abuse the problem is what you're hearing from Elon Musk and Donald Trump and other Republicans who are repeating misinformation you're hearing uh a focus for example on foreign aid uh you're hearing um uh some outright lies and they refuse
▶ 1:10:27to correct the record unfortunately all of that is a distraction from the cuts they are actually going to make which will be on the back of the American people and let me tell you Ju Just as a quick example if Elon Musk or Republicans are interested in some Cuts I don't know if you all saw the headline in the New York Times about uh the federal government buying $400 million in armored t TLA cyber trucks how about we look at that
▶ 1:10:58how about we look at Elon musk's $1 19 billion dollar worth of federal contracts let's take a look at that or how about we take a look at the nearly $800 billion dollar in fossil fuel subsidies that primarily favor the richest people in the world how about we start with that but no in fact not only are we giving almost five trillion doll in tax cuts to the wealthy and
▶ 1:11:29not only are we not balancing the budget when they talk about balancing the budget this will add to our national debt this will not balance the budget but in my district alone my district this will cost El pasoans their health care and programs that help address food insecurity so in El Paso the district I 130,000 El Paso inss who use Medicaid are at risk of losing their access
▶ 1:11:59to healthare in El Paso over 51,000 members of my community are at risk of going hungry because they will lose their SNAP benefits and because my Republican colleagues love to go after the Affordable Care Act the 95,000 El pasoans enrolled in the ACA would see a 100% increase in their premiums I just had a town hall meeting a town hall te tella Town Hall this week
▶ 1:12:29record number of constituents participating everyone scared I have 20,000 federal employees in my district who are afraid they will be unemployed soon this is not a golden age this is a betrayal of campaign promises they made a betrayal of the American people who are demanding help and for what so that billionaires like Elon Musk can have another yacht another luxury
▶ 1:13:00home jet they have the majority but we are going to do everything we can to shine a light on what they are doing to the American people Mr chairman I yield back General lady yields back Mr Moore thank you Mr chairman passing this budget resolution is absolutely a critical step toward reducing federal spending toward securing our bord in providing tax relief for hardworking Americans federal spending is absolutely
▶ 1:13:30out of control our national debt right now exceeds $36.4 trillion we're paying $952 billion in interest each year that's more than the 820 billion dollars that we spend on National Defense and this ballooning national debt is absolutely unsustainable Congress cannot keep spending and leave the next generation of the bill we're talking about the actual security of our nation at this point the federal government must stop wasting and abusing American ta American taxpayers dollars it's simply not sustainable
▶ 1:14:00and this budget resolution sets the foundation for a fiscally responsible package that will finally reign in federal spending the package also will address the crisis on our Southern border we saw in the last Administration what the or what the open border policies have done they've essentially poured gasoline on the fire every state including my home state of North Carolina now is essentially a border state while communities in Western North Carolina that that along with representative Edwards who's on the committee uh were're trying to rebuild after Hurricane Helen we found
▶ 1:14:30that the B Administration used FEMA resources to house illegal aliens in luxury hotels mind you at the same time they were talking about cutting off housing for Americans who live in my district who had nowhere else to go since late 2022 FEMA has spent over $ 1.4 billion dollar of our hard-earned tax money on migrant housing transportation services and while the bid Administration turned a blind eye to the Border the flow of ilent drugs has re has reached an all-time high in 2023 more than 100,000
▶ 1:15:01people died of drug overdoses this is the real cost of open borders this budget resolution lays the ground to secure the Border invest in National Defense and ensure Public Safety the budget also ensures that the 2017 Trump tax cuts remain if we extend the tax cuts and jobs act middle class families and small businesses not billionaires like some on the Democratic side like talk about will experience the largest tax increase in American history this tax cut will help the middle
▶ 1:15:31class Working Families who were doing the best they can to get by during these record high periods of inflation so what did these things do to help these tax cuts that went in place helped offset a lot of what would have been worse during covid during the excess uh Federal inflationary period of the last four years and help helped keep the country from being in his worse shape than it would have been look I've seen a lot of data I've seen a lot of things talked about back and forth before I came here I I was our speaker of the state house and
▶ 1:16:01was involved in writing budgets for about 14 years and I know what it takes to write a budget you have to live within your means and for decades for decades Washington has not lived within its means and I applaud the the I applaud speaker Johnson I applaud chairman Arington I I applaud my fellow members of this committee for finally taking a serious look at trying to reign in spending now for those who are watching and listening to my to my Democratic friends do not be scared they talk about cuts
▶ 1:16:31to Medicaid in here talk about cuts to Medicare I've looked at this bill I've read all the pages it isn't in there it's just made up uh go online read it for yourself that's not in there uh this budget is going to be something that is responsible that takes care of folks as someone who re represents a very rural District in fact I know the struggle that we have in terms of healthcare and particularly affected by rural communities so the American people can rest assured that this Congress is
▶ 1:17:01aware of that and that this Congress is going to budget fiscally but is also going to demand that we get rid of waste Fraud and Abuse I do applaud the efforts of of Elon Musk and going and and coming in and working on this I mean think about this this is one of the smartest minds of our time who has done so much advancing space exploration uh but for him I don't know where we would be on EV techn ology and he is volunteering his time to come and offer ways to provide increased efficiencies in turning
▶ 1:17:32things around and many members have already talked about some of the examples of absolute waste Fraud and Abuse the American people want to won to see us get our house in order they sent a clear mandate in this last election and we need to get it done with that I yield my time Mr chairman gentleman is was back Miss thank you Mr chair and ranking member Bole here's the deal so we're four weeks in to the Trump Administration and republicans
▶ 1:18:02in Congress are betraying not just the middle class but working people across this country Republicans have the house they have the Senate they have the White House and they could be passing legislation to make your life more affordable they could be working to bring down the costs on groceries prescription drugs housing but instead Trump is shutting down vital programs that protect and support Americans across this country and Republicans are letting him
▶ 1:18:32do it just this week the Trump Administration shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the agency that's responsible for protecting us from waste Fraud and Abuse the cfpb is one of the few places in government actually charged with standing up to the big Banks and the corporations who've ripped off consumers it has sent 21 billion dollars back to those victims of corporate crimes every single state has benefited from the work of the
▶ 1:19:03cfpb shutting it down I believe reveals a deep deep contempt and cynicism this President should be laser focused on bringing down cost for Americans and making sure everyone can live a life of security and dignity but instead instead what we are seeing is this Administration is taking a wrecking ball to the programs that provide Americans with relief and just some economic security and again
▶ 1:19:33Republicans are letting him do it the Republican budget resolution is a deep betrayal of working people in all of our districts my colleagues have proposed a budget roadmap that gives massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in corporations and how will they pay for the rich getting richer by making de deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs they are kicking the poor and the middle class to
▶ 1:20:03give the ultra wealthy another unneeded break so who are those people that are going to be affected here are the people I'm thinking about I'm thinking about a woman in South Royalton Vermont who called my office and she told me that she prepaid for all of her home heating oil but now she's being charged an additional 10% on top of that because the company fears the trade War that's going to be coming with Canada I'm thinking about the families on Head Start that are calling my office saying they don't know
▶ 1:20:33if they're going to have an education program for their kids because Trump froze the federal funding it creates hardship and anxiety for people who are just trying to make ends meet what has happened these four weeks is a clear indication of who Trump cares about and who he is not not thinking about but I'm thinking about all the small businesses that have called my office to say that they would be absolutely crushed
▶ 1:21:04by a trade war with Canada they need predictability they need stability everyone who runs a small business knows that because it's such a tight margin Trump's recklessness and the Republicans Silence about it is a kick in the teeth to working people and small business owners in all of our districts and look it's clear from the chaos and the confusion that Republicans are really trying to bury the details we know what they're trying to do here they
▶ 1:21:34have to cut trillions of dollars of programs in their scheme that people rely on to get the rich their tax cuts that they're demanding the wealthy in this country are doing just fine they don't need any more advantages they don't need a hand up and certainly not if it means cutting Aid to Farmers cutting food programs gutting Medicaid so that your mother or grandmother can't afford a nursing home because that's the Stark reality of it
▶ 1:22:04you go after Medicaid you're hurting your mom or your grandma who can't age with dignity because billionaires need another tax cut 71% of Americans believe the system is rigged and they are not wrong the extremely wealthy in this country have been coddled and the working class and the middle class have been cheated the social ual contract that binds us together has been broken in 1973 the top 1% took home 9% of the income
▶ 1:22:34but today 27% over a quarter of the income in this country going to the richest it's obviously unfair and has created such deep frustration and anger in this country by supporting another massive tax break to the wealthiest my Republican colleagues will be voting for more hardships for workingclass Americans don't let the Betrayal continue I urge my colleagues to reject this I
▶ 1:23:04yield back gent L's time has expired Mr Carter thank the gentlemen for yielding thank you for holding this markup today Mr chairman today we're taking a critically important step toward unlocking president Trump's mandate that over 77 million Americans voted for that includes extending president Trump's cuts for American families securing our borders unleashing American Energy dominance and eliminating waste Fraud and Abuse from our federal balance sheet the
▶ 1:23:34Biden Harris Administration left our country in Peril our federal debt is more than $36 trillion and what do we have to show for it a bloated bureaucracy that is weaponized against the American people and sends hardworking American taxpayers dollars to fund woke radical Dei nonsense not only in America but around the globe probe this is wholly unacceptable and it stops now House Republicans are working in lock step with President Trump to identify and eliminate waste Fraud and
▶ 1:24:04Abuse at all levels of government and enact America First policies to get America back on track we're delivering a budget resolution that will allow us to extend president Trump's tax cuts reign in out of control spending and keep Americans safe in 2017 president Trump and Republicans delivered tax cuts to created more more jobs and higher wages for hardworking Americans the impact president Trump's ta cut tax cuts had on our economy have been undeniably
▶ 1:24:35beneficial for all Americans from 2018 to 2019 real rages Rose 4.9% the fastest growth in 20 years during that time we've had the lowest poverty rates in history unemployment rates for African-Americans Hispanic workers and those without a college degree fail to Historic Clow on top of that Trump's economy produced 5 million jobs affording more people the opportunity to earn a living here in America it benefited low-income Americans too
▶ 1:25:05the bottom 10% of earners saw a 50% higher wage growth than those in the top 10% as a result of these policies extending president Trump's tax cuts will allow us to continue to make America great again and that starts with us passing this budget blueprint this budget blueprint also delivers on the promise to secure our borders for the past four years the American people suffered from the Biden Harris administration's open border policies that led to an unprecedented National Security
▶ 1:25:35and humanitarian crisis last fiscal year Customs and Border Protection confiscated over 21,000 Pounds of fentel at our borders that's enough fenil to kill every American several times over and that's just the drugs we know about under the Biden Harris Administration we saw rates of overdose of poisoning death Skyrocket peing at nearly 108,000 by in 20123 driven by The Surge of fentel coming across
▶ 1:26:05our borders illicit fentel overdoses are now the number one cause of death among adults 18 to 45 the number one cause of death every year more Americans are dying from illicit fentel than the number of American lives lost during the Vietnam war thankfully the budget resolution we are considering today supports B border security so that we can secure our borders and stop the flow of drugs pouring into our communities now let me be clear about this as
▶ 1:26:36chair of the health subcommittee of Energy and Commerce we will not be kicking people off of Medicaid that is not what is going to happen what we are going to try to do and what we will succeed in doing is making sure that we stabilize making sure that we secure making sure that we strengthen Medicaid by eliminating waste Fraud and Abuse that is going to a lot of providers and instead sending this to Medicaid recipients that's where the money should
▶ 1:27:06be going that's what we're going to identify and that's where we're going to get savings this is a budget resolution that works for America it'll put us back on path towards fiscal responsibility keep money in the pockets of Americans unleash American Energy dominance and keep Americans safe that's why I urge my colleagues to support this blueprint so that we can Advance America First policies thank you Mr chairman and I yield back gentleman yelds back Miss capter
▶ 1:27:36thank you Mr chairman and for your efforts to bring us all together today into our ranking member Mr Bole as well many years ago President John Kennedy said if a free Society cannot help the many who are poor it cannot save the few who are rich America cannot endure if its leaders shape a government that is largely of the rich by the rich and for the rich
▶ 1:28:07this particular Republican proposal does exactly that this budget is a betrayal of the people living in the middle and working classes of this country frankly it is Shameless our nation will not Prevail if our people get richer our people excuse me if our people get sicker if our people are less educated
▶ 1:28:38if our seniors are more hungry and cannot afford their heating bills our citizens are more poorly housed what I see when I look at Mar Lago I see the rich getting richer I see them cleaning up from those who have less I see them fattening up as hedge funds move from Wall Street down to West Palm Beach and to get in to
▶ 1:29:08even see someone you have to pay $350,000 that's not a society I want to live in and I don't wish it for my people they want to work hard have a small home help their children get educated and hopefully meet healthc care needs that their families are faced with I'd like to get some of these benefits that the other side of the aisle is trying to give to the top 1% for some of the auto dealers in my district who are having trouble holding on to
▶ 1:29:38their franchises we have so many drugstores that have closed I have towns like Gibsonburg now that where people can't get their medicine there are real challenges that people are facing across our nation I hear the other side of the aisle about spending spending there are two parts to a budget there's the revenue and then there's the spending so let's talk about the revenue side
▶ 1:30:08where does the deficit and the accumulated debt of this country come from comes from Republican presidents going back to President Ronald Reagan a republican all right I actually kind of liked him but I didn't like the that he left us with 34 of the debt the accumulated debt of this country is due to Republican presidents who didn't pay for their spending this chart accurately summarizes that
▶ 1:30:38from the Reagan presidency of the accumulated 36 trillion two trillion from the Reagan Administration unpaid for the bush two tax cuts all right eight8 trillion 8 the Trump tax cuts and those are accumulating they're going to accumulate faster another two trillion and then the wars started by Republican presidents but unpaid for8 trillion all right folks so if you start looking at
▶ 1:31:08all of this and then unfortunately we faced the pandemic and the Great Recession back in uh 2008 to 2009 we still haven't recovered from that okay uh that we owe ourselves in a way but we couldn't predict what the housing market did that was a financial Market meltdown caused by the richest people in this country and there are still empty homes around my part of the world that haven't been able to be rehoused because of what happened there so you're talking there about 7 million from the Great Recession as well as the pandemic
▶ 1:31:39which wasn't paid for four trillion because people working so let's look at the what happened to the spending side but also who didn't pay their fair share and I don't know how many Yachts some of these people have but why don't we if you have eight Yachts can you trade in One yacht and help to pay the bill right uh we ought to think about that a little bit um
▶ 1:32:09the my colleagues on the other side of the aisle uh want to extend more Trump tax cuts I think he ought to pay for the first batch and figure out a way to begin to help us meet this terrible ter terrible challenge of balancing our nation's accounts so we can't just talk about spending and cutting Medicaid do you know if we did that I probably wouldn't have many doctors that could be still educated
▶ 1:32:40in the district that I represent because we have one public hospital that the state owns that is completely full of Medicaid patients I'll go there myself someday when I get sick uh and I don't have to go there I could go to the best hospitals in the country but I'll be with my people every step of the way so I I just I find this a comic discussion the G's time has expired but uh you want to make like just I just would like to say I've served in Congress long enough to know
▶ 1:33:10that it's possible to produce a balanced budget we ought to start there Mr chairman I saw Bill Clinton do that with Republicans and Democrats working together I would hope we could get to that point I thank the Gent lady from Ohio now you have five minutes to the gentleman from California Mr mov thank you m Mr chairman I've suggested from time to time that the only Chairman's portraits that we should have in this budget committee room are those chairman who actually balanced the budget uh a group that I hope someday uh uh uh you will join and I've
▶ 1:33:40also suggested that a placard should be displayed over the Das with these four words it's the spending stupid the budget isn't about the deficit the budget is about spend spending the deficit is driven by spending once we've spent a dollar the only question is whether it's paid from current taxes from borrowing that's the deficit or from inflation so the overarching question is how does this budget treat total spending and the
▶ 1:34:10answer is that the spending cuts are substantial and on that basis alone I I believe this budget resolution deserves our support I do share the Democrats new found concern for the debt but so what they've never seemed to grasp is that debt and taxes and inflation are all driven by spending that they can never seem to get enough of in unless we're talking about spending to protect our communities from violent criminals or protect our country from International threats
▶ 1:34:41Mr chairman as I've expressed to you throughout our discussions I I'm deeply disappointed that this resolution doesn't go much farther to reduce mandatory spending let me give you just one example this resolution sets the stage to extend all the tcja including those aspects of it that have nothing to do with growth and nothing to do with taxes I'm speaking of $350 billion in refundable tax credits paid to people who pay no taxes that's not tax policy it's welfare policy and if we're going to do
▶ 1:35:11it we should do so honestly through welfare programs where we can at least insist on a strong work requirement but much of my disappointment in this resolution is compensated by the extraordinary work being done by Elon Musk and his team at at Doge I am confident they are setting the stage for hundreds of billions of dollars of cost savings that are not reflected in this budget resolution but that are real and imminent uh I also share the Democrats concern that the growth uh
▶ 1:35:41rate that this resolution relies upon is far above the economic consensus that has the potential of costing us credibility in bond markets and that's a valid concern but what the consensus fails to rec recognize is what's going on all around us with Administration initiatives to roll back the crushing regulatory burdens imposed by the previous failed Administration it's not unreasonable to assume that these policies will have the same positive economic influence that they had during the first Trump Administration
▶ 1:36:11in which case the resolution's growth projection is if anything slightly conservative the only other time in our history that we've carried so much debt to GDP was at the end of World War II when we had exhausted all of our resour ources in fiscal year 1946 Harry Truman abolished the excess profits tax he slashed federal income tax rates he cut federal spending from $85 billion a year to $30 billion a year he fired 10 million federal employees
▶ 1:36:41it was called War demobilization The KES at the time predicted 25% unemployment and a second Great Depression instead we got the post-war economic boom I think this budget plus the many other actions by this Administration outside of this budget will produce the new golden American age that President Trump has initiated Benjamin Franklin told the delegates at the Constitutional Convention that when you bring together a group of people to benefit from their Collective wisdom you are also
▶ 1:37:12inevitably going to get their Collective Folly and from that you can't expect a perfect plan but despite all of his misgivings about certain parts of that document he marveled at how good in total it was he said that he doubt a little of his own infallibility and put his reservations at Bay and I feel the same way as I endorse this budget resolution this morning the American people didn't save our country on Election night last November they gave us the tools to save
▶ 1:37:42our country it's still up to us to use them this is a powerful tool that we unlock today and I'm confident it will begin to arrest the spending that is hollowing out the earnings of our people and destroying the prosperity and productivity of our nation I yield back I think the gentleman and now yield five minutes to the gentle lady from California Mrs Chu Mr chair I strongly oppose the ripoff let's just say it prices aren't
▶ 1:38:12any lower than they were on inauguration day the picture of Donald Trump taking the oath of office in the Capitol rotunda with billionaires in the front row tells us everything we need to know about where his priority is it's certainly not with working people in fact just yesterday uh the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported inflation Rose much more than expected in January meaning that everywhere you go you see
▶ 1:38:42higher prices of fuel groceries and eggs what's the response of House Republicans it's not an agenda or legislation to to lower F food fuel or housing prices it's not an agenda to make life more affordable for Americans instead they plan to give in entirely to Trump and billionaires agendas and to give the richest man in the world and Trump's biggest donor Elon Musk unfettered access to Americans
▶ 1:39:13private data Republicans are cleare eyed in this budget proposal sell out average American workers and the middle class to make the rich even richer to justify their trillions in tax cuts for our country's wealthiest in their Republican ripoff they must find a tradeoff now remember that their focus is on helping the wealthiest in the country amounting to a true $2 trillion giveaway to
▶ 1:39:43them in my district it means the top .1% get $314,000 in tax cuts that they don't need and who loses out working people kids and our future Generations these spending cuts steal from future generations and deprive our kids from Investments That Could rebuild Bridges and roads improve their classrooms
▶ 1:40:14and support the First Responders in their towns in fact Republicans concerns about saddling future generations with our national debt have vanished Into Thin Air just last month president Trump promised he wouldn't cut Medicaid our country's largest health care provider that serves 80 million Americans of all ages but Republicans have already gone back on this by ordering the house Energy and Commerce
▶ 1:40:44Committee to reduce spending by 880 billion there is no way to make Cuts this deep without slash ing Medicaid using our constituents Health Care to pay for billionaires tax cuts with fewer Medicaid dollars States will be forced to make drastic life-altering Cuts in my district alone nearly 135,000 of my constituents which includes
▶ 1:41:14mostly children and seniors could be at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage and that is way more than the population of a city and this proposal comes at a time when my district is just beginning to recover from the eaten fire in aladen and Pasadena the fifth deadliest wildfire in California's history that left 17 dead more than 20,000 homeless 9500 structures and neighborhoods raised to the
▶ 1:41:45ground as Republicans consider these Cuts I ask you to think of a constituent of mine she's an 88-year-old civil rights activist and retired teacher last month she lost her home of 30 years to the fire well thanks to the Republican ripoff not only will she have to begin rebuilding her life at almost 90 but she'll also have to worry about losing out on home and communitybased health care services paid for by Medicaid kids who lost their bedroom and all their belongings
▶ 1:42:16in the wildfires could also lose the ability to see a pediatrician children and adults with disabilities at lowest points of their lives and living in unfamiliar places could lose the ability to have their behavioral and chronic Health needs met and for what so Elon can buy a new yacht so Zuckerberg can buy another home so basos can buy another private plane so billionaires can hoard even more of this
▶ 1:42:47wealth my constituents deserve better the American people deserve better I once again voice my opposition to this Republican ripoff justifying tax cuts for the rich on the backs of the working class is a betrayal at its worst I yeld back I think the gentle lady and now yield five minutes to the Mr Bren from Oklahoma sorry I didn't see you down there thank you Mr chairman and
▶ 1:43:17uh I'm I'm really excited um about the prospect of delivering on on a Reconciliation package that is truly focused on doing something about changing the trajectory where this nation is headed I I compliment a post reminding us um that musk put out several days ago about Milton fredman lost Lost Wisdom who said keep your eye on one thing and one thing only how much the
▶ 1:43:47government is spending because that's the true tax every budget is balanced there is no such thing as an unbalanced federal budget you're paying for it if you're not paying for it in the form of explicit taxes you're paying for it indirectly in the form of inflation or in the form of borrowing so let's talk about the inflation taxes I'll I'll I'll lend credit to chip Roy he's deeming it I love that the inflation tax we don't want to talk about it the 20% increase since January
▶ 1:44:182020 that every person All Families have seen the devaluation of their currency the loss of their purchasing power their their lack of ability in the purchase of a basket of goods 20% because every day you are either being taxed directly or in indirectly through through inflation by the way that we've set this thing up in the ability for us um as a nation to just print money you know on the state level governing is pretty easy
▶ 1:44:48however much money you want to spend is relative to how much money you have in Revenue but juamo when it comes to to the federal ideology we create it out of thin air and we begin to play Monopoly um look I want to really address this concept that you hear colleagues on the other side of the aisle talking about this is to benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class and that couldn't be further from the truth because what we're trying to do here is is go after that that inflationary tax we are trying to not only allow the average American family
▶ 1:45:18which with tcja which impacts but we're allowing that not only keep more of their hard-earned money but to make sure the money that we've allowed them to keep is not devalued daily as is the case and has been on on steroids the last four years um and so as our colleagues talk about the rich Let's talk about the billionaire connected those to to that ideology that say let's subsidize wind and solar that the inflation reduction act that we hopefully will garnish the ability to claw back when they did reconciliation
▶ 1:45:49a few years ago that is 750 billion to8 $25 billion cost to the American taxpayer you look off the island of Spain and the Canary Islands who said 10 years ago that little island said who are in the trade winds will be totally independent green compliant and yet you look at numbers recently last several years 50% they're having to be backed up by fossil fuels and they're in the trade win Zone it is unreliable it's unaffordable and you look at the countries in Europe who decide they want to go down that pathway and when they fix a true
▶ 1:46:19value of what they have to ask their citizens to pay to be compliant they say no we're not interested in doing that there is a real cost to every decision there used to be a statement that this country used to believe in it came from the gentl by the name of John Henry William bocher and it said you cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich men you can't strengthen the Weak by weakening the strong you can't lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down you can't build character and Courage by taking people's initiative and Independence away and you cannot help people
▶ 1:46:50permanently by doing for them what they could and should be doing for them El that was a maximum commonly cited in the 20s and yet as we have conversations about Medicaid what did what what did the Democrats Institute when we got into the World War II sacrifice for the Next Generation everything was work dependent and now we have to struggle in this culture to say we we're the safety net we want to apply work requirements and that is seen as as obscure the greatest Generation when they
▶ 1:47:20had a debt level to GDP like we have now not only did they have the debt load but by 1973 because they sacrificed to pay off that debt they had a 25% debt to GDP ratio not only did they fight the war but then they sacrificed to pay off the war debt and we're in peace time and we're not willing to make the hard choices to pay off our debts so for everyone who supported the IRA that led to a 20% increase on the average American family that is displacing jobs in in the energy sector for oil
▶ 1:47:50and gas that is Affordable we're talking about rightsizing that and rightsizing government and let me just end with this when they talk about Medicaid our population since 2012 in this country has grown 6% you know what the Medicaid population has grown 60% in the same time frame you know who's the largest subgrade subgroup on the F according to fga of Medicaid abled boded not the blind not the disabled not pregnant nursing mothers elderly abl bodied individuals that are above the federal poverty level
▶ 1:48:20at a rate of 138% or above this is about bringing Justice back in the tax code with that I yield I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma now yield five minutes to Mr tonco from New York thank you Mr chair let's just take a minute to review what's going on here Republicans want to rip Medicaid away from millions of Americans Republicans want to raise the cost of Health Care and prescription drugs like insulin Republicans want to jack up grocery costs for Working Families Republicans want to throw away rules
▶ 1:48:50that protect clean air and water for the sole benefit of big oil companies and Republicans for some mindboggling reason want to blow an additional three trillion doll hole in our national DCH I have heard from thousands of constituents who care and care deeply about the cost of living crisis and are angry and are fearful about these proposals people wonder whether they will ever be able to afford to own a home or retire with dignity and for young parents the cost of child care
▶ 1:49:20might as well be a second mortgage payments make no mistake this bill will do absolutely nothing nothing to alleviate those very real and legitimate concerns the Working Families of New York's 20th District were promised by this Administration that their lives would be made great again on day one instead we are here to decimate and destroy the programs that millions of Americans rely upon for the basic necessities of life and for what to extend tax
▶ 1:49:51cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit billionaires and allow corporate polluters to pad their bottom lines at the expense of our health and our environment this is nothing short of betrayal slashing Medicaid funding by hundreds of billions of dollars will do nothing but jeopardize care for millions of children individuals with disabilities and the elderly I for one will fight against this with every fiber of my being because I did not get elected to take healthc care away from the 80
▶ 1:50:21million Americans who rely upon Medicaid thanks to programs like Medicaid we are living better we're living longer and healthier lives but if Republicans follow through with plans to cut Medicaid it will make Americans sicker and create chaos in our Health Care system in New York state alone Medicaid provides coverage to nearly 7 million people including 44% of all children and 49% of new moms and their newborns and 64% of people living in nursing
▶ 1:50:51homes in the state rely on this program Medicaid is also the single largest payer for Behavioral Health Services so that many and any Cuts would mean gutting access to health care for mental health and substance use disorders our constituents lives are on the line and they deserve better than being used as a pay for for president Trump and his richest supporters but that's not all those ta tax cuts for billionaires will also be paid for by taking
▶ 1:51:21food off the tables of struggling families in my district over 35,000 households rely upon snap to survive close to 40% of these homes include seniors children or people with disabilities these aren't just statistics the are these are our friends and our neighbors and the Republican approach will also harm people struggling to pay their energy bills millions of Americans have reported foregoing food and medicine or keeping their home at unsafe temperatures because
▶ 1:51:51of energy cost concerns when Democrats were in charge we enacted an historic expansion of Grants rebates and tax credits for clean energy and Energy Efficiency and we are just starting to see the effects of those incentives since August of 22 there has been more than $420 billion in private sector Investments creating more than 400,000 jobs to support the deployment and manufacturer of Clean Energy Technologies the department of energy estimated
▶ 1:52:21that this swed policies is expected to save families up to $38 billion on electricity bills through 2030 and this analysis was conf reconfirmed last month by an independent research done by Aurora Energy Research which examined the potential repeal of the technology neutral energy tax credits they found that removing these incentives would result in monthly households energy bills increasing by an average of 10% as much as $468 per year for New Yorkers by flirting
▶ 1:52:52with deals and other policy changes Republicans are already causing uncertainty for the entities responsible for investing in and maintaining a reliable affordable and increasingly low pollution Energy System and perhaps worse is the plan that Republicans will attempt to use this reconciliation process to fulfill their long-term policy goals of repealing legally required rules that protect Americans from harmful air pollution all this points to an agenda that puts the interest of fossil fuel companies over every
▶ 1:53:22Americans taking from Americans who are struggling to pay their energy bills put food on their tables and see a doctor all to bankroll tax benefits for the rich is a heartless betrayal and we should not accept it I heard it mentioned this morning that this uh bill this budget bill will reign in Reckless spending I say it will authorize Reckless Cuts with that I look forward to opposing this resolution and I yield back Mr chair I thank the gentleman from New York and now yield five minutes to my
▶ 1:53:52friend um and gentleman from California Mr J OB oberti well thank you Mr chairman you know I think I probably speak for just about everyone in this room when I say I think that our national debt and our budget deficit is the number one existential crisis facing our country certainly the facts back that up this year we will spend 177% of all federal revenue just
▶ 1:54:22paying interest on the national debt the CBO put out a budget Outlook a few months ago that says that this year for the first time in the history of our country we'll spend more on paying interest on the national debt than we do on our defense and that by the end of their 20-year forecast window interest on the national debt will have passed every other Federal program in terms of spending and in fact by that point three qus
▶ 1:54:53of all borrowing will go just to pay interest on the money that we have already borrowed this is a problem that we have to solve and the only way that we can solve it it said when you're digging a hole the only way to stop digging the hole deeper is to stop digging and that's what we need to do we need to spending so that's why I was looking forward to this hearing but I have to be honest with you m Mr chairman uh the partisan rhetoric that I've heard so far this morning that I'm sure
▶ 1:55:23we'll continue to hear throughout the day really illustrates why the American public have lost confidence in the United States Congress to solve this problem I wish that this is a problem that we could solve together I wish we could all agree that we need to stop spending this budget resolution that we're considering today takes a modest approach to solving that problem we're cutting about we we're talking about in this resolution reducing ing federal spending
▶ 1:55:53by a total of $1.5 trillion doll over 10 years to put that in context that's 150 billion a year when we spend $7 trillion dollar a year in overall federal spending it's extremely modest and yet to hear the partis and outrage over this this modest level of cuts uh is just nonsensical I also have to admit Mr chairman that I was looking forward to seeing some of the Amendments that were offered by folks in this hearing because I thought this is supposed to be uh a deliberative
▶ 1:56:23body we're supposed to talk about the merits of what we're doing here and yet every single one of the Amendments that I've seen as I've Lea through the Amendments that have been offered are talking about doing things to not cut spending and just to be clear we're not talking about specific programs here we're the budget committee all we do is we issue reconciliation instructions to the various policy committees and every single one of the Amendments that I've seen offered today just reduces the number of one committee or to or another to zero and and folks that is not uh
▶ 1:56:53solving the problem and let let's talk about some of the other solutions that have been proposed what I've heard said over and over and over again in the opening statements here is that uh we cannot cut revenues right well folks this year we will collect over 177% of GDP in federal revenue and that is above average for our country we do not have a revenue problem we have a spending problem and uh let me Al also dispel what some of the partisan res rhetoric over
▶ 1:57:23extension of the tax cuts and jobs act if we allow the tcja to expire it will increase taxes on over 65% of American households so for all of these posters that I've seen on the other side of the aisle here that say Republicans want to cut taxes for billionaires you ought to have a poster next to it that says Democrats want to increase taxes on over 65% of American families because that is equally true so I believe in nonpartisan government
▶ 1:57:54I believe that together we ought to be able to sit down and figure out solutions to this problem this kind of rhetoric is not helpful so I urge my colleagues to take a more considerate and deliberate and thoughtful tone as we have these discussions and to let's work together to come up with a solution to this problem because this is an existential threat and if we don't solve it our children and their children will be paying the price I you back I than the gentleman and now yield five minutes to Mr Amo from Rhode Island thank you Mr chairman
▶ 1:58:24and I'm grateful to engage in my first budget committee markup uh but I was always told that budgets are a reflection of values and when I look at this Republican budget blueprint all I see is betrayal this roadmap will lead to jacking up costs raising the price of Health Care and pushing College even further Out Of Reach for Working Families I asked why are Republicans doing this why not
▶ 1:58:54actually do the work to help middle class Americans instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires Mr chairman I did my homework to prepare for this hearing and I came across a quote by the incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue president Trump when he assured us that he would love and cherish Medicaid when he promised quote we're not going to do anything with that unquote so I ask to my friends on the other side of the aisle do you agree with the president if so let's take Medicaid
▶ 1:59:25cuts off the table let's hold off on hurting Americans struggling to pay their bills since I know you are loyal to the always thoughtful words of leader ordinary Americans no costs are high it's the one thing that Republicans said they address on day one of this Trump Administration but from groceries to gas prices the cost of everyday goods are on the rise don't believe believe me egg prices just experienced their largest
▶ 1:59:55monthly price increase in a decade they are 53% higher today than they were last year consumer inflation is increasing at the fastest Pace in over a year and consumer confidence is its lowest in six months Elon Musk and the other billionaire buddies may not notice this but back home Rhode Islanders do instead of easing this burden on Republicans are ransacking the programs that so many people
▶ 2:00:25in our districts especially mine rely on programs like Medicaid and snap that help people go to the doctor and put food on the table the Republican plan could take a machete to slash $230 billion from snap and 880 billion from Medicaid two proposals which also conveniently allow them to turn around and shovel 1.1 trillion Dollar in tax giveaways to the 1%
▶ 2:00:56a glaring emission in this Republican proposal is addressing Cliffs on the horizon if Republicans fail to act 4 million Americans will lose their health coverage by the end of this year in Rhode Island a 60-year-old couple earning $82,000 a year would see their annual premium increase by over $4,000 that's not a typo $144,000 chair Arrington in Texas that same couple would see their annual
▶ 2:01:26premium increased by nearly $118,000 so I say to my Republican colleagues why are you putting your foot on the gas to drive the American economy into a ditch why is it because Trump's billionaire donors front row seat hav folks asked you to is it because the whims of Elon Musk matter more than the needs of working people like I said this is a betrayal full stop this is not some
▶ 2:01:57social policy experiment real people will suffer it is a betrayal of our seniors it's a betrayal of our families it is a betrayal of the middle class we have work to do and this is not the work the American people sent us here for they sent us here to put them first and we are doing just the opposite when you look at the actions of this budget and so with that I yield back I thank
▶ 2:02:27the gentleman and now yield five minutes uh to my friend from Indiana Mr Marlon stutsman thank you Mr chairman and it's good to be back on the budget committee after an 8-year hius and uh living back in the real world and working at creating jobs and watching this American economy under two different presidents you know I was I left in 2017 and so I was back in the private sector under President Trump
▶ 2:02:58and I was also in the private sector under President Obama and you know obviously uh Co was a a natural um needed a natural a national response to a very serious problem but uh the effects and that government created out of that pandemic are having long-term effects on us today and you know there's can be a lot of finger pointing um you know as as Mr olber NTI was commenting
▶ 2:03:28about tackling the problems uh that's what needs to happen today instead of finger pointing let's point at the problem and let's have an honest discussion about what's really happening here and what has happened um plenty of mistakes in the past you know in 1980 our national debt was $1 trillion since George Washington our Founding Father since the creation of this country all the way until 1980 when Ronald Reagan
▶ 2:03:58took the the White House we accumulated a trillion dollars of debt 2010 we had 9 trillion 2018 18 trillion today 36 trillion we've been doubling debt at a at a a such a fast pace it's just unsustainable and we have to have an honest discussion amongst ourselves right here we got to fix this and you know it's I hear folks on the other side of the aisle talking about
▶ 2:04:29egg prices well I come from a family farm in in Northeast Indiana where we know a little bit about farming and what government has done over the past three years has driven up the price of those eggs whether it's regulations whether it's uh spending money into an economy where people aren't then turning around and having the opportunity to work and to uh to be productive we need production in
▶ 2:04:59this country because that's going to help make the demand we can buy the the goods and services that we need people are working harder today for less and you know say well this is going to happen on Election Day we all know that's this takes a little bit of time to turn this economy around and let's let's be just honest with each other that there is optimism there is hope there are the American people
▶ 2:05:29are finally glad that somebody's fighting for them uh you know I'm I'm encouraged by what the Doge team is doing we've needed this to happen with the federal government for a long time our federal government has needed a colonoscopy and somebody to dive deep and look and see what the problems are and where the spending is is at and where the we waste is that I'm glad to hear folks say you know what we're all against waste Fraud and Abuse well let's let's identify
▶ 2:05:59it and let's decide that there is plenty of waste Fraud and Abuse that can be eliminated so that way it goes to the American people you know they talk about well $20 million here or $5 million here you know that's just that's small but you know what that $20 million could do back in bluon Indiana for a a community $20 million would be have a huge impact in Indiana in a small community rather than going to a sesame program in Iraq we
▶ 2:06:29got to think about our folks rather than thinking about people around the world if we're not healthy we can't be a generous Nation we're borrowing money to buy food rather than investing in our future and infrastructure that's what's happening credit card debt is at an all-time high that means people are they don't have the income to to go buy the goods and services that they need and they're putting it on credit cards we've got to make sure this economy is growing and it's
▶ 2:06:59good for every American that's what this budget does it it holds the government back and allows the American people to flourish and move ahead and be successful and prosperous so Mr chairman uh thank you for your work on this I know this committee has worked very hard uh to find that balance because we don't want to see Americans hurt because of government's irresponsible action actions but at the same time we have got to get this government spending under control and I am uh proud to support the efforts today so I you back
▶ 2:07:30I thank my friend from Indiana and now yield five minutes to my friend from Minnesota Miss Omar thank you chairman uh and thank you ranking member for bringing us together today um I want to start by saying this is not a serious budget it is a blueprint for American decline this is a praison attack on hardworking Americans and a betrayal of the middle class in the simplest terms this Republican
▶ 2:08:00ripoff is going to lower taxes for Elon Musk and his rich friends which means they are getting money back in their pockets while they are taking away food and Med medication from poor kids this is shameful and this is happening at a time when Trump Elon and their minions are trying to gut government services and push us into a constitutional crisis we are headed towards dictatorship
▶ 2:08:31the president is regularly claiming authority to act outside the bounds of the law established unelected billionaires and their Mega minions are eroding our institutions and the authority and jurisdiction of Congress and the courts are being undermined meanwhile the Congressional Republicans are scr scrambling to meet president Trump's tax demands as he erods
▶ 2:09:01critical services that help our constituents this police state budget demonizes immigrant communities and inflates our already bloated military budget why is it that we are trying to give them another hundred billion dollar when they can't even pass a single op it their plan enriches their wealthy donor class while gutting programs that help our poor communities
▶ 2:09:32and the estimates are staggering at least 38 million Americans could lose Health Care through severe Medicaid Cuts 40 million people would see cuts to nutrition assistance 5 million college students would be burdened with higher tuition and Loan costs Behind These numbers are real people a child who will go hungry at school a parent who
▶ 2:10:02cannot pay for their rent a senior who will not be able to afford their prescription all to fund tax cuts for people who don't need to think twice about the cost of groceries or medicine again this is not a budget it's it is a blueprint for American decline it is a road map to a country where corporate B profits soore while our families get
▶ 2:10:33poor where the most profitable companies pay virtually nothing in federal taxes where corporations and foreign investors feasted on tax breaks while our communities P bear the brunt of the devastating Cuts once again Republicans are in power complaining about fiscal responsibility and their first major Cuts will be to enact trillions of dollars in regressive Reckless
▶ 2:11:03tax cuts I ask my colleagues across the aisle will we be a nation that invests in its people that takes care of one another or will we or will we be a nation that only serves special interest I urge my colleagues to reject this cruel budget framework and demand a government that serves all Americans not just the few wealthy I yeld back I thank the gentle lady and now yield five minutes to Mr McGarvey
▶ 2:11:33from Kentucky thank you Mr chairman let's call the Republican budget proposal what it is a total scam and betrayal of the American middle class it reads like a love letter to billionaires which we all know is the point this is their endgame billionaires like Elon Musk poured millions of dollars into the 2024 election and now they're cashing in on that investment what are these billionaires want so desperately tax cuts not for
▶ 2:12:03us for them it's that simple tax cuts for billionaires and the most profitable companies paid for by our kids our seniors veterans and anyone who works hard for a paycheck also the richest man in the world can get even richer and so that company like Tesla can continue to pay zero that's zero in federal taxes despite bringing in billions of dollars this is a scam plain and
▶ 2:12:33simple the Republican budget scam will hurt our most vulnerable including our kids seniors and Veterans someone's illness should never be a death sentence but this budget will rip away health insurance from millions of Americans in Kentucky we know this all to well we had the most successful roll out of the Affordable Care Act in the entire country nearly 25% of kentuckians have Medicaid 440,000 kentuckians got health insurance for the first time
▶ 2:13:04because of the expansion of Medicaid that's now all at risk Republicans want to rip this coverage away so that ultra wealthy can get even richer but these Cuts go beyond Healthcare we have a hunger crisis in this country millions of American families struggle to put food on the table and rely on programs like Snap to survive the Republican budget scan puts these food assistance programs on The Chopping Block including for over 35,000 Lillians who count on the supplemental
▶ 2:13:34nut nutrition assistance program and who does this hurt countless seniors and Veterans also face food insecurity including thousands of veterans across Kentucky who rely on Snap let's be clear a cut to snap is a cut to our veterans who we made a sacred promise to support after they risked everything for us as if hurting millions of Americans wasn't enough the Republicans math doesn't even
▶ 2:14:04add up I went to law school so I wouldn't have to do math but I do understand some basic addition and subtraction Republicans want to cut your benefits by $1 trillion but they want to spend 4.6 trillion dollars on tax cuts for the .1% even if you take the rosiest forecasts and account for growth that is over $2 and A5 trillion dollars that
▶ 2:14:35Republicans are adding to our deficit where is that money going more importantly who is it going to they're robbing you to line Elon musk's pockets that's the truth Republicans have been plotting this scheme for years they used to want to hide the fact that they are ripping off the middle class and bending the knee to their billionaire donors but now Republicans are openly bragging about it Donald Trump promised
▶ 2:15:05all of these ultra wealthy donors gathered at maralago saying quote you're rich as hell we're going to give you tax cuts enough is enough this has to stop house Democrats will not seed an inch we will continue fighting for Working Families for balanced budgets for budgets that work for the American people not this Republican budget scam thank you Mr chairman I yeld back I thank the gentleman and now yield five minutes to Mrs ja
▶ 2:15:35Paul from Washington thank you Mr chairman it's good to be back uh after a two-year break we are here to mark up a bill that is a republican betrayal of the middle class it is a republican ripoff to take your taxpayer dollars and strip you of essential programs and services so that they can pay for tax cuts for the biggest corporations and the wealthiest billionaires with this budget resolution they're actually starting Trump tax scam 2.0 and it's
▶ 2:16:05even bigger than the first one it's unbridled greed and Corruption and it's cruel unworkable and inhumane remember Trump tax scam 1.0 the results of that scam are clear 83% of the tax cuts went to the richest 1% while the average American got just a couple weeks of groceries seriously gold bars for the wealthiest and breadcrumbs for the rest and from the party of so-called fiscal responsibility that tax scam increased
▶ 2:16:36the deficit by $2 trillion in the years that it's been in law well here we are again with Republicans planning to strip Medicaid of $880 billion so that they can Finance Trump tax scan 2.0 the extension of trump tax scam 1.0 Republicans intend to make deep cuts to essential programs that millions of Americans rely on from nursing homes to school lunches for kids to Meals on Wheels to
▶ 2:17:06Affordable Health Care for millions of Americans it's just cruel this Republican ripoff will result in millions of children lower income seniors and people with disabilities becoming uninsured and seeing their health costs dramatically incre one in three Americans depend on Medicaid for their health coverage and this Republican betrayal would eviscerate that we're talking about stealing Health Care from 38 million kids across the country that's over 800,000
▶ 2:17:36kids in my home state over 3 million kids in Texas and about 1.2 million kids in Ohio they've also signal their intent to cut F crucial food assistance by at least 20% the new nutritional program snap provides food to 42 million low-income Americans including for over 3 million Floridians and two million pennsylvanians four out of five households that rely on Snap have a child a senior or a person
▶ 2:18:07with a disability amidst Rising food prices now is not the time to stop helping Working Families put food on the table and let's not forget Republican instructions to make these Cuts is a floor not a ceiling on top of this the Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee has said that this bill needs to have offsets totaling more than the $4.5 trillion currently set as the lower limit in order to extend track Trump's tax scam
▶ 2:18:37now you may hear that my Republican colleagues uh are claiming that extending the tax tax scam doesn't cost money that's grossly inaccurate extending Trump's tax scam would give the wealthiest Americans a tax cut two and a half times the size of what it gives to a regular American household don't take my word for it take it from our Republican colleague David schwier who has called that claim quote an intellectual fraud we could
▶ 2:19:07see considerably more cuts to essential services for middleclass Americans there is simply no other way to achieve Republicans cruel policy goals without severe and painful cuts that devastate Working Families amilies how are we supposed to maintain and bolster the Social Security and Medicare programs that seniors rely on that are earned benefits if Republicans keep slashing benefits at every turn just to keep wealthy cronies happy when Democrats controlled the house we passed Landmark
▶ 2:19:38legislation the American Rescue plan to lower child poverty to the lowest rate on record now as a single one of my Republican colleagues voted for that bill we passed measures to make historic investment ments in affordable housing and child care Democrats put everyday Americans first not only did we campaign on helping working people we actually delivered on it in contrast my Republican colleagues have put forward an extreme plan that betrays every one of their Promises to the
▶ 2:20:08American middle class and working people everywhere it forces us taxpayers to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest while stripping them of critical programs and benefits the Republican betrayal of the middle class vote no now you'll back I thank the gentle lady and I believe we've allowed every member who wanted to give an opening statement to do so but just to make sure I didn't miss anybody last call for an opening
▶ 2:20:40statement okay um we will now proceed with the technical and factual question and answer session uh f for the uh fiscal year 2025 concurrent resolution on the budget we have at the witness table making their way to the witness table Mr Brad Watson our director of budget uh review and Senior policy advisors Eric Davis Paul Johnson and Braden Murphy majority
▶ 2:21:10staff is here to answer Technical and factual questions let's not get into the the substance of the policy and political commentary we can save that for the um amendment process but if you do have some technical questions they are here and available uh for as much time as needed so uh I'm just going to uh ask if any members have questions any technical
▶ 2:21:40questions if I uh Mr ranking member go ahead and and Lead this off um well thank you gentlemen um and as I've done before in these I understand you're not the elected official and uh so any political points or uh points of disagreement that I will make with this uh uh frankly blueprint that I strongly oppose I I will save that for the amendment process uh later on so I want to get from you guys
▶ 2:22:11a better sense of what's the underlying assumptions what is actually in here what it allows for uh Etc so very simp simply the first question is is the cbo's Baseline for January 2025 budgetary levels like function totals revenues deficits Etc is that in this resolution uh yes sir that is the uh baseline from which the budget works and then uh did you assume any amounts in the cbo's Baseline
▶ 2:22:41that are not extrapolated uh and or inflated yes sir the budget would work off of an adjusted Baseline that removed the extrapolation for emergency spending the onetime emergency spending so one of the things that caught my eye is that your budget assumes about 3% growth across the decade um I haven't been able to find one reputable forecast that predicts that level of sustained growth indeed
▶ 2:23:12GDP growth has been at 3% or above only four times in the last 25 years so why would this um use such a a lofty uh Assumption of 3% growth consistently each year for the next decade the budget would assume an annual average of economic growth of 2.6% in ter in real terms adjusting for 2.6% that um contrasts with cbo's annual um
▶ 2:23:42average projection of 1.8% over the long term they project the lowest sustained economic growth in American history the best predictor of the future of the US economy is its past performance which has shown growth of 3% since World War II and and where are these GDP assumptions uh reflected in this budget the budget uh reflects its GDP assumptions in the Aggregates um and in terms of the macroeconomic feedback in the uh tables um that are considered with
▶ 2:24:12the budget resolution are they only published in the committee report yes sir the um the GDP data is published as part of our um committee report but it would be um 2.6% real adjusted growth uh per year sir well let me move I I remember uh in the 2000 debate uh George W bush kept using the term Fuzzy Math um I'm reminded of that term when I see some other uh assumptions here that are um hard to understand or believe for
▶ 2:24:42example what is the basis of estimating these magical Savings of $2.6 trillion the 2.6 trillion um flows from the higher economic growth the basis of the Assumption is um data from CBO and OMB in terms of the relationship between higher economic growth and macroeconomic feedback wait so so so CBO is projecting that there' be these 2.6 trillion dollars and the the deficit
▶ 2:25:12and debt increase which most people can see is in here would magically not happen um so sir the uh CB um would modeling would show $2.6 trillion of macroeconomic feedback um in other words depth of reduction flowing from economic growth of 0.8% additional year um I I refrain from arguing this point and I'll save it for uh for later I did want to just focus on
▶ 2:25:43um something that I did find um the instruction to ways and means on which I serve and and the chair serves as well is to increase the deficit by no more than $4.5 trillion and CBO I believe has released a projection that shows the full extension of the tcja would cost about 4 and a half trillion is is that correct the
▶ 2:26:13um so the I think through 2034 the tcga um cost is approxim imely $4 trillion if you don't include interest but I mean we have to include CBO has projected its $46 trillion so that 4 and a half figure would accommodate exactly or almost exactly the a full extension of the tcja but then there's no no room left for anything else so I find that interesting
▶ 2:26:43because during the campaign especially in my home state of Pennsylvania now president Trump kept saying saying that he would push for no tax on tips obviously this doesn't allow for any of that well um so the One technical point I'd make is the reconciliation instructions would um not factor in the interest cost of the four trillion dollar 4.5 trillion the4 trillion dollar would factor into that and that would leave remaining um dollars left over
▶ 2:27:14for potentially others so um president Trump also when campaigning in Pennsylvania and elsewhere said that he would have no tax on overtime there also wouldn't be any money left over in order to satisfy that campaign pledge well I would say that um the budget resolution um sets up a Reconciliation process the the target for the Ways and Means Committee would be $4.5 trillion that's a ceiling on the deficit increase the ways of Means Committee and the ways of Means Committee would have the flexibility and authority to make funding decisions within and legislate off of yes I understand that flexibility
▶ 2:27:44but of course anything they do if they use some of that flexibility to fulfill president Trump campaign pledge let's say no tax on tips then they that just means they would reduce the amount that' be available for full extension of tcja essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul the other um uh pledge among many that President Trump made during the campaign in my state uh and others would be no tax on Social Security benefits yet again there wouldn't be anything left in order to satisfy
▶ 2:28:15that campaign pledge correct well I I would say um again that the 4.5 5 trillion um it does provide um room above the 4 trillion cost of the tcj but again I would say that the instructions provide the Ways and Means Committee the flexibility to legislate and make decisions within their so that's interesting so I can understand then why the Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee has expressed um some real concerns about whether or not this
▶ 2:28:45blueprint and I think it clearly does not allow for any of the tax promises that President Trump made uh during the campaign with that I'll y back yeah I'd like to just clarify a little bit on what Brad's saying so the 4 and a half trillion the is sufficient to extend the tcja for 10 years there are Savings in the tax code one example is what was scored
▶ 2:29:15at about 250 billion is now 750 billion in cost which is the IRA climate related tax credit so that's one example hundreds of billions of dollars that are there will be debated by our conference as to which ones stay if any and how much those savings can be put against you know presumably any of the other uh tax
▶ 2:29:46Provisions uh whether they are the promises made by the president or just any other tax Provisions in general one more point is that well can I make a point on this and then and then you make yours and so I would just say I mean that's clarifying because what that means though is in order to accommodate the campaign pledges that President Trump made on taxes which estimates have shown would actually require five and a half trillion or upwards of Six Trillion other sorts of cuts would have to be made such as as you just suggested
▶ 2:30:16reclaiming the IRA tax credits well as you know the ways of mean member there is uh the tax code is riddled with special interest giveaways on probably both sides quite frankly you've got tax credits deductions that aren't for every American they're not even for every business certainly in the green energy tax credit side you got EV tax credits not not for combustible engines but for EVS the point is there's some tax policy there where you have
▶ 2:30:47targeted uh tax benefits for certain groups that should be debated to clean up the tax code and in the process of cleaning it up you have real savings savings you can put towards better tax policy I think the second point is also important when you reduce spending which I think is the biggest drag on our economic growth potential CBO actually gives you twice the dynamic score for reducing
▶ 2:31:17spending as cutting taxes so as we reduce spending the goal is 2 trillion by the way if you do more than two trillion you can raise also the revenue side that's one option but secondly there will be hundreds of billions of dollars even if we land on one and a half trillion in spending reduction so there's there's money on the savings side on the mandatory spending and there's money or savings rather in the tax
▶ 2:31:48code and that's how you can uh get to whatever the goals are but they let yeah if reclaiming this as part of the staff walkth through if these savings by just eliminating loopholes were so easy to achieve somehow I think at some point over my lifetime they would have been achieved the point that I'm making and I think the math clearly shows this and heck talk about politics make strange bedfellows the Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee
▶ 2:32:18agrees with me on this and if president Trump is watching um and I'm sure he's a a loyal uh viewer of C-SPAN and following these carefully um Mr President all those tax pledges that you made during the campaign it is my contention and I think the contention of anyone looking at this realistically that none of that could be accommodated in this blueprint with that a yield back a follow-up question from the chair and then I'm I'm going to
▶ 2:32:48yield to Mr dogget thank you what this tax extension that uh of the current tax policies from the tax cuts and jobs Act 2017 it my Democrat colleagues to a person and if not please let me know oppose extending this although recently the vast majority of my Democrat colleagues actually supported get this not the tax cuts for families and individuals
▶ 2:33:18by the way the lower income Spectrum received more benefit than the upper and it became more Progressive as a tax code so um it actually in the top one% uh went up in terms of taxes but my Democrat colleagues the vast majorum supported um the bonus depreciation extension uh the interest uh expensing R&D the vast majority though did the majority of Democrats
▶ 2:33:48supported that just this last Congress they didn't support there was nothing for families but if tcja expired what would that mean in terms of a tax hike on the median uh family income and family of four if they oppose this and it expires what's the tax hike on families of four median household income well that would be reflected in terms of the change in the standard deduction
▶ 2:34:19which would go down compared to the present level the child tax credit would no longer be at the level of 2,000 but would go back down to 1,000 and rates on individuals and families would go down also so we lose the double of the standard deduction so that's cut and a half and the marginal rates go up sir and during tcja the quantification then I can't give you exactly the dollars and cents today median household incomes
▶ 2:34:49families of for received in in in benefit that is to keep that money in their pockets as opposed to giving that money the federal government so opposing this is going to be a tax hike on families and individuals is that correct just as a technical matter yes sir the um if uh the uh current uh tax law is allowed to
▶ 2:35:19expire that would cause taxes on families to be higher than current law I yield to my friend from Texas Mr doy thank you so much and thank you for your answers so your budget relies on $2.6 trillion of economic growth yes sir and how much is that in excess of what the independent Congressional budget office recommended so sir um the 2.6 trillion is in excess um of cbbo by that amount because the um math is there
▶ 2:35:49zero 0.8% annual average higher your the difference between you your estimates and the independent Congressional budget office is $2.6 trillion in terms of um the growth impact you say we will get it the independent office says we will not get it right well to be um one um just minor clarification there would be CBO does their uh projection off of um a current law Baseline whereas we would project off of um
▶ 2:36:20well I was wondering about that by the way Douglas Holz Eon who has come here on behalf of Republicans repeatedly he doesn't agree with that estimate does he well we um received testimony from him last Congress he did say the 3% economic growth this budget calls for 2.6% but testimony before this Congress before this committee he has said 3% is possible what what economic modeling did you use in order to uh come up with 2.6
▶ 2:36:50trillion or was it just kind of pulled out of the air because it was needed to fill the Gap it is in alignment with both CBO and OMB data and we worked with CBO specifically on the number they just disagreed with you on the bottom line $2.6 trillion a disagreement they would um come to a different conclusion in terms of a projection economy's potential uh and uh you also saw I'm sure last evening that another independent body the uh
▶ 2:37:20citizens for responsible federal budget uh said that your overall estimate here of the amount of of incredible increase in the debt under your budget was understated and that the true amount of the debt that you're going to add is5 a half to6 trillion do uh can you tell me how you disagree with their analysis yeah the uh budget includes um a variety of of savings it would include 1.5 trillion dollar of
▶ 2:37:51mandatory uh spending reforms it includes $800 billion do of discretionary uh spending reforms it would include um as we've discussed um higher economic growth and from the sum of all these policies we have deficit reduction compared to cbo's Baseline of a trillion dollars off of an adjusted Baseline to the previous question on emergency spending the Delta would be $1 billion over 10 years well but when all that's considered uh the committee for for a responsible federal budget
▶ 2:38:21says that it's 5.5 to6 trillion the um numbers in the budget resolution itself reflect a reduction in 10year deficits compared to cbo's Baseline of almost a trillion over 10 years let's assume that just by a chance your $2.6 trillion disagreement with the independent Congressional budget office inaccurate uh maybe it's off by 2. .
