▶ 0:08:36good afternoon. The committee will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recess at any Before we start our formal proceedings, I want to mention that today is the birthday for Congresswoman Leisure So, let's give her a happy birthday I want my birthday.
▶ 0:09:10Well, first you got to get that get that cake with the candles and blow them all out, right? Um, so we we're not going to sing the Boehner song to you. today the rules committee is convening to consider a single measure, the Senate amendment to HR1, the one big beautiful bill act.
▶ 0:09:34With the Senate having completed its respective process, HR1 has returned to the people's house for final consideration. And while I don't often think that the other body improves our legislation, it's important to recognize that much of what the House included in HR1 when we initially passed it is still included. And I'm sure that our committee chairman will bring attention to that.
▶ 0:10:05Things like tax relief for working families, reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs so they remain focused on those who truly need the programs. A historic investment designed to strengthen our armed forces, protect our borders, and keep Americans safe. I could go on and on about all the great things in this one big, beautiful bill.
▶ 0:10:29However, I think it's important to recognize that when this passes, it will go directly to the president's desk so that he may sign it into law and deliver a long line of massive wins for the American people.
▶ 0:10:45Indeed, this process has been long and the thoughtful deliberations and efforts on part of committees, members, and staff is highly And while those diligent efforts have been undertaken by many, we have still heard the same doomsayers yelling to the rafters week after week about this Each week they head back to the rhetorical trough,
▶ 0:11:15select a new inflammatory claim, and broadcast it feverishly to the masses as if the threat of the sky falling is For the record, the sky is not falling. We're all too familiar with this worn out song and dance routine. The fact is that Americans are not fooled by these ludicrous claims.
▶ 0:11:42They're not buying into the fear-mongering because they know better. They see the one big beautiful bill act as a monumental opportunity. An opportunity that will spur even more prosperity within the nation and further propel America into the golden age where it truly belongs. As the speaker laid out very succinctly, this bill gets Americans back to winning again.
▶ 0:12:13And yes, it's been a long time coming. From delivering historic tax relief to reigniting our economic engine, creating massive investments in border security to capturing generational savings, and much more.
▶ 0:12:30HR1 is the embodiment of the America First And there are provisions within this legislation that Democrats and their media bedfellows remain noticeably mom such as the establishing of savings accounts for newborns, increasing the child tax credit by an additional $500 per child, strengthening paid leave and child care tax credits.
▶ 0:13:00This legislation does not have a bowed posture and the frailty of a pipsqueak. The one big beautiful bill act is the real deal. It's what Americans voted for when they put their trust in President Trump and our Republican majorities in the People's House and the Senate. And here's a sharp dose of reality.
▶ 0:13:25A failure to pass this legislation carries with it serious negative not only for hardworking taxpayers but also the nation. The largest tax increase in American history would be levied against everyday men and women. Millions of jobs would be wiped off the map. Small businesses would be decimated. Wages would vanish.
▶ 0:13:54GDP would plummet and nationwide economic ruin would erupt. Resources to ensure the continued protection of our nation's borders would dry up and turn to dust. Our nation's military would be rendered to confront existing threats to the American homeland, meet the quality of life needs for service members, and keep our adversaries in check.
▶ 0:14:20This isn't blatant fear-mongering like what our Democrat colleagues have been doing incessantly for months. These are just facts. President Trump has his pen in hand and is waiting for us to move forward. At this critical juncture, failure is not an option. We're kicking off the final leg of this process here in the rules committee today and we're making good yet again on our commitments that we have made to the American people.
▶ 0:14:49Let's get this done and keep the winds coming. With that, I yield to the ranking member, Mr. McGovern, for any comments he wishes to make. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. Um, the chairwoman just said that Democrats were going to say that the sky is falling. Well, I'm not going to say the sky is falling. I'm going to say that healthc care is going to get ripped away from millions of people.
▶ 0:15:12I want to say that food is going to be taken off the off the table of many families in this country who rely on uh SNAP as a way to make sure that they don't go hungry. And I'm going to say that the richest among us are going to get a tax cut. So it has nothing to do with the sky. It has everything to do with what is right and what is wrong. Um we are here today uh on a bill that just dropped from the Senate. Hot off the press, passed only an hour ago. It's massive. Here it is. Uh nearly a thousand pages long.
▶ 0:15:41And I've got to ask, have any of you read it this time? Uh because last time we met on this legislation, many of our Republican colleagues had not. Uh and that's no accident. It's by design. It's the direct result of Republican leadership and the White House jamming this bill through Congress with zero transparency. Now, let's be totally honest. This entire process has been legislative It's been negotiated in back rooms from the start.
▶ 0:16:11In April, conservatives argued for and ultimately gut aggressive instructions in the budget for committees to slash spending. I wonder how they feel now that the Senate has violated their hard-fought instructions by over a half a trillion dollars. And let's not forget this bill was jammed through the House in May so quickly that some Republicans said they would have opposed it if they if they'd known what was actually in it.
▶ 0:16:35And now after another series of backroom negotiations in the Senate, we're getting jammed again without any chance for the public or independent experts for that matter to fully review the bill. And let me make a prediction. If this ugly bill passes, it's going to get a lot uglier when people realize what's in it. And not even Donald Trump's new $300 bottle of cologne will cover the stench. This bill will hurt people in every congressional district in this country.
▶ 0:17:06And Republicans are racing to get it passed before the American people can figure out what's in it. There's no real Uh there's no real deadline that we're working against. None. July 4th is just an arbitrary marker that Trump made up. He wants a victory lap on Friday, just weeks after throwing himself a military birthday parade complete with tanks rolling down Constitution Avenue, one that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
▶ 0:17:34He now wants to have a Fourth of July signing ceremony at the White House for this dumpster fire of a bill. We're rushing. We're rushing. Not because the country demands it, but because he wants to throw himself yet another party. This isn't policy. It's ego management. So why not slow down? Why not actually do the work? Why not fix the problems instead of pretending that we're in the middle of some five alarm emergency?
▶ 0:18:01I mean, Vice President Vance just had to break a tie in the Senate. Many of the Republicans who voted for this uh bill acknowledged that it is uh that in its current form, it is seriously flawed. And listen to this quote from Senator Makowski who just caved and voted for this poll. And you're going to love this. She said, quote, "My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we're not there yet." End quote.
▶ 0:18:28I mean, my question to her is, if you really believe that, then why the hell did you vote for this bill? It doesn't make any sense. It's a dereliction of your duty as a United States senator and as a representative for the people in Alaska. I mean, when was the last time this current House of