▶ 2:38:496 trillion maybe it's just off by a trillion what does that do to your budget well the budget um includes the 2.6 trillion estimate you have a you have a hold then in your budget by that amount I think that um our budget definitely does I agree include the 2.6 trillion in its numbers and I think the the growth in our budget it's the taxpayer impact of that is very important but obviously the impact on living standards is even more important but if a more realistic growth applies such as what the
▶ 2:39:19independent Congressional budget office has what the result will be an even larger debt if you're off if you're off by 2.6 trillion 2.6 trillion more debt or maybe it's only a trillion the um so I would absolutely agree that the growth estimate in the budget is an integral part of the budget um I would say that our growth estimate does not rely on the lowest sustained economic growth in US history which is what cbo's projection is our budget believes we can do better than that and the record of
▶ 2:39:49US History suggests that the Eon the economic projection in our budget is reasonable and cautious right and there's a pretty big gap between the economic growth that President Trump said would occur bigly under his last Administration and what actually occurred wasn't there I would say that in terms of 2018 and 2019 the immediate two years after tcj was enacted that the US economy experienced growth of 3% and 2.6% compared to cbo's projection of 1.7% and 2.2% just one more question
▶ 2:40:20you don't have any disagreement with uh the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee that with an $880 billion doll almost a trillion dollar cut uh that they are expected to implement that there will be a substantial uh cut to the Medicaid Program um so first just to briefly State the the technical parameters of it the budget would establish reconciliation instructions the committee would have the full flexibility and authority to make funding decisions within those instructions I
▶ 2:40:50would certainly agree that Medicaid is a program that is under their jurisdiction but ultimately legislation would well not only is under their jurisdiction it's the substantial when you look at the dollars that they control uh as as the chairman of the committee the Republican chairman of the committee uh indicated it's Medicaid and I I just want to emphasize that with a a cut that is that big and actually I think uh to give full credit to the chairman when he looked at the whole array of possible Savers that we could
▶ 2:41:20have out there he outlined the potential that you could have as much as $2.3 trillion dollar in savings just for Medicaid but cutting it down to a mere trillion or $880 billion do it just seems to me that the impact to the 3 million Texas children that are relying on that for their health care are the great number of people in Texas nursing homes uh that will not have that access to healthc care and the 300,000 or so pregnant women in Texas
▶ 2:41:50right now that are relying on this that their future is at real Jeopardy in order to finance these tax breaks for Elon Musk and his friends thank you I think the gentleman from Texas um have some questions just to follow on to that what my understanding is if you control for 2021 which I think we should um but every other year in the Biden Administration the average growth rate was something like
▶ 2:42:212.7 is that accurate yes sir and we had a I think during President Trump's Administration um a 3% growth rate or close to 3% in 2018 and then it was 2.6% right before covid for an average of like 2.8 is that accurate yes sir our growth rate is actually lower than the highest growth rate of President Trump's year it's lower than the average
▶ 2:42:51growth rate for the years of President Biden I would suggest that's pretty conservative um and reasonable um even though many of us believe we will go far beyond that but for the purposes of having a balanced budget resolution we wanted to be uh conservative um in the last eight decades what have we had 3% growth the majority of those decades or half
▶ 2:43:21or fewer than half uh a majority sir um the examples would include the 1950s 60s 7s 80s and 90s do we have 4% ever yes we have many 60s and the 60s is one example of that I believe the 50s was another one okay um Medicaid was brought up what's the fraud Mr Murphy what's the fraud rate in Medicaid my understanding is the waste Fraud and Abuse or impr proper payments according to GAO is like 50 billion
▶ 2:43:51a year that's right sir in FY 23 the GAO estimated 50 billion over $50 billion in improper payments in the Medicaid what's a provider tax that keeps coming up and I'm not sure I understand exactly what that is provider tax in Medicaid is one mechanism States use to draw down additional Federal monies by how does it work essentially States uh will employ a tax on different healthc care providers to draw down the enhanced Federal match in the current on on open-ended Federal Financing match system okay make sure I understand States Tax
▶ 2:44:23hospitals and some of that is reimbursed by the federal government correct that's correct but isn't there another piece to this States use a variety of mechanisms includ do St do states reimburse those hospitals for the taxes that they just levied on them to make them whole that's correct yeah it's a game it's a gimmick I just because I know my colleague from Texas we share a lot of the same interest when it comes to to big medicine and and Monopoly forces in medicine and schemes
▶ 2:44:53that really siphon money away from patients uh who we I think all with good intentions are trying to serve but there is a way in Medicaid to tax an entity a state taxing a hospital then they draw down more money from the feds through Medicaid and then the state makes the hospital whole and that's a game that's played if you took that provider tax out alog together what would we save I'm just curious I mean without touching a
▶ 2:45:24single uh single beneficiary in terms of what we invest in their health care what would the savings be on that so the current Safe Harbor threshold for provider taxes is 6% CBO has estimated if you reduce that Safe Harbor threshold you could save hundreds of billions of dollars Safe Harbor is a really cleaned up word for um fraud I mean it's legal I mean we allow but I'd like to close some of those loopholes save some money and uh and invest more
▶ 2:45:55in the most vulnerable Americans and the vulnerable children that have no clue about what's happening to their future with respect to De in debt I yield to the gentleman from Texas Mr Chi Roy for a question I thank the chairman uh Mr Watson just a couple follow-up questions along the lines with the chairman was asking um and just for clarity purposes of what we're dealing with um you talked about in the growth assumptions here right so what we're talking about here for the average viewer at home is what the chairman has put forward and what this committee has
▶ 2:46:25put forward is a package that would reduce uh mandatory spending accounts right come up with Savings of about $1 a half trillion dollars right as a floor yes sir we could surpass that in instructions the Committees are instructed they come back they could come back with more savings but we have a floor of one.5 trillion is that correct yes sir and that is roughly about $150 billion a year in savings straight line over 10 is that correct yes sir $150 billion
▶ 2:46:55of savings per year uh on a roughly what $7 trillion total spending for federal government is that correct yes sir and is that roughly by your math would 2% sound about right of the 150 billion of the total 7 trillion yes sir I would agree with that my point being what what Republicans have put forward the unit the American people need to understand we're putting forward a budget that is saying
▶ 2:47:26hey we spend $7 trillion right now pause what did we spend in 2019 before covid the total level of spending in that year was 4.4 trillion okay so preco dear America pay attention here preco we spent four point four and a half trillion dollars today a mere six years later we are spending $7 trillion
▶ 2:47:56we are suggesting we have the audacity to suggest a mere $150 billion a mere 2% of spending restraint reductions of that 7 trillion is that an accurate statement yes sir and then from that number we then have the accounts that would that are scored as being deficit increasing with respect to tax policy correct yes sir and
▶ 2:48:26the Delta is what we're talking about in terms of growth to it to the assumptions you would make to assume deficit neutrality or potential reduction correct uh yes sir and our our growth assumptions to achieve that that balance is 2.6% is that correct yes sir and historically in the United States of America grow has been about 3.2% over the last century is that correct yes sir and we've had numerous decades as the chairman
▶ 2:48:57laid out of four five 3% growth in the 50s in the 60s in the 70s in the 80s and the 90s we had growth at those levels admittedly over the last two decades we have had growth that has been often lower than that in the twos is that accurate yes sir and so what we have done is proposed A 2.6 6% growth rate based on our belief in the economic uh Power of the United States if you get government restraint out of the
▶ 2:49:27way in the form of tax policy and Regulatory policy which is embedded and assumed into this budget is that an accurate reflection yes sir I yeld back uh Mr Bobby Scott has a question I yield thank you Mr chairman um first Mr Watson we've gone back and forth about what you what you think and what the CB thinks what's the difference between your office and the CBO in terms of economic growth no in terms of who you are in terms
▶ 2:49:57of being the budget committee yeah yeah so I work for the house budget committee the the Republican chair yes sir and the CBO the uh CBO works for congress they're Russian budget office and they're considered independent yes sir okay you've just heard some numbers going back and forth about budget over the years were those numbers adjusted inflation can you repeat the question were those numbers about the budget over the course of years
▶ 2:50:28were those numbers adjusted for inflation uh which number in particular 4 trillion and 7 trillion no the 4.4 trillion or four and a half trillion dollar number is a nominal figure so if it just gone up stayed the same just adjusted for inflation it would have been a different number it would be um somewhat higher although it would not have grown to current spending level um we've talked about your estimate
▶ 2:50:59compared to the um CB the CBO estimate and the $2.6 trillion difference that it matters does OMB have an opinion do you know what their is about growth over the next 10 years I I can't speak for om on their current projection of growth no do you know what the what Wall Street consensus is um I I couldn't speak to what
▶ 2:51:29I I couldn't speak to that either I can just say that our projection is based on the historical performance of US economy well I'm not asking you how you figured it out I'm just saying that CBO probably did the same thing they came up with 1.8 I'm advised that the Blue Chip forecast which should be the Wall Street consensus this is about 1.8 om Om I'm advis that's 2.2 and you come in at 2.8
▶ 2:51:59that would make if everybody else is right that would make a substantial hole in your budget is that right the again the budget relies on the economic growth projection of $2.6 trillion over 10 years the for some of the forecasts that you're relying on would use a current law um assumption they are basing their assumptions off of current law we are projecting off of current policy and again our budget rejects the idea of having the lowest sustained
▶ 2:52:29growth in history uh we've heard that um in terms of budget deficits we've heard suggestions that only spending levels matter do Revenue levels matter the um deficit is the result of both revenues and outlays the they both impact the math of deficits and that's just arithmetic right
▶ 2:53:05um we've had um in terms of advant and continuing the um Trump tax cuts uh approximately what is that number is that one point is that 1.1 trillion did we hear about can you repeat the question is the 1.1 trillion we hear about the Trump tax cuts from SE 2017 the how much would it cost to to extend the Trump tax cuts from
▶ 2:53:352017 so the um the cost of extending current tax law is $4 trillion over 10 years according to CBO okay um how much Medicaid cuts are expected how much have you at how much have you asked for cuts in health care to help pay for that extension the budget would provide reconciliation
▶ 2:54:05instructions to the Energy and Commerce Committee the Energy and Commerce Committee under this process has the full flexibility and authority to make funding decisions within their allocation okay and Medicaid is within their allocation is not in their allocation Medicaid is um certainly a program within the Energy and Commerce Committee the budget itself calls for 11 trillion of funding within budget function 550 okay if they don't go after Medicaid what else could they go after
▶ 2:54:35the Energy and Commerce Committee has $2 trillion do of spending under their jurisdiction it has a very large um jurisdiction you back I thank the gentleman and yield uh as much time as you need uh for the gentleman from Georgia Mr Andrew Clyde and I'm coming back uh to Mr
▶ 2:55:12Peters all right thank you um Mr Murphy you had had mentioned I um a uh question from the chairman about uh Medicaid fraud and I think if I remember correctly you said estimating $50 billion a year is that correct that's correct the government accountability office estimated over $50 billion in improper payments in the Medicaid Program okay improper payments so over
▶ 2:55:4210-year window that's $500 billion you could calculate it that way yes sir okay okay and then you you also mentioned about the provider tax if the provider tax uh was eliminated the Medicaid provider tax then that would be hundreds of billions of dollars if I remember your statement um is that a year or is that over the 10year window or can you quantify that time frame for me yes sir CBO is estimated over a 10-year period if you phase down the provider tax Safe Harbor threshold you could save hundreds
▶ 2:56:12of billions of dollars hundreds so any idea 200 hundreds is multiple so 200 300 400 about 300 billion over 300 billion okay so just those two items in and of itself the provider tax and the fraud over a 10-year period would be $800 billion and EC's requirement in this resolution is $880 billion so literally you could take care of 90%
▶ 2:56:42of the en's requirement with just those two items themselves take taking care of the fraud and taking care of the the the improper tax yes sir I mean the the budget uh preserves full flexibility Authority for the Energy and Commerce Committee to meet meet those instructions all right that's what I needed to know thank you very much and I yield back Mr chair thank the gentleman um from Georgia now yield as much time as my friend from California needs Mr Peters thank you Mr chairman my friend um
▶ 2:57:13forward us has determined that there are currently 5.8 million workers without legal status and 2.9 Million workers with temporary status in the US Labor Market that's 100 that's 1.8 million jobs in construction 1.2 million jobs in agriculture 1 million jobs in manufacturing and 4.7 million jobs in other Industries um immigrants without legal status contribute as much as $31 billion in federal and payroll taxes with an additional 11 billion
▶ 2:57:44from those with temporary uh protections how much have you has any of the $42 billion of potential loss Revenue been reflected in your assumptions the uh budget would um the budget would not assume I think the the figures that you were citing there thank you I just refer that to the Ways and Means Committee for consideration looks like you know there is money in the budget there's space in the budget to spend more on deportations but I think we should
▶ 2:58:14also account for the Lost Revenue that that will be occasioned from that um you recom you referenced the growth in the 1950s um I was barely alive in the 1950s but what was what was the top marginal tax rate during all that growth you know the I I'm well in in the 1950s the top marginal tax rate was um was high it was 91 91 or 92% um and I've been I've been hearing that you you you just can't growth you can't grow with those High marginal tax rates
▶ 2:58:45that would certainly um undercut that argument um the I just uh offer is that um because you're not you're just giving direction to the Ways and Means Committee allowing them to create a budget deficit of up to $4.5 trillion do I believe right yes sir okay clearly we could say we could say to the the um ways Means Committee don't do that let's give them zero we could do that if we were concerned about um concerned about debt and deficit that would make the spending cut job a lot harder and I just want to
▶ 2:59:15say um and that's I don't I'm going to insult you say that that that's a math question Mr Watson but um you've answered the questions very professionally and I would just uh I just observed that you could still um preserve things like the child tax credit and also raise enough money to pay your bills as a as a federal government um and cut spending all at once it's not a spending problem it's a borrowing problem and it's both sides um I yield back I think the gentleman um
▶ 2:59:45question um I'm prompted to ask some questions uh by my Democrat colleagues for clarification and not to disparage the CBO but just to make sure you know we understand that the CBO has a tough job to project the future on all these measures Revenue expenditures the interest in fact I don't
▶ 3:00:15think anybody would have projected a $8 trillion in higher interest rates uh over or interest expenses rather cumulative over the last four years um but they they made a projection about tcja they they made a projection about revenues at the front end of the implementation of the tax cuts and jobs act and then several later um they had a different result can you explain
▶ 3:00:45what that that uh disparity and the numbers on the front end and the back end in terms of what they projected about revenues flowing back to the treasury yes sir I can say that compared to the projection of expected revenues in um 2017 by CBO prior to the uh tcj being enacted that revenues have um substantially um exceeded expectations um in the by well over a trillion
▶ 3:01:16dollars yeah the number I had was a trillion and a half yeah almost exactly the number that they project that that was the quote deficit impact to D tcja is that yes right um again not trying to disparage CBO but in 2023 they projected that the deficit in 20 at the deficit in 23 would be um
▶ 3:01:46whatever the number was in 24 as they look back they were a trillion dollars off it was the the biggest Miss I think in their history is that accurate I just want to make sure I'm yeah that that's the the um figure is is certainly accurate in terms of the degree to which revenues exceeded expectations so a trillion dollars is a lot of money a trillion and a half is a lot of money to be off it's not an easy but
▶ 3:02:16um I I would submit given the range of choices on growth rates with the Assumption of with the assumption that the tax cuts and jobs at would be extended not expired which would be devastating to the economy I think along with deregulation if if past is precedent for this Administration and you put good energy policies um that would cost less not only for consumers but but for for business I
▶ 3:02:46think 26 is I think it's very conservative but now I'm into commentary and I viol yes yes sir I would just maybe say um do you know what the um it was my understanding that the projected growth rate last time for tcga was 3% and actual growth was 1.7% is that what your understanding is as well well I can say CBO projected in 2018 and 2019 that economic growth would be uh 2.2% and 1.7% and then in those years the actual growth
▶ 3:03:17was 3% and 2.6% can you tell me um what the revenues would have been had TC over the same period of time had TC GAA not been inative well I think that um we've exceeded in terms cbo's current Baseline projects Revenue higher on a higher trajectory than it did in the pre um tcja framework so we're currently at a point where revenues are higher under their projections than they were prior to ccj understood I understand what you're saying is that we got more money than we
▶ 3:03:47thought we were in get after tcga was passed had we not passed tcga uh do you have an estimate for how much money we would have gotten I would personally um not have that estimate I'll speak to that later I've seen those projections and um you know we would had more money and a lower deficit if we had left the the rates in in the in place is is the answer I think the gentleman and yield to Mr Roy from Texas yeah Mr Watson uh to that question um
▶ 3:04:17and and I say this as someone who wants to look at the math across the board on both tax policy and spending policy and how to achieve deficit neutrality reduction that the question there assumes requires modeling right it requires modeling based on the assumptions of the policies that would create growth right so when one says had the titica policies not been put in place whether
▶ 3:04:47it was the permanent Provisions within the corporate code that reduce the rate on the corporate rates or whether it was the tick Provisions that are expiring is it fair to say that you have to factor in right reverse engineering that to say well what would the revenue have been well you have to make assumptions of what the growth would have been right when you have fewer dollars in the pockets of the American people is that is that a accurate description absolutely the um it is absolutely the case that the size of the economy and economic
▶ 3:05:18performance has a large impact on the ability of the treasury to collect money and so that's not a static analysis in other words like youve got to it's it's dynamic in the sense of like when you when you assume that you don't that you don't have that that tax policy in place you got to go back and reverse engineer what would the econom economy have done you can't just do simple math and apply the rates to the econ the economy that was created after you then put in place the policies that created the economy right yes sir
▶ 3:05:49and uh I think I I think it's important let me ask you this is on on those questions with respect to the tax policy and what creates growth and what doesn't create growth um is it important to view that in the aggregate in other words you sit here and you try to move the levers on one tax policy versus another the gentleman mentioned the child tax credits we might have agreement or disagreement across the aisle on whether that's a good good policy or bad policy for family
▶ 3:06:19reasons like supporting families with children putting more money in the pockets of of families certain income levels point is maybe there's agreement or disagreement on the policy but that would have a certain kind of economic impact corporate rates would have a certain kind of economic impact research and development expensing those have different kinds of economic impact is that a fair statement yes sir the different tax Provisions would have different economic impacts and it is not important to look at the aggregate of the policies to make a determination on the assumptions of economic growth
▶ 3:06:49based on all of that in terms of the amount of money that is sitting in the hands of the American people as opposed to the government for that economic growth yes yes sir um and with that I would yield back to the chairman any other U I know we have one on the Republican side but I'm going to try to do this in an even manner Mr Scott do you have another question just a quick question can um I yield to Mr Scott everybody gives um president Trump an excuse because of Co what was the growth during the co
▶ 3:07:19years when Biden was President the um as the chairman mentioned um growth from 2022 to 2024 was 2.7% during that period And when when what about 2021 specifically uh 2021 as a bounce back to um the uh as a bounce back well bounce back from what from Co you had Trump's disastrous economy you had an accelerated a downturn from February 2020
▶ 3:07:49to April 2020 and then you had a bounceback period through the end of 2020 and 2021 right so everybody gives them excuse Biden created more jobs in his first two years than anybody had created in four years didn't that right um I'm not familiar with the data point you're citing there you don't deny it I I would not argue with it I don't I don't know of it though thank you Mr Scott U
▶ 3:08:20thank you for that those technical questions and I'm going to yield to my colleague from Utah Mr Mo yeah the gentleman from Texas kind of covered a lot of the things that I wanted to make a point here um this this is important to to to to nail down um and let me say did did can if I'm going to restate what I think I heard you say and you tell me if I'm correct or not that the CBO projected before before we completed the
▶ 3:08:50Republicans completed the tax cuts and jobs act that we were going to grow at about high 1% 1.8% and we out we outpaced that is that correct you said at three and 2.6 yeah three and 2.6 were the actual growth rates in 2018 and 2019 cbo's projection was 2.2 and 1.7 right so there's been a lot of discussion about what we would want to assume going forward with uh what what work could take place after today again today it's just about numbers there's nothing about policy in
▶ 3:09:20this it's just about setting the balance sheet to move forward um I personally don't think that assuming what we've already exceeded in the past is a overblown assumption I think a 2.6% assumption is actually quite reasonable and something that we've accomplished in the past why can't you assume it in in going forward to overly overemphasize the point uh of of putting out
▶ 3:09:50there you know okay if we would not have done the tax cuts and jobs act what would our revenues been do you cons do you think that you know and and Janet Yen's exact words so secretary yellen's exact words corporate tax rates were too high she didn't think we needed to go to 21 but she said in a Committee hearing on the record to me corporate tax rates were too High and um so we
▶ 3:10:20lowered them and uh you saw significant growth takes take place so is it safe to assume that by making taxes competitive you could draw a conclusion that we saw enough economic growth to cover what the stated deficit would have been can you make an opinion on that or share some context there yeah I mean I I think that um a relevant point is the uh Revenue trajectory that we've seen which exceeds um substantially the prior
▶ 3:10:51CBO projections um and I would say also the 2.6 trillion of economic growth called for in our budget taxes is part of that but we would also call for other prog policies such as deregulation and energy production which I'm excited to be you know on the Forefront of being able to be doing that again with the where we're at right now one other aspect because it is absolutely true and my my Democrat colleagues have a great point when they say well we had significant growth
▶ 3:11:21under you know the Biden years we've had a high 2% growth rate under the Biden years and and coming out of Co we had uh a healthy growth rate I think anything close to 3% is a healthy growth rate again we're not even over we're not even assuming anything over that we're just saying we want 2.6% we've done it before let's do it again that will swallow up a a a a significant portion of the stated deficit of of the tax cuts that were proposing in again it all evens itself out if you throw in
▶ 3:11:52trillions and trillions of monetary Supply could you potentially see revenues increase in the uh domestic Marketplace and during Co during the the the um American Rescue plan uh was a significant spending bill right and that added a lot of relief spending and it added a lot of monetary Supply it gave States more money than they ever even needed um did could that spur
▶ 3:12:23growth could that spur a higher than expected growth rate yes great that's that's what I was expecting and and and and I'll concede that point but when you add that much monetary Supply does it also create the in equation for a little tax called inflation yes sir that's the biggest tax on the middle class and lower incomes that we've that I've ever seen in my Lifetime and we don't see it from Republican tax policy from the 2017 tax C of jobs act
▶ 3:12:53just by lowering taxes yeah you have a State deficit but you overcome that you swallow that up by the economic growth it doesn't solve our deficit issue it doesn't solve the fact that we've ran deficits for 25 years that's something that some we've got to figure out and I think if we and we've tried to address that and that's probably why I'm so frustrated now because the last six months we've been battling just within our conference here in the Republican side of the in the budget committee like okay what do we what what parameters can we set forth that if we do a good job we assume a a
▶ 3:13:23reasonable growth rate we can exceed it well if we exceed that we want that to go straight back to the deficits like that's what we're trying to do here that's why it's that's why we're going to be here till late tonight in arguing this back and forth and I want to see that come to fruition but I just want to draw the distinction between a 2017 Republican tax bill that Drew that that grew wage growth across across the country in every in level in fact uh people making under $50,000 before 2017 were
▶ 3:13:53paying 4.44% of of a tax of the tax base uh after 2017 they were only paying 4% we reduced taxes on lower income Americans to say anything otherwise is a lie to say that tcja only went to the billionaires is just a lie anyway um we saw growth over the co years under that massive spending but with that higher growth rate we saw massive inflation in our country and that directly hits every single
▶ 3:14:24um lower income and middle inome American that is the biggest tax on the lower income and that comes from overspending and I'll make just and and I'll wrap with that yes you saw a decent growth rate under the last few years but we also saw a lot of inflation let's get a positive growth rate without the inflation empower the American Workforce and grow the economy and this is I think the first time we've seen a real
▶ 3:14:54real substantial effort to go after what we all know is the biggest problem in our budget what grows our deficit is what mandatory spending we are going to try and it's going to be hard and we're going to Republicans are going to go at it alone we understand that but we have to take this moment to try my yield back I think the gentleman from Utah um I fear may maybe by example I have allowed us to have very good and healthy debate about um the substance of some of the
▶ 3:15:24assumptions um and uh which I think we should continue but let's do that and again I'm guilty uh let's do that when we get to the uh back and forth on the Amendments I think we should move on from here but I don't if a you got a question burning a hole in your pocket and it's technical I'm more than happy to uh indulge the question Miss capter did you have a technical question yeah my technical question Mr chairman I'm sorry we had a concurrent
▶ 3:15:55uh hearing on the floor and everything I had to go down there but um I'm interested in whether anyone you or anyone in this committee or these gentlemen that are here today um actually have presented information to the committee on the um distribution of us wealth and whether it is rising or falling in different income categories so for example if you look at the share of net worth held by the top 1% in our country 1% of
▶ 3:16:25earners uh they hold that's been going up from 2004 22.8% to today 30.8% so that group is growing in wealth and the top one tenth of 1% is really growing the ult ultra wealthy segment is really growing the bottom half people who are in the middle class and low held only 3.5% of total us net worth that number has been going down so I'm interested not just in the spending
▶ 3:16:56side I'm interested in the revenue side and who isn't paying their fair share of taxes and um has anyone presented information to us so we as a committee on both sides of the aisle can look at the revenue side as well as the spending side I think that information's readily available and I think it's a great debate and discussion about what's fair in the tax code you'll certainly have strong opinions on both sides of that um uh the the tax rate
▶ 3:17:26actually increased for the top 1% in tcja just to be clear it went up for the top 1% now the distribution is another question right and I I think we should find out where the money goes and the wealth accumulation uh over the uh verion of of uh income classes in in in our country I don't have that readily available I don't think my colleagues do but but they may be able to send
▶ 3:17:57you something and then we can have a conversation later Brad do you have any information for Miss captor on that on that question and and that material uh no happy to discuss further Hey where's the gentleman from are you from CBO or where he's from the budget committee he's a a majority staff member sorry thank you that you know question that'd be good it's how much money you got in your pocket versus how much you spend so how much money do these folks have
▶ 3:18:27uh compared to the different income cor tiles in the country be I think be good for us to go back to basics arithmetic well I agree and I think what we also want to ask is uh what percentage the top one two five 10% pay in total share of taxes and how much the bottom half bottom quartile qu pays uh because I think we'll also find that 75% of the taxes or the at least the income that is paying basically for this government at least not all
▶ 3:18:57the government but two-thirds of it because we borrow the other third is coming from the top 10 to 15% so there fairness is in the eye of the beholder and again great debate great discussion uh for another time or in the amendment process but I appreciate it appreciate the question thank you for being open to you bet absolutely okay I think we're I I think we're closing this uh portion of the program out and then we have some food um and I think we have a few minutes what time we have 130 1:30
▶ 3:19:28so we don't have a lot of time but 10 minute break and uh see how quickly can eat a sandwich and a bag of potato chips and I'll see you back here in 10
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▶ 3:41:01okay team the committee will now proceed to the consideration the budget Aggregates functional categories and other appropriate matters this text is identical to the tables distributed the minority and posted online yesterday under committee rule 10 committee will consider a document containing the budget Aggregates functional categories and other components of the budget resolution amendments may be offered to this document subject to the agreement between the majority and minority after this document has been approved it will incorporate in the text of the concurrent resolution on the budget for a final vote
▶ 3:41:32on whether to report the measure to the house the committee will now begin the amendment process the document will be considered as read and open for Amendment at any point pursuant to the agreement laid out earlier today on any Amendment offered in the first tier will last 15 minutes per Amendment with time equally divided the proponent of the amendment the person offering the am Amendment will have seven minutes to speak on their Amendment then uh a member will have seven minutes to
▶ 3:42:02speak in opposition to the amendment and then the proponent will have an additional minute to close so with that framework for tier one debate on amendments are there any amendments Mr chair I have a an amendment the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment we'll just take um 15 20 seconds here and uh amendment number one to strike all reconciliation instructions offered by
▶ 3:42:38Bole all right Mr Bole um you seven minutes seven minutes for your uh amend Amendment thank you uh Mr chairman uh my amendment is about as straightforward as as it comes this amendment will strike all reconciliation instructions in the bill my Amendment strikes the instructions for reconciliation from the budget resolution and stops the Republican plans to pay
▶ 3:43:08for these massive tax cuts for billionaires on the backs of working excuse me you know as has been discussed uh previously over the last several hours the essence of what we have in front of us this budget plan using reconciliation is to provide $4.5 trillion of tax
▶ 3:43:38cuts and we know from past data from the nonpartisan Source the CBO 83% % of the tax cut 83% of the money went to the richest 1% of Americans my friends in the other side want to double down on that for the next decade and pay for it by cutting Medicaid to the tune of over $800 billion as well as
▶ 3:44:09cutting the Affordable Care Act Now to tell you how many people that would impact there's some 20 million Americans who get their health insurance through the ACA there are 72 million Americans who are covered through Medicaid so combined we are talking 92 million Americans um I mean that is roughly about a third or so of the American
▶ 3:44:40people however even with those cuts and there are more that I didn't outline but those are some of the largest and most egregious those cuts still don't add up to the size of the massive tax cut so the way this resolution fills that Gap is to blow a hole in our deficit and our national debt now look we have had many conversations here over the last couple years sincere ones in which the chairman
▶ 3:45:11and I have both expressed concern about the size and the trajectory of the national debt I think it's fair to say the chairman um sees it as a more immediate threat than I do but even I have said repeatedly when there was a democrat in the White House that the medium to long-term projections on our debt are clearly unsustainable and I thought that five years ago about the 2030s now here we are in 2025 and that is
▶ 3:45:41only five years away well not only does this budget plan in no way deal with that problem that we have facing Us in just a few short years it actually doubles down and makes it worse so my Amendment very simply put would attempt to stop this damage and you know I just want to provide a little bit more information for the facts that I've laid out because these are not opinions these
▶ 3:46:11are facts from nonpartisan sources the Congressional budget office found that including the cost of servicing the increased debt which of course you have to include that to have a fair estimate just passing an extension on the expiring tax guts will cost $4.6 trillion do over the decade so uh Mr chairman uh I feel very strongly as you know that this is not the the right approach
▶ 3:46:42as it relates to delivering tax cuts for those who don't need them this is not the right approach in partially paying for them by cutting things like Medicaid and food assistance and the Affordable Care Act and by the way let me just quickly uh deal with something that came up over the last several hours there were those who said oh no there's nothing in here that says we're cutting Medicaid there's nothing in here that says
▶ 3:47:12we're cutting the Affordable Care Act what it provides are instructions with specific amounts saying cut at least 880 billion or more and the only areas that the Energy and Commerce Committee could look to to provide those savings are Medicaid and ACA so if I don't lay out the number four but I lay out 2 plus two yes we can fairly and honestly
▶ 3:47:42say I am laying out the number four it is quite obvious to everyone where exactly these Cuts would come from because they have to come from there in order to be consistent with the instructions Mr chairman I believe very strongly this is a betrayal of the American middle class this is a betrayal actually of the very people who helped make Donald Trump president people who were I think
▶ 3:48:12genuinely concerned about the increased costs in our society we have experienced worldwide since the pandemic a dramatic spike in inflation president Trump won in part because he said I'm going to lower costs on day one well here we are where the rubber meets the road nothing in here whatsoever will bring cost down in fact by increasing the deficit increasing
▶ 3:48:43the debt by including massive tax cuts all of that will Spike inflation and what does that mean it means the FED will have to keep interest rates at their current high level in fact there's some economists out today who based on the latest inflation report as well as some of these proposals believe the next time the FED is met is going to meet an increase in interest rates is more likely than a decrease the reality
▶ 3:49:13is this the the number one issue facing the American people I think we all agree is the cost living Donald Trump won for more than any other reason because he was saying he would address that this budget resolution does absolutely nothing to fix that problem in fact it makes it worse my amendment is an attempt to reverse that damage and prevent it from happening so that the workingclass and middle class families
▶ 3:49:43that I represent in Philadelphia will not feel the pain that will be inflicted upon them by this budget resolution with that I Y back thank the gentlemen are there any uh members who would like to claim time and opposition to the amendment Mr Addison from North Carolina thank you chairman you recognized for seven minutes thanks chairman in November
▶ 3:50:14the American people delivered a mandate a clear instruction for fiscal sanity border security and a government that prioritizes Americans over bureaucratic waste and abuse that is exactly what this delivers yet today we see an attempt to strike the the reconciliation instructions A desperate move to protect the Reckless spending and open border
▶ 3:50:45policies that have defined the last four years for four years Americans have endured runaway inflation and a border crisis that has put families in danger and now our colleagues across the aisle who created this mess want to strike the very instructions that begin to fix it let's be clear about what that really striking
▶ 3:51:15the whole resolution means keeping a broken system in place it means siding with criminals Over law enforcement and it means refusing to acknowledge the Damage Done by Reckless radical woke policies now let's talk about the essential programs that Democrats claim to defend and accuse the Republicans of betraying the middle class for 27 bill billion do
▶ 3:51:45to a green energy slush fund including $3 billion for tree planting 1 billion for clean heavyduty vehicles and even the failing US Postal Service got $3 billion to replace its trucks with EVS if this is true that that Republicans are betraying the middle class then after four years of Joe Biden why did the middle class all vote for us to me it's clear Democrats
▶ 3:52:16are putting America last this is why families have struggled to afford gas groceries and rent you cannot make this up Democrats are worried about making sure the post office has electric vehicles the house is burning and they're inside cooking dinner on their electric stove like nothing is wrong it's time to wake up this resolution before us today stops the bleeding it cuts the
▶ 3:52:46bloat it slashes waste and ensures taxpayer dollars work for Americans not radical pet projects we are taking action where the Biden Administration period more than 8 A5 million illegal immigrants have flooded our borders under Biden at least 1.7 million are known gotway many with criminal backgrounds how do we know this because we see and hear about it
▶ 3:53:16daily Mr chairman I would seek unanimous consent to enter this document into the record that lays out an instance of this exact scenario that objection so ordered right now in my district an illegal alien is sitting in the Davidson County jail for the rape of a minor a known criminal released multiple times due to the very policies that many here today are trying preserve I have
▶ 3:53:46two daughters both under the age of two and I will do everything that I can do to ensure that they and no other family ever have to endure this nightmare communities across the country are paying the price for Washington's enough the other side wants to protect the status quo they woke spending their radical environmental
▶ 3:54:17agenda and their weak on crime policies the American people demand better and if November is an indication they demand better now this resolution allows our authorizing committees to provide for the common defense to secure our Sovereign borders and to put America back on a strong fiscal path Republicans are fulfilling their promises and bringing a firm end to the policies
▶ 3:54:47of the last four years we are and we will continue to put America first I urge a no vote on this amendment with the balance of time I I would say if this Democrat Amendment passes there'll be a $400 billion tax increase uh for American families individuals and businesses we we will we will actually have a a recession this year um we're trying to Deport people who came to this country illegally
▶ 3:55:17who are criminal aliens who've committed crimes in our country uh we couldn't do that without these resources and there's $2.7 trillion dollar in waste Fraud and Abuse in the people's government and we're talking about reducing waste and unnecessary spending by $1.5 to2 trillion but there's 2.7 trillion this amendment would not allow us to make the people's house run like the people run their families and their businesses
▶ 3:55:47and that's just wrong I yield to the ranking member for his final comments well uh several things here first there is no excuse and no defense of waste fraud and ab abuse and frankly I will not concede the point that anyone on the other side is more vigorous in opposing that than I am actually as someone who believes that government can be a force for good in our society I don't think government should be involved in everything I think that our role of government
▶ 3:56:17is striking the right balance between that which the private sector does better versus those things that only government can do however if you find waste or fraud or abuse in government that actually is offensive to me as someone who believes the government can do good things as someone who believes in programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid so I am the last person who wants to see uh fraud in our
▶ 3:56:47government but let's be clear and with your Indulgence let's be clear the idea that you were going to come up with $880 billion in savings from quote waste Fraud and Abuse I have been hearing that my entire lifetime that all we have to do is find this magical waste Fraud and Abuse well if it's so easy how come it hasn't happened my entire lifetime $880 billion will be cut from Medicaid and from the Affordable Care Act threatening health
▶ 3:57:18coverage 92 million people the 72 million who rely on Medicaid and the 20 million who rely on the ACA folks they're coming after your Medicaid they're coming after your Healthcare period in order to pay for their large tax guts for billionaires that I yield back I appreciate it uh just with your Indulgence um this is why we do not assess the federal government and the taxes that you pay
▶ 3:57:48to to run this government of yours is because anytime you try to reduce spending fine in inefficiencies it's characterized as cutting uh somebody's benefit and so it scares everybody off but I'm not scared and my Republican colleagues aren't scared in fact we've never been more emboldened and you watch what is happening with the Doge and Elon Musk look at the resistance and look at the crazy stuff that they're
▶ 3:58:18finding that is an Abomination and an embarrassment in what they're spending with your money we're going in and we're going in to make this government efficient and accountable to you the people who work hard pay your hard-earned tax dollars and make sure that in fact the money's going where it should go where we intended to go which is the people who who we've made the promise to not to frauders and not to people scamming the system with that
▶ 3:58:48uh go for it just and I appreciate I think this is a good back and forth actually I think too little I think we both agree too little of this tends to happen in the way Congress is structured because this is a sincere and I apologize for those of you who are suffering with my voice um as I as I get some that's why you know the chairman originally didn't have this markup for today but when he heard I had throat troubles he immed wanted to take advantage of it um I
▶ 3:59:18appreciate the chairis sincere about genuinely cutting government but let's make sure that we're letting people know what the real consequences will be there will be real pain you don't get 880 billion as well as the other cuts that are in here by just saying oh it's waste Fraud and Abuse people need to know if that is the intent to really cut government and take some of the crap nail then we need to level people there will be real pain
▶ 3:59:49there will be cutbacks of services there will be um a real reduction of services especially when it comes to health care so if folks are sincere about cutting government I would say just be genuine say look these are going to be the consequences if you believe in cut in government you think some of it is wasteful but also own up to think or just to acknowledge you don't think government should be in the Medicaid business you don't think government should be in the Affordable Care Act
▶ 4:00:19business because that in the end is really what we're talking about I thinkk thank my friend from Pennsylvania question on is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr Bole all those in favor say I I I those opposed no no in the opinion of the chair the NOS have it see recorded vote Yes yes you may you may you may and then I can look for formal
▶ 4:00:49a roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until after the market are there other amendments I have an amendment at the desk Mr chairman uh the clerk will designate the amendment staff will distribute copies of Mr Do's Amendment amendment number two to strike reconciliation instructions to the committee on Ways and Means offered by
▶ 4:01:20Mr doit Mr dogget you're recognized for seven minutes Mr chairman thank you uh I just continue with the discussion you were having because uh you talk about not being able to get enough support uh on some of the spending issues I would raise the tax expenditures every time we try to close a loophole there's not a republican in sight
▶ 4:01:50and this amendment deals with that aspect it suggests that the tax Provisions uh in ways and means if we're going to make further changes they can should be paid for by closing those tax loopholes I believe the biggest betrayal of the middle class in this budget is the biggest number that you've included and that's the $4.5 trillion in new debt that it authorizes the tax tax riding Ways and Means Committee upon which we both serve to add to our nation's already unsustainable deficit
▶ 4:02:20that's why I call it a Reconciliation bill because it is Wrecking our debt uh it is Wrecking programs that so many middle class Americans uh rely on uh at doing all that simply to provide more tax breaks to those at the top and thanks to the work of the independent nonpartisan committee for a responsible federal budget we now know that that inspired by Donald Trump who is the self-styled king of debt that the true gigantic increase in our
▶ 4:02:51national debt over which this King will reign uh is in this reconciliation Bill five a half to six billion Six Trillion additional dollars uh on our national debt what do we get from charging such an immense amount uh to our great national credit card well is it more affordable groceries As Trump has promised is it life-saving medications is it educational opportunities is it affordable
▶ 4:03:21housing no it's none of those only a windfall to the who's who of not you another round of tax breaks for billionaires the people that were given those front row seats at the inauguration they're the people who will benefit and who exactly are Trump and his Republican enablers requiring to pay for these tax breaks not the wealthy and well-connected But Ordinary middle class workers and our nation's retirees for those on a fixed budget the fix is in kids lose
▶ 4:03:51nutrition assistance first generation college students are denied opportunities that they get through affordable student own loans a worker who is paid into Medicare her entire adult life being told on her that her health care is no longer affordable a new golden age I think it resembles more perhaps the era of William McKinley that President Trump so admires a 19th century Gilded Age where those with the most get the get
▶ 4:04:21even more we should reject a budget that adds so much to our public debt five a half to6 trillion dollar that some Social Security checks may arrive in the future mail stamped in the red insufficient funds my Amendment strikes the ability of the president and his billionaire buddies to require Working Families to pay for another round of Trump tax cuts and I will say that at least a handful of Republicans agree with my Approach let me give you this quote I'm for a dramatic
▶ 4:04:52increase in corporate taxes we have to increase taxes on the wealthy where does the tax revenue come from corporations and the wealthy not my words of the progressive caucus but the recent words of Steve Bannon recent Trump adviser and about as Maggie as you can get because the bottom line is that the 2017 tax bill cut carporate taxes even more than the carporate lobbyist expected to get and they are too low and should be raised to pay
▶ 4:05:22for middle class tax benefits mannon and I don't agree on much of anything but he certainly called this one right the fiscally responsible way to provide a child tax credit affordable health care tax credits and other middle class tax relief is to have every multinational and billionaire pay their fair share and the Gap that remains after so many cuts are made to the middle class in this budget proposal is filled with a resolution that I say
▶ 4:05:52is based on alternative facts or As Trump often does just making it up they magically assume a fantastic economy that does not exist uh in the way that they propose uh their budget is relying on numbers uh that come down from the sky like Mana from Heaven uh I believe that the bill they have does not uh turbocharge our economy uh it turbocharges our deficit it puts the fiscal sovany of Social Security
▶ 4:06:22and Medicare and other vital investments in great Jeopardy under President Clinton our budget was in Balance we were paying off our national debt but two rounds of Bush tax cuts and the 2017 Trump go tax scam all benefited the wealthiest few they changed all that and we have 10 added to our nation's deficit the uh what we have seen since the first tax scam from Trump in 2017
▶ 4:06:53was a survey made in 2023 that the largest multinationals in our country are paying a tax rate of 7.8% I think any nurse or police officer our law enforcement officer around the country would be uh would be very happy to have a tax rate of that because they're paying much more it's not right and last year if you look at the pharmaceutical companies we find that fizer
▶ 4:07:23Johnson and Johnson and Merc how much did they pay nothing no federal income tax was paid by them despite the fact that they had huge revenues ranging from 60 to 85 billion dollar why does that happen because the best investment that Pharma ever Mak is not in research or even the advertising that proliferates the airwaves but in this Congress and it's granting of special tax advantages special
▶ 4:07:53tax loopholes that's where the pay for should come from instead of putting more burden on all of us with a greater national debt the people that are going to benefit from extending or renewing these tax breaks 79,000 per year savings for someone who earns a million dollars a year already the richest tenth of a percent get even $314,000 per year out of this proposal so it's a little wonder
▶ 4:08:23that Elon Musk and Donald Trump would celebrate this kind of proposal because they're walking off with all the gold in their new golden age I yield back I think the gentleman from Texas and um now pose the question is there any member who'd like to claim opposition to the amendment chairman uh Mr Blake Moore uh is recognized now for seven minutes thank you chairman I um
▶ 4:08:54I I serve on the Ways and Means Committee with the the gentleman from the great City of Austin uh and my favorite football team in the SEC it's a low bar to like a team from the SEC but if I had to choose one it would definitely be there um I enjoyed serving on the committee with him uh I would say probably one of the hardest working members that I've that I get to encounter and there is substantive debate that we can have about what took place in 2017 and I'm going to highlight a few things from here so if
▶ 4:09:24we were to say if we were to allow this amendment to go through it would scrap all the work that would be done by the Ways and Means Committee which he and I both sit on um so the Ways and Means Committee wouldn't be a part of it we wouldn't have uh you know any basic tax work being done and it'll be a significant of this budget resolution um at the end of 2025 most of the tax Provisions enacted in 2017 will expire and
▶ 4:09:54uh we estimate that Across the Nation the average taxpayer would see a 22% tax hike if these expire now it's Spread spread across the whole different array um again make this simple point and this is an area that I sometimes get a little bit fired up at and I'm going to do the opposite now I'm going to try to get through a bunch of specifics this is not a tax cut uh you know to the billionaires where this benefits only the billionaires I'll make a quick simple Point billionaires love writing
▶ 4:10:24off their federal taxes with something called salt if you go up to if you go up to um some high tax state blue States they love to be able to spend to take all of their property taxes from their seven homes and use that to write off what they pay in federal taxes so that was unlimited before 20177 Republicans cut that we literally kept it at 10 billionaires hated that that probably one of the most significant cost savings something
▶ 4:10:55that added Revenue to the the the United States government was what Republicans did we taxed billionaires a whole bunch of money we taxed millionaires a whole bunch of money because they could no longer write it off to to you know there was there was no exemption we we capped it at 10 that's the salt element um um a family of four making the median income in the United States would see a tax increase of almost $1,700 if the tax cuts if the the if the tax cuts and jobs acts expires at the end of this year okay I've heard you
▶ 4:11:25know we've we've been a strong family uh strong pro- family bill in 2017 when we doubled the standard we doubled the child tax credit we went from 1,000 to 2,000 we doubled that that's at risk if we don't do our work in the way means commit doesn't do our work in the next few months then we run a a serious risk of of taking that child tax credit back down to pre 20107 levels that would be that that
▶ 4:11:55would affect 40 million families 91% of all taxpayers would see their guaranteed standard deduction SL slashed in half and it's is underrated but it's probably one of the biggest tax benefits to middle and lower inome Americans where we doubled the child tax credit where no longer itemize who itemizes their taxes the wealthy do and we said to middle and lower income Americans we don't want you dealing with that we don't want you to have we're going to give you an extra tax
▶ 4:12:25break um 26 million small businesses would be hit with a 43.4% top tax rate if section 199a small business deductions expires I I I presented this in front of a chamber of commerce back home in um Ogden Utah and they had no idea what section 17 199 was a few of the accountants there did and once I explain to them what what happened at the end of 2025 if 199a
▶ 4:12:56expires they they were terrified if we pass this amendment if we allow this amendment we won't do that work to make sure small businesses are on pair or have a 20% deduction where they can continue to invest back in their businesses and and and in some cases survive but other cases you know enjoy that ability um for Upward Mobility 199 199a has to be renewed and and that's the work that was done in 2017 and that's the work
▶ 4:13:26that we want to do over the next few months 7 million taxpayers will be implemented would be impacted by The Return of the Alternative Minimum Tax then of course the death tax exemption on 2 million family-owned Farms would be slashed in half There's real um negative implications uh on on every single American if this expires if this amendment passes we can't do that work and that's going to be tough work and we're going to we're going to dig our Hills and I'm going to be you know if this amendment passes I I have like the next few months
▶ 4:13:57off of my job which I don't want I want the chance to go and get this tax bill right and um with that I think we will continue to show to the American people that we want to lower taxes for everybody and see a strong economy move forward um and I will wrap up with you know a minute and a half which the chairman is shocked right now that I'm doing that but I'm going to yield uh to my good friend from uh Texas Mr Roy well thank you my friend from Utah and and I appreciate his remarks
▶ 4:14:27I appreciate the remarks of my colleague from Texas just down just down the road our District's uh jooin um I I would just add a couple things uh my friend from Texas the gentleman referred and referenced uh who may or may not be sitting in the front row at the inauguration and talking about supposed tax cuts for our billionaire buddies or something along those lines who'd be sitting in the front row at the inauguration I can tell you who my guest that I invited to take to the inauguration and then it took to one of the inaugural balls was Alexis
▶ 4:14:57neray the beautiful young woman from Houston Texas whose daughter Joselyn was murdered by Venezuelan gangs last July who I've come to know and who campaigned hard to try to get the kind of border security policies that this President is putting in place and for which this reconciliation package would provide much needed resources to ensure that we can remove those violent gangs that is who I invited to the inauguration that is who I'm focused on and I can tell you that I'm focused also on the millions of people throughout this country and tens of thousands
▶ 4:15:28in in my district and and frankly in the district of my friend from Texas whose taxes would be raised by the very amendment that the gentleman offers the families that would be impacted by virtue of the amendment that the gentleman offers directly with respect to the AMT with respect to the tax rates with respect to the standard deduction all of which would affect our fellow Texans a y back gim from Texas has a minute to close thank you well I commend uh the gentleman from Utah on his good taste in the UT Longhorns
▶ 4:15:58and that's about where our agreement ends uh if you're satisfied with the loopholes the special advantages that are in our current tax code and don't think any of them should be changed then uh uh you should vote against my Amendment uh but I believe that uh what happens when the Ways and Means Committee convenes on a tax bill like in 2017 is that lobbyists descend on the committee like a horde of locusts and every one of them has their own special tax advantage
▶ 4:16:28and it's not to benefit the middle class I want the gentleman there working over the next months working hard and under this amendment it tells the Ways and Means Committee in order to finance the child tax credit in order to finance the various middleclass provision to which Mr Roy just referred make those who are getting those tax loopholes like the big Pharma companies that didn't pay a dime in 2023 on their Federal ear on on their immense Revenue earnings in those years close those loopholes
▶ 4:16:59and use that to finance middle class tax benefits that would be the hard work that the Ways and Means Committee has seldom done rather than just opening up more loopholes I believe that this is a bill that is a reconciliation that it does in fact neglect and abandon uh the middle class we ought to do better and we can do better by adopting this amendment I yield by I thank the gentleman from Texas now the questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr dogget
▶ 4:17:30all those in favor say I all those oppose no in the opinion of the chair the NOS have it on that I would request a record vote roll call votes requested pursuant to our uh consent agreement we'll postpone that roll call until uh later in the market other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk gentle lady has an amendment the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute the copies of the amendment and in about 20 seconds I'll defer for seven minutes to uh
▶ 4:18:00the gentle lady amendment number three to adjust Revenue amounts in the resolution offered by Miss jaul
▶ 4:18:34Miss ja Paul's recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman my Amendment would increase revenues to start to reverse this Republican bet Trail of the middle class to preserve critical programs and services for the American people and to ensure that the wealthy just pay a tiny bit of their fair share the Republican budget resolution allows for deficit busting tax cuts that give huge handouts to the rich and the wealthiest Americans who do not need any more handouts
▶ 4:19:05will disproportionately benefit from the tax cuts in this plan meanwhile these Cuts will continue to explode the deficit my Amendment says that instead of giving the wealthiest billionaires more tax cuts we should increase revenue and improve tax fairness let's make corporations in the richest 1% pay their fair share here's the thing a deficit is comprised of both what you spend and what you raise so how you raise revenues and who you raise it from
▶ 4:19:35is actually really important Republicans are proposing to make Americans pay more taxes through Trump's sweeping undifferentiated tariffs and they want to reduce the amount that big corporations pay which is already way less than their fair share Americans of all political Stripes want the biggest corporations and the wealthiest individuals to just pay their fair share so that's why my Amendment would allow us to increase the corporate tax rate
▶ 4:20:05to start to get there Republicans want to extend the cut to the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% while creating tax breaks for companies that send jobs and profits offshore that'll make absolutely sure that these giant corporations pay less than average American uh than the average American pays in taxes and that's not fair since 2017 research has shown that the wealthy have overwhelmingly benefited while the tax scam did little for everyone else in fact
▶ 4:20:36the Federal Reserve and the joint committee on taxation concluded that workers making below 14 $4,000 in 2016 experienced no change in income due to the tax scam but workers in the top 10% saw an increase another study estimated that these tax cuts basically led to dollar for dollar revenue losses even after accounting for increases in Investments due to these Cuts this comes as no surprise
▶ 4:21:06the data show that corporate rate cuts are expensive and they don't even come close to paying for themselves adopting my Amendment would also allow us to pursue a minimum tax for the wealthiest people in this country I'm very proud to lead the ultra millionaire tax act with our ranking member Brandon Bole this is a really Common Sense measure that would generate at least $3 trillion dollar in Revenue over 10 years by requiring the top
▶ 4:21:370.5% of American households to chip in just a measly two cents for every dollar of wealth over 50 million if you've got 50 million in wealth you get to keep all of it but every dollar over that you just pay 2 cents this would help level the playing field for way too long the wealthiest have raked in massive amounts of wealth while our middle class has staggered between the late 1970s and 2019 the richest .1% has seen its share of American Wealth
▶ 4:22:07triple while the bottom 90% of American earners have seen their share drop from 35 to 25% that is unacceptable my Amendment would also allow us to close the carried interest loophole which is used by some of the wealthiest people in this country to lower their tax bill so let's dig into this for for a minute what does it what does that mean the combined capital gains tax rate is 23.8% that's lower
▶ 4:22:38than the regular income tax rate of 37% that was likely apply to these top earners and much lower than the marginal tax rate that most families pay so what this means is that the carried interest loophole allows greedy private Equity barrons to pay a lower tax rate than nurses and teachers these private Equity Folks by the way are the ones that are buying up our hospitals and our nursing homes destroying the quality of care
▶ 4:23:08and driving up prices private equities buying up houses and driving up rent prices across the country and they want taxpayers to pay for that with a tax break for them give me a break Democrats want to keep up the work to make the wealthiest pay their fair share let's make our country work for working people stop the Republican betrayal vote Yes on amendment I think the gentle ladies there member who would like to claim time in opposition to the
▶ 4:23:39amendment yes Mr snucker so close and yet so far away Mr smucker uh has an amendment uh the the clerk would uh I'd like to speak in opposition oh I'm sorry yeah uh Mr smucker you have seven minutes to speak in opposition thank thank you Mr chairman so I'd like to remind those listening what this bill would unleash
▶ 4:24:09today um at the end of 2025 as it stands today Provisions in the tax cuts and jobs act will provide uh will expire I should say uh and it's not the corporate rate despite what uh my friend Miss jao had said this would be the individual rates and so here's what would happen if this bill were implemented the amendment would increase tax revenues by more than 2.1
▶ 4:24:40trillion over the next 10 years and it would increase tax revenues on hardworking Americans not on the corporations that were mentioned ear earlier so in other words it would raise taxes on the millions of hardworking Americans who have seen those taxes reduced by the tax cuts and jobs act the average taxpayer Across the Nation the average taxpayer in my district would see a 22% tax hike if the Trump T Cuts expire a family of four
▶ 4:25:10making the median income time in the United States would see a tax increase of almost $1,700 if this amendment were adopted 40 million families would see their households child tax credit cut in half if this amendment were adopted 91% of all taxpayers would see their guaranteed deduction slashed in half 26 million small businesses would be hit with a 43.4%
▶ 4:25:41tops tax rate if the section 199a small business deduction expires 7 million taxpayers would be impacted by The Return of the Alternative Minimum Tax if we don't pass this bill if this amendment were adopted two million family phone family-owned Farms would have their death tax exemption slashed in half next year for the past four years Americans have lived
▶ 4:26:11in an America where Democrats have proposed the highest sustained levels of Taxation in American history we're not going back to that Republicans are committed to lower taxes we're committed to less government this process that we're starting today it'll give us the tools we need to extend Trump's tax cuts to tackle waste Fraud and Abuse across government programs
▶ 4:26:41and I want to address some of the comments made earli earlier in regards uh to that the the question was laid out you know how can this be done without pain I want to remind folks of this this year in this fiscal year we will be taking in about $5 trillion in tax revenue about 5 trillion dollars coming into the federal coffers you know what we'll be spending 7
▶ 4:27:11TR trillion $7 trillion that means there's $2 trillion that we're spending that is adding to the federal debt we're already at the highest level of debt than that we've ever seen it's an absolutely unsustainable path forward this bill the question should be asked how can we better deliver services to the American people how can we ensure that
▶ 4:27:41the taxpayer dollars are it that are reaching the individuals that they're intended to reach and what we're seeing Doge uh is phenomenal and I'm glad to hear the ranking member uh my fellow member from Pennsylvania uh talked about wanting to root out fraud and this is why uh I'm I'm not sure uh why Democrats shouldn't be celebrating with us what we're seeing we're going to be saving I believe based on what we're hearing
▶ 4:28:12early returns we're going to be saving billions of dollars perhaps per day tens of billions maybe hundreds of billions maybe a half trillion dollars or more per annually uh if the the work of Doge goes as uh as as currently we're seeing happen so you're going to be hearing a lot more about this democrats should get on board every every individual who cares about their taxpayer dollars and every individual
▶ 4:28:42who cares about folks receiving dollars from the federal government should care about rooting out uh fraud uh and and excess and that's exactly what's happening with Doge now back to our uh our resolution I already mentioned $7 trillion doll going out from the federal government annually 7 trillion annually this resolution calls for looking at those dollars ensuring that they're being spent
▶ 4:29:12wisely and trying to save 1 and A2 trillion or two trillion not annually but over 10 years which means out of A7 trillion budget we're simply asking can't we find 150 billion per year or 200 billion per year this is not an unreasonable ask and it's it's high time that we begin to take seriously how we are spending taxpayer dollars and the FIS trajectory
▶ 4:29:43that we're on and someone brought up the Clinton um years and I think it's a good analogy because Clinton Gore had a similar Focus as Doge they were very very interested they they had an initiative where they brought private business owners in to help root out waste and fraud and they reduced the size of the federal Workforce it was very very important maybe it's not uh uh a coincidence that that was also the last time that we
▶ 4:30:13balanced the federal federal budget it's been a long time since we've taken a good hard look at where we at how the federal government operates and when you start looking under the hood folks it is pretty bad so I'm really excited about what we're doing I think we are taking the first steps today to beginning to get to a balanced federal budget it's something that's that's very very surely needed so this is a a bad amendment that would affect uh middle inome families if you support
▶ 4:30:43this amendment you're supporting a tax increase on every middle inome family every hardworking individual uh in this country and so I I strongly oppose this and I ask my colleagues to consider opposing it the balance of the time you the balance of the time I I would just point out that I think it is fantastic that the gentle lady from Washington is in complete agreement with Donald Trump in wanting to remove the carried interest loophole I yield back we have consensus I I yield to the gentle lady uh for her one minute close thank you Mr chairman
▶ 4:31:13well listen if you want to do that just alone let me know CU I think we've been trying to do that for a long time um I want to be clear about something 83% of the benefits of the Trump tax scan 1.0 went to the top 1% you can spin whatever stories you want over there but that is the analysis let me tell you that people earning more $500,000 half a million dollars receive tax reductions 76 times
▶ 4:31:43greater than those who were making under $100,000 how is that fair those with incomes exceeding $1 million got breaks 335 times greater than earners that were earning under $50,000 this is ridiculous to tell stories about how oh you know some middleclass Americans got tax cuts you are insulting people by saying that if you get 200 bucks 700 bucks for a couple weeks of groceries somehow
▶ 4:32:14that is good enough and compares to the billionaires getting Yachts that's just not the way it is if the Trump tax cuts enacted if the tax cuts enacted during the bush and the Trump Administration for those of you who are so concerned about spending if the tax cuts enacted during the bush and Trump administration had not been enacted the deficit would be less than half its current size so please don't tell us about spending when the Republicans have
▶ 4:32:44continued to increase tax guts for the wealthiest increase spending and at the same time are not looking at how we make our revenues more fair you get to choose how to create the revenues in this budget so you can easily say that we're going to tax the wealthiest and we're going to make sure that we make the system more fair that's actually in prerogative Mr chairman I uh
▶ 4:33:14my friend my friend went over by a minute on her one minute closing uh but we're not going to do any more rebuttal we'll just tee this up for consideration M Mr chairman have a unanimous consent request sure i' like to insert into the uh record at Washington Post article giving the statement about the 83% of the tax cuts and jobs act going to the top 1% as three pinocchios yel back I uh without objection so ordered the question on agreeing to the amendment Miss ja Paul
▶ 4:33:45um all in favor say I those oppose no no the opinion of the chair that knows have it recorded vote Mr chairman roll call vote is requested and pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup are there any other amendments consideration Mr chairman I do have an amendment Miss Miss Coleman uh the clerk will designate the amendment
▶ 4:34:15the staff will distribute the copies of the amendment and uh then I will defer to you for your opening statement amendment number four to strike reconciliation instructions to the committee on Energy and Commerce offered by Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I apologize I got half your name right that's okay Mr chairman I understand you're new to the committee and I'm glad you're on the and I think as we see these
▶ 4:34:45papers being distributed I'm just going to say take it away 7even minutes thank you Mr chairman I am introducing an amendment that would strike the instructions for the Energy and Commerce Committee and prevent the cuts to Medicaid my Amendment rejects Republicans betrayal of the 72 million Americans who rely on Medicaid for health coverage nearly a third of all Americans relied on Medicaid for health coverage in 201 23 for some of us here on this committee nearly half of our
▶ 4:35:15constituents rely on Medicaid in my district the 12th District in New Jersey at least 93,000 seniors adults and children rely on Medicaid's covered services such as Primary Care visits maternity and postpartum uh Health Care nursing homes long-term care prescriptions mental health and substance abuse services and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities ities imagine the pain that would be inflicted on millions of Americans
▶ 4:35:45by cutting this essential funding these instructions will lead to measures such as converting Medicaid to a per capita cap instead of funding on the base of need States would receive only a fixed amount of federal funding on a per beneficiary basis this would lead to budget shortfalls in States and for state governments to limit coverage and eliminate services for millions of families and children every 100 million dollar cut from Medicaid represents the cost of coverage for more than
▶ 4:36:163.7 million children 540,000 low-income seniors or 415,000 adults with disabilities Medicaid is a Lifeline to Affordable Health Care for many of our neighbors and has been helping families keep their households afloat for almost 60 years it represents nearly $1 out of every five spent on Health Care in the United States and to cut funding to Medicaid is to cut a vital lynchpin in our nation's Healthcare infrastructure
▶ 4:36:46several of my Republican colleagues have said here today that they have no intention of cutting Medicaid or Medicaid well this is their opportunity to put their money where their mouth is but it is also my opportunity to ask you to insert into the record the uh proposals of Republican proposals on the $880 billion doll cuts to Energy and Commerce I signaled on 22 of these and I don't have the time to read them all
▶ 4:37:16but let me just highlight a few of them it reverses executive expansion of State directed payments in Medicaid up to $25 billion in 10 years a it lowers the Medicaid matching rate floor up to $387 billion in 10year savings it equalizes the fmm for ACA population uh is 561 billion in 10 years it establishes Medicaid
▶ 4:37:46work requirements it is a100 billion do in 10 years it repeals the Biden administration's finalized Med Medicaid chip access rule to $121 billion doll over 10 years it makes the Medicaid per capita caps if affects them to the tune of $900 billion in a 10year savings and can go on and on and on at the end of the day what this does it is makes our communities
▶ 4:38:17weaker and unhealthy and unfair and to that extent I would like to now yield to my colleague Mr tonko 90 seconds on this amendment I thank the congressman for yielding the Republican ripoff will take healthc care away from millions of Americans who are covered by Medicaid in a cynical ploy to deliver tax cuts to the super Rich if you are so hellbent on cutting taxes for your wealthy campaign donors can't you at least do
▶ 4:38:47it without causing massive disruption to People's Health Care this is a time to ensure a strong future for Medicare and Medicaid not the time to cut benefits proposals to cut this vital safety net program are shortsighted and immoral how dare you take away Health Care from the American people this is a betrayal of the American people and will leave my constituents without much needed access to care let me cite just one story from New York a Joan n has been living with empyema a type of
▶ 4:39:17COPD for over 20 years enrolling in Medicaid has improved her life on every level Joan is a dual eligible meaning she qualifies for Medicare because she is over 65 and also has a limited income qualifying her for Medicaid Medicaid pays for the medical expenses that Medicare doesn't cover including portable oxygen before enrolling in Medicaid Joan did not have coverage for all of her treatments as a result she put off treatment treatment which led to her health deteriorating she
▶ 4:39:47also used credit cards to pay for the health care she needed resulting in medical debt when asked about Medicaid she calls Medicaid a lifesaver and says thank God for Medicaid I yield back thank you very much I reclaimed my time to remind uh my colleagues of the fear and the Damage that this will do to the health and the well-being of our community ities and I do hope that my colleagues will support this amendment I thank the gentle lady
▶ 4:40:18are there any members or is there a member who' like to claim opposition to the amendment Mr chair Mr Edwards from North Carolina is recognized for seven minutes thank you thank you Mr chair I I feel that it's important for us uh to just take a brief time and recognize the situation that we have here in America today our national debt is unsustainable and it threatens the fiscal and the National Security of our
▶ 4:40:48country we've talked about this in this committee before but it's it's important for us to step back and look at the facts the gross national debt surpasses trillion equaling a staggering 123% of our gross domestic product this current level of indebtedness exceeds even world World War II's level of 119% and it's double the average level of indebtedness since
▶ 4:41:201946 according to the CBO the debt will rise to $ 59 trillion by 2035 when it will equate to 123% of GDP if we do nothing today the time for Congress to act is right now there's never been a more critical time the longer that we wait to re in our out-of control spending the more significant the reforms will need to
▶ 4:41:51be to right siize our spiraling national debt the primary driver of our sustain unsustainable spending driving our national debt is our mandatory spending which is spending on autopilot that continues without any congressional action in order to address our national debt we just have to rein in the runway mandatory spending Portion by reversing the Biden Administration spending
▶ 4:42:21spree making benefit programs work for the most vulnerable and ending Cradle to grave dependence and reducing waste Fraud and Abuse Energy and Commerce plays a key role in our effort to rightsize our mandatory spending and put our country back on a pathway to fiscal security prosperity and Sanity in fact over the next 10 years mandatory outlays for
▶ 4:42:51programs under the jurisdiction of Energy and Commerce will total 21 trillion hear that again $21 trillion the instruction to Energy and Commerce is to reduce the deficit by $880 billion which is is a mere 4% reduction in the committee's mandatory spending over the next 10 years Congress often makes easy tasks
▶ 4:43:21difficult fear that we're trying to do that here today but I'm confident that we can accomplish this small reduction in the rate of growth of mandatory spending programs under the Energy and Commerce Committee improper payments which represent waste Fraud and Abuse total is staggering $21 billion dollar in fiscal year 2023 alone at departments under energy and commerce's jurisdiction this equates to well over $1 trillion
▶ 4:43:51in 10 years Energy and Commerce can meet their goal of reducing mandatory spending for programs under their jurisdiction by 4% simply by reducing waste Fraud and Abuse I've heard some skepticals here some spetic here already this after but uh I suggest we give Energy and Commerce a chance striking the instruction for Energy and Commerce would remove this opportunity to make Common
▶ 4:44:21Sense reforms to critical programs to reduce our out-of-control mandatory spending it's our duty to our children and our grandchildren to take this very moment to put our country on a path to fiscal security and prosperity and that starts with taking the step needed to reform our mandatory spending I urge Mr chairman a no vote on this amendment and also
▶ 4:44:52I have a submission for the record uh Mr chairman I ask unanimous consent to submit a onep pager from the house budget committee listing the total amounts of mandatory spending improper payments and unauthorized spending within the committee on energy and commerce's jurisdiction into the record with that OB action so ordered Mr chair I yield with the balance of time I'd like to make a um we
▶ 4:45:22too believe in the safety net programs for the most vulnerable um I don't think a single Republican I've heard in any discussions that I've been in any uh any desire whatsoever to um impact individuals who rely on these programs um and uh I but what I have heard is that
▶ 4:45:52you've got social service programs like the supplemental nutrition program and other means tested welfare programs where you have the Bill Clinton welfare to work sort of requirements just basically requiring that if you're an able-bodied adult and you're receiving taxpayer funded support which I think not a single taxpayer would begrudgingly support their fellow American but they would expect if you're able-bodied
▶ 4:46:23that you'd be looking for a job or that you'd be working and I think the requirement is 20 hours a week but that doesn't exist in Medicaid and I think 80 to 90% of the of the American people are with those Common Sense reforms the other thing is we wrote a letter to CBO and we asked about the cost to Medicaid for health care services provided in the emergency room mainly to people who are here illegally
▶ 4:46:53tens of billions of dollars folks we can't Social Security is insolvent less than 10 years Medicare not that far after that we're talking about 2 trillion in annual deficit that's going to double in 10 years 36 debt and we're okay somehow with allowing illegal immigrants to drain tens of billions of dollars cut the line break the law violate our sovereignty
▶ 4:47:24and this is the problem we we can't get anybody to help that I know of on the other side of the they want to talk about raising taxes how about cutting some of the waste that I just that I just listed out that CBO valid valid dates and that's just the beginning numbers USA says $150 billion a year 100 of which is born by the states they can't borrow from China like we can this is a mess got to clean this mess up it's the least
▶ 4:47:54we can do to respect our taxpayers and be fiduciaries of their hard-earned dollars as budget committee members with that um I yield uh the last minute for closing remarks to Miss Watson Coleman thank you Mr chairman I I appreciate that decisions decisions decisions are very important Humanity however dictates that we don't make those decisions on the backs of those most vulnerable and that's what this plan does so let me just speak to my colleagues uh District Mr
▶ 4:48:24Edwards first 82,000 people who receive ACA coverage would see their premium in increased by $730 per year 107,000 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage including 60,000 children and 9,000 seniors 39 ,000 people who rely on Snap are at a risk of losing benefits and Mr chairman let me speak to your District 75,000 people who receive coverage under the ACA would see their premiums increased by $430 per year
▶ 4:48:54999,000 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage including 64,000 children and 8,000 seniors 37,000 people who rely on snaer at the risk of losing benefits these people represent a tremendous need for our help at at the time that we're looking at these decisions we're looking to give the top 1% a tax cut of $34 million and CEOs and big corporations will get another two trillion so I ask you sir do you want to go back
▶ 4:49:24to your districts and tell them that this is what's going to happen to their very necessary benefits I yield back and I ask for a recorded vote I think I thank the gentle lady um and would like to tee up the question on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss Watson Coleman all those in favor say I I I all those oppose no in the opinion of the chair the knows hav it and we will do a roll call vote I asked for yes I did you did I did ask for
▶ 4:49:55a recorded vote you anticipated you were ahead of me thank you sir I don't mean to I don't mean disrespectful I'm just trying to do my job look you're trying to move us get us to you know get us up here I like it thank you and we'll we'll do the roll call at the end uh of our markup as we agreed to um and now I'm going to open it back up if there are any other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk Miss Escobar from the great state of Texas
▶ 4:50:25thank you so much Mr chairman the clerk let's let the clerk uh designate the amendment and then distribute copies and I'll come back to you sorry perfect amendment number five to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on energy in Commerce Ways and Means and education and Workforce offered by Miss Escobar okay Miss Escobar is recognized for seven minutes thank you so much Mr chairman it is heartening
▶ 4:50:55to hear that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would actually like to protect vulnerable Americans whose um uh pocketbooks are at risk with this budget proposal that we are marking up today and I want to talk a little bit about a particular vulnerable population and that is our senior citizens I am certain that all of us have had conversations with seniors in our district in
▶ 4:51:25fact pretty likely seniors in our own family senior citizens who sometimes have to make the tough decisions between paying for their medicine or paying their electric bill or paying their water bill or buying the groceries that they need in order for them to get the nutrition that they need our seniors uh were top of mind for us when we passed the inflation reduction act and when we put into place uh Medicare
▶ 4:51:56drug price negotiations so that we could lower the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors so that they would not have to make those tough choices between their medicine and buying groceries the first round of Medicare drug price negotiations saved taxpayers $6 billion huge huge savings and it will lower seniors outof pocket costs by
▶ 4:52:27$1.5 billion do when the lower prices take effect next year I know seniors in my district are counting on that and in fact it is something it is the more morally right thing to do to make sure that we protect these savings for our seniors I live in El Paso Texas represent this great border district and what is confusing to a lot of my constituents
▶ 4:52:57is that they can literally go across the border into sudes Mexico and buy the same prescription drug at 40% lower uh at a 40% lower cost and when they ask me why that is and they want to understand why is the same drug uh more expensive in the United States than it is literally um a few miles away from my home and we have a great
▶ 4:53:27conversation about big Pharma and the power of the big Pharma Lobby uh especially with members of Congress and how unfortunately for too long members of Congress have protected big Pharma and who's paying that price it's our senior citizens and so for us that priority of making sure that we protected senior citizens and ensuring that they had access to lower drug prices um was
▶ 4:53:58a a major achievement I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have senior citizens in their districts I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have senior citizens in their family and I am hoping that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will support my Amendment and protect these seniors and their lower drug prices so that we can make sure that we protect these this key constituency for us
▶ 4:54:28and that we make sure um that that they don't see unnecessary spikes in their drug prices I'd like to share my time with my great colleague uh representative Gabe Amo and I will yield to him right now thank you uh to my great colleague from the great state of Texas Miss Escobar page 465 of project 2025 calls to raise healthcare costs for seniors by repealing
▶ 4:54:58the inflation reduction act last year approximately 57,000 Rhode Islanders saved an average of $200 thanks to the inflation reduction acts improvements to Medicare Part D uh drug coverage program $200 might not mean a lot to Republicans in this room or uh the billionaires who are going to be the recipients uh that of of the aspirational tax cuts here but this
▶ 4:55:28makes a real difference for seniors in Middletown and Cumberland Rhode Island with prescription drug prices increased by 2.5% this month see in my district rely on those $200 in savings these seniors are already spending $460 to $520 per year on these drugs so every single dollar counts let's do something for them instead of adding insult to injury this isn't
▶ 4:55:58pocket change for those on a fixed income but Republicans once again seem hellbent on attacking benefits that Americans depend on while doing nothing to bring down costs I implore my Republican colleagues let's stop this madness let's end their worries pass this amendment I yield back thank you so much to the gentleman from Rhode Island uh for his input on this amendment I will once again
▶ 4:56:28just say the current economic conditions for Americans were Central to the debate and discourse last year surrounding the election Americans want us to lower their costs Americans want us to prioritize their pocketbook and so I'd ask my Republican colleagues to join me and join Democrats in
▶ 4:56:59protecting our senior citizens especially in in a month in a week where we saw inflation increase where we saw drug price increase Elon Musk and the other billionaires they don't need such a massive tax break let's prioritize the seniors who we care about who we represent and who are in our families who deserve cheaper drug prices Mr chairman
▶ 4:57:29I yield back I think the gentle lady is there a member who'd like to claim that time in opposition to her Amendment Mr chairman Mr Moore from North Carolina is thank you Mr chair members uh back when I was in the state legislature we'd call an amendment like this a catfish Amendment uh you you think you reeling in a nice bass and it turns out it's a catfish uh this this amendment would U would essentially gut so much of this bill which is designed to do two things one reain
▶ 4:58:00in wasteful spending and two allow the tax cuts that were implemented in 2017 to continue in full force and effect um and I want to I want want to make sure that my good friend Mr Amo Miss Escobar understand that and I confirmed this with the chairman just a moment ago there are no plans in this bill whatsoever that affect or impact benefits going to Medicare recipients I say that again recipients those over 65 receiving Medicare that that were being talked about by my two
▶ 4:58:30colleagues they are not going to be negatively impacted in this what will happen however is that the trust fund will be more secure we will get rid of the waste the fraud and abuse uh I think uh some of the uh some of the estimates of total wasteful and fraud spending by the federal government by the GAO Mr chairman I think it's around 2.7 trillion if I'm not mistaken that's correct um that's a lot of money uh that's a lot of money and so my my my response to my to my my good Democratic friends is
▶ 4:59:00join us and vote with us on this bill uh if you want to see F if you want to see these you know benefits like this continue to be sustaining we have to get rid of that and these instructions to the to the committee move forward with that the other thing I want to deal with is the is the talk about the the tax cuts and I I've heard I'd like to meet a couple billionaires I guess at some point I probably have over the years but I don't really know many that I know of um uh certainly back in my area I represent a pretty rural area but I'll tell you this
▶ 4:59:30if we don't extend and continue these tax cuts that were put in place in 2017 it will absolutely negatively impact Working Families in my district in Western North Carolina families who have many of whom have been impacted by the by the by the storms that we had with hurricane Helen represent Edwards knows what I'm talking about with that uh but all of whom have been impacted by by inflation by just so many tough Economic
▶ 5:00:00Times and what we need to do is we need to make sure that we don't you know allow tax increases that only add to that misery add to that burden I believe and and I will tell you that we've done this successfully in my home state I I helped write budgets for 14 years in the great state of North Carolina and we turned around a state that was going all the wrong directions as of 2010 to where right now we're one of the fastest growing states in the country taxes are lower unemployment's down me the metrics are going in the right direction and
▶ 5:00:30it all started with getting our fiscal house in order and I looked down to representative Edwards because he was there in the in the over in the we call the lower chamber of the senate in North Carolina but uh he was over in the state senate and he was a part of that as well and and a lot of choices that we made to get our state moving in the right direction and I know when you're talking state and federal a lot of times it's apples and oranges but there's a lot of things that are that that should be the same and that is like anyone else we have to live within our means and what these instructions do is they direct
▶ 5:01:01these committees to do that we have to get rid of this waste we have to get R rid of this fraud this abuse um and we need to keep those tax Cuts in place uh a couple of stats because this this word about billionaires getting thrown around like I said if we have any billionaires in my County i' I'd like to know them because I don't know them uh but but back in just you the counties that I represent just just working folks if we do not um if we do not pass this they would have on average at least a 2%
▶ 5:01:31increase in their taxes the other thing that's really interesting and and no one's talked about this that I know of on the other side of the a is is a recognition that if if we do not pass this then we would be cutting in half the child tax credit for 40 million families now guess what billionaires don't get to claim that that's for working folks and so if we take the position of my friends on the other side uh the child tax credit gets impacted and Working Families pay more taxes and it
▶ 5:02:01and overall in the country 62% of the people in the country will pay more taxes if we adopt Escobar's Amendment uh get and here's another hard number I think is interesting the tax bill for a family of four that's just making the median income their taxes would go up $1,700 a year I mean so these are real numbers and these are real things that if we if we don't move forward with this hardworking people playing by the rules doing the best they can
▶ 5:02:31every day to get by will have more of their money taken away by government so that it can be wasted in many cases uh Mr Mr chairman I think uh I would I would urge the uh urge the committee to vote no and I yield the balance of my time back to the chair I think the gentleman um wasn't too long ago when President Obama um had proposed in a budget to the United States Congress um a fix for
▶ 5:03:01an inequity in the payment system uh in Medicare it was uh system that is inequitable even to the state never was addressed and what it does is the American tax dollars go out in payments um at a higher rate to hospitals than to Physicians and physician groups for the same outpatient procedure it's called sight neutral I'm sure many of you have heard
▶ 5:03:32about it this is a proposal from President Obama said that didn't make any sense you got money that's going out to pay for a service the same outcome and in fact the same people are providing these services and President Obama was willing to say um that that shouldn't happen and and as a result of that by the way hospitals have been gobbling up all the independent practices because the Private
▶ 5:04:02Practice physician groups they can't compete with the hospitals they don't get the same reimbursement rate for the same procedure so guess what we have less choice now we have less Choice when we're taking our family to the to to find uh good health care for our families we have less choice because of that perverse incentive and president obaba tried to address it it exists to this day you know what that would also do for the United States Treasury and the tax on our children which is $2 trillion a year and then they
▶ 5:04:32got the 36 heaped on their shoulders 36 trillion $140 billion in savings I give kudos to President Obama for presenting that surely we can agree there are inefficiencies surely we can agree waste surely we can give the taxpayers um the best effort to make sure their money going to the beneficiaries like the Medicare patients Medicaid patients Etc uh the gentle lady is recognized for a closing one minute remark
▶ 5:05:02thank you Mr chairman and I will tell you I love evaluating wasteful expenditures I do it in my household all the time much to the Chagrin of my kids uh but I look to trim my personal household budget all the time I look for ways to save money um I will tell you that is at the core I believe of the values that my my Democratic colleagues
▶ 5:05:32and I share is that we want to make sure every hard-earned dollar that the American people pay in taxes comes back to them with with programs policies that make their lives better that make them healthier that make them stronger that make them more prosperous my Amendment will help make sure that we protect seniors who deserve cheaper medication I want to remind everyone Medicare drug
▶ 5:06:02negotiation was in the menu of options that the chairman put out for offsets let's protect our seniors and not put them on the chopping block thank you I yield back I I than the gentle lady the question is on agreeing uh to miss Escobar's Amendment uh all those in favor say I I those opposed no in the opinion of the chair the knows hav it Mr chairman I'd like a recorded vote you bet roll call votes requested
▶ 5:06:33and pursuant to our agreement we'll do that at the uh end of the uh M Miss Watson Coleman thank you Mr chairman I understand that you did not hear that I requested unanimous consent to include my goad my my submission to you regarding e andc cuts into the record without objection so thank you sir you bet um okay other amendments are there other amendments I have an amendment at
▶ 5:07:03the desk Miss bound thank you uh let's uh if let's designate the amendment Clerk if you would please and then we'll distribute copies I'll come right back to you sorry amendment number six to strike C reconciliation instructions to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means offered by miss balant the G
▶ 5:07:33lady from Vermont is recognized for seven minutes thank you chair this amendment protects healthcare for millions of Americans it strikes language in the Republican budget that would take away the tax credits that help people afford their health insurance my Republican colleagues for some perverse reason want to give more tax cuts to the ultra wealthy at the expense of workingclass and middle class Americans I know Americans
▶ 5:08:03in my district are feeling exhausted they're overwhelmed as they continue to face incredible High housing costs High health care costs and grocery costs and Congress should be putting all of its energy right now into relieving these pressures on Working Families we should be working over time to cut these costs for all of our people back home to ensure that everyone regardless of zip code can really live a life of dignity and security but that's not what's
▶ 5:08:33happening here instead what we're seeing is Republicans working handin inand with the Trump Administration to make the richest people in the world even richer this will not bring us security and stability I believe so strongly that we have lost our way to give more money to the very rich they're planning to take away money take away money for the people who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance on the one hand
▶ 5:09:04you've got another mega yacht or a jet for a billionaire on the other hand we're just talking about health care for working Americans that's the Stark reality of the situation the attacks on Health Care in this plan are honestly just gross and I'm having a hard time believing that anyone anyone sitting here can go back to their people back home and let them know that they voted something for something that would make their health care more expensive
▶ 5:09:34so look Americans buy health insurance and receive tax credits to help them them with the crushing cost of health insurance and Republicans want to give you less money to help you with the cost of that insurance and why do they want to do this so they can gather that money together and give tax breaks not just to the wealthy to the ultra wealthy why would anyone of conscience go along with this under this plan
▶ 5:10:04you may end up paying thousands more in health care costs and that's before we've even add in the additional cost of prescription drugs as my colleagues talk to premiums for hospital stays premiums for health insurance Health emergencies and all the essential services that are not covered by insurance this amendment would protect the money necessary for millions of Americans to afford their basic health insurance and I want to be really clear about what would happen if
▶ 5:10:34the amendment is rejected this plan will lead to Cuts in Medicaid we we know where all the money is we know where they're going to have to take the money from and it will add to your health care cost I also fear that these costs are these excuse me these Cuts could potentially kick seniors and children and people with disabilities off their health insurance I know my home state of Vermont like many of the states represented here
▶ 5:11:04are really struggling right now with health with the health care crisis cost continue to go up access is limited small businesses can't afford the rising cost of their employees health insurance coverage in rural communities like the ones I live in patients are driving for hours to find a doctor that will accept their insurance and vermonters are postponing their care because they can't afford it we have to be fighting for families who are struggling in Rural
▶ 5:11:34America and this plan would mean more than 30,000 vermonters who get get their health care through the Affordable Care Act would see their premiums go up by nearly $800 a year that increase will crush the Working Families in my state and people they just want a fair shot that's all they want they want a fair shot and this Republican budget will put Health Care even farther Out Of Reach for these families this Republican plan will will also make it harder for vermers to get
▶ 5:12:04the mental health care coverage that they need we have a crisis of anxiety and depression and loneliness in this country and I do not understand while at this time when there is so much need on the ground whether why we would pass a resolution that would strip away resources from the working in the middle class and it doesn't have to be like this it really doesn't these are choices this isn't about fighting wasted or fraud or abuse
▶ 5:12:35it's about kicking people when they're down and taking the money for health care and giving it away to extremely wealthy people who don't need it my amendment is simple it would stop Republicans for taking away Health Care from Americans and this should not be a controversial idea taking away Health Care from working people is just so it's so low you know last night Elon Musk he
▶ 5:13:05retweeted something that referred to people in this country who rely on federal programs as the parasite class that should reveal the kind of contempt we're talking about here the parasite class I don't think that my parents because they're on Social Security are part of the parasite class I don't think my neighbor who was on Medicaid is part of the parasite class so when
▶ 5:13:36my colleagues sit here and talk about Elon musk in all of these glowing terms I want you to think about who's he standing up for and who is he kicking in the teeth I don't know anyone in my district that I would refer to as part of the parasite class I urge my colleagues to get right with themselves and to join us in making sure that we can guarantee Health Care affordable
▶ 5:14:06health care for all Americans Dr visits shouldn't just be for the wealthy I urge my colleagues to support this amendment thank you and I yield back the balance of my time i' like to thank Miss Balon for comments is there a member who would like to claim the time in opposition to the amendment Mr Cary is recognized for seven minutes Mr chair I want to I want to thank you and and and I'm probably the newest member on this this committee uh and actually I see my dear friend uh representative
▶ 5:14:36Marcy capter from Toledo down there mercy and I have always believed that uh we can agree to disagree but we do not have to be disagreeable and it's something that we do in Ohio and it's something that I hope that this body one day will do as a complete entity listen our national debt is unsustainable and threatens the fiscal National Security of our country the gross national debt surpasses $ 36 trillion 36
▶ 5:15:07trillion equaling a 123% of our gross domestic product this current Le level of indebtedness exceeds World War II levels of 119% and is double the average level of add detonates since 1946 according to Congressional budget office the debt will increase to 59 trillion by 2035
▶ 5:15:39when it will equate to 123% of our GDP now we throw these numbers out so a lot of people don't understand what's the difference between a million what's the difference between a billion what's between difference between a trillion so let me just put it so folks back home as we're all sitting here not being home with our families let me just try to put out in terms of time what those numbers means $1 million equ equates
▶ 5:16:09to essentially if you put it in time Days 1 billion dollar equates 31.7 years so when we use the term trillion what does that actually mean in terms of time if you use it in seconds that is 31,6 188 years these are staggering numbers my
▶ 5:16:39the time for Congress to act is now the longer we wait to reign in our outof control spending the more significant the reforms will be needed to made to right siize the spiraling debt that we have the primary of driver of our unsustainable spending driving our national debt is mandatory spending which is spending on autopilot that continues without congressional action the committee on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means play key roles in the effort to rightsize our mandatory spending and
▶ 5:17:09put our country on a pathway to fiscal Security in fact over the next 10 years mandatory outlines for the program under the jurisdiction of these committees will total 57 remember my time 57 trillion that's almost almost 58 trillion the instructions of these two committees to reduce the deficit by 88 billion which is a mere 1 Point remember this 1.5%
▶ 5:17:40reduction in these committees spending over the next 10 years Congress often makes it easy task difficult and we we all see that we we always have but I am confident that we can accomplish this small reduction in the rate of growth of mandatory spending programs under the Energy and Commerce in Ways and Means committees improper payments which represent waste Fraud and Abuse total about 430 4 53 billion
▶ 5:18:10doll in fiscal year 2023 Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means can meet their goal by reducing the mandatory spending for these programs under their jurisdiction by 2% by simply reducing waste far out and abuse I don't think anybody disagrees that that's not a good thing striking the instructions of these three committees will remove the opportunity to make Common Sense reforms to critical programs to reduce our outof control mandatory for spending it is our duty
▶ 5:18:41to our children and for somebody like me who's missing their children tonight because we're going to be here till 9:00 that's a very important thing to take this moment to put our country on the path path to fisal security and prosperity that strikes the taking the steps needed to reform our mandatory spending Mr chairman so I urge no vote U on this amendment U Mr chairman I ask unanimous consent to submit one pagers for from both the house budget committee
▶ 5:19:11listing the total amounts of mandatory spending and proper payments unauthorized spending within the committies of Energy and Commerce in Ways and Means yeah without objection all right so two uh onepages from the house budget listing the total amounts of mandatory spending and proper payments and under author spending in the Committees on Energy and Commerce and ways and means uh Mr chairman it is uh it is an honor to be back on this committee um and I appreciate both of my on both sides of the aisle the Democrats and Republicans
▶ 5:19:42we're going to work together we're going to get some things done anybody who knows me from Ways and Means knows that's the way I operate um but at this point I just want to thank you all for being here because we've got a very important job to do for the American public over the next few hours let's get it done with that I'd like to yield to uh my dear friend Mr Roy for uh 30 seconds I appreciate the gentleman I would just add a couple things in response to these Healthcare accusations that the we got with medicane right now as all the reports you look at show that the expansion
▶ 5:20:12has been linked to longer wait for appointments slower ambulance response times greater delays in the emergency room uh and significant increase in costs overall to the entire system we're not serving people well and and people know this and I was I was happy to see that and we just saw that Bobby Kennedy was confirmed today and that is great news for where we're headed and and uh when ask when Bobby was asked about whether he still quote supports single paay he said no I saw the absolute and total failure of the expansion of Medicaid as an indication as to why Single Payer would would fail and so we're looking
▶ 5:20:42to reform the system and make it work when we talk about health care we shouldn't have $225,000 a year which is the current average for a family of four is what the expenditure is between businesses and families going into the pockets of health insurance companies who have we now have insurance run government regulated Health Management we don't have health care so you want to actually fix all this we need to actually have reforms and allow states to be Innovative and be able to put uh Innovation back into Healthcare there's a lot we can do here and our budget is designed to accomplish those objectives I'd
▶ 5:21:12yield back thank you and with that Mr chairman I yield back gentleman yields Miss Bon has recognized for one minute to close thank you Mr chair um representative K I want to say I I feel your pain my kids are also disappointed that I I will not be coming home tonight so I understand um we do have a national debt problem I agree with you so why wouldn't we ask those who have so much more than the rest of us to pay more why wouldn't we why wouldn't
▶ 5:21:42we ask them to pay more to help us close this Gap I want to wrap up by saying there are millions and millions of Americans who rely on us to be their eyes and ears in this room we have to put working people and middle class Americans at the center of the work that we do here not billionaires not wealthy corporations nobody on my side of the aisle ran for office to give Max massive tax breats to the wealthiest Americans while the rest of us are struggling
▶ 5:22:13to eek out a living Our People Back Home are counting on us to stand with them I asked again for people to support my Amendment and I yield back thank you the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss ballot all those in favor say I I all opposed no no any opinion chair the nose have it I ask for a record a vote please roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the
▶ 5:22:45markup as are there any uh additional amendments thank you Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment amendment number seven to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on Energy and Commerce Ways and Means and agriculture offered by Mr McGarvey
▶ 5:23:22Mr McGarvey is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman my Amendment strikes sections of the budget resolution that Republicans will use to cut vital health care and nutrition programs our veterans depend on if Republicans want to give away trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthy EST Americans in 1% they shouldn't do it on the backs of our nation's soldiers and our veterans our my Republican colleagues want you to believe this is all about personal responsibility their spending cuts are only
▶ 5:23:52going to hurt people on the government Dole the parasite class as Mr musk called them people who live in big cities people live other places but the spending in this bill the spending cuts are so extreme so Draconian that they are going to who strip away benefits from millions of veterans active duty military and their families veterans and Junior enlisted service members most in need of our country's support I want you to picture a veteran sitting in Louisville
▶ 5:24:22Kentucky he gets coverage through the VA but he's got complex Healthcare needs maybe he lives with a substance abuse disorder or deals with mental illness maybe he's had a little hard time holding a job down recently or or he has a disability because of his time serving us and our country he's lucky that he lives in a state like Kentucky that expanded medicaid since veterans and expansion states are onethird more likely to have insurance his Medicaid also helps cover his prescriptions and
▶ 5:24:52provides Behavioral Health Services and case management this is not some far-fetched hypothetical Medicaid covers 10% of our nation's veterans under the age of 65 over a third of those veterans live below the poverty line a third of them live in the south like me and many of my Republican colleagues on this committee more than half have a disability for 40% of veterans Medicaid is their
▶ 5:25:22only coverage these Cuts won't affect these Cuts won't only affect veterans on Medicaid the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit which the Republicans also want to ax helps non-elderly veterans get affordable insurance for their families since AC a coverage went into effect the number of uninsured veterans decreased by more than a third the Republicans want to tear away Health Care from these veterans to pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires the plan we're voting on today
▶ 5:25:53would cut at least 880 billion in the federal funding that pays for this kind of coverage that means more veterans without health insurance they're not just coming for veterans they coming for folks who wear the uniform today over 2 million children and Military connected families count on Medicaid for their health needs two kids Republicans don't want to stop at Healthcare they want to
▶ 5:26:23take snap away from veterans too snap supplemental nutrition assistance program helps over 1 million lowincome veterans put food on their tables one study found that about one in four low low income veterans and nearly one in three food insecure veterans participated in snap in the previous year in Kentucky 177,000 veterans receive SNAP benefits snap coverage is a critical Lifeline for
▶ 5:26:53veterans who are unemployed have disabilities or just struggle to make ends meet every month and since Republicans are coming for their health insurance too it's worth noting that veterans without insurance are more likely to struggle to afford enough to eat this Republican plan would strip $230 billion from programs that make sure veterans don't go hungry they'd rather spend that money on instead let me be clear a cut to snap or Medicaid is a cut to our
▶ 5:27:23veterans people to whom we made a promise a sacred promise to take care of them in exchange for them willing to put on a uniform and risk everything to take care of us so who is this bill for it's not for veterans it's for Elon Musk and his friends Elon musk's net worth somewhere around $379 billion in 2023 the median income of a veteran was
▶ 5:27:56$2,122 talked about time earlier in this hearing I'll put this in a Time perspective that veteran would have to work 7.3 million years to earn Elon musk's current net worth but musk is dictating the cuts and the Republicans are happy to oblig our veterans deserve better our veterans deserve our best and I encourage my colleagues to vote for this amendment
▶ 5:28:26and protect our veterans from these devastating Cuts I reserve the balance of my time thank you the gentleman uh Reserve I'd like to now recognize myself to speak in opposition for S minutes so let's first be clear about uh what this bill does it would strike uh the instructions in the resolution in the bill we're considering today to uh several committees Energy
▶ 5:28:56and Commerce Ways and Means and Agriculture and earlier in a previous Amendment um I U talked about the impact of striking the ways of means instructions and despite what my friends uh on the other side of the aisle say this is a bill that protects the lower tax rates for Middle income American for Americans but you're the veterans you spoke
▶ 5:29:27about with an average uh income of I think 52,000 was was the figure you used would see a tax increase if we don't extend the provisions of the tax cuts and jobs act we do understand that today right middle inome Americans your constituents would see a massive tax increase in fact it would be the largest increase uh
▶ 5:29:57in our history on middle Americans another point I'd like to make if the tax cuts and jobs Act tax rates on small F on the uh middle- inome Americans and on small expires the tax system will become more regressive middle inome Americans will their tax
▶ 5:30:27will increase more as a percentage than income than the income of high income earners facts are what they are and I wish I had something I could submit to the record I can get it later but uh many organizations have looked at the impact of the tax guts and jobs act and it made the uh tax system in America more progressive tax taxes on higher inome
▶ 5:30:57Americans went up as a percentage more than taxes on middle inome Americans so let's just be clear on that your veteran that you were talking about will receive probably a 22% increase in his or her taxes it would be catastrophic you know who else would receive an increase small business owners the 199 cap a it's a bill that I've introduced that would extend that particular provision of the tax code and make it um make it permanent
▶ 5:31:28uh we did hearings throughout in various districts throughout the country and we heard from small business owners now these are the guys are these are the companies that are creating first of all they employ most uh uh uh wage earners they create the most jobs of any segment of the economy they create more jobs than the corporations they talk they told us and you all know this you have small businesses in your districts they told us
▶ 5:31:59that this deduction allowed them to reinvest in their business creating more jobs it allowed them to to reinvest in their employ employees provide more pay more benefits and reinvest in their communities and we know we learned as you know that the health of these These are Main Street businesses that'll see a massive tax increase if we don't extend this and it's going to affect their communities when these businesses are thriving then the communities in which they reside
▶ 5:32:29are thriving as well uh so that's the that's the ways and means portion you know the removing if you remove the instructions to the A committee it would remove their ability now each committee is going to decide how they'll find savings but it remove their ability to uh improve the way their programs operate one of the overarching goals of this whole exercise is to try to be more efficient to to root out waste Fraud and Abuse and uh Democrats keep
▶ 5:32:59talking about uh what's it I forget the term you use now the parasite class or something like that um you would have to agree that we want the benefits to go to the individuals who it's who who should be receiving it and you must agree that you probably there's some waste there may be some individuals receiving that who should not be getting it and if we don't ensure that's the case there will be less dollars for the truly needy
▶ 5:33:29and so I think uh we should join together and work to ensure that our government is as efficient and effective as possible in delivering the the resources and the services uh that are needed um so again it's about getting the right the money to the right people and of course we can say this for energy and Comm as Commerce as well and we've heard a lot of fearmongering here today about the $880 billion instruction to that committee but I want
▶ 5:33:59to highlight again this represents just 4% just 4% of the 10year spending of the committee this can certainly be done at a time when our spending is 26% of GDP record levels we're in a fiscal trajectory that is completely unsustainable so we owe it to the owe it to the American people we owe it to our kids and our grandkids to get this right and I think it's crucial that we look at these programs um with that I'll yield the rest
▶ 5:34:30of my time to my colleague Mr Norman thank you Mr chairman you know it's been a constant refrain to do away with the uh committees on Commerce and energy and Agriculture and um you know in ways and means and you know I think where the real difference is with the friends on my left they just think you can tax your way into Prosperity folks that doesn't work that way um and I keep hearing the military
▶ 5:35:01uh what we do what our plan does is boosting the military why do you think the last four years under the bid Administration you've had a deficit A reduced amount of people volunteering for the military why do you think under President Trump he's only been in office what a month now he's got a record increase of people want to volunteer for the for the military and you keep saying you for the little man and you keep talking about Elon Musk uh billionaire this uh I think he
▶ 5:35:31made it the the natural way I think he produced a product and did well and I think he produced a mechan mechanism to find waste Fraud and Abuse that each one of you continue to talk about and let me ask you this is it fair for the little man to get uh 20 million for Sesame Street show is it fair for the little man two million for sex changes and LBG activism is it fair for the middleman to have six million to transform digital spaces that's the kind of example that we got to
▶ 5:36:01cut out that's the good thing about our tax plan he y back gentlemen's time expired Mr McGarvey is recognized for one minute close thank you I appreciate what you all said unfortunately it's just simply not true what is happening here is you all are giving a false Choice the idea that somehow if this bill doesn't pass that there will be taxes on the middle class we have shown time and time again as Democrats proposal after proposal to cut taxes for the middle class to
▶ 5:36:31make our middle class and working class more prosperous in this country that doesn't have to be this bill the tax cuts don't expire until December 31st last I checked today is February 13th but you all don't want to work with us on that what you want to do is pass this bill that gives massive tax breaks to the wealthiest corporations individuals not only you've worried about fiscal debt this is going to add $2 trillion dollar to the debt one trillion
▶ 5:37:01Cuts four and a half trillion in tax breaks for the wealthiest people and it's going to hurt people this bill bill will hurt people if this plan goes through Mr smucker 26,000 people who receive coverage of the ACA in your district will see their premium go up by $2,400 per year 98,000 people in your District on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage 45,000 children's in 7,000 seniors meanwhile the top 1% get a tax cut of $314,000 that's what this bill does work with us on a better
▶ 5:37:31one gentlemen's time has expired the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr McGarvey all those in favor say I I those oppose no no in the opinion of the chair the nose haveit request recorded vote a roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup are there any uh other
▶ 5:38:03M have m to the desk uh Mr Scott has an amendment uh the clerk will designate amendment amendment number eight to strike reconciliation instructions to the committee on education and Workforce offered by Mr Scott
▶ 5:38:41Mr Scott is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman I always found it interesting that um Republicans can preach about fiscal responsibility and then produce a budget that actually increases the deficit by $250 billion this year and just think about it you talk about how bad the deficits are and then say that's why I'm voting for the bill that increases the
▶ 5:39:11deficit reducing the deficit isn't that hard every Democratic president since Kennedy has been able to hand over to their Republican successors a better deficit situation than they inherited everyone without exception and every Republican preaching about fiscal responsibility has handed over to the Democrats a worse deficit situation than they inherited without exception Obama improved D George W Bush's deficit Trump
▶ 5:39:42had a significant worse deficit than he inherited from Obama President Biden has improved the deficit from what he got from president Trump and here we are starting off with a budget that's going to make things worse but then the insult to injury is that this uh budget ask for us to adopt extensions of trillions of dollars in tax cuts heavily L tilted to the wealthy incorporations and pay for those tax cuts with cuts in
▶ 5:40:12spending but this amendment just asks that those cuts tax cuts for the wealthy not be paid for with cuts to programs in within the jurisdiction of the education and Workforce committee a lot has been said about the um instructions are not specific so when you said oh we can cut Medicaid you say oh it's not Medicaid you can cut something else when whatever else there is is e either isn't there isn't enough or may actually be worse
▶ 5:40:42uh but what uh what are you going to cut within the jurisdiction of Education in the workforce you're asking for hundreds of billions of dollars we just receiv received disappointing reports from the national assessment on education progress so is your response to that dis those disappointing reports is your response to cut spending for K through2 education or is your response to cut school lunches or child nutrition uh yesterday the Ed and Workforce Committee reported a bill to override dietary
▶ 5:41:12guidelines for for Americans scientifically established guidelines for proper nutrition and allow school lunches to be served in violation of those scientific guidelines that bill was opposed by advocacy organizations concerned about child health and education hope we don't have to cut Child Nutrition programs College is already unaffordable are you going to cut program programs like student aid or job training which can transform lives what
▶ 5:41:42what uh do you want to cut um uh you want to have cuts that threaten job safety with massive cuts to OSHA or maybe Cuts in health care but remember when you cut health care and people go uninsured because of those cuts they will still get sick and go to the hospital and guess who pays those costs are shifted to those with insurance so cutting support for health care insurance will result in your insurance premiums
▶ 5:42:13going up maybe you can cut Meals on Wheels provided by old within the older Americans ACT people depend on programs under within the jurisdiction of the committee on education and Workforce they certainly don't want them cut to fund tax cuts to the top 1% in corporations and top 1% that's people making over $700,000 a year and by the way when you cut corporate taxes the benefit of those cuts go to the stockholders and a lot of the stocks
▶ 5:42:44are held by people outside of the United States so Americans aren't even getting the benefit of those tax cuts Mr chairman I would hope that we would uh protect the programs within the uh jurisdiction of education and Workforce these are vital programs that people depend on and I would hope we would not cut them to fund these tax cuts for the wealthy and I reserve the balance of my time like to thank Mr Scott for his comments he reserves his time is there a member
▶ 5:43:14who would like to claim time in opposition I'd like to claim time in opposition opposition Mr chairman Miss halin is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman um the instruction for the committee on education and Workforce provides the committee with the necessary flexibility to craft policies within their jurisdiction my um my friend uh friends on the other side of the aisle um have amendments like these
▶ 5:43:44that are they're hitting us for deficit increases but they're off offering amendments that are asking us to add even more to the deficit we're looking for savings uh here's an example of something that I think we could we could rightfully um cut out of this $330 billion and that is Biden's student loan forgiveness scheme it not only incentivized skyrocketing tuition but it also pushed workingclass taxpayers
▶ 5:44:14uh punished them exas exacerbating the nation's debt and deficit crisis in the process costing over 180 billion dollar the Department of Education is in dire need of fiscal responsibility uh not only that the United States education system ranks near the bottom uh compared to other jurisdictions around the globe nothing in our budget resolution includes cuts and reforms or specific reductions within the department of of Education
▶ 5:44:45it provides the committee on education and Workforce with the necessary flexibility to decide what policies are working and what are not reigning and additional spending is a vital step toward restoring fiscal responsibility throughout the federal government as a member of the education and Workforce committee we will work with the administration to ensure state and local communities are getting what they need for education but
▶ 5:45:15our fiscal house and the Department of Education is not in order and we can all we can all thank the B Administration for the status of that department I think this is a responsible um uh step what the chairman has marked up and um I support uh I'm sorry I'm I'm I urge no vote on this Amendment um and support uh what the instruction will be to the Department of Education to the committee on education and Workforce um
▶ 5:45:45and uh with that Mr chairman uh I will yield the remainder of my time to you like to thank the G for uh yielding I just like to point out the the comment was made in regards to the debt that was added by various presidents and I agree this has been an issue for both Republican and Democrat uh president uh and we should all be concerned about the debt we should all work on policies to change the fiscal trajectory but
▶ 5:46:15I do want to point this out during the Biden years he added uh fully a quarter of the total debt held by the public a quarter of the total debt held by the public was added uh during the Biden years um and with that Miss halin will the gentleman yield please just for a second well it's Miss halon's time so miss Alon that's up to you oh you would you yield I will yield thank you kindly I just wanted to place
▶ 5:46:46in the record uh the information on the accumulated debt over the several presidencies and um I think if you look at debt as a percent of GDP for the first time in the last 50 years under Biden it started to come down because the economy started to grow again so I really do believe sir that we need to look at the revenue new side over a period of years and what's happened and together the people who are willing to do it on both sides of the Isis do something great for America for a change thank you
▶ 5:47:16thank you uh I would say um Mr chairman and then I will close and I will yield back um we do not have a uh Revenue problem in the United States we have a spending problem and House Republicans uh with this uh budget resolution that we've crafted are taking steps to um try to get us on the right path with the gentoman yield again just like to reinforce that point and I think you you raised a valuable point this is a good discussion Revenue has for about the last
▶ 5:47:4650 years been maintained at roughly 177% of GDP uh and spending has you look at the chart has steadily increased to 26% of GDP from 50 years ago maybe being about 16 or 18% maybe so to miss Hon's point I think it looking at facts we truly do have a spending problem that that should be addressed but the gentleman allow me to just respond very briefly when I was born there were 146
▶ 5:48:16million people in this country today they're over 300 we're edging toward 340 million I would expect some of that spending to go up but we need not to behind closed doors we ought to reach an agreement going forward maybe we could actually do it um following on what Mike KY said maybe Ohio could help bring the sides together wouldn't that be great for the country thank you very much I yield the balance by time miss miss howchin yields and U Mr
▶ 5:48:47Mr Scott is recognized for one minute to close thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman when you say both sides if you look at the accumulative effect of people increasing the deficit and decreasing the deficit since n since the Kennedy administration uh Democrats have uh reduced the deficit $4.5 trillion Republicans regrettably have increased the deficit $6.5 trillion and so if you're going to give credit to both sides
▶ 5:49:17please give credit where credit is due the Republicans have run up $65 trillion dollar worth of deficit and Democrats were only able to clean up $4.5 trillion dollars of it we tried but uh it's it's it's heavy lifting um I I I asked in terms of it's a spending a revenue I asked your staff whether it's whether it's both revenue and spending and they said that's simple arithmetic it's obviously both but in terms of this
▶ 5:49:49um colleges are already too expensive students are having to incur massive student loans and the student uh relief programs like the Public service loan forgiveness program the programs that eliminate uh uh forgive if you g been defrauded are very important um there's flexibility obviously in what you would cut but you got to name it it's 300 and some billion dollars worth of cuts it's got to land somewhere
▶ 5:50:19and I would hope you would not end it you would not apply those cuts to the programs in the Pro in the jurisdiction of the education and Workforce committee thank you Mr chairman now you back gentlemen's time has expired the question is on agreeing to the G uh to the amendment offered by Mr Scott all those in favor say I I those oppos no in the opinion of the chair the NOS have it a roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the
▶ 5:50:53markup uh are there any other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk uh Mr Omar has Amendment the clerk will designate the amendment or Miss I'm Sorry Miss Omar sorry about that uh the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment amendment number nine to strike reconciliation instructions to the committee on agriculture offered by Miss Omar
▶ 5:51:37Miss Zar is recognized for seven minutes um thank you chairman uh my Amendment would strike the house agriculture committee instructions and $230 billion in cuts to FAL food assistance let me be clear about what these Cuts mean we're talking about slashing food assistant for 40 million vulnerable Americans including one in five children in this and that would
▶ 5:52:07mean 35,000 uh folks in my district alone these aren't just statistics they are working families in every single one of our districts who are struggling to put food on the table especially at a time when food prices are going up it is disgraceful that important programs like Snap and Wick are on the chopping block right now snap provides about $6 per day per person this is what
▶ 5:52:37stands between millions of Americans and hunger and yet House Republicans want to slash these benefits all while pushing through tax breaks that would give the richest 0.1% an average tax break of $250,000 every year on top of gutting snap School meals and summer food programs will be at risk of devastating to emphasize
▶ 5:53:08again such deep Cuts would not just mean more burdensome some and ineffective worker requirements it means that every destruction the very destruction of these programs meanwhile the same budget res resolution hands out hundred billion dollar more to the Pentagon that can't even pass an audit the hypocrisy is staggering these Republican fiscal Hawks are essentially claiming
▶ 5:53:38that we cannot afford to feed hungry children there will always be money for large defense contractors like Elon Musk and his friends the choice is clear will we take food from Working Families from children from Seniors to give more money to billionaires and millionaires who never worry about grocery prices at the bare minimum we must not let vital food assistant be chopping be
▶ 5:54:08on the chopping block I urge my colleagues to support the sensible amendment I yield back the balance of my time thank you the general lady yields is there a member who would like to claim the time in opposition to the amendment Mr Roy is recognized for seven minutes I thank the chairman um I would note as a starting place that when we talk about things like population Plus inflation and what we've been dealing with
▶ 5:54:38over time uh if you look at where things were fy1 1998 you go back to the last time we had a balanced budget when we had Republican control of the house and we had President Clinton and the total uh what we were looking at in outlays uh adjusted for inflation of$ 5.5 trillion doar we would now be at we're now at over7 trillion and that's just literally if you just compare going back to the balanced budget of 1998 and go population plus inflation over that time we've expanded government
▶ 5:55:08beyond that by $2 trillion that's the problem and and let me let me just briefly maybe surprisingly for some agree with the gentle lady about some of the Blind Faith we have in defense contractors and just throwing money at the Pentagon I would completely agree that we need to review that process but just understand that part of what is being done here with dollars being set aside for defense is to have some significant modernization of the United States military which is sorely
▶ 5:55:39needed as we've got a dated military and be able to then break what is happening every single year in the Appropriations process where defense Hawks want to drive up the numbers in the Appropriations process and with respect my colleagues in the other side of the aisle want non-defense programs to go up and an Unholy Alliance occurs in which every single one of those dollars go up and we never review it or change it and we all know that's true we all know that's what happens every year so part of the problem here is we want to try to break that and then let's just look at what we're dealing here with the amendment
▶ 5:56:09in question with the Department of Agriculture the Thrifty food plan which is used by the US Department of Agriculture to determine the SNAP benefit levels um for nearly 50 years tfp remained cost neutral on an inflation adjusted basis but in 20 in August of 21 the Biden Administration conducted a unilateral re-evaluation of tfp without any cost constraints and now snap spending has nearly
▶ 5:56:39doubled in the last six years because of Joe Biden's unilateral expansion of the snap program again we want to talk about executive Authority everybody running around being concerned about what elon's doing double-checking looking and see if Social Security numbers are being doubled up on or figuring out if there's a $32,000 transgender comic book in Fran Peru we got here a unilateral action by the former president which literally just dumped $250 billion into the snap program just by
▶ 5:57:09executive action we saw the same thing with the Student Loan program after the courts had already spoken the Biden Administration just says we don't care doesn't matter what the courts say we're going to throw 246 billion dollar right into student loans and transferring by the way student loans taken out by some knowing full well what they were doing and then having that money having to be transferred in inflation taxes and government spending to the electrician and the plumber and the people
▶ 5:57:39who had paid off their loans so you want to talk about who's abusing executive Authority how about the Biden Administration who is making all of this stuff done unilaterally and by the way if you want to look at snap what about the fact that 20% of it is viewed roundly and clearly through studies as junk junk food we are subsidizing the uh unhealthy uh uh consumption of food in our country it is something something that I appreciate the uh HHS now uh
▶ 5:58:10secretary now having been confirmed Bobby Kennedy for pointing out we're poisoning our own kids we're poisoning our children and we're doing that here 20% of snap an enormous amount of money that was just unilaterally expanded by the previous president is stuff that is poisoning our kids with junk food and soda and sugary drinks and that's that's the plain truth and when you talk about our health care System all of this is added up we spend $5 trillion doll a year annually on Healthcare we don't have people say
▶ 5:58:40well we have a failed free market Healthcare System we don't have a free market healthare system we simply don't we spend three times more per capita than Italy on Healthcare yet the average American lifespan is five years shorter something is wrong and I applaud what uh secretary Kennedy is saying what the president is saying about making America healthy again worrying about the input side the food we consume the medicines that we take often overprescribed what's going on with Clarity and and transparency and and honesty
▶ 5:59:10and science on vaccines how much money Anthony fouchy could make in a career sitting as a bureaucrat fattening his wallet and we're actually looking and reviewing that stuff maybe we should take a look at snap maybe just maybe we shouldn't have a unilateral expansion by the president to expand a poor subsidy of our of our most vulnerable people meanwhile the average families I mentioned before is spending close to average of $25,000 annually on health insurance between their employers and
▶ 5:59:40themselves all with this false promise of Obamacare premiums magically giving them health care meanwhile I'm a member of Congress what would my health care be Obamacare if my cancer comes back that I had 12 years ago can I go to MD Anderson again under Obamacare no because Obamacare is a fraud it's just Mass quote unquote coverage that doesn't allow people to go get the healthcare they actually deserve to go the doctor of their choice to be able to have actual access to direct Primary Care to
▶ 6:00:10be able to use funds in a health savings account where they can actually go have freedom of choice and healthc Care Freedom what do we do the same old crap let's take Government funding throw it at a program throw it at a problem and expect some different outcome the fact is the budget committee is recognizing that reality it is telling our committees that we need reforms it is telling our committees that we need to transform government from a one-size fits-all distribution of money that we don't have while we rack up debt rack up interest bankrupt our children
▶ 6:00:41and instead maybe we should do something different and one of those things is this program that is why there's an instruction to the agriculture committee to say do it differently come up with a different way of doing this I believe that we should do that I believe that those kind of reforms can save our country and for that reason I support the budget and I oppose the gentle L's Amendment and with that I yield back gentleman yields Miss Omar's recogniz for one minute to close I ask for uh consent to submit um
▶ 6:01:11the budget committee Republicans are moving to take away Food and Health Care from Americans into the record without objection um I I do appreciate uh the the gentleman uh talking about us looking at some of these policies but we have to recognize that we cannot lie to the American people doing Rec reconciliation process we don't look at policies you cannot have policy positions in a Reconciliation Bill what you
▶ 6:01:41are going to do is take away Health Care access to 75,000 people in your District um representative Roy what you are going to do is take away Medicaid from 50,000 people in your District including 28 children and 7,000 seniors what you are going to do with the snap Cuts is take away access to food to 15,000 children in your District we have to be honest
▶ 6:02:11about what we are doing doing the reconciliation process thank you and I back gentlemen yields the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss Omar all those in favor say I all those opposed no no in the opinion of the chair of the NOS have it roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup are there any other
▶ 6:02:42amendments Mr chairman I have an please uh Miss captor has an amendment the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment amendment number 10 to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on Energy and Commerce Ways and Means and natural resources offered by Miss Captor ladies and gentlemen of the committee this capter
▶ 6:03:12is recognized for seven minutes thank you uh ladies and gentlemen of the committee uh there are three Essentials to life the first is fresh water and then food and thirdly energy there is no uh doubting that expression uh the purpose of my amendment is to strike the instructions that would cut the energy programs that make it easier for families that own homes
▶ 6:03:42uh and those who use energy to have lower bills and it relates to the incentives that are in the um inflation reduction act and it essentially rejects the Republicans plans to repeal those programs and tax credits and we know businesses and families um are having trouble making ends meet and uh um we know that regardless of where your energy comes from uh if you can get a better price do
▶ 6:04:12it do it and on the clean energy front just know I'm from Ohio so Thomas Alva Edison was born in my district and invented the light bulb that transformed the 20th century I was privileged to represent a man also uh that I believe to be the 21st Century's Thomas ala Edison a man named Harold McMaster who invented the most important domestic solar manufacturing company anywhere in the world and it's housed in our region so we have been a part of the invention class in
▶ 6:04:43Ohio uh in the private sector and uh uh watching this industry grow and seeing what a difference it could make it's not the only type of energy source we have in the country but we can't stop American progress and so my Amendment rejects uh the majority's plans to raise energy costs for America's Family and they really rather extreme plans to repeal programs and tax credits from the inflation
▶ 6:05:13reduction act to grow this sector uh people talk a lot about Ohio has the largest natural gas discovery on the continent and we are developing that uh the region of I live in we have nuclear power we hope to get Advanced nuclear power very soon um we hope to get hydrogen green hydrogen we're working very hard for that but we're not rejecting Renewables because they now represent 15% of the energy load of this country and they're growing I guarantee you in every place you live you're not pulling up thermal energy from
▶ 6:05:43the sewers shame on you and uh it's because we need to educate our people on other sources of energy that can be uh useful to the American people uh as we move toward 500 million people in this country our grid is old we have a lot of problems we have to deal with but so do the people paying their energy bills and so what my bill does it it doesn't get rid of the incentives we have in the bill to help people lower their energy costs whether it's business or whether it's households
▶ 6:06:13and uh without doing so we're really kind of betraying the American people and and also our inventor class the class that's moving us forward um to get rid of all the old technology and replace it so uh that's really what this bill is about um I wanted to also place on the record as you're thinking about my statement um to get talking about the 2017 uh trillions of dollars of debt that have been added because of the tax cuts that were in that bill back in 2017
▶ 6:06:44let me just give you a couple numbers to think about uh you would like to place into the record your without objection I asked unanimous consent but it basically shows how disproportionally that particular tax cut benefited the highest income households in 2025 the last year before the temporary changes to the personal income tax and estate tax provision Visions expire households in the top 1% of the income distribution will receive an average tax cut of
▶ 6:07:15$1,940 uh that's more than the average wage in my district that just tax cut to one individual in contrast those in the middle quintile of the distribution will receive an average reduction of $910 that helps our Working Families it doesn't betray them while those in the lowest quintile quintile get $70 okay so that's why we racked up just from those tax cuts already $2 trillion do and I would G I would very um respectfully disagree with the gentle lady who
▶ 6:07:46said we have a spending problem we may have spending problems yes but we also have Revenue problems and I hope that those on this committee will think about let's look at the revenue side as we try to balance the budget uh we can do this not over one year we can do it but we've got to look at the revenue side and be be fair to all of Americans so I ask you in terms of this particular Amendment uh to uh recognize that clean energy already represents about 15%
▶ 6:08:16of our base load and uh it's growing uh the Technologies are developing and every single person has to live somewhere and they all have energy bills so we've made enormous strides in helping our people move to the Future and not live in 1946 and um we we know that uh we have to do better over 400,000 new clean energy investments in including in manufacturing jobs and over $422 billion
▶ 6:08:46dollar in new Investments have been announced across our country including uh even in Wind uh manufacturing plants which by the way is Big Business up in the Great Lakes where I represent so the bulk of new clean energy projects are in districts uh represented also by Republicans in fact we have a chart here that shows most of the clean energ and maybe someone could help me hold it up so both sides of the aisle can see this I mean most of the Innovation is in Republican districts so uh this is something to think about as you consider
▶ 6:09:16this amendment uh these Investments include 213 solar and wind manufacturing plants and the bulk of the new clean energy projects are distributed in what we call here this is like the battery Zone it goes all the way from Ohio Down to Georgia but most of that is in Republican districts so as we make strides in energy diversity politics should never jeopardize the security of the American people including in one of the essentials and that is energy some of the cuts
▶ 6:09:47proposed in the overall bill will actually lower the benefit that households receive to pay their energy bills right now and in many places in the country those are going up along with their property tax bills now the cost of food and everything else so this is an area where I would really ask you to think about um uh voting for this amendment as the um inflation reduction Act tax incentives are becoming even more important as electricity demand grows rates are going
▶ 6:10:17up across the country as we increase domestic manufacturing thank God and resore some of it not fast enough for me the needs for modernization in electrification and also for data centers which are big energy Hogs so I ask you to please vote no on this and I thank you very much for your attention gentle ladies time is expired vote Yes excuse me vote Yes gentle ladies time is expired is there a member who would like to claim time in opposition to the amendment Mr chair I claim the time in opposition Mr obono
▶ 6:10:47is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman uh first of all let me Express a little bit of frustration I know we've uh been here a few hours uh we are about Midway down what we call the tier one amendments but I mean I would categorize these differently I think that's charitable to say tier one tier two I'd say uh substitutive and OBS substitutive right so these are the nons substitutive amendments we're working through uh the last few have been strike Ways and Means Energy and Commerce and agriculture
▶ 6:11:18strike Ed and Workforce strike agriculture but not Ed and Workforce this one is Strike Energy and Commerce natural resources and Ways and Means all right so we're we're going to have the same debate that we've been having for the last couple of hours here but uh with a little bit of twist uh the the the gentle woman talked a lot about energy and her passion for not cutting energy programs uh I sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee and we've had discussions about reconciliation but uh we have not made any decisions about what
▶ 6:11:48the plan would be for what would be uh what the spending reductions would be what the spending enhancements would be uh all there are our ideas right now and all there is in this bill that uh the the gentle woman's Amendment would strike is a number right so to say that this defeats the Republican plan to cut energy programs I think is very disingenuous uh also just to make the point by striking the ways and means reconciliation instructions you're enabling the largest tax
▶ 6:12:18increase in American history to occur and this hurts a lot of people not just the billionaires that you've been railing against uh this hurts average American families this would be an enormous tax increase on well over half of Americans the average tax increase would be about 17 00 for the average American family of four that is not Millionaires and billionaires we're talking about that is ordinary workingclass people and we cannot do that to them they are already struggling um in a
▶ 6:12:48larger sense let me point out something that I also reinforced in my opening we we have a horrible problem with our uh our budget deficit and our national debt our deficit is going to exceed $2 trillion dollar this year it's uh almost onethird of all federal spending and the CBO has indicated that in a couple of decades we won't even have enough Revenue coming in to pay even the interest on that national debt if we don't stop digging the hole that
▶ 6:13:18we're digging so the solution to that is we've got to get spending under control and and I welcome substantive discussion on that topic but what all of these amendments are suggesting that the right thing to do is not even look to reduce spending I mean that's what setting a number to zero in a Reconciliation construction is reconciliation exists for the purpose of decreasing the budget deficit and if we say we're not even going to look why are we why are we here why are we a budget committee so I would
▶ 6:13:48respectfully urge opposition to the gentlewoman's amendment and if I could take a point of personal privilege here as I close um I think it matters to Americans the words we use when we talk about each other on this dis and I think it's true of every one of us that we represent both Republicans and Democrats and so I would urge us to be a little bit more cautious in the language we're using and not talk about how one party is is hates America and is looking to destroy the working
▶ 6:14:18class or uh you know it it's just I I don't think that that's the reality uh you know I think behind closed doors we're all friends and I I would hope that we could work on this together so with that Mr chairman I'll yield the balance of my time the gentleman yields Miss captor is recognized for one minute to close thank you very much and um uh I just ask support of the amendment and I yield back the Gent
▶ 6:14:48lady uh yields the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by miss capter all those in favor say I those opposed no no any opinion of the chair of the NOS have it and then I ask for a roll call please roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup are there any other amendments Mr chair I have an amendment at the
▶ 6:15:19desk uh the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment amendment number 11 to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and natural resources offered by Mr Mr tonco is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chair this amendment will strike reconciliation instructions to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the natural resources committee which have jurisdiction over
▶ 6:15:49many of our nation's programs to lower energy costs and protect public health and our environment climate change is real and already having huge impacts on Americans economic well-being we are living with Perpetual Disaster Response and recovery from the consequences of rising sea levels warming oceans raging wildfires and more frequent and damaging storms just recently we saw the devastating effects of hurricanes in Florida and Western North Carolina and wildfires in Los Angeles destroying people's lives
▶ 6:16:19and property recent Studies have shown that climate change could wipe out 1.5 trillion in home values across our United States by 2055 and companies do not want to Ure properties that will be under constant threat of fires or floods people are already feeling these effects on their wallets State Farm is Seeking a 22% rate hike for homeowners in Southern California and our federal budget won't be immune either there will be increased outlays for flood and crop insurance
▶ 6:16:50and other D Disaster Assistance we should not accept the world where the United States government not only ignores but actively seeks to undermine efforts to reduce the climate pollution but that is the Republicans plan when Democrats were in charge we took historic steps to reduce pollution and deploy americanmade Clean Energy Technologies which will lower energy costs for families and by all measures this approach is working since August of 22 over 400,000 new clean
▶ 6:17:20energy jobs and over $420 billion dollar in private sector Investments have been announced across the United States many of these jobs have supported domestic Manufacturing in steel semiconductors and batteries to name just a few few 75% of these Investments have gone to counties with lower than median household incomes many of which are represented by Republicans these Investments are starting to revitalize the American industrial economy and uplift communities that have suffered
▶ 6:17:50from Decades of underinvestment but the Republicans have made no secret about their intent to repeal programs that protect our planet and create hundreds of thousands of jobs we heard that the energy tax incentives will reduce Americans bills but this is also true of the grant loan and rebate programs that have been funded in recent years thanks to the inflation reduction act several states have already made rebates available to help low and middle income households with energy costs by providing up to $14,000
▶ 6:18:21to install electric appliances and make other Home Improvements Energy Efficiency rebates are also available providing up to $8,000 to people that retrofit their homes according to the Department of energy these rebates are expected to save families up to $1 billion in energy costs each year and support 50,000 us jobs doe is also issuing loans and Loan guarantees for Innovative projects that private Finance won't support these projects cover
▶ 6:18:51a wide range of Technologies including restarting a nuclear power plant developing domestic critical mineral processing capabilities and promoting hydrogen Production Technologies that many Republicans have claimed to support and several electric utilities are taking advantage of lowest financing to invest in their grid infrastructure and then passing the savings on to their customers it is clear that the Republican's top priority isn't lowering energy costs or fostering emerging industries of the future
▶ 6:19:22but rather whatever is best for Big Oil Executives they will happily open up our public lands and Waters for more oil and gas leasing doubling down on dirty fossil fuels and further accelerating climate change they want to finish their multi-year policy Crusade of repealing rules that EPA was legally obligated to issue in order to protect Americans from dangerous air pollution and they have taken aim at eliminating the charge on methane on on methane emissions
▶ 6:19:53a program which will generate Federal revenues while incentivizing our companies to reduce waste methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for a third of the warming we experience today curbing methane waste from the oil and gas sector is urgently necessary to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change but Republicans want to give polluters a free pass Big Oil doesn't need any more favors the US is already the number one producer of oil and gas in the world and American
▶ 6:20:23consumers aren't seeing the benefits the oil and gas industry enjoys at least $15 billion doll in subsidies from American taxpayers each year and in return big oil companies coll leude with foreign cartels to drive up prices for American families and contribute to inflation this amendment would allow us to reject Republicans attempts to reverse the American clean energy transition and Manufacturing boom underway and deny regular Americans the economic and public health benefits that are coming with it all to
▶ 6:20:53further enrich Big Oil Executives it is now my pleasure to yield to a friend and colleague our great gentleman from Rhode Island Mr Amo thank you to my great colleague from the state of New York Mr tono look it's easy to miss the forest for the trees when considering this budget resolution but here's something very concrete the menu of targets and cuts Republicans Drew up we've all got it
▶ 6:21:24um is is is very clear this is nothing short of a hit list and I hope that it lays to rest once and for all the idea that Republicans somehow care about lowering costs for Americans how could you if you're considering rolling back measures in the inflation reduction act that offer up to $14,000 in rebates for low and middle income families to make their homes more energy efficient it's
▶ 6:21:54right there these improvements in my district can save Rhode Islanders up to $1,150 in their annual Energy bill but the benefits don't stop there these improvements can increase their home values anywhere between $9,800 and $223,000 that's real money it's hard for for me not to come to the conclusion that Republicans don't want
▶ 6:22:24people to achieve these savings that instead Republicans want to roll back programs that lower energy bills and increase home values I yeld back and with that Mr chair I yield back thank you the gentleman yields is there a member who would like to claim the time in opposition Mr Mr Clint mlin is recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman uh this amendment by the Democrats would add $881 billion to the deficit
▶ 6:22:55by striking the provisions of the budget resolution that direct 880 billion in deficit reduction from unleashing American Energy supplies and another billion dollars by restoring sound Forest management you know the Democrats policies so over the last decade or so have been to deliberately lock up our energy supplies on federal lands behind a wall of of regulations and and restrictions the fact is the day that Donald Trump left office in 2021 America was
▶ 6:23:25energy independent for the first time in our life times and a gallon of gas cost $242 on his very first day in office Joe Biden signed executive orders that put Federal lands off limits to new oil and gas exploration he cancelled the Keystone Pipeline and when Energy prices skyrocketed he depleted the National Petroleum reserve and begged hostile foreign governments to increase their production you know America is blessed with the most abundant
▶ 6:23:55energy supplies of any nation in the world our petroleum reserves are greater than those of Russia or of Saudi Arabia we're blessed with over four TR million cubic feet of recoverable natural gas alone nearly 8% of our nation's GDP is from energy the vast majority of that from fossil fuels just a 1% increase in GDP would mean $250 billion a year generated into our economy similarly our our
▶ 6:24:25our Timber resources are vast yet America's become the second largest importer of soft pulp timber in the world while our own morbidly overgrown Forest succumb to disease pestilence drought and ultimately catastrophic wildfire in the Tahoe Basin we cut the red tape we provided Forest thinning projects a categorical exclusion from NEPA in 2016 that took the Environmental Studies from an average of five years down to a few months it took the environmental
▶ 6:24:56reports from more than 800 Pages down to a few dozen we increased Timber yield from the federal lands at Tahoe from 1 million board feet a year year to 9 million board feed a year we tripled the treated acreage and our force in the Tahoe Basin are now returning to fire resiliency and in fact that's what saved the city of South Lake Tahoe from the cdor fire we once funded the entire forest service and a sizable portion of local government budgets just from the revenues
▶ 6:25:26generated by federal Timber auctions until regulations and red tape paralyzed us the deficit reduction numbers in this resolution are a fraction of what can be achieved simply by getting government out of the way and unlocking our vast natural resources and if your think carbon dioxide the natural gas production is what has brought down American carbon emissions and active Forest management promises to prevent CO2 from forest fires a UCLA study revealed
▶ 6:25:56that just the 2020 fires in California just that one year released more carbon dioxide than had been prevented by 18 years of backbreaking environmental restrictions combined the Ivan Paul solar energy plant just this week collapsed of its own economic Folly taking more than2 billion dollar of taxpayer money down with it enough is enough the instructions in this resolution challenged the Energy and Commerce Committee
▶ 6:26:26and the natural resources committee to claw back the billions of dollars of green energy scams that have enriched green grifters at the the expense of working Americans but far more importantly they charge the Committees with the statutory changes necessary to restore energy and resource abundance to our economy by removing the unnecessary impediments the Democrats continue to mindlessly defend the irony is that the only thing standing between the American people and an era of affordable
▶ 6:26:56reliable abundant energy and water and Timber is the crushing regulations and Bloated Federal bureaucracy that the Democrats keep defending they remind me of tolstoy's observation when he said I sit on a man's back choking him and making him carry me and all the while I assure him and anyone who will listen that I'm very sympathetic of his plight and I'm willing to do everything I can to help him except by getting off his back well the Democrats the people have spoken get off our backs
▶ 6:27:26over the speaker's roster in the house Chambers a quote from Daniel Webster it's a prayer really and it's a challenge to each of us who serve here today let us develop the resources of our land call forth its powers build up its institutions promote all its great interest and see whether we also in our day and our generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered with that I'm pleased to yield the balance of my time to Mr stman well thank you uh
▶ 6:27:57thank you uh gentle from the gentleman from California for his comments because uh you know I come from a district in Northeast Indiana we're one of the largest manufacturing districts in the the country and we're not um Energy and Commerce are huge issues for us not necessarily from the production standpoint but from the consumption standpoint where we have we produce uh steel we produce uh Orthopedics we produce cars and so many
▶ 6:28:27different products that benefit Americans on a day-to-day basis we we produce equipment for our military men and women to be sure that they're safe when they're protecting our country and so to have policy that continues to hold back our energy uh capacity is uh is only going to hurt not only our ability to protect the country but it's also going to prohibit the opportunities for men and women across this country to uh provide for their families uh you
▶ 6:28:57know one of the things that we know that's coming is also the increase of data centers that are going to use huge amount of energy and so we're going to need to have the ability to increase our nuclear production we're going to have to have our the ability to increase our Baseline production and so when we see the other side continuing to push and subsidize uh these green energy scams it just doesn't help our country in the long run energy is such an incredible
▶ 6:29:28tool that we have here in America and we know for a fact that China is the Great polluter they're the ones that are growing faster than any other country in the world in energy production and they're going to continue to eat our lunch if we let them and that's why we need to focus on policies that will truly energize America and put people back to work and produce for this country I'll yield back the balance of the time gentleman's time has expired Mr tonko is recognized for one minute to close thank you Mr chair Republicans
▶ 6:29:58have been very clear that they will adapt policies that double down on dirty fossil fuels and repeal policies that are actively working to lower energy costs for American families and create jobs across our country they are already causing uncertainty for American businesses that are creating these jobs in the Strategic Global industries of the future and undermining additional potential Investments we simply cannot let that happen the federal government should be a strong partner to the private sector and individuals that want to build a
▶ 6:30:28cleaner and more affordable Energy System look the first ad uh Trump betrayed the American Energy consumers the American public by being a climate denier and delayer not allowing for us to work effectively in a global Community to address climate change now Republicans with this budget Bill are looking to further further betray the American Energy consumers I ask that you support this amendment and with that I thank you Mr chair
▶ 6:30:58and yield back gentleman's time has expired the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr Tom o all those in favor say I those oppos no no an opinion of the chair the NOS have it chair I ask for a uh roll call please roll call vote roll call votee is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vot vote until later in the markup are there any additional amendments I have an amendment at the desk Miss
▶ 6:31:28plaset has an amendment the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute copies of the amendment number 12 to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on Ways and Means and oversight and government reform offered by Miss plaset Miss plaset is recognized for seven minutes thank you very much Mr chair um this amendment would strike reconciliation instructions to the Ways and Means Committee and the oversight and government reform committee together
▶ 6:31:58these committees have jurisdiction over programs that protect federal agencies from unlaw spending freezes Shield nonpartisan hardworking civil servants from unfair attacks and firing and prevent wannabe oligarchs from Gaining access to Federal fiscal databases or financial systems of record listen we have heard so much ad nauseum about the department of government efficiencies Doge
▶ 6:32:29it it's all everybody ever talks about it's created by an executive order on January 20th we know this year and it has been violating federal law ever since there are innumerable lawsuits by groups by unions unions uh individuals um organizations against the actions of this particular construction of our president as AGG aggressive
▶ 6:32:59as it can be Elon Musk Doge has flailed through every agency it can disregarding established statutes flouting basic privacy protections it's official website consists of one sec sentence the department of government efficiency the people voted for major reform I think the people voted for the cost of living for concern about their safety about what was happening at the border
▶ 6:33:30about uh the effectiveness of government to prot protect them to advance them for them to have the dream um I don't think people T voted for major reform within government agencies Doge actions include deleting agencies unlawfully canceling congressionally authorized funds which violate the Constitutions now the hurt that is happening to the federal workers everyone is looking at these federal
▶ 6:34:00workers and thinking that that's not them that that may not affect them as individuals in their everyday life slashing government contributions to those individuals who work there's health insurance by shifting to voucher models raising Federal Employee Retirement contributions while giving nothing in return eliminating fur supplemental retirement payments jeopardizing retirement security converting new federal employees to atwill status unless they accept higher fur contribution
▶ 6:34:31changing annuity calculations by using the average of the highest three salary years to the highest five salary years to reduce retirement payouts eliminating tsp G fund subsidies the list goes on now this is all being done by disrespecting and threatening federal workers individuals who have dedicated their lives to working for the American good we think of these as just some unnamed people
▶ 6:35:01but these are individuals who work in each one of our districts these are individuals who work here in Washington who are working on behalf of the American people we know about the fork in the road email to more than 2 million Federal Work employees threatening Mass layoffs and offering a very brief window for them to resign now my colleagues are going to tell you how wonderful this is that he is uncovering waste and fraud abuse in the
▶ 6:35:31federal government I thought that was our job I thought that what Congress was supposed to do so we talk about individuals who don't want to work who are lazy who need to get off of the government Dole that sounds like us if we want Elon Musk to do our job why don't we give him the $5.3 billion dollar in discretionary funding that goes to the legislative branch and just give it away and all you go home everybody
▶ 6:36:01wants to get to their children they want to go home they're tired people of America elected us to do a job if that means us being here all weekend that's what you signed up for that's what you're going to do you're the ones who are supposed to we're the ones who are supposed to uncover fraud not Elon Musk if you want him to do your job stop being lazy give him our money and let him do that but the Constitution has said that that's our job article one of the Constitution says
▶ 6:36:32that it is this legisl job to find Fraud and Abuse and actually we do fund that the government accountability office has said that there are losses from fraud in the amount of 233 billion to 521 billion in federal government each year so why don't we uncover that how about the PPP loans that many of our colleagues took that uh may have not been used properly are we investigating that we're not investigating that we want to investigate
▶ 6:37:02individuals who are doing their their job at NIH we want to talk about people who are in subsaharan Africa ensuring that young men do not become a part of alqaeda because they're getting a little bit of food those are the things that we're worried about we're worried about children getting school lunches and that their parents may not have worked as hard as we thought think they're supposed to work so they shouldn't have those school lunches anymore that's the things that we're afraid about how about let's going after what the government accountability office
▶ 6:37:32which the latest legislative branch supports and funds has actually uncovered because as far as doge is going so far they have only found $7 billion in abuse and at the rate that they're going they're only going to find 45 billion a year that's a waste of time that's a waste of government money and who knows what this individual is doing with the data the information that he's founding finding with the conflict of interest that he has he has built nothing
▶ 6:38:02he has bought everything and he is buying this country as well I reserve the balance of my time the general Le of reserves is there a member who would like to claim the time in opposition to the amendment chair recognizes Mr growman for seven minutes thanks uh a lot of what was just said really didn't go to the guts of the amendment but I feel I got to respond to it anyway um president Trump
▶ 6:38:33one his election in part because I think the people wanted somebody to take a fresh look at our government and I am pleased with what Doge has come up with already I look forward to more things on my personal level I look forward to what they're going to do with the Department of Defense I think right now our Department of Defense is still to a degree prepared to fight World War II and I think there are some fresh comments from
▶ 6:39:03people people who have a great reputation because of financial success and otherwise um that would indicate that a lot of that money could be wasteful and anybody who's honest would say we are not going to take a fresh look at the Department of Defense without president Trump and people like Elon Musk are going to look at things from a different perspective I also want to point out with regard to pollution if we want a cleaner air or cleaner water in this world the number one thing to do is to make sure we manufa
▶ 6:39:33exure more stuff in in uh in the United States of America right if you want clean air clean water we want to produce more in America there are friends but less in China Less in India Less in Brazil Less in other countries now as far as this amendment is concerned um it would be a disaster uh both for the individual and for the business Community you are looking at massive increases
▶ 6:40:03in the marginal rate uh for small businesses going up to 43 or um as we uh let the small business deduction expire that would be a disaster we also have to remember we are competing on a global market if we want to make things in this country and my belief is strong that America is a wealthy country because they produce things we're not wealthy because we have a lot of law firms we're not wealthy because we have a lot of
▶ 6:40:33big box stores that we all shop at them we're wealthy because we have a great manufacturing sector and if we let these tax cuts expire it's going to be devastating for the manufacturers of this country put them one more time as a disadvantage compared to people in other parts of the world um so in any event it is vital just from the tax standpoint uh that and not to mention
▶ 6:41:04would result in a massive Great Depression as uh um every family around uh in America any that is paying taxes is going to have to have their taxes go up um is there disposable income drops uh you're you're going to you're going to like I said you're going to cause the uh country to go into a Great Recession that we can't afford I think to a certain extent this amendment comes down down to the fundamental
▶ 6:41:34difference between the Republican party and the Democrat Party the Democrat Party looks at money that people makees and they say if only I could spend this think of all the wonderful things we could do the Republican Party being the party of Freedom says that if you work hard for something it's yours and you can spend it on spend it however you want to spend it so that comes to the guts of this uh amendment I will point out that I think the Democrats when they had all three and President Biden
▶ 6:42:04could have done some of these things on their own they didn't do it because even President Biden knew that if if what happened to taxes is what would happen if this amendment passed it would be a complete disaster but thank you the uh gentleman yields m plaset is recognized for one minute to close thank you I I'm glad Mr grothman my colleague has talked about um people working for their money I know that that's
▶ 6:42:34something that's very important to him when he talks about his district and individuals um receiving welfare receiving snap receiving school lunches so I know that many of my colleagues have given statistics of individuals in their district and how much they're going to lose I I don't think that's necessary to share that 30,000 who are in Mr rothman's disc District who relies on Snap may not receive it but I too have been a Republican I served under George
▶ 6:43:04W Bush's Administration as a Republican and I think the most important part of the Republican party is not just Freedom which I think is very important to Democrats as well but to be fiscally responsible and what we're doing right now is not fiscally responsible we are blowing up the debt with this budget that we are putting out here we are causing people to go off of uh subsidies and support that we are given which in the end is going to cost us
▶ 6:43:35more when people are not being fed when people are not given skill sets when people are not being uh taught how to take care of themselves which many of these programs do we are making ourselves more at risk by the cuts that we are putting in here and that is not fiscal responsibility I yeld back and I urge my colleagues to vote Yes on the amendment gan's time is expired the question is on agreeing to the amendment offer by miss plasket all those in favor say I
▶ 6:44:05I those opposed no an opinion of chair the NOS have it uh the the amendment is not adopted are there any additional amendments reced votes Mr roll call vote is requested pursuant to the bipartisan unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup are there any additional amendments Mr chairman Mr Mr Peters has an amendment there at the desk thank you thank you Mr Peters the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will
▶ 6:44:36distrib distribute copies of the amendment amendment number 13 to adjust annual deficits offered by Mr Peters Mr Peters is recognized for 7 minutes thank you very much Mr chairman uh my Amendment if adopted will help ensure that this committee is at least honest with the American people about what the real impacts of what this budget will be both on our national economy and in the neighborhoods we all represent and Mr chairman uh you and have a good relationship I have a good relationship with Mr Alberti
▶ 6:45:06um just to address your point Mr Alberti if anyone if I ever come off as being personal about this I hope you'll come address me uh directly because I that's not my intention my intention is to express a vigorous disagreement about the policy before us here because one thing we do agree on is even if we don't fix this country's borrowing Pro if we don't fix the kid the country's borrowing problem uh it will be our kids and our kids their kids who pay the real price for it it's been reported by several news outlets that a few conservative members of this committee have serious concerns
▶ 6:45:36about the budget and what it will ultimately cost American taxpayers in the long run and I think they're right to be worried about that the problem is that many are saying that this budget is not bad on paper because president Trump is going to make the economy boom specifically the Republican budget assumes nearly 3% sustained grow growth over the entire next decade that's nonsense the economy is not going to grow 3% for 10 straight years in reality the Congressional budget office says growth will be 1.8% annually and in the last 25 years
▶ 6:46:07real GDP growth has exceeded 3% only four times there's no legitimate evidence to back up the assumption that our economy will grow at 3% but this gimmick makes up more than3 trillion doar in fake deficit reduction in this budget Republicans are trying to paper over that fact uh that their their agenda will cost America much more than we can afford back in 2017 uh Republicans gave themselves a similar fantasy it was a budget gimmick then and it's a budget gimmick now
▶ 6:46:38they'll point to the and they have pointed to the 2017 tax cuts and jobs act and say that revenues went up despite the tax cuts that argument is deceptive because whether or not the tax cuts and jobs act became law revenues were projected to go up annually anyway and while it's true that actual Revenue since the tax cuts and jobs Act was roughly 1.5 trillion more than CBO projected when the bill was passed the vast majority of that 1.5 trillion was driven by inflation the rest was caused by covid response if you remove the pandemic from the equation
▶ 6:47:08the data shows that our country actually lost about1 billion doll to the to the tcga tax cuts don't pay for themselves and they never have massive cuts to V vital programs hurt American families and often prevent environmental economic growth the budget includes about $4.8 trillion in deficit increases and only partially offsets all that borrowing what what they are calling $1.5 trillion of mandatory savings as I said at the beginning a budget is about Choice choices this budget chooses
▶ 6:47:38to direct our tax committee to increase the national debt by $4.8 trillion a different choice would be to allow the T tcga to expire and save 4.8 trillion and it's not either or because we could choose to preserve the less expensive parts that help the middle class like the child tax enh credit enhancement while we allow rates to go back up for people who can best afford to pay our national expenses and don't tell me that it's going to be that much of a hardship on many many people including many of us to go from 37 to
▶ 6:48:0939% uh marginal tax rate that is not going to break the economy the budget only offsets the cost of preserving the tax cuts by the way does not address the fact it does not offset that the government is borrowing almost $2 trillion dollar every year just to pay our expenses for all the talk about a mandate the Republicans got the house the Senate and the White House and for all the talk about the need to curb deficits this Republican bud budget chooses to continue the practice of borrowing to pay our expenses all the cuts are designed to offset the
▶ 6:48:39deficit we're instructing the ways and means uh committee to increase so I've heard as a Democrat I just want to perpetuate the status quo but members of this committee know better I've been leading bipartisan efforts to address the debt I've not been shy about talking about Cuts or taxes or even the impending insolvency of Social Security Medicare and I'm ready to work on that in a bipartisan way but this budget chooses to be partisan and and Republican only I've also heard about how President Clinton and speaker Gingrich worked together to balance the budget last time and that
▶ 6:49:09was great but that deal was was that way they would do as much tax increases as they did spending cuts it was half and half we could choose that path but this budget does not instead of more Revenue we choose less revenue and then we Pat ourselves on the back for running more like a business as if a business doesn't understand you both have to control costs and make re and make money that's common sense and the problem is made worse because instead of relying on the growth and revenue assumptions from the CBO and nonpartisan groups we're choosing to pretend
▶ 6:49:40our mothers taught us to pray for the best and plan for the worst and we are choosing to ignore that prudent advice what this means is that we will not just cut the fat but the bone when the Republicans say mandatory savings for instance they mean destroying programs like Medicaid which supports critical health care for children Americans with Disabilities and working people who are already struggling to keep up in this economy right now hospitals across District in San Diego are fighting a flu epidemic the last nine weeks patient visits for RS RSV flua and flu B have quadrupled
▶ 6:50:10reductions in Medicaid funding let alone Draconian cuts that the Republican budget will require they say it won't they they say it's not necessary but that's where we're headed will have a ripple effect on our health systems ability to respond to surging to during surges of seasonal illnesses more than 24 million cases and already 13,000 deaths from flu this year according to CDC the last thing we need is to slash funding for Hospitals and Clinics that are saving lives all across the country but maybe you still think that slashing Medicaid is great policy
▶ 6:50:40and even if you think this these cuts are awesome the math problem with this Republican budget is this $4.8 trillion in new borrowing minus $1.5 trillion in spending cuts still equals $3.3 trillion in new government debt and deficit and if our fantasy growth dreams don't come true the math problem will be worse the House Republicans want their president's tax cuts so bad they're willing to strip our health system for parts but you can't make the math work so we're not decreasing the deficit we're choosing
▶ 6:51:10to explode it according to an analysis conducted by the committee for a responsible federal budget passing this budget would increase the debt to nearly 126% of the size of our economy that would be the largest our national debt has ever been relative to the size of the O economy overall the actual impact of this budget is more likely to be a recession with millions of Americans losing their healthare scy High inflation higher interest rates and unemployment and for all the righteous talk about low tax rates our kids are going to
▶ 6:51:41pay the cost of this debt we are choosing a darker more tax burdened future for our children so let's not fool fool ourselves let's at least use reliable growth forecasts I ask my colleagues to support this amendment and yield back gentleman yields is there a member who would like to claim the time in opposition to the amendment Mr chairman Mr Klein is recognized for 7 thank the chairman and I I thank the gentleman my friend from California for his comments I'm not going to focus on his contention that uh somehow
▶ 6:52:11that we need to let the tax cuts and jobs Act tax cuts which actually spurred economic growth to expire or portions of it to expire or which portions to expire I'm not going to address the uh contention that the issue of deficits over the last um several years the cause of those deficits was largely due to uh Democrat controlled house Democrat controlled senate senate and a Democrat White House
▶ 6:52:43um what I want to focus on is the gentleman's contention that uh we have faulty growth projections in actuality the the faulty growth projections are they lie with the CBO uh the macroeconomic feedback effect in the budget is justified by the perform of the economy following the passage of the tcja in 2017 now prior to the acts passage CBO projected growth of 2.2 and 1.7%
▶ 6:53:13in 2018 and 2019 respectively after enactment of tcja actual growth in those years were 3.0 and 2.6% CBO assumes that the C tcja tax cuts will expire in their projections this pessimistic projection for the next 10 years reflects current law assumptions that this budget would provide the means to amend and we are using real numbers uh since the end of World War II economic growth has averaged 3.2%
▶ 6:53:43and six 20 since 2010 economic growth has averaged 2.6% that's the number that we put in this budget no three there's no 3% growth projection in this budget as the gentleman contends uh our budget's growth assumption is in line with the long-term and short-term historical record and defends itself by providing for progrowth policies like tax cuts for all Americans and a reduction of regulations to strengthen American businesses in president Trump's first term excluding the distorting effects
▶ 6:54:14of the covid pandemic economic growth averaged 2.7% this fact was well understood by the American people when they elected president Trump a second time last November and the period of growth may be attained again and sustained through the 10 years with the policies provided for in this budget removing the macroeconomic feedback in this budget is this amendment proposes would ignore our economy's historical record and the positive effects of the progrowth policies contained within this budget the assertion uh that this amendment purports that this that the economic
▶ 6:54:44policies of the budget would negatively affect American workers and the economy is ridiculous it ignores the results of the previous progrowth reforms in the tax cuts and jobs act after enactment of the tcja more than six million people were lifted out of poverty poverty rate dropped to the lowest level in US history income and wealth in quality fell after the tcja's real wages for the bottom 10% grew nearly twice as fast as the top 10% and real wealth of the bottom 50% of households Rose three times faster than that of the
▶ 6:55:14top 1% in 2018 the first year the tax cuts being in effect the bottom 50% of taxpayers saw their tax burden fall 10 over 10% 10.3% the top 1% uh who the other side is so concerned with they saw their taxes fall only 0.4% the economic assumptions in this budget are in line with our country's historical performance and strengthened by the policies that it provides preventing a $4 trillion doll tax hike on the American people unleashing American energy
▶ 6:55:45production and reducing burdensome regulations will drive our economy to the assumptions in this budget this amendment unfortunately ignores both the history and potential of our economy while relying on the faulty economic beliefs that sparked an inflationary crisis strangled consumer finances exacerbated a housing shortage so with that I urge a no vote and I back Mr chairman I yield back
▶ 6:56:16Mr Peters uh you have a one minute closing statement now thank you Mr chairman you missed my mind my mind changing uh seven minutes well I just thanks for the one was I was enthralled with Mr Klein's arguments um look I just want to say I for the record I I do believe I'm not that I'm not incorrect that 3% is the basic growth assumption here we just talked about that with the folks in the on the professional staff so I I think that that is the that is the Assumption uh it is the opinion of
▶ 6:56:46outside experts the CBO that that is wildly optimistic and we should just be prudent because we're making a big big bet here and again I don't I don't think we should talk about this uh reversing tcja um as a binary thing because you could preserve parts of it and you could change parts of it and what I would change is um you know I I would change the the high marginal tax rate back to what it was from 37 to 39 that's not going to ruin anybody's life it's not going to affect our lifestyle and the alternative is
▶ 6:57:16to ask who's going to pay for it if you don't and as we as we add up this deficit we know it's our kids uh who are ultimately going to pay higher taxes in the form of inflation and a weaker uh weaker country if not directly in the form of higher taxes themselves so I yield back thank Mr chairman having consent request you bet to submit uh a congressional testimony from uh former chairman Kevin Brady into the record and uh to submit a Heritage Foundation analysis from Adam
▶ 6:57:46Michael into the record without objection so order questions now in agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr Peters all those in favor say I those oppos no and the opinion of the chair the NOS have it and uh the Roll Call vote is requested granted but according to consent agreement we'll postpone uh all these votes until the end of the markup are there other members who have an amendment
▶ 6:58:17Mr chairman I got an amendment at the desk Mr Panetta um the clerk will designate the amendment the staff will distribute the copies of the amendment and then Mr Panetta will get seven minutes for his opening comments clerk amendment number 14 to adjust economic growth assumptions offered by Mr Panetta P yeah good we're still passing out the uh okay we can go he say Mr Panetta seven minutes
▶ 6:58:47thanks Mr chairman I appreciate that my Amendment would strike the GDP projections in the Chairman's Mark and replace it with the cbo's January 2025 Baseline GDP estimates I'm offering this amendment because when putting together budget resolution for over 10 years you got to balance spending targets with growth estimates during that same time and to do this just like with any budgeting the first thing you got to do is nail down as best as you can based on all of the evidence
▶ 6:59:17that you have the estimate of our GDP growth now in your budget Mr chairman you have GDP estimates that project that the economy will grow at a rate of 2.6% but the majority hasn't proved provided any evidence as to where you got that number that's why I ask that you rely on the non nonpartisan and independent CBO which relies on the evidence as you know well the CBO is an extremely transparent and respected in its
▶ 6:59:47analysis and provides regular updates to any of their projections as well as clearly lays out the economic assumptions underpinning their work moreover when determining growth the CBO also takes into account our record deficits as a share of the GDP based on that evidence transparency and Analysis the CBO estimated that for the next 10 years our GDP growth will be 1.8% now Mr chairman I know that you were going to say looking back at
▶ 7:00:17the GDP numbers in the fourth quarters of 2018 and 2019 during which we saw tax cuts give a sugar high to the growth cycle but your budget resolution has a whole to fill of roughly $3 trillion in that you got about 2 trillion in spending cuts and 4 trillion in tax breaks the fact is that in order to get Revenue that totals 2.5 trillion that would require sustained real growth at 3% as I said in my opening statement
▶ 7:00:47the difference between 1.8% and 3.2% is huge again I want to quote conservative economists and former head of the CBO Douglas Holtz ekin who said that if you can move the US economy by just4 % in 10 years that's an enormous success but to do that you need reasonable regulation you need good tax policy including revenues and you need deficit reduction just like your evidence for the GDP growth you have none of that
▶ 7:01:18in your budget resolution moreover in looking at the GDP growth estimation you should take into account any negative effects from the Tariff policies of this Administration and the deportation policies of this Administration which will have a very real potential to raise prices further inflation and shrink the GDP additionally to the additionally there's the Peterson Foundation which recently laid out in a recent article entitled three reason three reasons why assuming
▶ 7:01:48sustained 3% growth is a budget gimmick a sustain a sustained 3% growth they said far outpaces predictions from economists and would be unprecedented in that same article it also states that the real growth in a GDP of 3% would be significantly above other nonpartisan estimates historically difficult to achieve and have the effect of concealing two trillion or more in added
▶ 7:02:18deficits the article goes on to give three reasons to support that argument one sustained 3% growth is significantly above expectations of Economist two based on the history sustained 3% growth for a decade would be unprecedented and three an unlikely growth assumption produces an overly Rosy Revenue projection artificially improving the outlook for the national debt Mr chairman I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record
▶ 7:02:49this article by the Peterson Foundation entitled three reasons why assuming sustained 3% growth is a budget gimmick without objection so ordered So based on this budget resolution's Mr chairman lack of evidence for how we get to a 2.6% GDP growth for the negative effects of our record debt and deficits for the negative effects of this administration's immigration and terrorist policies and for the difficulties of sustaining GDP growth to make up a close to $3 trillion hole and
▶ 7:03:20based on the evidence relied upon the CBO for the analysis and projection in GDP growth I offer my amendment that would replace the 2.6% growth prediction with a more realistic 1.8% average growth predicted by the CBO B Baseline I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment and I yield back I thank the gentleman my and my friend from California um for that thoughtful presentation and I ask if there are any members who'd like to claim
▶ 7:03:50time and opposition and you're going to have to beat me because I'd like to have some time Mr Roy from Texas you have S minutes and then a one minute closing for Mr Mr Panetta thank you well I certain be happy to yield some time in a minute to the chairman should he wish to to claim it um and I suspect we agree uh I want to clarify for the record as I did earlier and when discussing with the staff who worked on this uh in particular Mr Watson that 2.6% is in fact the growth
▶ 7:04:20rate we're talking about that's the growth rate that is assumed uh which um was just acknowledged on the other side and I get that so 2.6 is what we're talking about I don't know if people rounding it to three did and say that we're assuming three or what but 2.6% is the Assumption um there are a lot of us on on on this side both sides of the aisle who want to figure out how to make our assumptions based on reality and a lot of us have been pushing on that there are people uh who want to say well we should just
▶ 7:04:50budget assuming three or three and a half or some high growth rates um we have had that significant debate on this side of the aisle and then try to come down to a conclusion on what we think is a reason assumption and if you look at historic rates we all acknowledge the historic growth rates are at 3 3.2 or whatever depending on how far you go back but over 70 years 100 years we're more than a 3% plus growth rate we have had significant times in our history where we've been able to achieve those growth rates even over extended periods of time decades the 80s
▶ 7:05:20I'm a child of the 80s 90s um and we've had significant moments in the last two decades where we've been able to get above those rates under both Democrat and Republican presidents we've had that happen we have had obviously several recessionary time periods we had the 201910 we had obviously the co impact and so the question here is we look at all the numbers our view is when you take the totality of all of the circumstances to look at what we would do on growth that we would achieve we think a modest Assumption of 2.6%
▶ 7:05:51growth and by the way I think later when we have some other amendments that are put forward uh there might even be in order to achieve deficit neutrality even potentially even lower on the two two and a half side uh um even two4 in terms of achieving deficit neutrality my my my point is is that we've got to be honest about what we're looking at historically and what we think we can achieve we believe that the T putting uh tax cuts in place and having Revenue in the pockets of the American people is both morally correct and
▶ 7:06:21creates economic growth we believe that when we make regulatory environment such that it allows people to go forth and Conquer if we open up American Energy and and American Oil and Gas which is one of our primary assets and competitive advantages that that will yield economic growth I realize our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are committed to the uh constructs that were put forward in the uh so-called inflation reduction act which many of us just violently disagree with we just Just Disagree that that is good policy and we think that if we can reverse that we
▶ 7:06:51will get a significant amount of unconstrained growth uh I say that obviously was some bias from Texas that unleashing American Gas uh was was significant to the economic growth we were seeing before it was constrained obviously you have to account for covid when you look at the impacts of these things and look I'll I'll be the first to sit here and acknowledge that we've got to be realistic about the numbers some of the organizations the gentleman sided uh the committee for responsible Federal uh
▶ 7:07:21federal government uh budget um some of the other entities um are are people that I talk to regularly trying to make those assumptions um and going back and forth with the of that entity even as we speak today um and and trying to push forward and make sure we're all on the same page uh we've got to have reasonable assumptions I appreciate the chairman um we've had our own push back within our own conference people that have said well we should just assume 3% growth we can achieve 3% growth and the chairman has
▶ 7:07:51rightly pushed back and said well no let's be let's let's look at history and say what can America achieve but I do think we have to be mindful that the policies when you take in totality we we believe that the spending restraint also creates growth it creates growth by making sure that our bond markets are healthy that Capital formation can occur that interest rates can go down that our children and that our our younger population can buy houses that we can have the economy growing
▶ 7:08:22because we don't have inflation and unnecessarily constrictive interest rate environment and I believe that we are headed into a dangerous category in that so we we want the spending restraint we want tax cuts to uh give more money to the hands of the American people and by the way the tax policies that are being debated at least looking at titica and even for example no tax on tips are heavily weighted if you look at the total numbers given that the corporate rates are permanent even if my colleagues disagree with that the tikra
▶ 7:08:52debate which is what we're really debating is heavily weighted to people that on the on the lower end of the tax Spectrum if you look at the number of people impacted whether you're talking about the uh standard deduction that is hugely important for the average American the uh even the mortgage interest deduction on the on the what you're looking at in terms of uh that impact whether you're looking at the child tax credit whatever you think of that policy I tend to think that that is one of the less revenu producing policies
▶ 7:09:22but it might be a policy that we all accept as being beneficial for family creation and for helping a working family a family of four those are all policies that are very and the low rates by the way the marginal rates for people making below you know at the at the poverty level and so forth a lot of those marginal rates those are lower under this bill those things all add up for a package that does have a score by CBO of4 trillion is doll we looked at it we said look there's the CBO score most of those tax
▶ 7:09:53policies affect the average American $ 199 passrs and I get it I heard somebody say well 37 versus 396 okay we can debate that we just believe that that marginal benefit of having that much more money in the economy creates wealth and growth great uh you can debate that but let's not pretend that this the tax package in tick is some overwhelmingly biased towards the wealthy it's just not and so add that to a two and a half 2.6% assumed growth Again by the end of the night I think that's going to be
▶ 7:10:23more like two and a half percent growth and uh when you add that to the spending restraints that we believe are important and is combined with by the way we believe the reversal of some of the subsidies under the the inflation reduction act again reasonable people can disagree but there's money sitting there that we think is harmful to both economic growth and and bad policy I don't like solar panels on the mountain in the hillside on the side of Bandera Texas I think it's not efficient I think uh oil and gas I think gas powered energy and
▶ 7:10:53nuclear is much more efficient so we'll have all those debates and policy this is a responsible budget I think it's a responsible assumption on the growth rate i y back I thank the gentleman from from Texas for leaving me no time to make any comment about my good friend from California there's not it doesn't get much better than refuting as a Texon something somebody from California says especially when he's a Democrat no I'm kidding Jimmy close us up uh very thoughtful uh conversation let me just tell you an
▶ 7:11:23all cander and um transparency this was a an item that was debated um vigorously as Mr Roy said and it's fair it's fair to question it and to um contemplate the various inputs that would result in and analyses that would result in that outcome I think you're going to see people go well above it um and I think you'll have people that will go below it I feel like we're in a good spot
▶ 7:11:53there and I think I have confidence in that we get the pieces uh the the policy pieces in place and and CBO gives reducing spending twice the dynamic uh feedback so taken together I feel good about but I appreciate the the comments and I yield for your closing remarks thank you I I I appreciate that chairman and I appreciate the the uh historical knowledge of of Mr Roy um I don't have that I just know that I you know I'm a former prosecutor
▶ 7:12:23before this life and I like to rely on when I make my arguments I like the evidence to be there and I feel that the CBO has provided that evidence throughout uh the times that we've been putting together these types of budgets and so I would hope that in when you rely on the evidence you use estimates that the CBO has to offer I think they're uh they've been accurate uh they're nonpartisan they're transparent uh and they're pretty clear and concise
▶ 7:12:54and accurate when it comes to it and so I would hope that basically you would use the 1.8% estimate that they Prov provided based on the evidence that they have well the gentleman you I'm not trying to take of course of course I agree with you I think we should use the evidence and here's the thing the evidence the evidence is and was at the time pre tcj we had a one8 growth rate it's ironic we had a one eight growth rate then and after tcja you
▶ 7:13:24right it went up it came back down but on average it was 27 so historically they were low ially and historically we were at 26 that's why we figured if they were accurate then I'd say yeah but anyway it's it's fair if I reclaiming my time briefly um Fair understood um however I think also we've asked for this information from the majority we didn't get the information as to where that number came from so uh that's also part of the reason why we
▶ 7:13:54think it should be 1.8 and and I yield back thank you uh I thank the gentleman and the question now is on agreeing to Mr Panetta's Amendment all those in favor say I I all those no in the opinion of the chair the the NOS hav roll call vote has been request pursuing the bip Parts unanimous consent agreement we will postpone the roll call vote until later in the markup uh other amendments for consideration Mr chair I wish
▶ 7:14:24to offer an amendment Miss Chu has an amendment uh the clerk will designate the amendment staff will distribute copies of the amendment amendment number 15 to add a policy statement on Social Security offered by Miss Chu um Miss Chu you are now recognized for seven minutes my Amendment would underscore the critical importance of protecting and strengthening Social Security benefits ensuring agency solvency
▶ 7:14:55by making the wealthiest pay their fair share Mr chair I understand that reconciliation bills are not supposed to make changes to Social Security if that is the case why not reaffirm it with this amendment and ensure that Social Security is safeguarded because the underlying bill which I call the Republican ripoff bill is paying for tax cuts for billionaires by drastically cutting such basic needs as Medicaid and student loans the American people have reason to fear
▶ 7:15:26that their social security would be in danger too this amendment would make it clear that it is not 68 million people in America rely on Social Security in my district alone more than 105,000 individuals aged 65 and up are safeguarded from poverty via this life-saving program that's more than a rosebowl football stadium full of people just in my district who relying on
▶ 7:15:56security every year I hear from constituents about how Social Security is their Lifeline retired Americans whove worked their whole lives and paid into Social Security but with Rising costs can struggle to pay their monthly bills afford their medication or with Rising grocery prices even put food on the table and still sometimes it is not enough these seniors are relying on organizations like San Gabriel Valley's Habitat for Humanity to help the re rebuilding
▶ 7:16:26process according to the sangra valley habitat 90 % of their home repair clients are single women over 70 who are living on Social Security without habitat they'd have no choice but to live in unsafe Andor unsanitary conditions these stories and similar ones Across the Nation make it clear we must do everything we can to fight for this program which is essential to so many Americans in fact for the 68
▶ 7:16:57million Social Security benefits make up the majority of their income nearly one quarter of these Americans rely on social security for at least 90% of their income and in the past Social Security benefits were part of a three-leg stool whose retirees relied on a combination of Social Security a private pension and personal savings to finance retirement but now Social Security is only growing in importance as traditional defined benefit retirement
▶ 7:17:27plans continue to be replaced with re retirement savings plans uh with which many workers cannot afford to adequately fund their retirement that's why Democrats of long work to strengthen and expand Social Security benefits for all beneficiaries that includes bolstering benefits for the over 5 million Social Security beneficiaries that live below the federal poverty line and ensuring the trust fund can adequately pay out benefits
▶ 7:17:57that Americans have earned and deserved in fact fact Democrats want to not just leave Social Security as it is but strengthen and improve it for future generations and one way we know that will strengthen the program is to ensure that 1% actually pay their fair share in taxes that is the top 1% total billionaire wealth has surged by $3.8 trillion or 131% just since the enactment of the Trump
▶ 7:18:28GOP tax scam 7 years ago but instead of focusing on solutions that will make these billionaires actually pay pay their fair share so that we can strengthen benefits and ensure the future of Social Security Republicans have opted to sell out future Generations who will rely on social security for the sake of putting even more money in billionaires Pockets I therefore urge my colleagues to support my amendment that will make clear that despite this reconciliation bill
▶ 7:18:58decimating so many programs that many people rely on Social Security will be protected and that we support strengthen it by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share instead of a bill that entirely sells out the working class families for the sake of making billionaires into trillionaires we would have one bright spot a commitment to ensuring that the social security program is available for generations of Americans
▶ 7:19:28to come I urge support for my Amendment and yield back I think the gentle ladies are a member who would like to claim time and opposition to the amendment chairman I speak time in opposition Mr Blake Moore I would like to claim time in opposition uh and is yielded seven minutes thank you sir um Let me let me just make a few very simple statements about this amendment one we are not making changes to Social Security and in fact I appreciate
▶ 7:19:59the gentoman from California's admission that the reconciliation process of which we are doing a budget resolution to advance the reconciliation process that requires the bird rule through the Senate parliamentarian you cannot change anything related to Social Security so let's just make that statement very clear this bill this work today has absolutely nothing to do with Social Security now I will give the benefit of the doubt that this is not just an amendment attempt to be able to
▶ 7:20:29take a vote that we're going to take here I actually think this amendment should be non- gerine but we're going to take a vote on here and my Democrat colleagues are then going to use this as a way to write ads to attack members in vulnerable districts within Republican I hate to speak truth in Congress I know it's not that common but that's what's going on here unfortunately so um with all that said I want to take an opportunity to invite my Democrat colleagues to
▶ 7:20:59to dig in on the concept of a fiscal commission uh we did this last Congress and the gentoman that offered this amendment may have said we need to strengthen Social Security several times she said it four or five times in her in statement the only way that I have seen that this body this that Congress can actually accomplish that is using something like the fiscal commission
▶ 7:21:29Act catalyze this place to go and strengthen Social Security and when we proposed that more than 115 members of the democratic party signed a letter saying they didn't want to do it there were however several even on this committee that viewed it as a worthy fight that was willing to take a tough stance sometimes when you're in them when you vote um in the minority of your party you're taking a
▶ 7:21:59tough stance but you're doing something that probably encouraged you to run for Congress and that was to to not come back here to make a point but to make a difference and so I encourage there's several new members um on both sides of the aisle on this committee this Congress that if we truly want to address the looming shortfall of Social Security that in 2033 the trust fund that that that that uh that allows for um solvency of Social Security
▶ 7:22:30will be depleted because our retirement class has grown and our and our number of workers and our participation rate has shrunk so we have fewer workers to beneficiary R to beneficiary ratio and as that continues to deplete there will be a massive cut automatically to Social Security um recipients if we want to address that we can then be serious about the only way to deal with Social Security because you can't deal with it in reconciliation you have to deal
▶ 7:23:00with it in a bipartisan way we proposed a plan last Congress that was sincere that that that that that could have gone and guess what we got scared too Republicans got scared too not on this committee but leadership whoever leadership is in the Republican conference I'm a part of that we got scared too because voices voices from outside think tanks that that that exist that say you know no they operate in a perfect world we operate in a world where we have to get 60 votes
▶ 7:23:30in the Senate we have an opportunity to strengthen Social Security and that's through the fiscal commission act so I would beg any Democrat that voted against that last Congress to dig deep I'll meet with you whenever you want to talk about the merits of using that as a catalyst to actually get out ahead of this 2033 issue and we have a 2033 issue um it won't be solved through this reconciliation Bill we're not going to touch social security has nothing to do with this bill and I hope that we can be sincere and move forward with that and with that chairman I yel back
▶ 7:24:01I thank the gentleman and uh appreciate him mentioning the fiscal commission act I appreciate Mr Panetta Mr Peters and others for uh working across the aisle to to sort of acknowledge what Mr Moore said that uh there are certain programs that are so important and and in all cander also so politically sensitive that the reality is we're going to have to work together to get there and I I think we have the critical mass to do it
▶ 7:24:31um and I hope Miss Chu will join us in in that endeavor so um because we're running out of time and if we don't work together there will be an automatic cut and that's unacceptable we ought to give our seniors peace of mind uh with that Miss Chu uh one minute uh for closing well of course I understand the bird Rule and that reconciliation bills are not supposed to make changes to Social Security but if that is the case why not with
▶ 7:25:01this amendment and ensure that Social Security is indeed safeguarded the American people have a reason to be fearful of what this bill would do because Republicans have a long history of demanding social security cuts that would undermine the economic security of 68 million Americans they would make it harder for working people to keep a f foothold in the middle class and force them to work harder and longer before they can retire also that this money can be given to Wall Street
▶ 7:25:31corporations and the wealthiest Americans as they did tcja Americans have worked their whole lives and deserve to receive the full benefits they've earned and Social Security is at the heart of it I think the gentle lady and uh will now put this forward for a vote uh the questions on agreeing to miss chw Amendment all those in favor say I I all
▶ 7:26:01those oppose no no in the opinion of the chair the NOS have it I ask for a roll call vote M granted and we'll uh have that at the end of the markup per our agreement any other amendments on the floor Mr chairman I have an amendment at desk pardon me just one second Mr Amo um the clerk will designate the amendment and then uh just give it 20 seconds and
▶ 7:26:31we'll uh turn it over to you for your introductory remarks amendment number 16 to add a policy statement on Medicare offered by Mr Amo okay Mr amo you're recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman I I wish to offer an amendment that reaffirms congress's commitment to protecting Medicare benefits for seniors and people with disabilities my amendment protects the 68 million seniors and people with disab abilities who rely on Medicare
▶ 7:27:02to stay healthy and independent including over 241,000 Road Islanders I invite my Republican colleagues to join me join me in affirming our commitment to ensure that Medicaid stays solvent how do we do this by requiring the wealthy taxpayers to pay their fair share and contribute more into Medicare the Chairman's Mark does nothing to strengthen Medicare or protect it from possible cuts it does zilch
▶ 7:27:32to ensure it remains solvent for generations to come in fact chairman arrington's menu of options for reconciliation this document here that we've seen and shared calls for weakening Medicare as we know it you heard that right Republicans once again have said one thing and are doing another they're telling the American people that they're fighting to bring down prices and lower costs that's been a theme
▶ 7:28:03but in reality they've put weakening Medicare and raising cost for seniors on The Chopping Block how you ask Republicans are considering cutting payments to providers for uncompensated care why are they doing this because they think the TA taxpayers hard-earned dollar is better set spent on tax breaks for billionaires than on healthcare for those most in need Medicare is a Comm to honor the dignity and Independence of
▶ 7:28:33senior citizens and people with disabilities let's remove any doubt for those Americans and for me Rhode Islanders who were worried this shouldn't be partisan let's make sure you the words that we have heard in this committee room and that we hear in the halls of Congress aren't empty by committing to protect and extend Medicare solvency for generations to come with without new Revenue the hospital Insurance trust fund is
▶ 7:29:03expected to become insolvent in 2036 we don't have time we've heard that already uh with some of the challenges ahead we don't have time to play games time is running out and we must act now I urge support uh for my Amendment and I yield thank the gentlemen are there any uh people who wish to speak in opposition uh to the amendment Mr Mr Cary from Ohio 7 Minutes uh recognized for 7
▶ 7:29:33minutes in opposition well I I first want to say I want to I want to thank the staff that's here um they've been here all day and I appreciate all of your work and for those um those that are uh and I know we a lot of us have small kids I I do want to one day allow my son Conrad to understand why I'm here tonight instead of it as hockey um because this is very important we agree with our Democratic colleagues
▶ 7:30:04our Conrad Prescott's 23 years old he doesn't care whether I go to his hockey game um we agree with our Democratic colleagues that Medicare is a commitment made by our country to honor dignity and the independence of seniors generations of Americans have paid into and come to rely on Medicare promise of healthc Care Health security make making it critical that we protect and strengthen the program
▶ 7:30:35you president Trump and speaker Johnson the chairman was there had been clear that they intend to protect and strengthen Medicare according to our budget supports keeping our promise of Health security for our seniors if we want to talk about a policy that did not harm our seniors we should look at the partisan inflation reduction act my colleagues on the other
▶ 7:31:05side uh pushed through this reconciliation in 2022 this law created policies that ultimately raised inflation and increased the cost of living for millions of seniors who rely on Medicare these policies also increased the already strained budgetary pressure on Medicare programs over the long term this amendment folks this amendment is so
▶ 7:31:36unnecessary our budget resolution stands with President Trump and speaker Johnson's pledge to protect and strengthen Medicare or our seniors unlike the recent track record that we' have seen for my dear friends on the other side listen I I urge you no vote but I I do want to say again I I do appreciate my dear friends on the other side and my friends that are here we are all
▶ 7:32:06trying to find a way to get forward to to move things forward in this country and and I think that we together can work together to get something done vote no on this amendment but understand we need to move something forward with that Mr chairman I yeld back I thank the gentleman from Ohio and um I want to remind my Democrat colleagues that during the inflation reduction act there was
▶ 7:32:36some 300 billion dollars taken out of Medicare to to use as a subsidy for the green energy tax credits so um I think we want to be consistent I think we all want to do things to shore up that program that important program for our seniors but I think we have to be honest with the American people people where our priorities are that's a that's a fact look at the IRA um and
▶ 7:33:06uh seniors now are left with less money the solvency is now been expedited because the priorities in the ira uh were uh green energy subsidies um that was the trade uh with that I asked Mr Amo or I give Mr Amo the last minute to close thank you Mr chairman you have my word that Congressional Democrats will always fight for policies that protect Medicare benefits
▶ 7:33:36and extend its solvency uh and I'm hopeful uh that the commitment from uh my colleagues on the other side uh is is also steadfast and there's nothing unnecessary about making that commitment time and time again because our seniors deserve it in the inflation reduction act uh we saw historic uh negotiations of prescription drug prices lowering the cost for seniors of vital drugs capping
▶ 7:34:07the cost uh of outof pocket expenses a year so millions of Americans have been working their whole lives paying into Medicare and they want to know that it'll be there for them when they retire and so I ask my Republican colleagues to prioritize the solvency of Medicare over tax breaks for billionaires in the Chairman's Mark while Common Sense proposals like closing tax loopholes that allow
▶ 7:34:37wealthy business owners to avoid Medicare taxes are not there I ask you to support my Amendment and protect benefits for 68 million seniors and people with disabilities I yield back I thank Mr Amo and now U put the question forward to the members on agreeing to his Amendment all those in favor say I I those oppos no no the opinion of the chair the NOS habit I ask for a recorded vote
▶ 7:35:07uh roll call votes requested and of course agreed to but we'll postpone the roll call votes until at the end of the markup are there any other okay so pursuant to the agreement laid out earlier today apparently we're transitioning from tier one to tier two amendments so uh to remind folks uh about the
▶ 7:35:38guidelines uh with respect to tier 2 amendments debate on any amendments offered in this section will last 12 minutes per Amendment with time equally divided the proponent Amendment will have five minutes to speak on their Amendment then the member will have six minutes to speak in opposition to the amendment then the proponent will have U one minute to close are there any amendments at the desk Mr chair I have an
▶ 7:36:08amendment ton okay Mr tono's got an amendment at the desk Mr clerk will you designate the amendment amendment number 18 being considered 17th to add a policy statement on insulin offered by Mr tonco Mr tonco you have five minutes thank you Mr chair my amend supports expanding the life-saving $35 insulin cap for Medicare to the commercial sector so we make insulin affordable for all Americans
▶ 7:36:39with commercial health insurance it supports offsetting the cost of this expansion by requiring the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share which may include raising the corporate tax rate or imposing the minimum tax on billionaires while insulin prices are now more affordable than a decade ago Americans pay more for insulin than any other nation in 2022 the average price of all rapid acting insulins was $240 in the US for 10mil vial compared
▶ 7:37:09to $17 in Australia where it cost $2 to $4 to produce it um although prices for insulin have recently come down to their lowest levels in a decade following a rise in generic options insulin makers with newer and more novel drugs often sell at much higher prices for example a Frieza which is the only insulin drug available as an inhalable powder can cost more than 20 times the other rapid acting insulins
▶ 7:37:39according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $413 billion in 2022 the American Diabetes Association indicates that diabetics account for one of every $4 dollar spent on health healthare in the US High out-of-pocket costs May deter adherence to insulin among individuals with diabetes with potentially fatal effects more than one in four
▶ 7:38:10insulin users in the individual and small group markets and about one in five insulin users with large employer coverage paid more than $35 per month out of pocket for insulin in 2018 for people with employer sponsored Insurance the average monthly out-of-pocket spending on insulin was $82 in 2019 about 9% of individuals in the highest spending category had an average out of pocket cost of some $43
▶ 7:38:40a month while 25 states in the District of Columbia have capped insulin co- payments for State regulated commercial health insurance plans with caps ranging from $25 to $100 a month more than one-third of these caps are over $35 per month the other states do not provide any insulin caps for the commercial sector lowering out-of-pocket insulin cost for all Americans would reduce long-term health care costs avoiding devastating
▶ 7:39:10complications from diabetes and take pressure off the entire Health Care System furthermore the cost to expand the $35 monthly insulin cap to the commercial sector should be offset by increasing revenues from requiring the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share such as raising the corporate tax rate or imposing the minimum tax on billionaires I ask therefore Mr uh chair that you support this amendment this committee supports this amendment on making insulin
▶ 7:39:41affordable for all Americans support the life-saving $35 insulin cap for all Americans who purchase their own health insurance or get coverage through an employer and with that Mr chair i y back I thank the gentleman is there any member who would wish to claim time in OB opposition to the amendment Mr chairman Mr Carter from Georgia uh I yield six minutes uh for your comments and opposition thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman the price of insulin
▶ 7:40:11and other prescription drugs are too high no one at this Capital knows that better than I do I practiced Pharmacy for over 40 years started when I was 10 so that explains that but I practiced Pharmacy for over 40 years and I can tell you the price of prescription drugs particular particularly of insulin is too high and Congress has a duty to take action to lower the cost for Americans who have suffered under the last four years of the Biden Harris Administration unfortunately this
▶ 7:40:41amendment misses the mark and the policies expressed in it would do nothing nothing to actually lower the cost of prescription drugs such as insulin simply imposing price controls on prescription drugs is a misunderstood and very dangerous solution to to the incredibly complex problem of Out of Control prescription drug prices in order to actually lower the price of insulin and other prescription drugs Congress must address the root
▶ 7:41:11causes of the high cost of drugs price controls do not address these underlying causes folks simply limiting simply minimizing the co-pay will not bring down the price of the drug in fact socialist style price controls on insulin would lead to shortages of insulin for patients who depend on insulin to survive on a daily basis and threaten to drive up the cost for both patients and for taxpayers last Congress
▶ 7:41:41House Republicans Advanced critical legislation to address the underlying cause of high prescription drug prices and deliver needed relief to American patients in fact the house passed lower cost more transparency act that by the way passed the Energy and Commerce Committee you unanimously support lowered the cost of drugs by making reforms to middlemen known as Pharmacy benefit managers pbms that may have been the first time
▶ 7:42:12you've ever heard me mention them pbms that inflate the cost of medicines including insulin the bill would have also reduced the cost of receiving infusion drugs and Hospital outpatient departments House Republicans are already hard at work building on the success esses of the 118th Congress and are committed to advancing legislation that reduces the price of prescription drugs while avoiding the unintended consequences of the democrat's misguided policies
▶ 7:42:42during President Trump's first term he took significant steps to lower the cost of prescription drugs while maintaining incentives for Innovation and he has committed to continue this important work during his second term folks that's important as I said I practiced Pharmacy for over 40 years I witness nothing short of Miracles as a result of research and development we have to have Innovation the greatest
▶ 7:43:12scientists the greatest researchers are right here in the United States of America and we must continue to invest in research and development House Republicans are ready to work with President Trump on this goal of lowering insulin and prescription drug prices for Americans while I appreciate your commitment to working on this issue I hope you will join our Collective efforts this Congress to lower cost for Americans this amendment today is counterproductive to that work and I urge a no
▶ 7:43:43vote thank you Mr chairman and I yeld back I thank the gentleman from Georgia uh the question is uh on the amendment by Mr tono all those in favor say I those no in the opinion of the chair the NOS happen you forgot to give oh I'm sorry Mr tonco well I just cut right to the note didn't I just just I want you to know I'm still got an open mind okay I appre give me your best give me your best I appreciate that
▶ 7:44:13I have Newfound hope um look just a couple of of observations that I think need to be reiterated um we're talking about insulin that costs two to four dollars to produce so we're not going to disturb the market here and making certain that an insulin cap of $35 can help avoid devastating complications from diabetes many suggest that that has one of the greatest impacts on
▶ 7:44:44health care cost in our system today so I think those factors should motivate us to address this one medication in a way that allows for the progress made in the recent past to be shared more broadly with the consuming public out there through their individual insurance coverages or self- payments thank you and with that I yield back and encourage the support for this amendment I thank the gentleman from New York and
▶ 7:45:14now U want to ask the question on his Amendment all those in favor say I I those oppose no no it is the opinion of the chair that knows have it would the gentleman like a roll call Vote Yes I would we'll we'll do that at the you bet you bet we'll postpone the vote until after the markup for our agreement are there other amendments uh at the desk SC Mr Bobby Scott do you have an
▶ 7:45:45amendment I'm told you do is it a surprise to you okay Mr Scott you uh let's let the clerk designate the amendment number 17 number 17 that's correct uh clerk would you read that out amendment number 17 being considered 18th to add a child care Reserve fund offered by Mr okay
▶ 7:46:15Mr Scott uh we yield five minutes thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman the goal of this amendment is to protect programs that are vital to Working Families struggling to afford Child Care rather than cutting the limited programs we have that have actually helped families like the child like the credit for child and dependent care or the temporary assistance for needy families tanif we should be investing more in the child care and we should investing even more in programs that would ensure all Americans had
▶ 7:46:45access to Affordable Health Care now since uh 1976 family have relied on nonrefundable credit to help them afford child care where they work or look for work instead of cutting tanif and take away child care when it's most needed we need to make sure that we're investing in child care now um the the TANF has a contingency fund uh in addition to a and that's um uh
▶ 7:47:16a target of um of these Cuts in addition to the 10% across the board at for tth generally uh that is really the second largest public source of ch Child Care funding in for example in 2021 Tan's total expenditures amounted to over $30 billion but 4.9% of that n 4.9 billion of that went to child care and 2.9 went to pre and Head Start early childhood
▶ 7:47:46programs and so we should be doing more for child care not less child child care stabilization grant program proved as a vast as as a good success of Federal Aid and shows how it works in the American Rescue plan the child care stabilization grant program showed that child care prices which were rapidly increasing at the start of the pandemic slowed after the distribution of funds allowing prices to be 10%
▶ 7:48:17lower than it would have been saving families an average of $112,500 per child in 2022 the national average price of child care was more than 10,800 $ in 32 states the annual cost for infant care exceeded that of instate tuition at a four-year iniver uh University so median child care prices can range as high as 19% of a median family's income
▶ 7:48:47so obviously that uh causes great strain and we need to do something and shouldn't be cutting that funding Child Care keeps mothers in the workforce with such a high cost of child care many many families end up reducing work hours turning down promotions or dropping out of the labor force entirely as shown before the pandemic the labor force drop resulted from Child Care responsibilities disproportionately fell on women undoing Decades of progress uh of
▶ 7:49:17women joining the labor force now child care workers wages have been historically close to the minimum wage but the support for child care and the American Rescue plan act proved that stabilization funds directly help to increase the wages of childcare workers as much as 10% not only do the higher wages offer uh not only do the higher wages um make better conditions for workers but they also increased employment
▶ 7:49:47in the sector by roughly 7% which directly impacts the ability of child care providers to provide for more for more children and help more families get to work and help business find the workers they need without further investments in child care low wages threaten to make it more difficult to find workers potentially driving providers out of business or forcing them to invest their to increase their prices for families for families already
▶ 7:50:18struggling to afford child care prices Mr chairman the last thing we need to do would be to cut the support for child care families are having enough trouble and I would hope that we would uh adopt the amendment to protect investments in child care from the Draconian cuts that otherwise would occur with this legislation reserve the balance of my time I thank the gentleman from Virginia and ask if there are any members who'd like to claim time chairman I seek to opposition
▶ 7:50:48uh Mr Blake Moore is recognized for six minutes thank you uh thank you um first to uh the gentleman from the Commonwealth to propose this am second to the staff for giving me an opportunity to address this uh I'll be honest when we get in these dayong Amendment debates we kind of know where we're going to be on things but I thought oh Child Care maybe I should take a closer look at this one I got four boys 12 and under all of which are you know creating that could cost a lot of money not only the Little League costs and everything associated with it and broken windows
▶ 7:51:19but um Child Care is expensive so I'm going to book in my comments I won't use all the time but I'm going to book in my comments with the fundamental reason why I'm opposed to this amendment and it is simply the fact that this is a budget resolution we're doing a budget resolution I mentioned this several times today we are talking about the numbers on the balance sheet and this that's our job here the authorizing committees are the ones that create the policy and that form formulate um you know what the ultimate reconciliation Bill looks like this is not an appropriate place to tie the hands of
▶ 7:51:49those authorizing committees uh so with that I do want to just make a few comments this is this is ironically I think this is I think this amendment is emblematic of a much larger sort of Chasm between how a conservative thinks and more of a progressive thinks um I'm not well steeped in these issues right I'm not a uh you know I'm experiencing this uh these different policy debates from my perspective I'm on ways and means I do a lot of defense and National Security work so it doesn't run the
▶ 7:52:19Gambit but for the most part when we talk about health care when we talk about child care I see a big difference like Democrats oftentimes and like this amendment is is trying to do it's well- intended it is trying to say we need to put a reserve we need to put money we need to focus we need to earmark it to this specific thing Republicans take an approach of I want that family to have more discretionary income so they can choose how they go about using their resources I just
▶ 7:52:50um proposed or uh um submitted a bill uh few maybe month Maybe month or so ago called The Family First Act it it it directly deals with this it actually is a significant increase in the amount that we put towards the child tax credit probably some that maybe some of my Republican colleagues would be like oh that's that's quite a bit actually that's a little bit farther than than I was willing to consider but when you look at the details we consolidate other tax areas that I think are
▶ 7:53:20Antiquated and that have actually um not served families properly we we consolidate that and we move it towards giving giving families flexibility giving them more discretionary income to be able to make some of these decisions and and and really that's what's at play here we either dedicate a bunch of money towards a specific thing and we have not seen child care costs go down when we just throw a bunch of money at it when you throw a bunch of money at a certain area
▶ 7:53:51maybe a certain specific item within the industry I don't think you see that cost or service or that that good or service go down when we add more monetary supply for um for Education like tuition doesn't go down we're not we're not forcing like like an EV tax credit I I don't think it's I don't think it's lowered the the price of of a vehicle and so that fundamental difference is something
▶ 7:54:21that we need to we need to be able to come together and and and find some common ground on do we just put a bunch of money in Air Market and create a erve fund for child care or do we give that family the flexibility to make the decisions on their own and they can go and create a competitive market allowing for more options to come into place and therefore driving the cost down and it can be applied again like I said to so many different Industries so um well intended child care costs a lot I can attest to that uh I just think that if we were to
▶ 7:54:51um take an approach that gives flexibility and gives more discretionary income without raising inflation we we we do better on this on this front and I have full confidence in in our colleagues on certain authorizing committees to pursue policies that will give Americans more and less expensive options within this child care debate thank you and I Y back I think the gentleman Mr Scott you have one minute to close thank you and I thank the gentleman for his comments but he obviously knows the problem of child care and
▶ 7:55:21how expensive it is and how vital it is and we shouldn't be cutting the vital support for those in need in order to Prov provide tax cuts for the top 1% in corporations actually the experience of the American Rescue plan act did show that with proper Investments cost can go down and affordability can go up we want more workers to get discretionary income they have to first get to work and they can't go to work unless they have child care so if we're going to support workers
▶ 7:55:51this amendment would go a long way in helping workers get that discretionary income we all want them to that Mr chairman y back I thinkk thank the gentleman uh from the Commonwealth and now the questions on agreeing to Mr Scott's Amendment all those in favor say I I all those oppose no in opinion the chair that knows haven't we'll do a roll call vote at the end of the markup per our agreement and we have a
▶ 7:56:21commercial break here we have food in the anti room so if you're uh if you need some some grub to sustain you for the rest of the is it six more hours uh Gary 10 10 hours he says anyway we got some food in there for you um and we appreciate everybody's patience and uh perseverance so with that any amendments at the desk actually uh Mr chairman if this would be an appropriate uh appropriate moment I wanted to enter into the record
▶ 7:56:52this report from the committee for responsible federal budget uh I know you have great deal of respect as do I for the work uh of this organization uh in their report released um just a couple weeks ago they reported that the Phantom savings that uh appear in this resolution are quote Fantastical levels of sustained
▶ 7:57:23growth this is again a report from February 7th 2025 I made be quoting uh from other parts of it later uh but I want to uh submit for the record unanimous consent to submit for the record uh that'll Beed without objection so ordered now are there any other um amendments at the desk Mr chud you have a minute a Mr chair I wish to offer an amendment you you okay clerk would you please designate the amendment staff will distribute the copies and
▶ 7:57:53Miss Chu I'm going to go ahead and say uh let's go ahead and take off five minutes amendment number 19 to adjust function 800 offered by Miss Chu my Amendment rejects Republican cuts to the IRS and general government agencies in the Chairman's mark it would Ure they need to deliver benefits to the right people at the right time for the right amount and combat improper payments it ensures that wealthy tax cheats are held accountable and pay their fair share of taxes for
▶ 7:58:23far too long the IRS was underfunded and understaffed while Democrats fixed that by allocating much needed funding to the IRS through the inflation reduction act this funding went directly to vastly improving IRS service before this funding my constituents were forced to wait 30 minutes just to speak to someone about their tax questions thanks to the this funding the wait time was reduced to just three minutes before this funding my constituents who had questions
▶ 7:58:54and concerns about their tax returns could not even speak to a live person today they can speak to a live person extremely quickly to get the answers they need before this funding my constituents waited an inordinate amount of time on hold and then will be furious when they were hung up on today constituents can request a call back directly to their phone saving their place in line and saving all of our taxpayers 1.4 million hours or 58,000
▶ 7:59:24days of hold time but if Republicans get their way and cut this funding our constituents will see those wait times Skyrocket back up again that's a betrayal these proposed Cuts will decimate the iris's ability to serve taxpayers Beyond just wait times customer service will plummet including guidance on how to correctly file taxes tools for claiming eligible eligible tax benefits and credits and using direct file to finally bypass the hassle
▶ 7:59:55of expensive tax filing software one of the most significant positive changes with the inflation reduction funding to the IRS is that the richest tax Dodgers were finally made to pay their fair share prior to this funding High income and corporate tax Dodgers got away with billions of dollars per year in unpaid taxes a cost shouldered by Honest families and businesses it was a result of years in which the funding for the IRS had been decimated as a result the audit rates
▶ 8:00:25of millionaires in the largest corporations PL liit it by more than 60% and nearly 50% respectively from 2010 through 2008 when Republicans last had the House Majority while decreasing much less for other taxpayers now let me say I know most Americans play by the rules they work hard pay their taxes but we know that the wealthiest amongst us skirt these rules using high paid attorneys to hide their income and avoid paying their fair share
▶ 8:00:55and when sophisticated High income and corporate taxpayers are able to evade or aggressively Dodge taxes it undermines the fairness and integrity of the tax system it also worsens inequality along class and racial lines and drains enormous amounts of revenue from the treasury it deprives us of funds we could invest in roads Bridges classrooms community health centers and more the Investments we made in the inflation reduction
▶ 8:01:25act finally gave the IRS the tools it needed to go after the richest tax Dodgers as a result it has been confirmed by both the treasury Department and the Congressional budget office that each dollar of this IRS funding returns between five to nine times that in Revenue because of the inflation reduction act we cannot return to a time when everyday taxpayers had
▶ 8:01:56infuriating and frustrating Waits on the phone just to get a tax question answered we cannot return to a time when the wealthy got away with not paying their taxes and did it with abandon the Republican ripoff Bill gives massive tax cuts to the rich while also cutting essential services to the rest of America cutting IRS funding will line the pockets of the rich even more as they evade the most basic of
▶ 8:02:26American responsibilities of paying their taxes I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and protect funding for the IRS to ensure that it can do its job and serve American taxpayers I thank the gentle lady are there any members would like to claim time and opposition to her Amendment Mr Clyde from Georgia you have uh six minutes thank you Mr chairman I rise in strong opposition to amendment number 19 which would increase
▶ 8:02:56budget Authority for the internal Revenue Service by $20 billion during the budget window for the purpose of rehiring President Biden's massive Army of 87,000 IRS agents to audit fine and Target middleclass Americans who are just trying to make ends meet as we all know when Democrats passed the so-called inflation reduction act they supercharged the IRS with $80 billion of taxpayer funding equal to almost seven times the irs's normal budget Democrats have
▶ 8:03:26said that they want to increase audits on Americans back to Historic levels to close the tax Gap however doing so would mean more than 600,000 families making less than $200,000 would be hit with an IRS audit Democrats will also claim that by increasing spending by $20 billion to the IRS the deficit will actually decrease however in practice according to the economic policy Innovation Center so far every $1 of new Revenue the IRS enforcement from IRS
▶ 8:03:56enforcement has cost taxpayers A14 so it's a loss and the IRS has collected just 18% of the revenues projected by CBO so there's not as many tax cheats as they thought Mr chairman I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record an article from The Wall Street Journal the middle class won't escape the new IRS audit wave and that's from August of 202 without objection so ordered thank you now I want to share a personal story I'm a Survivor of IRS
▶ 8:04:29abuse as a small business owner I had $940,000 seized from my business by the IRS they audited me both personal and business for four years when they finished that audit they found out that the money was legally earned and properly reported and they still wouldn't give it back they said I had to go to trial so I sued them it cost me $150,000 but I got my money back and when I told my story to
▶ 8:05:00Congress I was asked to testify before the oversight subcommittee of house Ways and Means and if you've been here 10 years you know about this two days ago February the 11th 2025 is the 10year anniversary of that testimony before chairman Peter rosam I will tell you that the IRS abuse was so egregious that chairman rosam forced IRS commissioner who is in that subcommittee hearing to apologize to
▶ 8:05:30me in front of Congress apologize to every solitary witness there were three of us the result of that hearing was a piece of legislation called the respect act restraining excessive seizure of property through the exploitation of civil asset forfeiture tools act they use civil asset forfeiture to do it and you know what they called that piece of legislation after the three of us it's called the Clyde hirs sour respective act so there's a federal law that takes away some
▶ 8:06:00Authority from the IRS with my name on now do I want to see the IRS get 20 billion doll more no absolutely not and as a member of the House of Appropriations Committee I'm proud to say that House Republicans successfully rescinded $20 billion of IRS funding during the fiscal year 2024 Appropriations process studies from The Joint Committee on tax have consistently shown that this Army of IRS agents would disproportionately affect middleclass
▶ 8:06:30Americans specifically those who make under 200,000 annually in addition a few weeks ago president Trump issued an executive order halting the hiring of among others the tens of thousands of new IRS agents called for by democrats in the so-called inflation reduction act hardworking families and small businesses across the country are already reeling from higher prices caused by the Biden Harris policies over the last four years since Biden took office total energy costs have surged 36% gasoline is up 41%
▶ 8:07:00home energy costs risen 30% electricity bills are 29% higher natural gas bills have increased by 34% sadly this Democrat Amendment wants to Target these hurting American families by increased auditing of those that make less than 200,000 annually on the contrary president Trump and House Republicans want to cut taxes for those families making less than 200,000 the tax cuts and jobs act signed into law by President Trump in 2017 fueled historic economic growth raised
▶ 8:07:31wages boosted real median household income and surpassed GDP expectations however many of its progrowth policies will expire in 2025 risking a significant tax increase for hardworking American families and small businesses across the country thankfully the budget resolution we are considering today would provide for reconciliation instructions to the Ways and Means Committee to extend the tcga tax cuts for American families by cutting taxes for hardworking families reducing federal spending
▶ 8:08:01finally securing our border and investing in our National Defense the US can launch an era of unparalleled strength and prosperity the Golden Age Republicans believe the right way to ensure tax compliance is to simplify the tax code not supercharge the IRS bureaucracy I want to make this clear a vote in favor of this amendment is a vote to increase burdensome IRS tax enforcement on those families making less than 200,000 I urge all of my colleagues colleagues to vote against this disastrous Amendment and I yield back
▶ 8:08:32with the remaining time I believe the CBO projected that the IRS expansion uh80 billion doll some tens of thousands of IRS uh employees agents that uh that that they would recover in this tax Gap about three billion dollars they're at about I think uh 150 million or something so it's not working out yet but maybe it will um I
▶ 8:09:02yield now the one minute for the closing remarks uh to Mrs Chu from uh California well there's so much misinformation it has been confirmed by both the treasury Department and the Congressional budget office that each dollar of this IRS funding returns between five to nine times that in Revenue because of the success of the inflation reduction act and in fact Republican cuts to the IRS will add billions to the deficit the Congressional
▶ 8:09:33budget office also released a report highlighting how resending $35 billion from the IRS will reduce revenues by 89 billion and increase the deficit by 24 billion over the next decade this is about fairness regular Americans pay their taxes and the wealthy should too every American who collects a paycheck know that taxes are taken out automatically with no way to hide or delay them but the wealthiest use loopholes
▶ 8:10:03and the wealthiest are the targets for the audits not the average American the wealthiest use loopholes accounting tricks and they should not have to be able to get away with it I thank the gentle lady um and would like to submit for the record U an article entitled IRS in enforcement spending has not reduced the deficit it is from the economic policy Innovation
▶ 8:10:34Center and let me just correct the record on the numbers because those were the numbers from several months ago CBO has updated their numbers they projected 7.1 billion in revenue and actually the revenue raise was only 1.3 billion but with that let's take this amendment to uh for consideration to the members the questions on agreeing to Mrs Chu's Amendment all those in favor say
▶ 8:11:04I I those opposed no no in the opinion of I think we've got a no uh the the chair says the NOS have it um with that kind of enthusiasm I think the NOS are going to win over the the the yeses today I asked for a recorded vote you've got it other amendments at the desk Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk will you be as enthusiastic as Mr Clyde I want to see
▶ 8:11:34I want to see if Mr Omar can match that enthusiasm I bet she could actually I'll give it a shot I bet you I bet you I don't want to challenge you um okay uh will the clerk read it out amendment number 20 to increase revenues offered by Miss Omar okay Miss Omar you're recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman uh my Amendment will would raise revenues through a corporate tax rate increase and ensure that tax benefits do not flow
▶ 8:12:04to foreign investors and foreign multinational corporations from 2018 to 2020 foreign investments $134 billion in tax cuts this is more than what 95 million American households combined it is about it's about that um think about that for a minute foreign shareholders and CEOs got more
▶ 8:12:34tax relief than the bottom 60% of American taxpayers and now Republicans want to double down their tax plan would once again shower benefits on rich people and corporations while cutting food assistance and Health Care coverage for poor American families this would cost trillion that is $4.6 trillion of your money going to the pockets
▶ 8:13:05of foreigners this isn't just bad economics it's a moral failure we should not allow failed trickle down policies to continue to bank bankrupt our workingclass people and our country and asking Working Families to sacrifice even more to fund tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and foreign investors is utterly shameful this is why my Amendment just does two simple things first it raises
▶ 8:13:35the it raises the corporate tax rate from 21% 28% which would generate $1.3 trillion in Revenue over the next decade second it explicitly blocks new corporate tax benefits from going to foreign owned corporations returning to the rate of 28% % would not only bring us in line with other develop developed countries but it would also bring corporate tax revenue as a share of
▶ 8:14:05the US economy back to Historic pre 20107 levels this is common sense if my Republican colleagues are still desperately looking for tax money to extend expiring Provisions in the tcja well here it is if my Republican colleagues are actually worried about our nation's fiscal situation then this amendment would help if my Republican colleagues
▶ 8:14:35who love to talk about America First want to seriously put our constituents the American people first well this is your chance to show it with your vote by voting for my Amendment instead of gutting important programs and eroding institutions that serve the American people Congressional Republicans should take this opportunity to finally have corporations pay their fair share I urge my colleagues to support this amendment which would put the American families ahead of
▶ 8:15:05corporate profits and foreign investors I yield the balance of my time I thinkk the gentle lady uh are there any members you'd like to claim opposition uh to the amendment Mr chairman Mr McDow from the Tar Hill State you have five no you have six minutes thank sir what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle fa fa to understand is that we have already seen the success of the tax cuts and jobs act that President Trump signed during his first term
▶ 8:15:36we know that it worked by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% 21% we gave businesses the ability to reinvest in their communities and create jobs for the American people if this amendment passes the money that's been flowing into our country because of President Trump's tax cuts will be stopped at the border businesses will again hold their dollars offshore this helps absolutely
▶ 8:16:06no one in my district and where woke ideology collapses under its own weight thinking that we can tax our way to economic salvation the amendment would prevent the Ways and Means Committee from continuing to deliver the economic wins from the historic tax cuts and jobs act by Jack up the corporate tax rate anyone who has taken econ 101 knows this just means less jobs and higher cost for in consumers
▶ 8:16:37if America wants to be an economic Powerhouse our tax structure needs to reflect that but this amendment it's two-faced let's not pretend like Democrats are suddenly concerned about foreign investment last Congress most of my Democrat colleagues voted against the in Chinese dominance of electric vehicles in America Act including the sponsor of this amendment that bill would have closed loopholes that benefit Chinese billionaires with ties
▶ 8:17:07to the CCP if those loopholes had been closed it would have encouraged more American jobs instead of rewarding our adversaries I am disappointed so many of my Democrat colleagues opposed this bill as a country America cannot keep robbing Peter to pay Paul and allowing our adversaries to take advantage of us if the last four years have shown us anything it is that Biden omics is
▶ 8:17:37a failure the American people sent a message in November they want change they want to reignite the economy secure our country and go back to common sense right now the department of government efficiency is cutting waste in the executive branch eliminating inefficiencies and working to restore fiscal responsibility something this amendment fails to do it started by cleaning house at usaid an agency that is
▶ 8:18:07riddled with woke waste all at the taxpayers expense just to name a couple of these programs usaid spent $1.5 million to a Serbian LGBT group they spent $70,000 for production of a Dei musical in Ireland 47 ,000 for a transgender Opera in Columbia and $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala Mr chairman I could go on all
▶ 8:18:38night but in the interest of time I urge a no vote and I yield back I thank the gentleman and yield the remaining one minute for closing remarks uh to miss Omar well I I I thank the the the gentleman um it is actually interesting uh in you know in fighting for for your constituents the 2017 tax law gave a bigger tax cut to foreign investors than to
▶ 8:19:08the entire middle and working class in the states Trump carried in 2016 including the great state of North Carolina that you represent and I would also remind the American people that while the top 0.1% get a tax cut of $314,000 CEOs and big corporations will get another $2 trillion and what this
▶ 8:19:38will do is add nearly $4 trillion to the national debt I urge my colleagues to be for the American people stand by their America first stance and support this amendment I think the gentle lady the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss Omar those in favor say I I those opposed no in the opinion of the chair the NOS
▶ 8:20:08haven't I asked for a recorded vote and I forgot to submit this for the record sh without objection thank you um and we will uh do a roll call vote at the end of the markup are there other amendments at the desk m m Mr ammo chairman I have an amendment at the desk uh the clerk will designate the amendment and staff distribute copies amendment number 21 to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on education and
▶ 8:20:38Workforce and agriculture offered by Mr Amo Mr Amo you have uh you are recognized for five minutes thank you very much Mr chairman uh I wish to offer an amendment that will strike reconciliation instructions to the education and labor committee and the agriculture committee poised to carry out Extreme Cuts to vital programs that keep children fed my Amendment rejects the Republicans betrayal of the
▶ 8:21:09middle class especially children who need government assistance to pay for food so that they can have a bright healthy and successful future simply put it's about feeding H hungry children it that should not be an issue that should not be a question something that I'm very hopeful that everybody in this room would care about it rejects Republicans Extreme Cuts to the supplemental uh nutrition assistance program snap the community eligibility
▶ 8:21:39provision the C uh and the school the school breakfast program SVP and the national school lunch program that could take place uh if the blueprint is followed through what does this mean it means protecting more more than 40 million Americans including one in five children who rely on Snap to put food on the table this includes more than 34,000 people in Rhode Island's First Congressional District
▶ 8:22:09chair Arrington this includes more than 36,000 of your constituents as well it means continuing to feed over 14 million students who relied on the school breakfast program and more than 28 million who relied on the national school lunch program in the 20 22 to 2023 school year it means keeping students stomachs full so they can pay attention to their teachers without the distraction of stomach pains I cannot fathom why
▶ 8:22:39anyone anyone including my colleagues on the other side would want to make it even a little bit harder for students to qualify for this assistance why would you make it harder for a child to eat when they're hungry and it means defending a program that helps students at our nation's highest poverty schools receive free and reduced price lunch it means making it easier to feed hungry people especially kids these are my constituents but importantly
▶ 8:23:09these are everybody's constituents I could go on and on and on about how better nutrition helps students learn improves Health outcomes and so so on and so forth I'm not going to do that uh because at the end of the day none of that matters what matters is feeding in hungry people that's a value that's something I think we should agree on I you know I would say I don't understand why this is controversial but I know that if we take you know our colleagues
▶ 8:23:40at face value the priority is on a tax giveaway to the wealthiest and the need to pay for it by a betrayal a betrayal to the middle class to these hungry kids who depend on us and I would hope that this amendment not uh be one where we're divided where we can agree on feeding hungry kids and I I'm I'm hopeful that I get support I thank the gentleman from Rhode Island and ask if there
▶ 8:24:10are any members who would like to voice uh opposition Mr chairman General Bergman uh I recognize you four six minutes to in opposition to the amendment thank you very much and uh you know uh I couldn't agree more with my colleague from Rhode Island with regard to that it is absolutely right that the national school lunch program is critical uh to ensuring Student
▶ 8:24:40Success because let's face it if kids are hungry they can't learn and I I could chapter get quote you chapter and verse of my now retired Elementary School daughter who taught in Chicago and Cincinnati and the fact that uh when kids come to school hungry they can't learn and sadly that when when kids go home on Friday schools have to pack lunches or you know groups do it to ensure that
▶ 8:25:10they have food to eat on the weekend so there's no doubt that uh we need to make sure that those who don't have enough food whether it be at home or at school um are fed so they can learn however you know this amendment uh restricts the education and Workforce uh Workforce committee's ability to adapt identify programs problems within a program and Implement necessary reforms in fact the the nonpartisan
▶ 8:25:41GAO has consistently reported High rates of estimated payment errors in the school lunch program and when you think about it any money that's wasted or is subject to fraud or is abused is is gone and we can't use the money to provide the food and the lunches for the kids but it's know when you open yourself up to the potential for fraud that vacuum will be filled by fraudsters if you will
▶ 8:26:12and we as the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that that fraud the waste and abuse is if not eliminated minimized to the point where it doesn't take the the the money money necessary away from the program the committee must have the flexibility to root out the waste the fraud and the abuse not only within the free lunch program but across the department as a whole allowing These funds to be redirected to
▶ 8:26:42initiatives that genuinely benefit students and improve educational outcomes in the same vein this amendment removes the agricultural committee's ability to improve the way its nutrition Assistance programs operate in fact you know the agricultural committee uses data provided by the education committee to actually administer its you know programs strengthening fraud detection cutting unnecessary spending
▶ 8:27:12and improving eligibility verification for those critical programs could save the Department of Agriculture billions of dollars ensuring that assistance remains available for and reaches those who TR truly need it we need it we know that while my colleague from Ro Island and I may agree on protecting and preserving the programs that keep millions of Americans fed I just must disagree with this amendment and the how we're going to try to do that it would hinder our authorizing committee's
▶ 8:27:43ability to make reforms necessary to ensure their continued success and because of that that I urge a no vote and I Y back thank you General Bergman uh with one minute remaining for your closing Mr Amo thank you Mr chairman look uh I agree uh on the need to address waste Fraud and Abuse I agree with the the challenges that that we face in administering programs but at the end of the day
▶ 8:28:13the core value remains and at a time where we're talking about a budget a statement of values I think this is an appropriate time to very clearly state that we don't want kids to be hungry that's a statement that I think should be moreover as we look at what's happening contrast which is a tax giveaway to billionaires I just want folks to know that we have to go back to our districts and communicate
▶ 8:28:44this Mr Bergman 43,000 people will rely on snap in your District uh rely uh on those benefits and are are at risk of losing them and I think that this is something we should be able to speak in one voice on so I ask uh that uh we support this amendment and protect children from going hungry and with that I you thank you Mr Amo uh the questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr ammo
▶ 8:29:14from Rhode Island those in favor say I I those opposed no in the opinion the chairs the NOS have it and would you like a roll call Vote Yes we'll put it all up in one at the end of the markup thank you and we'll open back up for any amendments Mr chair and and it never know the uh after a couple years I don't think either of us know ever exactly the right time to uh to do these but before the conversation before it got
▶ 8:29:44too uh far along from the conversation that was happening earlier about the tax Gap and you had submitted something for the record and something was was stated about uh collections only in the Millions I think is important that this statement be um or this announcement be um um entered into the record it is from the Department of Treasury and the IRS from July 11th 2024 announcing $1 billion in past due
▶ 8:30:14taxes collected from millionaires um I'll quote from it very briefly the Department of Treasury and IRS announced that the new initiative to collect P due tax debt from high income high wealth individuals reached a major Milestone with more than 1 billion recovered this was made possible by resources from the inflation reduction act and I ask you's consent it be entered into the record without objection so ordered uh are there any amendments at the to Mr
▶ 8:30:44Peters uh Mr Peters has an amendment clerk will you designate that and staff distribute copies please number 25 amendment number 25 to adjust function 550 offered by Mr Peters oh you do Mr Peters is recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman uh cutting billions of dollars in funding for research from the National Institutes of Health would have dire consequences for scientific progress
▶ 8:31:15in in America and for the economy in districts like mine in 2023 San Diego Drew in about $2.2 billion in funding from the NIH and the National Science Foundation our regional economy which sustains an amazing public private life sciences ecosystem turns that $2.2 billion into about 56.6 billion dollar in total economic output that is far more itself is that 56 billion dollar is far more itself than the nih's entire budget during the last fiscal year
▶ 8:31:45and NIH funding doesn't just boost economies in places like San Diego Boston and San Francisco it supports patients scientists families and small businesses in every state in the country that includes red States like North Carolina Florida Alabama and others this investment also keeps the United States of America the worldwide leader in biomedical research even as China copies our national Playbook massively increases its investment and is catching up on February 7th the the Trump Administration announced it would just on
▶ 8:32:15its own slash grants to University research programs even though as I recall as I mentioned before the power of the purse is that of Congress and whether you agree with this or disagree with this I I urge all of us to stand up for the power of congress that is our constitutional duty but unelected bureaucrats at the department of government uh efficiency um claimed that capping nih's funding for administrative support at 15% of direct funding would save $4 billion a year but it would cause irreparable damage to our national economy
▶ 8:32:46in response to these efforts to cut life saving research I sent a letter at to NH with over 39 39 other California Democrats urging the agency to immediately halt this effort and a few days after Trump administration's announcement a federal judge blocked the NIH funding cut from going into effect in response to a coalition of 22 states which filed a lawsuit the lawsuit is based on an existing law which prevents the federal government from unilaterally changing its active contracts with research institutions they also argued that the cuts would eviscerate Research into into treatments for cancer
▶ 8:33:16Alzheimer's heart disease and a host of other serious conditions while Mr musk's Doge complains that it's just cutting overhead costs those expenses also include the upkeep of sophisticated uh equipment that's too expensive for any single laboratory to buy or own on its own or to afford that rent it's much more important it's especially important in areas like San Diego where many brilliant scientists are doing their best to resolve hard science problems with already limited resources for instance the La Hoya Institute of Immunology is an independent research institution
▶ 8:33:46in my district that would be subject to these Cuts those cuts were allowed to take effect the Institute couldn't pay its rent which is already below market value even president Trump's former FDA commissioner Scott gotle has said that we should want to do research in places where there is already great talent and human capital the evidence shows it's right now and that's exactly what we're doing so I ask my colleagues to support this amendment and I yield back I thank the the gentleman and
▶ 8:34:16ask if uh there are any members who wish to voice opposition Mr chairman I claim the time in opposition Mr bery you have uh six minutes to voice your opposition thank you Mr chairman uh I actually share my colleague from California's concern about ni NIH funding been a member of the science Bas and Technology committee now for over four years and was recently appointed the chairman of the research and Technology subcommittee on SST
▶ 8:34:47which has direct oversight over NIH uh Healthcare research so I've been fighting now for over four years to make sure that we fund the meaningful work that the na NIH is doing and I'm going to continue fighting for that however speaking to the gentleman from California's Amendment nowhere in this uh Bill do we talk about cutting for funding for the NIH it just is not there all we're talking about is Topline funding for various agencies and once these
▶ 8:35:17reconciliation instructions are issued and and pass the house and the Senate then we'll get down to the hard work of looking for uh improper payments uh fraud waste abuse uh and things that we really need to do to cut the debt that we've talk been talking about here on the committee um the gentleman's Amendment also mentions the work being done by Doge uh and I assume Elon Musk is his Amendment says uh the National Institutes of Health funds vital research it should be protected
▶ 8:35:47from overreach by unelected billionaires and their har harmful misguided funding Cuts so I mean just talking about this is someone from someone who is deeply appreciative of what NIH does uh I am also deeply appreciative of the work that Doge has been doing and going through NIH funding looking for mistaken fundings and for waste and for abuse and I am horrified at some of the things that they have found I mean horrified uh it it boggles the mind some of the things we have been spending taxpayer money
▶ 8:36:17on I've got a little list here uh these are all ni NIH studies or programs $2.3 million of taxpayer money spent on a program for injecting Beagles with cocaine $611,000 in a study entitled evaluating microaggressions among latinx individuals with obesity $887,000 to study the role of the estris cycle on oxycodone Cravings in female rats $19 million to study
▶ 8:36:48why lesbian women of color prefer menthol cigarettes here's my personal favorite to study the correlation between binge drinking on Super Bowl Sunday and the birth of babies 9 months later and I could probably shed some light on that and it wouldn't cost $710,000 so the point here is no one can claim that there isn't waste to be rooted out and I remind you I mean any of these might be an appropriate topic for someone's PhD thesis
▶ 8:37:18but this is taxpayer money that's being spent on these and so I am deeply grateful that someone on the outside is going through these programs looking for this kind of wasteful spending because it's going to free up dollars to be spent on the things that we all everyone here on this Das cares about and you know just just to talk about some of the disparaging comments that have been made about Mr musk here in the hearing uh just to remind everyone the richest man in the world the last couple of weeks has been spending his time doing this
▶ 8:37:48he's not been on an island somewhere enjoying the uh the benefits of his well he has been sleeping on the floor of a treasury Department building for free going through these programs because he is an immigrant who recognizes that the United States is the greatest country of the world and he values that loves our country and wants it to be better and he shares all of our concerns about the depth of our deficit
▶ 8:38:18and the growing effects of our national debt so I am very thankful unorthodox as that process might be I'm very thankful that there is someone looking at that so that is why I urge opposition to this amendment nothing in the bill is talking about cutting funding to the NIH uh and certainly if we're going to reduce spending there's spending to be reduced so I urge a no vote now yeld back I thank the gentleman from California and yield uh a minute for closing statements to Mr Scott thank you Mr chairman certainly very encouraged to hear the gentleman's support for NIH I
▶ 8:38:48that make that'll make everyone feel better I wasn't defending any one of those particular grants some of which are very amusing and in the hundreds of thousands of dollars I acknowledge uh a couple points though um the point I was making was about Mr musk's 15% proposed cut that is a legislative matter and if we want to talk about that we should do that in this building uh not on X this is our job and um we should have this discussion in a bipartisan way I I do want to also um say that
▶ 8:39:18I would love to have this discussion in a bipartisan way and um you know we're being frozen out um I I um I think there'd be it'd be hard to justify to defend a lot of the things you said uh I think would send a better message if we did it together I I think that's how the place is supposed to work and um I lament that not only is it not bipartisan but it's not happening in this building and finally I just um asked for Mr musk I would just point out he is the richest man in the world I part of the thing that bothers folks over here is that some
▶ 8:39:48of that's from contracts he's got with the government and he's got a huge conflict of interest potentially being the person uh looking out in what his competitor's contracts are so forth so we've got no window into that at all and I think it's an entirely legitimate question to raise uh is is whether this is the appropriate method and the appropriate person with such conflicts of interest you and I fill out enormous paperwork to show we don't have conflicts of interest and we got nothing on this guy and I think it's not right I yield back I thank the
▶ 8:40:19gentleman and uh now offer uh for question on the Green agreement to his Amendment rather uh by Mr Scott Peters all those in favor say I those opposed no opinion the chair than those um Scott Mr Peters would you like a roll call vote we'll roll that up at the end um and opening it back up for any amendments
▶ 8:40:50at the desk Mr doit has an amendment clerk would you please read the or the designate the amendment rather amendment number 22 being considered 23rd to adjust function 500 offered by Mr dogget Mr dogget is recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman When Donald Trump made his case to the American people last year so much of it centered on bringing down prices particularly food prices he told us in August starting on day
▶ 8:41:20one we will end inflation and make America affordable again to bring down the prices of all Goods a few weeks later he said starting the day I take the oath I will rapidly Drive prices down and we will make America affordable again we're going to make it affordable again and then in January this year shortly before he was inaugurated we're going to have prices down I think you're going to see some pretty drastic price
▶ 8:41:50reductions I think all of us are waiting to see the first of those price red uctions as we saw the new inflation data that prices were going up and just as Donald Trump has broken his promises to do something about grocery prices he certainly won't be reducing the cost of higher education an education that Americans work hard to earn and then work hard to pay off the debt that they must Inc Ur incur while earning a degree eliminating some student loan
▶ 8:42:21assistance doesn't mean people will work harder it just means that it'll be harder for them to afford the groceries on Whose prices president Trump will be doing nothing I believe it is a betrayal of the middle class and while this bill offers Cuts it's to just about everything but prices tax breaks for multinational corporations which because of the loopholes and credits and special advantages in our tax code are already paying an effective tax rate that is a
▶ 8:42:51fraction of what a teacher or most American families are be being paid being pay are paying as their tax rate in an illegal power grab Trump couldn't wait for the bill to come along to starve the schools he moved forward for years he's been calling for the elimination of the Department of Education and federal aid to education he has declared quote the department of educations a big con job well I have to concede
▶ 8:43:21that we've got a president who knows a lot about cons but the real con I believe that is at stake today is the claim that we've heard repeatedly with a few thousand here and a few thousand there that they're going to eliminate wa through waste Fraud and Abuse elimination that they're going to pay for everything including more tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk musk and his Musketeers have taken a sledgehammer already to the Department of Education they've told 55 employees to
▶ 8:43:51stop doing their work they blocked 88 1 million in educational research funds appropriated by Congress jeopardizing our International competitiveness their real goal like all the voucher pedalers here and around the country is to starve our public schools of their resources resources that are supporting 7.4 million children with disabilities from the Department of Education 26 million economically disadvantaged
▶ 8:44:22students 1.1 million students that are experiencing homelessness and federal aid upon which millions of students depend to attend college and grow our economy throwing their hard hats on House Republicans are using this reconciliation Bill to wreck opportunities and leave hardworking Americans stranded in the rubble proposing to eliminate higher educational opportunities that protect Americans from the second largest form of Consumer Debt student loans
▶ 8:44:5287 million students and parents parents receive federal student aid to help pay for college including pel grants for too many this bill today would destroy their American dream in an America last agenda Trump continues to deny funds to today's researchers while this committee proposes to deprive opportunities for the next generation of scientists who will discover the miracle drug to prevent Alzheimer's are the S who will be in the surgery room or in the Cyber
▶ 8:45:22infrastructure from a Protec is from foreign threats are Lately from a billionaire who has improperly accessed the most sensitive data the tax data and Social Security and health records of every single American an investment in students is an investment in America's future and that future can't be great again if they demolish education ensuring that the Department of Education and the over 100,000 schools that that rely on it that they
▶ 8:45:53remain open my amendments seeks to protect students from becoming part of the wreckage of this week of GOP reconciliation and I yield back thank the gentleman from Texas are there any members who'd like to claim time and opposition to the Mr growman from Wisconsin you recognized for five minutes thank you I I'm still trying to figure out what this bizarre hatred towards Elon muskus I think I figured it out um Donald Trump has done something
▶ 8:46:23that uh the Republic has been waiting for a long time and that is he's done what he can to create a bipartisan Administration whether it's tulsy gabard whether it's Bobby Kennedy whether it's Donald Trump himself the Democrat Party just will not stand for someone uh being bipartisan and of course Elon Musk is a prime example that Donald Trump himself is a prime example is I think we should all praise
▶ 8:46:54Donald Trump for in this important position deciding to give it to somebody who spent so much of his life as a Democrat so I I I'm just P just wondering if that's the reason why we have this bizarre dislike now want to talk a little bit about the Department of Education um we didn't even have a Department of Education in this country until Jimmy Carter came along and I believe the second largest teachers union of the time was opposed to it for the right reason they realized that a federal department of education
▶ 8:47:24even even though it's only paying for about one6 of the K12 education costs in this country um would impose mandates and try to take over the private schools and we saw it in full flower this time around where the wonderful Department of Education was going to pull dollars from local school districts unless you let boys in the girls locker room I mean I can't believe it you can't make it up if in 1979 or whenever they passed this stuff uh somebody said the day was going to come when the Department of Education
▶ 8:47:54was gonna bring the hammer down on the local schools unless they let boys in the girls locker room you never would believe it but that's what it is so I'm glad that Donald Trump and um Elon Musk have the guts to come out and say we made a mistake in the 90 in the 17 uh I'm sorry in the 1917 1918 era and it's time to go back I should also point out we're all familiar with American test scores okay what's happen in American test scores between
▶ 8:48:24the Jimmy cart Administration now they're an embarrassment you know having a Department of Education contributing one6 17th of the funds and then mucking around and causing all sorts of paperwork for the poor Local Schools was not the way to go so uh bad amendment I agree with Mr musk I think it's something we ought to take a look at this it doesn't mean all functions of the Department of Education are going to disappear but certainly we want some of those functions to
▶ 8:48:55disappear and who could ever claim that our college system doesn't need some reforming I mean I think anybody would agree we probably have too many people attending college today as we look at so many people going back going to tech school going to trade school when they realize they made a mistake and so frequently kids who go to to uh a university they get the big student loan debt and they can't find a job so I don't think
▶ 8:49:25more Federal mucking around there has helped helped either do I have any time left do got a two you've got over two and a half minutes oh oh my goodness and I was on a roll here but I I promis my good buddy from H Kansas where is he there he is I promised him a couple minutes too because and I want everybody to pay attention because he's going to be really good well thank you uh thank you for yielding you know one of the things that I we all concerned
▶ 8:49:55and we've seen it through the election but we've also seen it over the last four years and for Education seen it for multiple years in terms of just the cost and the impact and and making sure that we have the right uh Direction that's being given to the to the Department of Education in terms of what they do you know and we're reminded of that just this morning uh with the uh CBI reports the the Consumer Price Index reports that came out uh from for the month of January
▶ 8:50:26uh which coincidentally was the last month that President Biden was in office the CBI reports were gathered throughout the month of January and I pulled together week after President Biden was out of uh office and so uh We've we've showing now as as we have to move forward that we want to make sure that inflation which is a Scourge for middle class and and lower income folks uh that that we keep that down uh for helping them as not just individuals uh but also
▶ 8:50:56as they take care of their children and and their children's education as well so with that I'll y back I think the gentleman from Kansas and recognize my friend from Texas for one minute for closing remarks I would say to my colleague from Wisconsin I think even Donald Trump would laugh at the notion that he has anything that is bipartisan about his administration he's filled his cabinet with supplicant billionair setting a record on the billionaire class in in C in his cabinet as for Mr musk when I heard heard that he was going to be appointed I thought
▶ 8:51:26it might be an opportunity to pursue a genuine investigation of waste Fraud and Abuse like the two bills that I filed last year on Medicare fraud that the Republicans won't hear like the defense fraud bill that I filed that got knocked out in conference committee like the wasteful expenditures for Medicare Advantage but no Mr musk like Mr Trump are more interested in overriding the law and the Constitution than they are and cooperating with anyone else what this Amendment about about is is about is education
▶ 8:51:57protecting public education and no justification has been provided for eliminating the Department of Education and the many services that provides to offer more education to an opportunity for young people across our country I yield back and move its adoption the question is on agreen to the amendment offered by Mr doet all those in favor say I those oppos no in the opinion of the chair then those have I will uh roll call the vote
▶ 8:52:27uh later in the markup and uh appreciate the gentleman are there any other amendments Mr chairman I got an amendment at the desk Mr Panetta the clerk will designate the amendment and staff distribute copies of the amendment amendment number 23 being considered 24th to adjust function 150 offered by Mr Panetta Mr Panetta you are recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman my my Amendment increases the this resolution's budget authority to ensure
▶ 8:52:57the continuation of the ink kind assistance at USA I offer this amendment because in this administration's inmt to shut down USA it froze a very important program that many of our Farmers rely on the food for peace program something a move that turned out to be disastrous not just abroad but here at home the freeze caused a wide ranging damage not just on the needy but also on a American Producers when I say this I mean as we speak
▶ 8:53:28$489 Million worth of food assistance is currently sitting at the ports in transit and in warehouses that's food that could feed 36 million people around the world instead it's just sitting and it's rotting moreover we also harmed ourselves with this mood in its relief efforts usaid spends $2 billion annually buying American grown food that's a market that producers rely on in my home state of California 37 large scale operations fulfill direct
▶ 8:53:58orders for humanitarian food assistance yet Farmers across the country are now debating whether or not to buy seed for the next growing season because of the chaos rought by this decision to gut usaid many of our Farmers have no idea if the food for peace program will continue to exist so they don't know whether to find other markets for their soy or their rice or their wheat their sorghum or their other Commodities now Secretary of State rub Rubio provided an exemption for emergency assistance which
▶ 8:54:28has allowed organizations to get waivers for resuming the delivery of aid but those waivers are not enough by themselves to resume Aid deliveries because of the other bureaucratic and payment problems created by this Administration th those of us and I think there's many here on the budget committee that have agriculture in our district districts understand and appreciate all of the challenges that face our Farmers the their attitude I believe is the American attitude it's all about getting over hurdles that are constantly
▶ 8:54:59placed in front of us and not slowing down but you got an Administration right now that is unnecessarily putting up more hurdles and adding to our Farmers uncertainty be it from tariffs to immigration to freezing the food for peace program protecting the food for peace program is one step we can take though to provide certainty to our farmers and to protect American Agriculture and I urge my colleagues to support support this amendment I yield back I thank the gentleman and uh posed the
▶ 8:55:29question for voicing opposition any members voicing on Mr Ren from Oklahoma uh gentleman's recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman it's interesting to see so many amendments that U by the way the uh budget Control Act parameters for reconciliation were set up allows these ideas not to even be addressed could because they're fully discretionary not relative to mandatory programs and that yet again
▶ 8:55:59is the case on this amendment I really like my friend from the other side of the aisle I just uh let's make sure we're clear uh usaid is under foreign Affair committee jurisdiction has nothing to do with mandatory is it has everything to do with the discretionary and yet there's there's already regardless of what you're hearing in the media secretary Rubio Exempted from the 90-day pause on foreign a emergency food assistance life- saving medicine Medical Services food shelter assistance
▶ 8:56:29as well as supplies and other costs necessary and so this is really a mute point it's brought up um because of the desire to try to exploit something that there's nothing to exploit because secretary Rubio has already addressed this and but let's now shift to what we're really talking about regarding usaid and it cannot be said enough why this is being tackled by this Administration $15.5 million for organizations
▶ 8:57:00like the international lesbian gay bisexual trans intersex Association and they're promoting this in Zimbabwe El Salvador and Lebanon at taxpayer expans under usaid what else is usid 15 million for Condoms To the Taliban 11.5 for gender programming 3.3 million for LGBT in the Caribbean through US Aid 500,000 on spreading Atheism in Nepal
▶ 8:57:30425,000 to help an Indonesian Coffee Company multiple companies become more climate and gender friendly again all through usid 300 million for environmental resilience in Guatemala 270 million to organizations affiliated with George Soros hundreds of millions that end up funding gain of function research in the Wuhan lab opian production opium production in Afghanistan political revolution in Ukraine 20 million
▶ 8:58:00for Iraqi Sesame Street and so look if you talk to the average person American taxpayer they know this is nonsense they already have an issue many with what we're spending overseas And yet when you break what usaid is doing down even further um and the political bias that's involved in it the people are they're they're throwing their hands up hollering calf rope and if you don't know what that is go watch the NFR they're saying enough it's over and and president Trump is implementing that
▶ 8:58:31and and let me just say this this isn't only under Republican ideology did you know in 1999 Joe Biden is Senator ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advocated for a merger of us Aid and the state department uh quite interesting did you know that uh meline Albright advocated for the merger of usaid in the state department during her tenure as Secretary of State under the Clinton and um there's something called the bipartisan har Rudman commission recommending that USC Aid be fully
▶ 8:59:01implemented unto the state department and noted that development Aid is not an end to itself nor can it be successful if pursued independently of other us programs and diplomatic activities again this is only being brought up because they're trying to make Heyday with something that by the instructions of the way reconciliation was set up cannot address this issue yet it's before us so let's make sure we get the fact straight with that Mr chairman given my little bit of time left uh representative stman has asked that I yield some time to him
▶ 8:59:32if uh absolutely allowed Mr stman from Indiana thank you Mr chairman thank you uh to the gentleman from Oklahoma and I appreciate him pointing out the the list um you know one of the things that we're hearing a lot about today is this complaining about um Mr musk and the the work that he's doing down at the um Treasury and within government spending but you know John KY was never confirmed by the Senate John Kerrey was appointed climate Zar for uh
▶ 9:00:02president uh Biden and he had a huge budget in fact I was trying to find how much money John Kerrey was making as a climate Zar he was taking a salary he was not disclosing his uh his uh staff down at his office that was getting paid for out of the federal treasury um Elon Musk is doing a service to our country and so you know I think there's also a difference too between waste Fraud and Abuse I think we see some of these lists that
▶ 9:00:32we're listing off today that is waste and if the Democrats feel like it's not you should be proud of it and tell the American people hey we're spending money outside of this country on these programs and let the American people know about it and then they can decide so thank you uh to the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding and I'll yield back thank the gentleman from Oklahoma and now yield back to Mr Panetta for closing thanks Mr chairman I appreciate that
▶ 9:01:03um I definitely didn't mention many of the things that my colleagues from Indiana and Oklahoma talked about is I I was talking about food talking about Farmers talking about the future of our Agriculture and I think by uh agreeing to this amendment I think that's what you would be doing as well um obviously uh I understand what the secretary of state did understandably in regards to uh the exemption however I think if you hear from these
▶ 9:01:33uh from our Farmers they're still going through uh challenges with this program unfortunately because of the decisions that were made previously and so I look at this more as a way to ensure that the American tradition of agriculture something that we rely on for food something that the world relies on for food uh continues especially during these very very tough times not just talking about what this
▶ 9:02:03Administration I'm talking about what we're hearing in our districts and so I would hope that those of you who don't just have agriculture in your District but who get food on your table continue to support the American Farmer thank you I yeld back I thank the gentleman and uh question now is on agreeing to Mr Panetta's Amendment all those in favor say I I those oppose no no in opinion the chair the knows hav't and Mr Panetta
▶ 9:02:34if it's all right with you we'll just roll that up at the end for vote no you're good uh are there any other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk Mr McGarvey from Kentucky uh clerk will designate the amendment and staff will distribute C copies uh Mr McGarvey go ahead uh you're recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman this amendment would protect the social services
▶ 9:03:04block grant from devastating Republican cuts the Republicans want to give the top Point 1% a tax cut and they want to do it by throwing the poorest and most vulnerable seniors and children under the bus all for corporate CEOs to rake in money hand over fist this amendment would stop them a budget isn't just a policy document it's a moral document and the social services block grant or ssbg isn't just a line item in the budget it's a Lifeline
▶ 9:03:35it provides funding for states to support programs like Adult Protective Services case management shelter services and protector services for foster care for children ssbg funds organizations like Meals on Wheels which provides meals for seniors in Need for many local Meals on Wheels providers the ssbg is their PR primary source of funding in 2023 alone Meals on Wheels served over a million vulnerable seniors seniors who are homebound disabled or have no one to care for them in Kentucky
▶ 9:04:06they deliver over 2 million meals every single year and yet even this Lifeline is struggling to meet the demand as president Trump does everything he can to blow up inflation and raise food prices and potentially freezing funding that protects our seniors we're asking House Republicans to join us to stop this listen to what's happening in Kentucky I quote in Kentucky
▶ 9:04:37local store owners are already hearing about their suppliers prices going up one estimate suggests that the president's tariffs could cost the average kuckian up to $1,200 per year and it's not just about Rising prices here at home during the last Trump Administration retaliatory tariffs from trade Partners set off a broader trade war that hid wide swaths of American industry from agriculture to manufacturing to Aerospace and Motor Vehicles to distilled spirits and before you go accuse me of reading from some liberal publication
▶ 9:05:07that is from Senator Mitch McConnell's oped to our local paper this week so prices are going up for our seniors because of the Trump administration's policies and here we are stripping them of a valid Lifeline to help them out but hungry seniors aren't the only ones in the cross crosshairs Republicans also want to make sure that children millions of kids in foster care in protective services and in desperate need of adoption lose the support they rely on this cut could leave them
▶ 9:05:37with nothing three million children left without help for what another handout to the rich this fails on policy and on moral grounds Congressional Republicans repeatedly proposed replacing existing programs like Medicaid with block grants arguing will make programs more flexible but now Republicans want to eliminate funding for the Social Services block grant as part of their tax scam I ask my
▶ 9:06:07colleagues to support my Amendment and protect the most vulnerable Among Us from these Extreme Cuts I yield back I thank the gentleman from Kentucky and uh ask if there are any members who'd like to voice uh opposition Mr Estus from Kansas um is recognized for six minutes well thank you Mr chairman I I want to start by addressing what this budget does before I talk about the gentleman's Amendment the budget we're marking up today provides
▶ 9:06:38more than six trillion dollar to income Security Programs over the next decade in line with the cbo's current projections let me say that again $6 trillion do for income Security Programs you know and the budget makes absolutely no change at all to the cbo's Baseline projections for for this spending you know I I'm a strong believer in meals on wheals uh in fact I've volunteered to uh to actually deliver those meals and and I've seen
▶ 9:07:08the positive impact that a program like that has on people's lives my colleagues on the left would have try and have you believe that slashing safety net programs and kicking people off Medicare and Social Security is what the goal is but that's simply not true instead we've created a budget that has a massive commitment to support retirement welfare foster care unemployment compensation military retirement SNAP food stamps and more these programs are important safety nets for Americans so
▶ 9:07:38we want to make sure that they're not only funded but they're also sustainable we want Americans to have access to programs when they need them and then move to a a better more prosperous life reforms to these programs can encourage work over Ware and fix incentives that currently pressur states to prioritize bigger case loads over helping people become independent the American dream isn't about dependency on the federal government but to be independent and have freedom and opportunities for
▶ 9:08:08Mobility Republicans are committed to the policies to help our fellow citizens when they're down and encourage them to run return to work in increasing their economic Mobility we know that the best way to lift people up is through a good and stable job trapping people on welfare is not compassionate and it's simply unamerican we don't want to keep people down we want to provide a pathway for Americans to lift themselves out of poverty and not just survive but to thrive so that they can care for themselves and their families
▶ 9:08:39that's why we support the cbo's Baseline projections for spending on these programs however the Congressional Democrats are set on expanding entitlement programs rather than lifting people out of poverty in fact this amendment proposes more than $6 billion an additional entitlement spending promoting dependency on government rather than empowering people through opportunity ultimately these policy decisions we made in their Committees of jurisdiction this budget gives instructions to house committees to find Savings in their budget to root out
▶ 9:09:09waste fraud and improper payments and we have full colleague full confidence in our colleagues on the authorizing committees to pursue policies that protect crucial programs and restore fiscal responsibility if any members on this committee are concerned about specific policies that an authorizing committee may concern May pursue then I would recommend they can discuss those concerns with the authorizers I urge my colleagues to vote no I yield back I thank the gentleman from Kansas and
▶ 9:09:39um ask Mr M McGarvey to close with one minute thank you Mr chairman I appreciate the comments of my colleague from Kansas I appreciate your service I appreciate you working with Meals on Wheels it's a program that that is dear to my heart as well and I'm happy to work with you at any time to make sure that programs like this that are so vital to our seniors actually have all the resources that they need to protect the people in our communities but the reality of this budget is simple we can disagree
▶ 9:10:10over priorities let's not disagree over math there's one trillion in spending cuts there's 4 and A5 trillion in tax giveaways 83% of which go to the top .1% so not only are we cutting the programs that benefit the middle class the Working Poor our seniors our most vulnerable we are giving it away to the wealthiest and driving up our debt at the same time that is something we cannot
▶ 9:10:40do in this budget it's a betrayal of the middle class I yield back I thank the gentlemen uh from Kentucky and the questions now agreeing to his Amendment all those in favor say I I all those no no in opinion of the chair the NOS haven't chairman we we'll roll it up request a report of vote we will uh have a roll call vote after the markup um Mr chairman I'll take this opportunity since we have a lengthy list here uh
▶ 9:11:10ask unanimous consent to ask unanimous consent to submit to the record letters to the both of us from the mental health liaison group the first Focus campaign for children feeding America and the federal postal Coalition without objection so ordered are there any other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the Escobar from the great state of Texas thank you Mr chairman um let's let the clerk read it out I did this to you last time I'm sorry um
▶ 9:11:40read it out circulate the draft and uh and then just go ahead and get started uh after they pass it out amendment number 26 to adjust function 7 50 offered by Miss Escobar Miss Escobar has five minutes thank you Mr chairman my Amendment would readjust the Judgment fund to account for the amount of money that will be needed to pay all of the claims that will result from lawsuits to illegally fired
▶ 9:12:10federal employees and I I'd like to I'd like unanimous consent to admit into the record breaking news uh Washington Post the Trump Administration directs agency heads to fire most probationary staff without objection so ordered thank you uh Mr chairman uh and just for everyone's uh information probationary staff in the federal government that uh that is about
▶ 9:12:41200,000 federal employees so I'm sure there will be some carve outs I'm sure there will be some exceptions but we can anticipate the unemployment rate uh in our country to be impacted by these massive layoffs by Elon Musk and by um president Trump and we know that Elon Musk has already targeted the federal Workforce a many employees received the email that was sent out
▶ 9:13:11called the fork in the road the the buyout effort um which by the way could fall through at any time and I want to speak in defense of our federal Workforce we have a lot of um great public servants sitting in this room who help us prepare for these hearings prepare for these markups there there are public servants Across the Nation who go to work every single day
▶ 9:13:42to fulfill their duties and their obligations to the American people and all of them are at risk I mentioned in my introduction that I had tet town hall meeting earlier this week it was um a tet town hall meeting that I think we had close to 8,000 people on the call if not more and we heard story after story after Story of constituents of mine who
▶ 9:14:12are deeply concerned and afraid of what all of this means to them in fact one constituent uh I my heart went out to her my my heart went out to all of them but she's a federal employee who got the fork in the road memo her family depends on her income at the same time she has a child who has special needs who gets those special needs met through the public school
▶ 9:14:42that her child attends in El Paso and so she's facing a double whammy the threat of the elimination of the department of education but also the threat of losing her job you can only imagine the kind of stress this mom this Federal public servant is facing with all of these Cuts being announced with all of of these decisions being made by an unelected billionaire and all of these
▶ 9:15:12decisions are being made and all of this pain is being felt and will be felt in districts across the country why not because we've decided that um you know we've got to rewrite the tax code in order to make the the wealthiest pay their fair share no quite the opposite it's so that the wealthiest can get even more money from massive tax breaks that's why they're living through this
▶ 9:15:42and we believe many of us believe and by the way I have 20,000 federal employees in my district um all of whom are pretty afraid TSA agents um VA nurses uh folks across the federal Workforce and I know for a fact that there are conversations about lawsuits being launched because of all these firings and because of the nature of what's going on so um I think we need
▶ 9:16:12to be prepared uh to uh to deal with those lawsuits and at least make sure that this budget includes the money needed to help pay for the wins that these public servants are likely to achieve in their lawsuits so I'm hoping to get the support of my colleagues across the aisle um to deal with the consequences of what's happening to our federal Workforce with the gentle woman yield since she has 20 21 seconds left so you and I had exactly the same experience
▶ 9:16:43this week I held an emergency Town Hall one that wasn't regularly scheduled because we were getting so many calls from our district I've been here this is my 11th year I have never had more people on a Town Hall than this past week that is the depth of concern from Al Paso Texas to Philadelphia Pennsylvania throughout the country people are paying attention to what's going on and deeply
▶ 9:17:13scared uh thank the gentle lady and the gentle man and U uh Mr Bren I believe has uh wants to voice his opposition and I yield six minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma thank you Mr chairman look I think there's a choice before us as a nation um either we in our citizenry deserve an efficient government or a government that creates jobs for the sake of creating
▶ 9:17:45jobs and so what does an efficient government produce well it does doesn't produce a $ 36 trillion in counting gross national debt and Republicans have been given a mandate to aggressively streamline and modernize this government and to make necessary cuts when they're reasonable and necessary American people need the sufficient government restored the purpose of the Judgment fund is to provide for payments when the federal government is
▶ 9:18:15held liable by courts or when a compromise settlement is made outside the courtroom now just for a moment pause and think about expenditures and this level I'm about to site to you in 2020 the Judgment fund dispersed around 14.2 billion do of tax of taxpayer funds in one year 14.2 billion many of these payouts are going to federal employees who've launched or threatened to take action against the Trump Administration this is the real reason partisan
▶ 9:18:45Democrats want to fund this account they want to protect those that are friends those that are planted inside Administration a republican budget does not want to protect leftist bureaucrats like at the FBA who tipped off illegal aliens in Chicago about an impending ice raid and nor do we want to protect leftist bureaucrats who post on social media they've been dedicated themselves to quote holding the line by ignoring and rejecting the marketly inlegal and harassing emails from the
▶ 9:19:16Trump Administration end of quote what they were referencing and it's not going to protect if the Republicans have their way uh leftist bureaucrats who call the president quote a fascist and tell their fellow bureaucrats that they're quote at war with this Administration further we're not going to continue um to do this we're going to shrink the government and and ask the question do we really need more money because of the the work at Doge and this and this fund then will not need the extra dollars that uh those on the other side are seeking
▶ 9:19:46and just this morning Reuters reported quote about 75,000 US federal workers had accepted the Trump Administration buyout program in a quote and and the bureaucrats the leftist bureaucrats in Washington are are they're they're heading for the doors and and some are are leaving just because it's the for the timeliness element and this stands in stark contrast and efficient government to the bid Administration where in 2023 alone the federal bureaucracy increased by 7% the largest annual increase we've had in decades
▶ 9:20:16excess federal employment and liberal ideology go hand inand we again need an efficient government not one not a government creating jobs for the sake of creating government jobs 75,000 people that have decided to make this transition it's a good start voluntarily but more are probably going to accept this decision and savings will be had for the taxpayer including within the Judgment fund and this uh
▶ 9:20:47colleague the Democrat amendment is is not fit U for a government where we're changing the IDE ology Republicans are deciding that inefficiencies created by too many people and too much red tape is is stifling efficiency and it's drowning out the free enterprise and it's it's cheapening hard work for those who are not employed by the government and I urge you no vote without a yield I think the gentlemen and um yield to miss Escobar one
▶ 9:21:17minute for closing remarks thank you Mr chairman um I actually I'm going to speak Direct ly to the gentleman from Oklahoma's constituents um the gentleman from Oklahoma second district he just called federal employees leftist bureaucrats there are 16,9 64 of you in Oklahoma's Second District Six almost 177,000 people in that that District employed
▶ 9:21:47by the federal government who are just being called leftist bureaucrats who are apparently spendable in addition to that the idea that these cuts are reasonable for the Oklahoma second district 64,000 people who receive coverage under the ACA will see their premiums go up by $650 per year is that reasonable 180,000 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage this includes 999,000 children and 13,000 seniors
▶ 9:22:17is that reasonable and 59,000 people who rely on Snap will go hungry I don't call that reasonable I yield back I think the gentle lady since she referenced her colleague from Oklahoma in his comments would you like to say something I'll give you 30 seconds thank you Mr chairman um my my that being implied there was not the correct understanding there are some for timeliness and I said that are are leaving the position
▶ 9:22:47are there some that the left us of course and the the point that I was making is is is there's an ideology when there's excess that this Administration is changing that we need an efficient government not a government that creates jobs and maintains jobs for the purpose of job creation because they think the federal government is where um you know the economy is is empowered we actually believe in the free market and that the free market is the best allocation of
▶ 9:23:17scarce resources and you have to have a government but you have to have a government that is meeting the needs needs of the constituents and not just operating for the sake of operation I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma and I thank the gentle lady from Texas and the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss Escobar those in favor say I those opposed no no in the opinion of the chair that knows have it andair I'll roll it all up how about I just make a commitment to you right now that we're going to roll
▶ 9:23:47every Amendment up and we're going to take a roll call at the end of the mark that I can I do that I believe I have to I think it has to be okay of course it our p's and q's I think I technically while I trust you to do that uh procedurally I think in order to be uh can we all agree that this is one just one more example of the inefficiency in the federal government um because I think we're all kind of also DOI no provi trust but verify if that's okay well let's open that back up for
▶ 9:24:17any amendments I think we're at 27 is Miss capter prepared to uh introduce her amendment I am prepared to introduce the amendment Mr chairman and you've had a really good demeanor today well thank we appreciate it well I I you know the Eagles won so you know what the heck um let's get uh Mr Bailey to go ahead and give us a readout circulate the draft and uh and then whenever you're ready miss kepor
▶ 9:24:48you are recognized for five minutes thank you uh this amendment is a taxpayer Rights bill and will prevent unlawful access to Federal taxpayer databases or financial systems of record my Amendment rejects any overreach and access of non-authorized personnel to US Government fiscal databases housing private taxpayer
▶ 9:25:18information for any reason outside of those already codified in the Privacy Act of furthermore this amendment rejects any access to personally identifiable information pii of American taxpayers to include banking information Social Security payments or veterans benefits by anyone that does not have the proper clearance
▶ 9:25:48handling expertise and need to know frankly any person holding three citizenships and a starlink capability surveying over Russia and Ukraine should be suspect one must question is what doge is doing a theft under what Authority is Doge taking private information of the American people exactly who are the Doge staff we don't know not a
▶ 9:26:19single person on this committee knows is Doge activity a violation of Americans privacy is what doge is doing a theft of Insider information by collecting data on a business or a strategic competitor we don't know currently Doge has accessed confidential personal information of the American people including
▶ 9:26:49birth dates Social Security and medical Rec records veterans data medical information and financial information of Americans through treasury's fiscal data bases there is no clear indication of what is being done with the information billionaires and their private corporations should not have access to sensitive information on Americans one must ask is the data being collected likely to be used
▶ 9:27:19to outbid a business competitor we don't know this amendment would ensure taxpayer rights and those private citizens with money and political power should not be weaponized to disrupt our nation's critical Workforce or damage its system for upholding privacy and our congressional power of the purse to funds
▶ 9:27:50I ask my colleagues to vote Yes protect your rights because you don't know there isn't a single person in this room and I doubt anybody in the Congress of the United States that knows what they're doing with your records I'd be very careful I'd consider what I'm saying this is a good Amendment we can meet in the middle and we can vote for it I'd ask for your support thank you I thank the gentle lady and um ask if there are any members who'd like to claim time and opposition to her Amendment yes Mr chairman there is Mr Gil from Texas is
▶ 9:28:20recognized for six minutes thank you Mr chairman and first of all thank you for all of your hard work over the past uh months on this uh getting this reconciliation bill it's been uh incredible and and we do sincerely appreciate it I'm thrilled about this piece of legislation as it's getting started this reconciliation bill I believe will balance it will extend the Trump tax cuts for the working class so that we they don't experience the biggest uh tax increase in
▶ 9:28:50American history and it'll grow the economy but of course it will also help us to implement the Trump agenda which is to clean up the chaos and destruction that Joe Biden Unleashed on our country over the past four years it will help us fund the mass deportation of illegal aliens who have been murdering and raping and pillaging American citizens it will help us unleash our fossil fuel energy sector and it will allow
▶ 9:29:20us to rebuild our military and of course it will help us Implement uh Doge which this amendment targets among other things uh as Doge has been rolled out I think it's been a bit curious because I found that so many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have not been upset about the waste Fraud and Abuse that this process uncovered rather they've been angry that the fraud has been exposed at
▶ 9:29:50all we found that for decades the administrative state has been weaponized against the American people we can give example after example of flagrant abuses of American taxpayer dollars we've heard of some of them earlier but I'll name a few more $1 million spent to boost lgbtq groups in West and central Africa through the state department almost $50,000 on a transgender
▶ 9:30:21Opera in Colombia also through the state department over $7,000 for a bipo speaker series in Canada through the state department I think it's worth noting that normal San Americans don't know what bipo means and neither do I $80,000 for an lgbtq Community Center in Slovakia and over $16,000 for a United and equal queer feminist discourse in Albanian Society
▶ 9:30:52whatever that is and of course we also know that our taxpayer dollars have been going to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars every year to fund left-wing media Outlets like NPR and PBS paying for welfare for illegal aliens um and paying for uh giving out payments to International organizations that are censoring and pushing for the censorship of American citizens Our Own federal government is using taxpayer dollars
▶ 9:31:23to promote ideologies that tens of millions of Americans find utterly repulsive I think if uh the other side of the aisle has such a deep ideological opposition to this Doge process I challenge them to be straightforward with the American people and explain why taxpayer dollars should be funding queer feminist discourse in Albanian Society or drag shows in Ecuador I don't think
▶ 9:31:53that they will but I I hope I would love to see it if they did for the past several weeks we've heard so many attacks on Elon Musk and I think that this amendment in particular is uh meant to attack Elon Musk one of the things we hear often is that he's an unelected bureaucrat of course also my orcus G Gary guinsler Anthony fouchy so many other bureaucrats from the past administration
▶ 9:32:23were also unelected but I find it particularly interesting whenever they claim that nobody voted for Elon Musk because of course in a way Americans did vote for Elon Musk and they did vote for Doge Elon Musk has been campaigning with President Trump for months he's been uh showing the American people on his Twitter platform over 200 million followers that he was going to be a part of
▶ 9:32:53this Administration I have been talking to my constituents for months about Elon Musk joining president Trump Elon Musk at acting as an employee and an agent of the president I think has certainly more democratic legitimacy than Anthony fouchy did and he certainly has more democratic legitimacy than the nameless faceless bureaucrats who have been running our lives for several years the uh waste of which he is rooting out
▶ 9:33:24currently president Trump here with doge is doing exactly what he was elected to do doge is a part of the Trump mandate it's extremely popular uh in fact Elon Musk and the Doge movement right now are polling at a higher approval rating than Joe Biden had on his way out of the White House president Trump of course is polling at record numbers this amendment is designed to thwart the democratically expressed will of the American people and I
▶ 9:33:54urge my colleagues to vote no and I'd also like to uh Mr chairman ask for unanimous consent to submit the house for uh to submit excuse me the house Foreign Affairs committee's list of wasteful usaid and state department funded initiatives without objection so ordered uh thank the gentleman from Texas the questions on agreeing to the amendment Mr chairman yes apologize Miss captor you have one minute for closing
▶ 9:34:25remarks I think the gentleman is confused as to which amendment this is I'm talking about the taxpayers of the United States and who's invading their records and I'm sure the people of Texas would be interested in that the purpose of the amendment is to protect the United States citizens our taxpayers from inappropriate and unlawful access and use of their financial information and the systems in which those records reside ALS Al artificial intelligence is still new and is an emerging capability
▶ 9:34:56with little codified governance introducing that capability into federal financial systems especially by anyone with private business interests in its adoption would bring unprecedented risks to the integrity and safety of our fiscal systems and the people the American people they serve I ask the members to support my amendment to provide greater protection to sensitive taxpayer data including yours and uphold article one Congressional authority to ensure critical
▶ 9:35:26Partnerships are not damaged and that billionaires uh don't take advantage of the American people because this particular person and what he is doing could buy my entire congressional district in yours and he'd still have a lot left over in some we must protect the American people from any abuse of their information and make sure that billionair don't take over the financial systems that have taken over two and a half centuries to create
▶ 9:35:56and be used as Weapons turned against the American people themselves I think the G support of the amendment I think the Gent lady the questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss captor those in favor say I I those oppose no in opinion the chair the knows hav't we'll have a roll call vote we'll have a roll call vote at the end of the markup uh are there any other amendments at the desk yes sir I have Miss Watson Coleman uh clerk if you could read it out circulate the amendment
▶ 9:36:27amendment number 28 to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committees on financial services and Ways and Means offered by Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman you have five minutes well thank you very much um this is import as important to me as the one I did on Medicaid but before I start let me say that there's little that I've agreed to hearing from the other side but the one thing that I do agree to is that we did not this country did not elect Elon Musk
▶ 9:36:57this country did elect a felony and unknown liar who is responsible for Elon uh musk being where he is and the unhealthy love that has been demonstrated by my some of my colleagues uh on the Republican side and the president befuddles me it is absolutely ludicrous but my Amendment Mr chairman is is uh that I would like to strike the reconciliation instruction to the financial services committee with the jurisdiction to slash the
▶ 9:37:28consumer Federal Protection Bureau as well as the Ways and Means Committee instruction which would reduce the mortgage interest deduction my Amendment would protect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from being dismantled so it can continue advocating on behalf of consumers across the country with a budget of just $825 million the cfpb has brought back over 21 bill million dollars to Consumers who have been victims of Fraud and Abuse at the hands of big Banks and other large corporations
▶ 9:37:58I'll say that again that's $825 million to bring back $21 billion that's a pretty good return on investment for the American people additionally it gives Working Families a Fighting Chance when big Banks violate the law it supervises Banks lenders credit card reporting agencies and debt collection uh companies it also cracks down on junk fees and unfair overdraft fees the cfpb is responsible for making institutions
▶ 9:38:29like the Navy credit federal union Regions Bank and Atlantic union refund millions of to customers who have been hit by illegal supplies overdraft fees it just recently fin finalized a rule to limit overdraft fees to only $5 it protects students from pred predatory loan programs and scams and prevents disc discrimination in housing and the US economy it administers and enforces the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which protects individuals against
▶ 9:38:59discrimination in accessing and using credit it helps consumers fight back against discriminatory practices from mortgage companies that that can prevent them from owning a house and building their own wealth and furthermore the mortgage interest deduction helps Working Families middle class families become homeowners at a time when buying a house is almost unobtainable the mortgage interest deduction makes housing more affordable for families by offsetting the cost of mortgages this is especially necessary for families in high
▶ 9:39:29cost areas which is more important than ever with the mortgage rates at current levels few Federal initiatives have directly benefited American families and protected them from abuse and fraud as effectively as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has and unfortunately it is no surprise to me that my Republican colleagues want to do away with this vital government agency and let forsters scamers and scammers and snake oil salesmen run wild this is exactly the kind of
▶ 9:40:00deregulation and lack of accountability that Elon Musk wants and and works to get so that he can line his pockets with more money as if his greed isn't obvious enough so if you think it should be easier for people to get scammed and for the scammers to get away with it fine that's your opinion but I don't think that's right and I don't think the American people think that that sounds right so I therefore ask my colleagues who support this amendment and protect hardworking Americans from being stripped of VES protection
▶ 9:40:31and opportunities for housing with that I solicit your support and I yield a minute to uh the ranking member thank you uh I appreciate that my my friend and almost neighbor uh about a half hour up route one I'm just curious because a number of amendments on our side of the aisle have been filed including yours and members on the other side keep fighting the war on woke in fact I wish I had a dollar for every time
▶ 9:41:01one of them has mentioned the word woke here today over the last 12 hours is there anything at all in your amendment that has anything to do with some of the things that we've been hearing this afternoon only if you consider protecting those most vulnerable to the large Banks and other lending institutions and the folks that are scammed every day by credit card companies only if you consider them false and untrue I know them to be real I have some of them in my family
▶ 9:41:31this is about protecting those who need our protection and nothing more including the Republicans and The Independents and anything else that's here thank you with that a y back I think the gentlemen and gentle lady and ask if there are any members who wish to oppose Mr chairman Mr stutzman from Indiana you have five uh you have six minutes all right thank you Mr chairman I rise in strong opposition to this amendment
▶ 9:42:01and frankly I just I'm disappointed that you know it's even introduced to begin with because you know this amendment uh would eliminate the instructions for Ways and Means Committee along with the instructions for the financial services committee on which I serve um by removing the instructions this amendment would raise taxes on the millions of Americans who've seen their taxes reduced by the tax cuts and jobs act this is backwards from where we need to go for the past
▶ 9:42:31four years the American people's pocketbook has taken a massive hit due to biomics and inflation and bad governing by Washington DC Mr chairman the Carnage has to stop and the American people cannot continue to pay pay for failed Democrat policies the tcga provided much needed reform to a tax code that hadn't been revised in almost 40 years despite the baseless claims from the other side of the aisle the tcga was immensely successful
▶ 9:43:02and outperformed several expectations after it passed real median household income Rose by $5,000 a bigger increase in just two years than in the prior eight years combined additionally wages increased 4.9 % the fastest 2-year growth in real wages in 20 years the poverty rate and unemployment R rate reached at their lowest levels in 50 years with alltime
▶ 9:43:32lows in unemployment among African-American and Hispanic workers and those without a high school degree despite this progress we are talking today about an amendment that would prohibit the tcga from being extended this is out of line and not what the American people have sent us here to do at all if this amendment is successful and the tcga is not extended Across the Nation the average taxpayer would see a 22% tax hike if the tra Trump tax
▶ 9:44:02cuts expire beyond that here's a couple of examples a family of four making the median income in the United States would see a tax increase of almost $1,700 if the Trump tax cuts expire 40 million Americans would see their households child tax credit cut in half this doesn't sound like the 1% that or the billionaires we've been hearing about all day 91% of all taxpayers would see their guaranteed standard deduction
▶ 9:44:33slashed in half 26 million small businesses would be hit with a 43.4% top tax rate if the section 199a small business deduction expires 7 million taxpayers would be impacted by The Return of the Alternative Minimum Tax the death tax exemption on 2 million family-owned Farms would be slashed in half next year Mr chairman it is beyond the pale that an amendment with such a harmful
▶ 9:45:03impact can be considered in this committee but this amendment also has a second part the amendment would also strike the $1 billion reconciliation instructions for the financial services committee which would provide the committee with the necessary flexibility to craft policies within their jurisdiction that would embolden the American economy and truly allow us to enter a Golden Arrow Mr chairman I can tell you as a business owner I have seen the that Washington the cfpb and these agencies have thrown nothing but a wet blanket
▶ 9:45:33over this economy the discretion that the financial services committee has to reign in wasteful spending while crafting a framework that would truly allow the American banking industry to be Unleashed I have seen it personally and experienced it personally that the American banking system is not working for everyday Americans across our country and especially in rural areas where the rural communities are struggling to make ends meet after inflation has driven up the cost for families
▶ 9:46:03across our country we stand at a critical juncture for our country and the situation is very clear we can follow the failed POS policies of old that have brought us to this point with more government we have more engagement with uh from Washington DC in our everyday lives now more than ever or we can look forward and follow a path that President Trump has laid out with less government efficient government a government that's going to work for the people and not
▶ 9:46:33work for themselves this budget does chart A New Path forward whereby free enterprise can flourish which has made America the greatest nation on Earth there's more wealth in this country because Americans have the opportunity to build create and innovate for themselves but also what that does is it creates jobs for families that help them accomplish their dreams and they can do big things for themselves and for their Futures
▶ 9:47:04this budget also allows uh for energy production to be Unleashed and Americans can reap the rewards of that work Mr chairman providing relief to workingclass families while also ridding the nation of wasteful spending and being better stewards of taxpayer dollars is imperative to leave a stronger fiscal situation for generations to come this budget resolution and corresponding instructions are the first steps to do that and I look forward to supporting this uh
▶ 9:47:34resolution that's in front of us and appreciate the hard work uh Mr chairman that you've done and this committee has done and know that uh with the partnership with the white house that is revealing so much wasteful spending that this will make um our country put our country back on a strong f track thank you and I'll yield back I thank the gentleman from Indiana and now recognize once again Miss Watson Coleman for closing uh remarks for one minute I can only say that uh this is a very important
▶ 9:48:05uh protection for everyday Working Families and poor families that this protection that is extended through these particular programs has nothing to do with your rich people getting richer and the absurdity to think that your people getting richer in some way enriches the people at the lower end of the economic spectrum is as ludicrous as you're supporting this whole resolution so let me just explain to you what happens in your district with this resolution as it relates to Medicare and Medicaid
▶ 9:48:3531,000 people who receive coverage under the ACA would see their premium go up 750 per year 125,000 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage which includes 61,000 children and 7,000 seniors and 24,000 people who rely on Snap are at risk of losing those benefits also that the 1% can get the majority of the wealth in this country it is absurd and I I asked for a a roll call vote and
▶ 9:49:05I yield back we will uh do the roll call vote as agreed to at the end of the hearing and uh I am the questions on agreeing to the amendment by offered by Miss Watson Coleman all those in favor say I I all those oppose no no in the opinion of the chair the NOS hav it um and we will again roll it up there at the end for a final vote and uh Mr chairman at this moment um
▶ 9:49:35have two letters I want to submit uh seek unanimous consent to seek into the record one is a letter um just released by the AFL CIO uh addressed to the both of us as well as all the members of the House budget committee writing to express their strong opposition to the FY 2025 budget resolution um I think the gentlemen and I have no objection uh so ordered and then the second uh did they just keep coming
▶ 9:50:05it's a lot uh there is a lot of interest in your document Mr chairman um the second letter is from the nonpartisan Peter G Peterson Foundation uh a an organization you know which is very concerned about the size of our deficits and the size of our debt it is a uh piece that is entitled three reasons why assuming sustained 3% growth is a budget gimmick and so I seek unanimous consent to enter this into the record
▶ 9:50:36I have tremendous Respect by the way that with no objection so ordered uh with u Michael Peterson the Peterson Foundation just to be clear U and I the comment was on 3% the Assumption of growth given the policies taken together is 2.6 in our resolution uh so so word um okay any other amendments Mr chair
▶ 9:51:06have an amendment at the desk Miss ballon uh clerk will designate the amendment staff will dist distribute the copies and go ahead Mr clerk amendment number 29 to add a point of order regarding Social Security offered by ballon you miss ballon is recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chair this amendment is simple it simply asked can we all agree to take cuts to Social Security completely off the
▶ 9:51:36table president Trump promised Americans while he was campaigning that he would not touch Social Security and I'm asking today will Republicans keep the promise that Trump made to Americans and not touch Social Security will Republicans assure the 68 million Americans who get Social Security checks that they will not touch those checks in order to give tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk
▶ 9:52:07will Republicans promise right here right now not to privatize Social Security my Amendment would prevent the house from considering legislation that would cut your social Security benefits increase your retirement age or privatize Social Security now I'm sure many of us in this room have parents and loved ones who are surviving because of Social Security I know it's an important part of my parents monthly budget
▶ 9:52:38and it's absolutely essential for vermonter it's literally a Lifeline for so many of my constituents and my offer my office here's all the time about vermonter who are in dire situations because of issues with getting their social security benefits some of these folks without Social Security would not have any money coming in and obviously any cuts to Social Security would impact their ability to pay their bills stay in their homes
▶ 9:53:08and afford food and one of the things that we often don't talk about when it comes to Social Security is that the people most supported and impacted by Social Security are women are the women of this country older women are more likely to live in poverty than older men women in general are more likely to live in poverty women are more likely to live in persistent poverty than men and 55% of adult
▶ 9:53:38social security beneficiaries are women so what is the Republican Vision as it's been uh talked about for years in this building it's it's a troubling one it's forcing people to work overtime and retire later so working longer retiring later slashing benefits by over $700 billion less money going into the fund that pays out your Social Security
▶ 9:54:08threatening its Financial Health and security and I bet you every Republican on this committee every single one here has heard from constituents to your home offices who are desperate to hang on to their Social Security checks and I'm asking you do not vote against those people you can reassure them right now by supporting my Amendment voting for this amendment means that you understand
▶ 9:54:39the importance of this issue for seniors and specifically for the older women in your districts who are much more likely to live in poverty I urge my Republican colleagues to join me in protecting social security and at this time I will yield the balance of my time to the gentleman Mr dogget from Texas well thank you very much your amendment is so clear-cut and singly focused that I would think there would be no opposition
▶ 9:55:09to it and so I don't need to talk very long about it but I had an experience last week that really justifies your amendment I had a a friend a senior who is fortunate to own her home and she called to say I'm really concerned I'm going to lose my house because I can't pay the the monthly payment if I lose my Social Security and she believed that that Donald Trump would stay as true to his Social Security promise as he has to his promise to lower grocery
▶ 9:55:39prices uh and uh the concern that I have is not just the fact that Donald Trump says one thing and does the opposite the next day uh but the report that the ranking member just introduced from the Peter G Peterson foundation and the report I referred to earlier from the committee for a responsible federal budget the budget Hawks the debt Hawks that are out there they're noting what a sham this budget is and how if you drive up the national debt
▶ 9:56:10after they preached against it at every budget meeting we've ever had you drive it up by5 a half to6 trillion dollar above where it is today the next thing you're going to know is that social security check arrives and it has insufficient funds stamp right on it and I appreciate you're bringing this up and and this will be a a test to see whether our Republican colleagues believe in Trump and his promise and are willing to stand by it the gentle ladies time
▶ 9:56:40has expired and uh now will'll open it up for any members who wish to claim time in opposition to the amendment Mr chairman Mr Estus chairman of the Social Security subcommittee and the committee on ways and means I yield six minutes well thank you Mr chairman and and thank you to my colleague from from Vermont for her Amendment you know I'm pleased to say while the amendment's unnecessary we at least agree on the substance since this budget does not make a single
▶ 9:57:10change to Social Security as uh the chairman noted I am the chair of the Social Security subcommittee uh that's a new role I took on this uh this session and obviously we have a lot of work to do in Social Security we all know it Republicans and Democrats Know It uh we need to make sure that we focus on how do we protect and strengthen social security for current and future retirees and and their their beneficiaries and their families you know if you look at uh where we are right now current and future
▶ 9:57:41generations of Americans are facing a catastrophic care crisis in less than a decade based on the looming insolvency of the Social Security program it's the largest program in the federal budget it's the largest line item on what's being spent every year the trend of insolvency is driven by the projected increase in life expectancy by a declining ratio of workers to beneficiaries a decreased total fertility rate and inflationary pressures time is running out to save this Bedrock of support for American seniors
▶ 9:58:11and the cost of inaction is in unaffordable and unfathomable Social Security spending continues to grow unsustainably as a percentage of the nation's economic output and the longer we wait the harder it will be to solve the program's finances the burden of Social Security declining finances continues to fall on hardworking taxpaying Americans over the next 75 years the Social Security trustees project that two 22.6 trillion in old age Survivor disability
▶ 9:58:41unfunded liabilities resulting in unfunded promised benefits projections are right now that retirees that are obtaining the old age benefits will have 21% cut in their benefits that's one of the reasons why I'm so positive in in terms of the comments that we're seeing out of the the department of government efficiency in terms of looking at fraud and improper payments that may be made out of Social Security trust fund whether they're payments going to somebody that's purportedly
▶ 9:59:11150 years old whether they're payments going to individuals that don't have social security numbers whether they're payments going to multiple individuals with the same social security number somehow entered into the system there are bipartisan meaningful reforms that work towards impoving improving program Equity improve the protecting the long-term solvency and ensuring economic Prosperity Republicans are committed to working in a bipartisan manner to protect this crucial safety net program and ensure
▶ 9:59:42a sustainable path forward there's nothing in this budget that alters the Social Security benefits no matter how much some of my colleagues may be wish to fearmonger and to B reality to fit that this this committee is in agreement that with the president Trump when he says that Social Security will not be touched it will only be strengthened even if we wanted to make Social Security it wouldn't be possible to do so here since Social Security cannot be amended through reconciliation process further rendering this amendment unnecessary the
▶ 10:00:12bird rule prevents the consideration of any reconciliation measure in the Senate that changes the Social Security program and I reiterate that this budget makes no changes to Social Security benefits or revenues as our budget re as our budget resolution makes no changes to Social Security this amendment is unnecessary and I urge my colleagues to vote no i y back Mr chairman I thank the gentleman and uh yield back to miss ballant for her closing comments for one minute thank you Mr chair um I appreciate uh the
▶ 10:00:42remarks of Representative essis I I know that you are working hard on that subcommittee and I just think this is a perfect opportunity to just put it to bed right now why not just say that going to hold true to the promise that then candidate Trump and now president Trump made the American people that Social Security will not be touched why not just
▶ 10:01:12right now we have an up or down vote on it we can take it off the table pretty straightforward I think it would help a lot of seniors across this country to know that they can have that Safety and Security in their future so I urge my colleagues to protect social security for their residents for their own elderly parents for all Americans and I urge you to support my amendment I yeld back
▶ 10:01:43I think the general lady and uh questions on agreeing to her Amendment those in favor say I I those oppos no opinion the in the opinion of the chair the NOS hav't chairman seek a recorded vote uh we will postpone the roll call vote but we will consider that as we roll it up the end the hearing Mr chairman before we we move on since I have a Litany of them here let me knock out um several letters and we appreciate I know
▶ 10:02:13all of the organizations that reach out uh to us to express their point of view so I seek unanimous consent to enter into the record letters to House and Senate leadership from the Catholic Health Association of the United States and the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States uh a second letter which is a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from 107 National organizations supporting the task force of the Consortium for constituents with
▶ 10:02:43disabilities and finally a letter to members of the Senate finance and house ways IM committee from 133 local leaders expressing their strongly held view on this budget resolution without that objection so ordered any other amendments Miss plaset yes Amendment at the desk okay Miss plaset has amendment number 30 I believe Mr cler you'll read
▶ 10:03:14that out we it amendment number 30 to add a point of order regard regarding Medicare offered by miss plaset miss miss plaset you were recognized for five minutes thank you so much sir I want to offer an amendment which creates a new point of order for the House of Representatives against legislation that cut guaranteed Medicare benefits as we know president Donald Trump has promised on the campaign trail that he would not cut
▶ 10:03:44Medicare and so we should help him keep his promise and do our best to prevent him and and others from potentially betraying seniors and persons with disabilities with that we understand that the Bedrock importance of Medicare we must commit to protecting the program Medicare is a commitment that is made to honor the dignity and Independence of our senior citizens and persons with disabilities despite the importance of this program in guaranteeing Health security for seniors and persons with
▶ 10:04:14disabilities without new Revenue the hospital Insurance trust fund is expected to become insolvent in 2036 the Medicare trustees pro project that Medicare expenditures will increase in future years at a faster Pace than either aggregate workers earnings or the economy overall as a percentage of GDP spending will increase from 3.8% in 2023 6.2% by 2098
▶ 10:04:45we must protect Medicare and commit to extending the solvency of the hospital Insurance trust fund for example by requiring wealthy taxpayers to contribute more to Medicare and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy we must reject legislation that may cut guaranteed Medicare benefits and ensure that earned benefits continues to be available for future Generations now I have heard that there will not be cuts to Social Security that that is not allowed in reconciliation
▶ 10:05:16there's discussion that we will not cut be cutting medic Medicare um and I'm grateful for that but I think that what would be best to allow the public and uh to have the instruction to the uh the relevant authorities within those committees is for us to create a point of order which says in fact that we will not touch Medicare I have seen circulated throughout discussions about eliminating Medicare coverage of bad debt limiting Federal
▶ 10:05:46healthc care programs eligibility based on citizens status Medicare site neutrality discussions of um repealing DACA Obamacare subsidies and a final rule Geographic integrity and Medicare wage index uh improving seniors access to Innovation and tella Health by removing money from the normal pot of Medicare to creating additional funnel um channels in which that money would be spent I think the best way
▶ 10:06:16to ensure that uh both energy and Commerce as well as Ways and Means are ensuring that Medicare will be kept intact as it is and that we in fact look to ways to grow the Medicare um and keep it from the insolvency is this point of order and so I would ask adoption of this point of order and would ask my colleagues to say um yay to this amendment and at this time I reserve my time uh would the G lady yield for a question yes
▶ 10:06:46of course to the ranking member who is feeling himself now that the Philadelphia Eagles have won a second Super Bowl in a minute I I would point out for the record I've been rather restrained in uh in in pointing that out as exuberant as as I am so I appreciate it false modesty on your part I'm sure um Miss plaset I if one is absolutely opposed and has no intention to cutting Medicare whatsoever is there any reason why
▶ 10:07:17you would oppose your Amendment I I can't see the reason why I think it's just a way for us in budget it would be an appropriate uh option for us to be able to give instructions to those committees under which are going to be considering how to make the cuts as well as how to make the increases that we are marking for them to give them the instruction as a point of order that Medicare is something that we believe should not be touched in fact those who are genuine and sincere
▶ 10:07:48in stating that they not cut Medicare actually their argument would be strengthened if your point of order was part of this I think it's something that each one of us could point to our constituents and to the public that we support Medicare I have heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say that this is an area which they do not believe in Touching along with social security so this is a means for them to Lodge that uh support and make it known to not just the public but as well to their colleagues in the Committees
▶ 10:08:18of jurisdiction that are are going to be working on this well thank you I yield back uh the gentle A's time has expired now and uh I would open it up to any member who wants to claim time and opposition the amendment Mr Cary from Ohio well first off I just want to say for when my children are Googling uh in a few years miles and Conrad I'm sorry I'm not at hockey tonight um you know I listen to both sides
▶ 10:08:48of the aisle those of you who know me from Ways and Means um you know I'm I can agree with a lot of people but uh I'm really tired of members shouting at the rain all day and um I just want to point out the facts and what they are R bottom line is generations of Americans have paid into and come to rely on Medicare promise of healthare security making it critical that we predict and we strengthen
▶ 10:09:19the program Trump may not he has been very clear Medicare benefits will not be cut period Medicare benefits will not be cut our budget does not include a single cut not one single cut to Medicare benefits for seniors I don't need to labor the point because we all want to get home we all do believe me
▶ 10:09:49but the last time my dear friends on the other side were in the majority they pushed a partisan partisan policies that ultimately raised inflation and increased the cost of living for millions of seniors that rely on Medicare additionally they chose to raid the Medicare program for more than over 300 billion to pay for the green green policies in the inflation reduction act instead
▶ 10:10:20they could have reinvested those cutbacks into Medicare to improve the solvency of the program to ensure that Medicare program which we now have is around for future Generations all these actions only increase the already strained bureaucracy pressures to the Medicare program over the long term this amendment and I and my dear friend I I I appreciate what you're saying and I I do appreciate your passion
▶ 10:10:50but this amendment is just truly unnecessary our budget resolution stands with President Trump does not cut Medicare benefits unlike the recent track record we have seen from some of my friends on the other side I I I urge and no vote and what I want people to know when they're back home because they see this and maybe some of them are watching on C-Span maybe some of them more than my mother because she's probably the only one up right watching
▶ 10:11:20it right now what's going to happen we're going to have a lot of amendments that are going to come from the other sides and we'll ultimately vote them down the thing is we have to realize as a country that we need to work together we've got major problems with this country and I believe and I do believe that my friends on the other side can work with our side to make sure that we move this country forward I'm committed to working with the other side and I'm committed to
▶ 10:11:51making sure that we get things done but listen folks this we don't need this amendment the president has been very clear the speaker has been very clear so with that I'd like to yield uh I guess two minutes and 32 seconds to the uh chairman of our committee I thank the gentleman from Ohio I wish my Democrat colleagues would have taken Miss plasket advice when they marked up the inflation reduction Act had my Democrat colleagues
▶ 10:12:21done that they wouldn't have cut $38 billion from Medicare to pay for the green energy tax subsidies um that my colleague has mentioned several times in terms of loopholes and special interest tax giveaways you talk about a special interest tax giveaway people making $150,000 absolutely who get a subsidy for electric vehicle
▶ 10:12:51and there unfortunately is no way to carve out through an amendment the 20% inflation tax that was levied on everybody but it was regressive and hurt Working Families and seniors who were on a fixed income more than anyone else and also under the Biden Administration there were cuts to Medicare Advantage this isn't scar tactic stuff this is what happened it's it's a decision but it seems inconsistent
▶ 10:13:21with the position that my Democrat colleagues are taking and that decision to cut Medicare Advantage increased premiums just like when my Democrat colleagues passed in the ira this restructured benefits in part D uh there were really price controls and premiums skyrocketed as a result and right before the election the administration had to put together a premium stabilization fund just to keep the premiums down but that
▶ 10:13:51was the outcome of government intervention and we all knew it and so I think just for the sake of intellectual honesty here it there were cuts to Medicare by President Biden and my colleagues and they were done so to provide offsets for the green energy tax subsidies by the way those were scored at 250 billion and today
▶ 10:14:21that's been revised upwards of 700 billion so when we're talking about fiscal responsibility and commitments to seniors let's be honest with each other and Mr chairman we've got four seconds to go so I'm going to reclaim my time and with that I yield back I thank the gentleman and miss plaset you have the last word one minute for closing thank you so much for this opportunity um first let's when we are talking about facts just give the whole facts first when we talked about inflation
▶ 10:14:52and the increase inflation we know that in 2022 inflation was at about an 8% rate during that time during President Biden's time we have seen inflation steadily go down inflation went down in 2023 to 4.2% and in 2024 it was at 2.9% we are the only place in the world where inflation reduced and Accord according to president Trump we're seeing that inflation is once
▶ 10:15:22again Rising after his inauguration so if we're going to talk about inflation let's give the correct numbers and as for the reduction in spending for Medicare during the inflation reduction act let's give the American people the whole truth that inflation reduction Act was in fact expected to reduce the cost uh of Medicare prescription drug spending by the federal government by two 2 237 billion over a
▶ 10:15:52decade and that was to allow the Medicare companies to be able to negotiate drug pricing which ultimately reduced the amount of spending for our seniors for Medicare I think at the end the American people and our elders were happy to have that and I yield back and urge a yes vote on my amendment I thank the gentle lady and uh the question is on agreeing to her Amendment and all those in favor say I I all those opposed no no in in the opinion
▶ 10:16:22of the chair that knows have it and we will U roll that up at the end of the markup Thank The Gentle lady are there any uh are there any other amendments Mr chairman I have an amendment at the desk M jaul has an amendment Mr clerk if you'll read it out circulated amendment number 31 to add a point of order regarding Medicaid offered by Miss jaapa John Paul you have five minutes thank you Mr chairman
▶ 10:16:52I am offering this point of order amendment to block cuts to Medicaid on behalf of the 72 million Americans who rely on Medicaid to access healthc Care on the campaign Trail Donald Trump promised not to touch Medicaid and he even recently stated that he would quote love and cherish the program and yet Republicans proposed Cuts would lead to slashing Medicaid funding by buy at minimum $880 billion or up
▶ 10:17:22to $2.3 trillion over 10 years now let's be clear about what's on the chopping block nearly 20% of Americans rely on Medicaid while so many Americans cannot afford to purchase health insurance within a broken for-profit Health System Republicans have somehow made this their Silver Bullet to pay for their tax cuts to the wealthiest and here's the thing some Republicans are actually really worried about this Republican proposal
▶ 10:17:53you know why because the cuts that are being proposed would not hit all states equally the pain will fall unevenly and disproportionately on states with older and lower income populations underfunded programs or already stretched budgets and guess what many of those states are Republican states High poverty States get more help and so a Republican state like Alabama actually gets roughly a 70% Federal match to its 30%
▶ 10:18:23State match states with a rapidly aging population like Florida Georgia Alabama would also face higher costs because Medicaid pays for nursing home care a state like Tennessee where 18% of the state budget goes to cover Medicaid expenses for life-saving services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities would be severely hurt and in Ohio the former for director of Ohio's Medicaid Program and a former Republican state representative
▶ 10:18:54has sounded the alarm about this Republican budget proposal saying I don't see how a governor regardless of red or blue State can possibly sit on the sidelines of this conversation we actually got a little taste of what happens when Medicaid funds get cut during the chaos of Donald Trump's domestic funding free all of a sudden Medicaid portals across the country went offline and States couldn't Act access their Medicaid dollars that provoked a bipartisan outcry
▶ 10:19:24at least now as this unconstitutional legal freeze gets worked out in the courts there's a temporary stop to this madness you see Medicaid is actually really popular in Republican states like Utah Idaho uh Georgia sorry South Dakota Missouri Oklahoma Nebraska these are all states that rejected Medicaid expansion and then voters took it to the ballot and forced lawmakers to expand Medicaid
▶ 10:19:54according to recent polling 66% of Republicans think favorably of Medicaid and across the country Medicaid is the primary source of long-term care including nursing home care it is the single most important program helping children and Working Families including pregnant women and children with disabilities Medicaid and ship cover nearly 40% of all children and more than 40% of all births Medicaid also provides TW 12 months
▶ 10:20:25of postpartum coverage in nearly every state with little to no out-of-pocket costs Medicaid is also the single largest payer in the country for Behavioral Health Services helping people with mental health and substance abuse disorders so this Republican betrayal of vulnerable seniors kids and families is just cruel if this massive Federal cut goes through State policy makers will be forced to either scramble to fill the budget hole somehow or
▶ 10:20:55make Cuts this will result in fewer kids getting well uh Well Visit checkups or seeing their doctors when they're sick fewer pregnant women getting access to prenatal services and fewer seniors getting long-term care every hundred billion doll cut from Medicaid represents a cost of coverage for more than 3.7 million children 500 140,000 low-income seniors or 415,000 adults with disabilities so you can C calculate
▶ 10:21:26how catastrophic an $880 billion cut would be if Republicans are serious about keeping Donald Trump's promise not to cut Medicaid then the way forward is clear support this amendment protect Medicaid and stop the Republican betrayal of working and poor people across this country I yield back I thinkk the gentle lady are there members who'd like to claim time and opposition
▶ 10:21:56Mr Mr Carter uh is recognized for six minutes in opposition Mr chairman I ask uh unanimous consent to submit this report from the merus center on how obamacare's Medicaid expansion shifts resources away from low-income children into the record without that objection so ordered well Mr chairman finally we agree with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle and that is that Medicaid serves as a vital safety net for America's most
▶ 10:22:26vulnerable that is what it is it is a safety net program it was designed for the Aged blind disabled yes we agree president Trump has been clear we will focus on reducing fraud waste and abuse that is rampant in the program and it is rampant in the program and that's what we're going to concentrate on and fiscal 2023 the government accountability office found over $50 billion in improper payments in the Medicaid Program
▶ 10:22:56over the last 10 years this equates to over 500 billion of American tax dollars lost to fraud waste and abuse in the Medicaid Program alone as Medicaid spending continues to unsustainably unsustainably for taxpayers the program is unaffordable for States and poor access to Quality Care leads to negative Health outcomes for enroll ease after all as I have said numerous times before whether you're Republican whether you're a Democrat whether you're independent
▶ 10:23:26we all want the same thing when it comes to health care we want accessible affordable quality Health Care here are some facts about Medicaid the Medicaid Program currently preferences able-body adults over the most vulnerable population such as pregnant women the disabled and children by providing significantly higher Federal reimbursements for able-body adults under the Obamacare Medicaid expansion that is a fact the Medicaid Program currently does not require Able Body adults to
▶ 10:23:56work unlike other Federal benefit programs such as snap this traps beneficiaries in a cycle of government dependency we should provide Americans a hand up not a hand out Medicaid incentivize the states to shift cost to the federal government through loopholes that make it easy for states to increase their Federal Medicaid matching rate th driving up costs for taxpayers Medicaid's open-ended Federal Financing structure does not incentivize states to limit waste
▶ 10:24:27fraud or abuse in 2023 improper payments in Medicaid total $50 billion as I said before diverting critical resources keep in mind now what it's doing it's diverting critical resources from the most vulnerable populations who depend on the program unfortunately the Medicaid Program is not working for those who need it the most studies show that Medicaid enroles have poor access to care and experience poor outcomes most concerning evidence suggests that Able Body adults on
▶ 10:24:57Medicaid because of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion are crowding out health care services for low income children and other vulnerable populations let me say that again most concerning evidence suggests that Able Body adults Able Body adults on Medicaid because of the Obamacare Medicaid expans mention are crowding out health care services for lowincome children and other vulnerable populations that's not what it was intended to do
▶ 10:25:28Medicaid continues to grow at an unsustainable rate without within the decade the program stands to cost over $1 trillion dollar per year between federal and state funding this budget promotes reforms that will help Medicaid patients access the care they deserve and enhance the quality of care to improve outcomes the budget refocuses limited resources on helping the most vulnerable again a program a safety net program that was intended for the Aged to Blind to
▶ 10:25:58disable the vulnerable the most vulnerable in our population this amendment that's been offered is unnecessary our budget supports efforts to reduce fraud waste and abuse and Medicaid programs to enhance care and improve outcomes for the most vulnerable Americans I urge a no vote Mr chairman and I yield back I thank the gentleman from Georgia and yield back one minute for closing remarks to miss
▶ 10:26:29jaul uh thank you Mr chairman um stable Medicaid funding is essential for the health and well-being of 72 million Americans and the stability of local providers who care for them the reality is the rate of improper payments that my friend across the aisle is citing is not the same as fraud waste or most of those improper payments involve simple missing documentation which can be fixed the reality of cuts to Medicaid on the other hand is that millions of Americans
▶ 10:26:59would lose access to care destabilize R rural hospitals and wreak havoc on state budgets with seniors veterans and nearly half of our nation's children depending on Medicaid this is a betrayal and I would just say to my colleague across the aisle in in Mr Carter's District 81,00 people who receive coverage under the ACA would see their premium go up by 510 per year 121,000 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their coverage that's 72,000
▶ 10:27:30children and 11,000 seniors 43,000 people who rely on Snap are at risk of losing benefits so this affects every single one of our districts Republican and Democrat and we have to be very clear that this amendment my Amendment shows that Republicans will not cut Medicaid and maybe you should listen to Donald Trump who said it was a cherished and loved program I uh urge a yes vote and I yield back
▶ 10:28:00uh that was very sneaky Mrs jaul um I thank the gentle lady we're going to put it up for consideration questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Miss Chul those in favor say I I I all those opposed no opinion of the chairs chair the nose habit we request we will put it there uh at the end and vote all of the Amendments together okay Mr chairman um I have three more letters to uh submit for the record without
▶ 10:28:31objection a letter from Americans for tax fairness a statement rather from the American Lung Association and a statement from immigration Hub uh asked to be submitted to the record that objection so order any other amendments and I have an amendment the ranking has an amendment you I think this is the last one in this section so that is correct better be good we'll see I I yield uh well let's go ahead and read it out circulated amendment number
▶ 10:29:0132 to add a policy statement on article one offered by Mr Bole Mr Bole is recognized for five minutes Mr chairman you know how proud I am to represent uh the city of Philadelphia uh one of the reasons why I am so proud uh besides being Super Bowl champions is that it is the nation's birthplace Independence Hall happens to be in my district growing up studying American
▶ 10:29:31history loving it it's not a surprise that this was my favorite period of History to study every year without fail going downtown to Independence Hall the Liberty Bell uh pretty common school trips if you grow up in and around the Philadelphia area Founders were not perfect men but they were truly brilliant it is remarkable that what they created almost a quarter of a millennium ago still stands
▶ 10:30:04today it was not by accident then that at the Constitutional Convention little more than a decade after our independence they came together because they saw the Articles of Confederation was failing they knew that we needed a stronger Federal Constitution in that document the same document that we rever both Democrats Republicans and that is still operative today a remarkable achievement in
▶ 10:30:34human history they made article one the elected representatives of the people the Congress they did not make the presidency article one they make made the Congress article one in Article 1 Section 9 they purposely put the power of the purse with we the elected representatives of the people those of us who serve in the House of Representatives and the
▶ 10:31:04Senate they again did that not by accident because they understood that to give the unilateral power of the purse to the executive would essentially be en abling a future authoritarian having just escaped the rule of an insane King the last thing they wanted to do was create another insane King this became challenged about 50 years ago by President
▶ 10:31:34Nixon he pursued something that was called impoundment that threatened and indeed violated congress's power of the purse it was litigated through the courts it was fought by Congress at that time and ultimately in 1974 a very important piece of legislation was passed piece of legislation that you and I have talked about quite often the budget and empowerment Control Act it is that act that gave birth to the house budget Committee in the Senate budget
▶ 10:32:04committee it is that act that gave birth to the Congressional budget office the whole modern uh system of budgeting was created in that act included in that act was the empowerment Control Act signed by President Nixon to make clear that what he was doing to that point was illegal and against the Constitution it makes clear that what president Trump and I don't want to be disrespectful let me say to co-president musk as well that what they are doing is patently
▶ 10:32:34unconstitutional and illegal it violates the constitution in article one it violates the budget and empowerment Control Act of 1974 and finally the Supreme Court ultimately ruled on this in a unanimous decision they upheld that the executive did not have the power to impound funds that were lawfully appropriated by Congress so why is this amendment relevant today because right now we have an extraordinary
▶ 10:33:05fight unlike any moment in my lifetime in which we have an executive and an unelected official the most uh wealthy person in the history of the world who is going by almost in a whim agency by agency one moment they're closing the USA ID the next moment's the consumer uh Financial Protection Bureau and who knows which agency it'll be tomorrow now you may disagree with some of those agencies
▶ 10:33:35of what they do but the reality is they were legally appropriated by Congress in fact often congresses that were under Republican control when there was a republican in the white house including Mr Trump himself self so if folks on the other side of the aisle or president Trump or co-president musk want to stop what these agencies are doing heck pass a law Republicans control the house the Senate and the White House do what Democrats did four years ago when we had
▶ 10:34:06a trifecta and we passed the American Rescue plan and the inflation reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill you didn't see the president unilaterally making those decisions it was by act of Congress so Mr chair I feel very strongly about this amendment because I think it goes even beyond the circumstances of the present day because if we allow an executive to seize the power of congress unilaterally
▶ 10:34:36then we no longer have three co-equal branches of government we will only have one all powerful executive essentially back to a King with that a y back I think the uh ranking member and I'm going to raise uh my opposition to amendment I hear the passion for preserving article one I wonder with no disrespect if
▶ 10:35:07my colleague was equally passionate when President Biden decided not to build the border wall that we appropriated money for I wonder if the same passion would be there and indignation for a president U that seemed to be a in of himself when it came to enforcing immigration laws I mean the law says and is clear in Black letter shall
▶ 10:35:38Deport so you know I'm sure there's enough abuse to go around a B I don't believe what the president and his colleagues are doing to root out waste Fraud and Abuse which should be applauded in my opinion um is uh infringing on uh the Constitution and and statutory prohibitions there are
▶ 10:36:09circumstances including waste where the president can push PA here's another irony here and I want everybody to kind of lean in on this we're talking about this article one power sort of preservation with respect to a president who has come in here to drive the wasteful spending of the taxpayer hard-earned tax dollars
▶ 10:36:40out of Washington DC into the treasury to to to to bring down the deficit and and back into the pockets of the American people we didn't have this conversation with the previous president because the previous president spent $2 trillion unilaterally we're talking about saving money we can debate what's waste I'm sure there's some subjectivity to that what's unnecessary definitely
▶ 10:37:10subjectivity I probably have a far narrower view even even than some of my colleagues on the Republican side but think about this we're actually going to speec the law with respect to someone who is committed to stewarding tax dollars and making this government run more efficiently and effectively for the sake of the fiduciary role we have to taxpayers
▶ 10:37:40but the previous president was called into question a number of times and in fact thumbed his nose at the Court when it came to the unconstitutional action to with a stroke of a pen move the uh move the uh student loan forgiveness of hundreds of billions of dollars from one side of the leder to the next the Supreme Court ruled against it and he said I'm not going to listen him even though it caused greater
▶ 10:38:10inflation even though hardworking people who couldn't afford to go to college didn't benefit but subsidized it and then those who paid for their loans because that's what their parents and grandparents taught them to do they didn't get the benefit of it so yeah I I think it's Rich to be getting so indignant and even vitriolic towards a a towards as was mentioned a first generation American who's had great success and wants
▶ 10:38:41to give back to a country He Loves You can disagree with his his positions and his style but I think he's doing the country a great service now is there are there gray areas sure is there tension between the pauses and the impowerment uh that a president can do legally and should we be should we take care to guard article one Powers yes
▶ 10:39:11let's have that debate because I find it very interesting um and I think it's a serious one and a serious question but let's do that in the context of the empowerment act or the budget and impowerment act and this issue separate and apart from the resolution the resolution has nothing to do with it I think it's an important question and and and one we should do with at this committee because of our jurisdiction but
▶ 10:39:41we're talking about a resolution that's going to bend the curve on mandatory spending by at least a trillion and a half which is the most we've ever done as a nation 75% of the budget is on Auto Spin and 90% of the increase in spending over the next 10 years is mandatory spending and you got 2.7 trillion in waste Fraud and Abuse and you got a whole lot more of that in just terrible poor performing and poorly managed programs that aren't serving anybody
▶ 10:40:12including the taxpayers so I I I find it not Germaine I find it important and I think we should debate it another time and with that unless somebody else has a comment I will yield to uh Mr Clyde do you have I yield to Mr Clyde for the remainder of my time 30 seconds well thank you Mr chairman uh first I want to um uh let you know that uh earlier this week I introduced an act to repeal
▶ 10:40:42or a piece of legislation to repeal the 1974 uh impoundment Control Act because in truth it is unconstitutional article two of the Constitution gives the president control over the executive and what he does in the executive and 25 original co-sponsors joined me in the introduction of that pieace of legislation so with that I yield back I than the gentlem from Georgia give my colleague the last word thank you Mr chairman uh I
▶ 10:41:12dispute a number of the assertions you made and that you presented as facts especially about the former president but in the the only as we only have a a minute in rebuttal let me use my time instead on this if one were to accept everything you just said as fact it seems to me you actually just strengthen the case for why this amendment is necessary we further heard from the gentleman my friend uh from Georgia flat out saying that
▶ 10:41:43he and a number of his colleagues think the empowerment Control Act is unconstitu even though a unanimous Supreme Court decision upheld its constitutionality the fact that we now see that Article 1 Section 9 congress's power of the purse is under threat that further strengthens the argument for why this is needed I'll finally say this and this is we're are 12 hours into this debate we have been here all day I passionately
▶ 10:42:13believe in everything that I stand for as I do as I know you do as well and members on both sides Mr Carrie spoke quite eloquently about missing his kids uh hockey game tonight indeed I'm missing something with uh my daughter a beautiful 11-year-old that I could have been at and I'm missing that and you Mr chair have a number of kids at home that you should be home with right now but instead we're here doing the people's work and we're fortunate we've made a lot of sacrifices to get here but we're fortunate
▶ 10:42:43to be here to have this opportunity so why in the world would we give away the power of our office the power we've been entrusted with by our founding fathers entirely over to the executive branch that doesn't make any sense when you make sacrifice after sacrifice to get here I represent 76486 people in my congressional district they voted for me to represent them and each and
▶ 10:43:13every one of you were voted in the same way we should stand up as our founding fathers thought we would regardless of party we should stand up and protect the power of congress We the People those that we the people elected to represent them with that I yeld back I thank my ranking member and friend and um put his Amendment forward for consideration um
▶ 10:43:44all those in favor say I I all those oos no no in the opinion of the chair the NOS hav it I will ask a recorded vote uh roll call votes requested we'll roll it up at the end and Now ladies and gentlemen we are we're heading in the home to we're heading to the home stretch we will now consider two amendments offered by our Republican colleagues debate on the First Amendment will last 10 minutes with time equally divided and the proponent will have one minute Reserve to close are there any amendments
▶ 10:44:15Mr Josh ban from Oklahoma clerk will designate the amendment staff will circulate it Republican amendment number one to add a policy statement on government deregulation offered by Mr Bine okay Mr Mr Bine my friend from Oklahoma you have four minutes uh thank you Mr chairman many of us I've heard about the Reigns
▶ 10:44:45act and and this amendment before you is that and I want to specifically thank our our colleague congresswoman K kamik uh as many of us know congresswoman kamik has bu been diligent in her work on this important piece of legislation over several congresses and I definitely want to commend her onor her work and of course her her staff her team work as well this amendment recognizes the disastrous disastrous effect that overly zealous bureaucrats
▶ 10:45:15and their suffering suffocating red tape have on the American economy and it researchs congress's article one section one legislative powers by instructing committees to implement the Reigns act reconciliation and U look I just want to make sure we really think about article one section one all legislative powers are to be vested in the Congress and congresswoman kamik legislation would end this tyrannical unconstitutional rule of the Washington
▶ 10:45:45bureaucrat by requiring that all major rules published by executive executive agencies uh be approved by Congress and the bill defines major rule as uh one element an annual effect on the economy of 100 million or more a major increase in cost or prices for consumers individual Industries federal state local agencies or significant adverse effects on competition employment investment productivity Innovation or the ability of American companies to compete with foreign companies and
▶ 10:46:16this legislation is absolutely crucial to the success of the American Enterprise and maintenance of the American dream since FDR and L BJ created the fourth branch of government we've seen the the Strangling of the American entrepreneur and the rise of this oligarch among the U bureaucracy what do we mean that bur burdensome regulation kills Main Street by closing up small business in 1950 the code of federal regulations contained just 10,000
▶ 10:46:46pages today it contains over 200,000 pages and that's a 95% increase in just 75 years there's a study from the Marcus Center using a 2012 statistic that shows if we had kept the same number of federal regulations as we had in the books in 1980 the economy would be four trillion larger we about 29 trillion be four trillion larger which equates to the potential for $133,000 more to be in the pockets of every worker and since then 2012
▶ 10:47:17we've had the excessive rul making of the Obama Biden era and would would update that four trillion that number today would easily show five trillion or more and most of these rules are written by environmentalists and globalists and multinational corporations and and it's ultimately is is strangling small business and Ingenuity and it all falls outside of article one section 8 congressional powers there's no way Mom and and pop shops can pay the fees to retain a lawyer to help them navigate
▶ 10:47:47so much of a regulatory Nightmare and there are entire departments inside federal government agencies dedicated to suing out of existence small business decades Congress has deferred its legisl legislative powers to this bureaucracy and these lobbyists are engaged they write new legislation and the accountability is lacking who benefits ask people back home they sure don't see that they do so this impacts Trucking and airplanes and Banks and hospitals according to
▶ 10:48:17Health affairs.org 15 to 30% of all Healthcare spend in America today goes towards administrative costs from burdensome regulations we can do better Reign Act is our solution it's about re-engaging and stopping this catalytic converter that is choking out economic growth for this nation I urge your support with that I yield back Mr chairman thank the gentlemen and ask if there are any members who would like to claim time in opposition Mr chair I'll claim time in opposition Mr Mr Bole
▶ 10:48:47is recognized for 5 minutes and I'm happy to start off but if any uh colleagues on this side of the aisle want to be recognized please just get my attention I will say briefly this that um I certainly will not be one to defend excess excessive regulations I I don't think anyone uh wants to do that and I know that beating up on regulations in the abstract has a certain popularity to it but the reality is some regulations are
▶ 10:49:17necessary regulations protect the most vulnerable Among Us seniors children veterans the disabled and Working Families the Reigns act would block rules that ensure the safety of our food air water and workplaces it would allow corporations to operate unchecked rolling back Decades of hardfought Consumer Protections the real goal of the Reigns Act is to block critical regulations that Safeguard the American public and sets up a system
▶ 10:49:47by which requiring explicit Congressional approval for every major regulation Republicans would be creating a system whereby in action does the dirty work for them we're here today after a month of Republican infighting on a budget do you think Congress after what we've seen over the last month would really spring into action every single time a regulation no matter how minor is
▶ 10:50:17necessary I don't think so you know there are those who believe that dramatic deregulation will spur economic growth and we've heard that time and time again but how many times in the last 30 years have we seen the negative consequences of Regulation or deregulation that was not well thought out need I remind everyone of the Great Recession that was a result in part because
▶ 10:50:48of deregulation that occurred in our banking system and mortgage Securities in the 1990s so I am happy to yield to anyone else on our side uh who would want to speak in opposition uh but seeing none I'm happy to yield back and urge opposition to amendment I thank the gentlemen and uh questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr Bine all those in favor say I
▶ 10:51:18those oppose no no in the opinion of the chair the eyes have it request the recorded vote roll call votes requested and we'll postpone that until the the end of the markup okay any member uh have an amendment they'd like to put forward
▶ 10:51:48okay M uh the clerk will designate the amendment of Mr smucker the staff will distribute copies of the amendment Republican Amendment this debate by the way if I may this debate on this amendment will last 16 minutes with time equally divided and the proponent will have one minute reserved to close go ahead Republican amendment number two on an adjustment for spending cuts of at least $2 trillion offered by Mr smucker Mr smucker
▶ 10:52:19recognized for seven minutes thank you Mr chairman you should be everybody should be receiving this amendment I'll first explain uh the um what uh what this amendment is uh and then we explain the purpose uh so this amendment codifies makes enforceable uh a provision a policy statement is currently in the bud budget resolution
▶ 10:52:49that you all received over 24 hours ago uh and in fact I it's on page 40 and I'll read that it will help explain uh the amendment uh so on page 40 uh it's line three policy on mandatory spending reduction it is the goal of this current resolution to reduce mandatory spending by $2 trillion over the budget window if the combined
▶ 10:53:20deficit reduction provided by authorizing committees is below this target it is the policy of the committee on the budget of the house that the instruction provided to the committee on ways and means of the house should be reduced by a commensurate amount to offset the difference what does that mean what are we trying to accomplish the goal of this resolution and the reconciliation which will uh be passed on the flooor uh is
▶ 10:53:50to achieve uh $2 trillion in mandatory spending the instructions you add up uh all of the instructions to the various committees total uh 1.5 trillion why why when we want to achieve two trillion do we do instructions of one trillion uh it's due to the um Provisions
▶ 10:54:20within a budget reconciliation act each committee is given a floor uh and they cannot go below that floor in the spending that uh they achieve but they can go above that there's been a lot of work done by each of these committees uh but they do not know the work hasn't specifically been done so they don't know exactly uh What uh what they will be able to achieve
▶ 10:54:50they have ranges so the what we have in this resolution is a target FL is a floor that each committee chair feels very comfortable being able to achieve we've talked about the efficiencies they're looking at we've talked about the improvements to programs uh particularly on ENC you've heard Mr Carter who is the chair of the subcommittee that will be handling much of this he talked about the changes that uh can be done in Medicaid or or other health
▶ 10:55:20care costs that uh will improve the delivery of those Services uh but my point is that when we decided we believed we could achieve two trillion we were not able to have the floor of each of the Committees add up to that number and so we set those at the 1.5 trillion knowing that committees will exceed their floor so in total they will need to achieve uh 2 trillion
▶ 10:55:51to meet the goal of this resolution if they don't if they don't the ways of means instruction which is currently set at 4.5 trillion will be reduced uh up to 500 trillion F sorry 500 billion uh if they only achieve the floor and if that's a little complicated I'm sorry but uh I'll be happy to answer answer questions on it um and so this amendment simply
▶ 10:56:22codifies uh what you are seeing as a policy so that the the uh this this will it it'll be we're turning it from a goal to a shell so if uh if for instance 1.9 trillion in savings are achieved the uh Ways and Means instruction would drop to 4.5 trillion so it's they go up and down together why did we want to do uh achieve two
▶ 10:56:52in the first place we've talked about the um 2.6% um allowance we are allowing for economic growth we are very comfortable we believe that we will see 2.6% economic growth and that this resolution will be paid for with mandatory spending cuts uh and with the economic growth that economic growth will come from Provisions in
▶ 10:57:22this tax bill uh for instance uh the 199a uh for small businesses encourages uh more job creation will create more economic growth there are CB CBO scores to that effect uh the research and development provision the full expensing there are many Provisions in here that drive some economic growth and actually indiv idual rates uh to a much lesser degree but having more money to spend in the economy drives some
▶ 10:57:52economic growth as well we also believe we'll see additional economic growth deregulation uh to the ranking members point it does drive more economic growth perhaps even more important than tax policy we'll see economic growth through this reduction in spending cbbo has said that there is economic feedback from reducing spending uh there'll be additional Revenue because of additional uh economic growth and we believe the work of Doge will have significant
▶ 10:58:23impact on spending as well all of those things together we believe we'll achieve at least 2.6% economic growth however we would like to reduce the debt not just uh um use all of that 2.6% uh in uh in in uh reduction in uh this will mean that if we achieve economic percent uh uh if we achieve 2.6%
▶ 10:58:53we achieve that economic growth there will be a reduction uh in the debt and that it was was U was the goal of using this $2 trillion figure so again I I know it's a little complicated but uh hope hope I explain that be happy to answer questions I think the gentleman uh and the vice chairman of this committee and my dear dear friend for that and all his hard work and now open it up for any member who wishes to oppose ranking member Mr
▶ 10:59:23Bole is recognized for eight minutes uh claim time in in opposition um thank you Mr chair and I I thank my fellow Pennsylvanian uh in short this amendment would take a bad Bill and make it far worse we have talked on this side of the aisle the side of the dis all day about the fact that what is in the Republic plan is $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts the overwhelming
▶ 10:59:53majority of which benefit the top 1% in Americans and they are paid for in part by $1.5 trillion dollar worth of cuts cuts to the tune of $880 billion to Medicaid further cuts to the Affordable Care Act combined impacting up to 92 million Americans further cuts of a few hundred billion dollars to nutrition programs affecting those children and seniors
▶ 11:00:23who rely on those programs as well as many others who suddenly would come in for cuts to programs they need their bill would also further add trillions of dollars to the national debt what this amendment does is it says forget1 and a.
▶ 11:00:43half trillion dollars worth of cuts we want to go to two trillion so we based our figures and our arguments all day based on $1 and a. half trillion dollars of cut so everything we were talking about the harm that would come about as a result of their bill it actually will be worse it'll be worse for those who depend on Medicaid it'll be worse for those who depend on the Affordable Care Act it'll be worse for those who are on food stamps it'll be worse
▶ 11:01:14for those who depend on a programs and so much more and what would they do with those extra savings they in this amendment would have the ability to do even more cuts 4 and a half trillion would be a floor not a ceiling the same way one and a half trillion in Cuts would go to two trillion in cuts and that would be a floor and not a ceiling so this amendment takes again
▶ 11:01:45a very bad Bill a betrayal of the American middle class and those who aspire to be in it it takes this bad Bill and it makes it significantly worse but I will say and there should be no doubt about this and I give credit to them this is a real political win for the freedom caucus of the Republican conference they are by their own admission the most extremely conservative members of the House of
▶ 11:02:16if this amendment is adopted it is quite clear who is driving the bus when it comes to this policy this is far more conservative far more extreme than what we saw in the tcja some eight years ago in fact this Cuts more than double from the programs that we have been talking about and now will be cutting even more than that so I vigorously oppose this it takes
▶ 11:02:47everything we disagree with that's in this bill and only makes it significantly worse you can see why we label this accurately the Republican betrayal of the middle class and final Point what about our national debt we have heard and heard that we have to do something about our national debt I already submitted a number of findings both from the committee for responsible federal budget as
▶ 11:03:17well as the Peterson Foundation saying there is simply no way their math adds up there is no way that this doesn't increase our deficit and increase our national debt we have throughout many hearings over the last couple years acknowledge the reality that the debt projections for the next 5 to 10 years and Beyond are something that we will have to Grapple with on a bipartisan basis not only does this do nothing to address that issue it
▶ 11:03:47actually compounds the problem so I oppose a bad Bill and I oppose an even worse amendment that would make it an even worse Bill and with unless I believe uh Miss plaset I yield to you thank you to the ranking member I just want to join you and appreciate the information that you're sharing with us uh you know we're all here for a job I'm grateful that we're here till 9:00 p.m.
▶ 11:04:15I have five children but the people of the Virgin Islands elected me to support them that's what we all signed up for that's what we're here for and what is one day late to do the work of the American people um I think our families understand that sacrifice that that's what we're here for and if I had left early I wouldn't have seen this amendment which is astonishing to me that we are going to make even deeper Cuts than was originally stated um
▶ 11:04:45I mean I understand the efficacy and the the how it how it makes sense to have committees fight among themselves to see who's going to get to the 500 million Mark 500 billion in savings an additional 500 billion in savings so that our committee Mr ranking member Ways and Means can give even more tax cuts to individuals to corporations and to the wealthy this is far beyond what we expected to have seen um and I think that
▶ 11:05:15this this is going to do even more to give away more tax cuts to billionaires um listen many of you have said you don't know billionaires but it's obvious people are working for them here um that's what this committee seems to be about to support them and to support this we've seen that the debt Rose exponentially in 2017 after 2017 when we did the tax cut it it it was far beyond what individuals had originally thought it was going to be uh the debt that has occurred
▶ 11:05:45and we can be assured that while we are cutting programs we are not cutting the debt and so I thank you for the opportunity to speak on this and I yield back thank you I yield back time's expired questions on agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr smucker all those in favor say I I I those opposed no no opinion of the chair the eyes have it and we'll roll all this up we want a roll call vote M Mr Vice chair yes okay roll call
▶ 11:06:15vote uh will be rolled up at the end of the markup I now yield five minutes to my friend from Pennsylvania for closing a closing statement yeah well Mr chairman uh I thank you and just echoing the comments of uh my colleague from the Virgin Islands Miss plaset um and echoing something I said earlier despite all the sacrifices really our families make we are honored to be here we
▶ 11:06:46are here at a moment and on a committee where it matters where our votes matter and where our voices matter and on this side of the Das we wouldn't have fought so hard over the last 12 hours offering more than 30 amendments to prevent this extreme Republican budget from wreaking havoc on Working Families each of our amendments was a direct effort to Shield the American people from The Reckless Cuts embedded in this proposal cuts that
▶ 11:07:16will hurt the most vulnerable while giving trillions of dollars of handouts to the Rich we fought to protect Medicaid and Medicare ensuring that seniors low-income families children and people with disabilities don't see their health care Stripped Away we fought to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data an issue that has become even more urgent now that Elon Musk has been given access to IRS records raising
▶ 11:07:46serious concerns about privacy and the abuse of power we work to preserve the ACA tax credits which allow millions of Americans to afford health coverage and to defend Social Security a Bedrock promise that ensures retirees can live with dignity after a lifetime of work Beyond health care and retirement security we also sought to protect students Educators workers and Veterans from these devastating cuts that are in
▶ 11:08:16this budget we proposed amendments to maintain funding for public education ensuring that schools remain adequately resourced and the teachers don't bear the burden of budget shortfalls and we stood up for veterans who risk their lives for this country and deserve more than empty rhetoric they deserve fully funded Health Care food assistance and the benefits they earned through their service yet despite the clear benefits of these proposals
▶ 11:08:47Republicans oppose all of them instead of choosing to protect the American people they chose to protect billionaires and corporations as we close my fellow Democrats I am proud to stand with you United in our commitment to fight for Families because let's be clear about what is at stake House Republicans are once again betraying the middle class of this country and those
▶ 11:09:17who aspire to be in it we need to resoundingly overwhelmingly and unitedly say no to this Republican betrayal with that I Y back I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania and I yield five minutes to myself for a closing statement um Mr chairman yes sir without objection I would like to uh submit for the record letters of support for the fy2 2025 budget resolution from various
▶ 11:09:47organizations they include Americans for Prosperity Americans for tax reform Community oncology Alliance National Association of Wholesale Distributors National Small Business Association National taxpayers Union and the Paragon Institute uh without objection so order um the American people had about a contrast in in worldview in policy in principles and priorities
▶ 11:10:18as they will ever have of the Democrat Party and the Republican party we had unilateral control for four years or two of the four years with a Republican president and then right on the heels of that Scott the Democrat Party had unilateral and not only did the American people witness the policy priorities of each Administration and each party
▶ 11:10:48but they experienced the associated results and consequences and this last election the American people people overwhelmingly supported president Trump and gave Republicans control of both chambers of Congress I'm not surprised I'm not surprised because they were sick and tired of watching their Sovereign Nation be invaded they were
▶ 11:11:19sick and tired of watching what was 8 trillion dollar in deficit spending by my colleagues on some of the things that were mentioned here today that are absolutely and all the while they had inflation burning a hole in their pocketbooks and they were having to reign in their spending change their habits make
▶ 11:11:50sacrifices they saw our nation lose respect on the global stage they saw what that weakness in in fact invites aggression and they saw the instability and how dangerous it is to have feckless foreign policy and and a commander-in-chief with a weak posture we were being taken advantage of they got a taste of of what it was like to live in a country that did not have any respect for the rule of law
▶ 11:12:21lawlessness chaos crime ridden streets in once great cities and I I'm just so confident that the American people are for us I make no excuses I couldn't be more proud to be an American to be a leader for this country to be an elected official I'm humbled by it I'm honored to serve alongside some Warriors who are willing to lean into this they know
▶ 11:12:51this that they will be miscar IED as will our policies um and they know there will be a political cost to some extent because you just can't explain you just don't have enough time to explain what you're trying to do to Steward tax dollars and protect beneficiaries because of some of the money siphoned off from the intended benefit but they're willing to do it we've talked about our children being at home while we're here working and
▶ 11:13:22serving man this is for our kids this is for the next generation of Americans the the true voiceless people the true voiceless folks who don't have a seat at the table while the debt continues to climb two trillion in the Gap this year 4 trillion and 10 um we're in a debt and I pray we can get out of it but if we can this is the last best shot to do it
▶ 11:13:52and we know there's enormous waste and opportunity to rightsize this this bloated government of the American people and so I just say in closing thank you um I'm honored to work with all of you but I'm especially proud today recognizing that I'm not going to get any of your support your vote on this but remember this we're doing a budget today my Democrat colleagues never did a budget for five years and when y'all did the
▶ 11:14:22irra buil back better didn't come to the budget committee we've empowered this committee and we respected the deliberative process and I couldn't be more proud of you all we've we've got it to a good place and now we're going to put it in play and let the process continue uh and let our colleagues and our committee chairman and their colleagues engag in writing the policies that I believe will in fact
▶ 11:14:53save this country and if not at least buy us some time and um I think you're going to be I think this will be uh an effort that you will be probably more proud of than any single thing that you will have ever worked on in public service and uh it wouldn't happen if I didn't have uh if I didn't have you all next to me working uh shoulder to- shoulder through this process so let's go do this
▶ 11:15:23for our Beloved Country and for its future let's do it so that American can own the 21st century let's do it so that our children have a Fighting Chance at the American dream and the blessings of liberty and opportunity that we've we've enjoyed how about that y'all ready to do this okay let's do it God be with us God speed and may He grant us success all the way until we punch this in to the
▶ 11:15:53end zone where it's real where it's real and it will make a real difference for our country's future with that um can we just gavel out and home I I Mr chair I support your motion that we gavel out without a vote on uh on this budget I'm happy to support that on a bipartisan basis read that and then go through each he's always taking advantage of me okay the committee will now vote on postpone recorded
▶ 11:16:23votes the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr Bole that's the first amendment kir the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number one offered by Mr Bole the clerk will call the role Mr yes Mr Norman I oh no no Mr nor Mr Norman no Mr mcclint talk
▶ 11:16:53Mr MTO no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr susman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr oberti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards
▶ 11:17:24Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss howchin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset
▶ 11:17:54I miss plasket I miss Escobar I miss Escobar I miss Omar I miss Omar I miss ballant I miss balant I miss captor I miss captor I miss jaul miss Jaa I miss cheu I miss Shu I Mr tonco I Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman
▶ 11:18:25nope Mr chairman no Mr chairman on the vote there were 16 I and 21 no uh the committee will now vote vot on amendment number two uh offered by Mr dogin clerk will designate the amendment okay I'm
▶ 11:18:55sorry guys too many pieces of paper up here um the nose haveit the amendment is is not agreed to now the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr doggin the clerk will designate the amendment amendment number two offered by Mr doit cler will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mcclint no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr
▶ 11:19:25Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr obaly Mr OB NY no Mr Cary Mr Carrey no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr McDow
▶ 11:19:55Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes sir Mr Bole I Mr doit yes sir Mr doet I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman M Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss balant I miss captor miss capter
▶ 11:20:25I miss jaapa miss jaapa I miss cheu miss cheu I Mr tonco Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo M Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no there any me members who wish to change your vote if not clerk should report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 nose the nose have it the amendment is not agreed
▶ 11:20:56to the committee will now vote on the amendment number four offered by wat Mrs Watson Coleman clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number four offered by Miss Watson Coleman clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mcent no Mr ment no Mr grman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr
▶ 11:21:26Roy no Mr sutman Mr sutman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Mo of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no miss hin m touin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole I Mr dogget
▶ 11:21:56yes Mr dogget I Mr Scott yes Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant I miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss jaul miss Jaa I Miss Chu I Miss Chu I Mr tonco hi
▶ 11:22:26Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no anybody want to change their vote clerk sh report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 2 one knows the NOS have it the amendment is not agreed to committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr McGarvey clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number seven offered by Mr
▶ 11:22:58McGarvey uh the clerk will call the RO Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto Mr mclintoch no Mr growman Mr growman no it was not us Mr smucker I think you just it again Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no come on Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy
▶ 11:23:29Mr Roy no Mr susman Mr Suman no Mr Moore Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr B Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gill Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole
▶ 11:23:59I Mr dogget yes Mr dogget I Mr Scott yes Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset I miss plasket I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss capter miss capter I miss gipa miss Jaa I Miss Chu
▶ 11:24:30I miss CH I Mr tonko I Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey I Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo I Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk shall report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS nose have it the amendment's not agreed to the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr Scott that's amendment number eight the clerk will redes no
▶ 11:25:00yeah the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number eight offered by Mr Scott uh the clerk will call the vote Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mcent no Mr mcent no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of
▶ 11:25:30Utah Mr Mo of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr B Mr B no Mr obaly Mr obti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr cud Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss howchin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole I Mr dogget yes Mr Mr doet I Mr Scott
▶ 11:26:00yes Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta hi Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman hi Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset I miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss capter miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I miss Shu Miss Shu I Mr tonco Mr tonko I miss Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman
▶ 11:26:31no Mr chairman no the clerk shall report Mr chairman on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 nose the NOS have it the amendment's not agreed to the committee will now vote on the amendment on offered by Miss Omar that's uh the amendment number nine the clerk will redesignate the amendment uh amendment number nine offered by Miss Omar the clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr Mento Mr M clinto no Mr grothman
▶ 11:27:01no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no M Mr Carter no Mr Carter no Mr Klein no Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr susman no Mr Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Carrey no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin
▶ 11:27:31Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole I Mr dogget yes Mr doet I Mr Scott yes Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Mr Watson Coleman I miss plaset I miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss capter miss capter I
▶ 11:28:02miss Jaa Miss Jaa I miss CH Miss CH I Mr tonko Mr tono I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr no cler call the rooll or report on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS okay the NOS have
▶ 11:28:32the amendment is not agreed to the committee will now vote on the amendment uh number 11 offered by Mr tonko the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 11 offered by Mr tonco uh clerk will call the RO Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mcent Mr mcent no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr
▶ 11:29:02Roy no Mr Roy no Mr stman no Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Mo of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr Bren Mr bin no Mr Mr obti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole
▶ 11:29:32I Mr dogget yes Mr dogget I Mr Scott yes Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman i m plaset I miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant I miss ballant I miss captor hi Miss captor I miss gapa miss Jaa I miss Shu Miss Shu I Mr tonko Mr tono I Mr McGarvey Mr M Garvey
▶ 11:30:02I Mr ammo Mr Amo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendment is not agreed to the committee will now vote on uh number 12 Amendment that's Miss plaskett's Amendment the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 12 offered by Miss plaset clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mlto
▶ 11:30:32no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overaly Mr overti no Mr KY Mr Carrey no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin
▶ 11:31:03Miss hin no Mr mcdal Mr mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole Mr Bole I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr paneta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss
▶ 11:31:33captor miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I miss CH Miss CH I Mr tonko Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr Mo Mr ammo I Mr chairman Mr chairman no clerk will report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendment is not agreed to the committee will now vote on amendment number 13 that's Mr Peters Amendment clerk will redesignate
▶ 11:32:03the amendment amendment number 13 offered by Mr Peters call the rooll please uh Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mlto no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr
▶ 11:32:34Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr McGill no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr Dogg hi Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott
▶ 11:33:04I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta I Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman hi Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset I miss plasket i m Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss jaul Mr Jaa I miss Shu Miss Shu I Mr tono Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr Amo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no clerk
▶ 11:33:38report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS no have it the amendment's not agreed to we'll now vote on number 14 Amendment Mr Panetta the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 14 offered by Mr Panetta call the r Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mlto no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker
▶ 11:34:08Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr Suman Mr susman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss howchin no Mr mcdal Mr
▶ 11:34:39mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole yes Mr Bole I Mr doggit yes Mr doggit I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters i m Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plasket I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor
▶ 11:35:09miss capter I miss Jaa miss gapa I miss Chu Miss Shu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr Amo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will report Mr chairman on that vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the Amendments not agreed to the committee will now vote on Amendment 15 offered by Miss Chu and the clerk will redesignate the amendment
▶ 11:35:39amendment number 15 offered by Miss Chu the clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mlto no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter no Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr B no Mr
▶ 11:36:09over overy Mr overaly no Mr Cary Mr carry no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr petta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson
▶ 11:36:39Coleman hi Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset i m miss plasket I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonko Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no clerk will report Mr chair on the vote there were 16
▶ 11:37:10eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendments not agreed to the committee will now vote on amendment number 16 offered by Mr Amo and the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 16 offered by Mr ammo the clerk will call the rooll Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mlto no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy
▶ 11:37:40Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr obaly Mr obti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr mcdal Mr mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I
▶ 11:38:10Mr Bole I Mr dogget yes Mr do do I Mr Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonko Mr tonko
▶ 11:38:40I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS NOS have it the amendment's not agreed to uh the committee will now vote on amendment number 26 Miss Escobar's Amendment the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 26 offered by Miss Escobar clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman
▶ 11:39:11no Mr mlto no Mr M talk no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter no Mr Carter no Mr Quin Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin no Mr bin no Mr overaly Mr overy no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards
▶ 11:39:41Mr Edwards no Mr CL C Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss hin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr dogget I Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman hi Mr Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I
▶ 11:40:12miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I Miss Chu Miss Shu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will report Mr chairman on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the nose have it the amendment is not agreed to the committee will now vote on amendment number 27
▶ 11:40:42offered by captor the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 27 offered by Miss captor clerk will call the roll Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mclintoch no Mr growman no Mr grothman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stutzman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus
▶ 11:41:12Mr Estus no Mr bken Mr maren no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr mcdal Mr mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta
▶ 11:41:42Mr Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss capter miss captor I miss Gul Miss Gul I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will report
▶ 11:42:13Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the Amendments not agreed to the committee will now vote on amendment number 29 offered by miss ballant the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 29 offered by Miss ballant clerk will call the rooll Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mclintoch no Mr grothman Mr growman no Mr smucker no Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein no Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no
▶ 11:42:43Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stutsman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr B Mr B no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss howchin no Mr McDow Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole
▶ 11:43:13I Mr Bole I Mr dogget I Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plasket I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor Miss captor I miss jaul miss jaul I miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonko Mr o i Mr
▶ 11:43:44McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr no the clerk will report Mr chairman on that vote the eyes were 16 and the nose were 21 the NOS have it the Amendments not agreed to the committee will now vote on amendment number 30 offered by miss plaset the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 30 offered by miss plaset the clerk will will call the rooll
▶ 11:44:14Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mclintoch no Mr mclintoch no Mr growman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overaly Mr overaly no Mr Cary Mr Carrey no Mr
▶ 11:44:44Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Claude Mr Claude no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr mcdal Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bo I Mr doit Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar
▶ 11:45:15Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss capter miss capter I miss jaul miss Jaa I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the the clerk will report Mr chair on the vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS NOS hav it the amendment's not agreed to uh now the committee will consider Amendment
▶ 11:45:4531 Miss ja Paul's Amendment the clerk will redesignate the amendment amendment number 31 offered by miss japaul the clerk will call the role Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto no Mr mcclin no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stutzman Mr stutzman no Mr MO Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus
▶ 11:46:16Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Carrey no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr mcdal Mr mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr dogget I Mr doet I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Mr
▶ 11:46:46Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman M Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss balant miss balant I miss capter miss capter I miss jaul miss Jaa I miss cheu miss cheu I Mr tonco Mr tonko I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr Amo Mr ammo I Mr chairman
▶ 11:47:16no Mr chairman no okay call the RO Mr clerk Mr chair on that vote there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendment's not agreed to and we have one more on this trunch the committee will now uh vote on the final Amendment here Amendment 32 from Mr Bole redesignate the amendment Mr clerk amendment number 32 offered by Mr Bole all the role Mr clerk Mr Norman no Mr Norman no
▶ 11:47:47Mr mlto no Mr mlto no Mr grman no Mr growman no Mr smucker Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman Mr Bergman no Mr Roy Mr Roy no Mr stman Mr stman no Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr overti Mr overal no no Mr Carrey Mr Carrey no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no
▶ 11:48:17Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss howchin Miss howchin no Mr mcdal Mr mcdal no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bo I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plasket miss plasket I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss
▶ 11:48:47Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor miss capter I miss Jaa Miss Jaa I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no the clerk will call the report Mr chair on the boat there were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendment is not agreed to
▶ 11:49:17without objection amendments 356 10 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 and 28 which were all debated by the committee earlier will have uh been considered on block the committee will now proceed to unblock votes on these amendments the clerk will call the the vote Mr Norman no Mr Norman no Mr mlto Mr mlto no Mr growman Mr growman no Mr smucker
▶ 11:49:48Mr smucker no Mr Carter Mr Carter no Mr Klein Mr Klein no Mr Bergman no Mr Bergman no Mr Roy no Mr Roy no Mr susman Mr stman no Mr Moore Mr Moore no Mr Estus Mr Estus no Mr bin Mr bin no Mr obti Mr overti no Mr Cary Mr Cary no Mr Edwards Mr Edwards no Mr Clyde Mr Clyde no Miss hin Miss hin no Mr McDow
▶ 11:50:18Mr McDow no Mr Gil Mr Gil no Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina no Mr Bole I Mr Bole I Mr dogget Mr dogget I Mr Scott Mr Scott I Mr Peters Mr Peters I Mr Panetta Mr Panetta I Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman I miss plaset miss plaset I miss Escobar Miss Escobar I miss Omar Miss Omar I miss ballant miss ballant I miss captor Miss
▶ 11:50:48captor I miss Jaa Mr IA I Miss Chu Miss Chu I Mr tonco Mr tonco I Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey I Mr ammo Mr ammo I Mr chairman no Mr chairman no are there any members who wish to change their vote if not the clerk shall report Mr chair on that vote were 16 eyes and 21 NOS the NOS have it the amendments are not agreed to
▶ 11:51:19committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr Josh bin of Oklahoma the clerk will redesignate the amendment Republican amendment number one offered by Mr biken the clerk will call the role Mr Norman yes Mr Norman I Mr mclintoch I Mr mclintoch I Mr growman Mr grothman I Mr smucker Mr smucker I Mr Carter I Mr Carter I Mr Klein Mr Klein I Mr Bergman hi Mr Bergman I Mr Roy
▶ 11:51:49hi Mr Roy I Mr stman Mr stutzman I Mr Moore of Utah Mr Moore of Utah I Mr Estus Mr Estus I Mr B Mr bin I Mr overti Mr overti I Mr Cary Mr Cary I Mr Edwards Mr Edwards I Mr Clyde I Mr Clyde I miss hin I miss hin I Mr McDow Mr McDow I Mr Gil Mr Gil I Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore of North Carolina I Mr
▶ 11:52:19Bole no Mr Bole no Mr dogget no Mr dogget no Mr Scott no Mr Scott no Mr Peters Mr Peters no Mr Panetta Mr Panetta no Miss Watson Coleman Miss Watson Coleman no Miss plaset no Miss plaset no Miss Escobar Miss Escobar no Miss Omar Miss Omar no Miss ballant Miss ballant no Miss Miss captor Miss capter no Miss Jaa Miss Jaa no Miss Chu Miss Chu no Mr tonko
▶ 11:52:50Mr tonco no Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey no Mr ammo Mr ammo no Mr chairman no yes Mr chairman I please we got this far we got we're so close uh the the clerk will call the role Mr chairman on the vote there were 21 eyes and 16 NOS how was I recorded again uh clerk Mr chair you are recorded as an i
▶ 11:53:21okay well the eyes have it and the amendment is agreed to the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by Mr Lloyd smucker the clerk will redesignate the amendment Republican amendment number two offered by Mr smucker call the role Mr Norman Mr Norman I Mr mclintoch Mr mclintoch I Mr grothman Mr grothman I Mr smucker Mr smucker I Mr Carter Mr Carter I Mr Klein Mr Klein I Mr Bergman
▶ 11:53:51Mr Bergman I Mr Roy Mr Roy I Mr stman Mr stman I Mr Moore of Utah Mr Mo of Utah I Mr Estus Mr Estus I Mr bin Mr bin I Mr overti Mr overti I Mr Cary Mr Cary I Mr Edwards Mr Edwards I Mr Claude Mr CL I miss hin miss hin I Mr McDow Mr McDow I Mr Gil Mr Gil I Mr Moore of North Carolina Mr Moore North Carolina
▶ 11:54:21I Mr Bole Mr Bole no Mr dogget Mr dogget no Mr Scott Mr Scott no Mr Peters Mr Peters no Mr Panetta Mr Panetta no Miss Watson Coleman Mr Watson Coleman no Miss plaset Miss plaset no Miss Escobar Miss Escobar no Miss Omar Miss Omar no Miss ballant Miss ballant no Miss captor Miss capter no Miss Jaa Miss Jaa no Miss Chu Miss Chu no Mr tonco
▶ 11:54:52Mr tonko no Mr McGarvey Mr McGarvey no Mr ammo Mr ammo no Mr chairman Mr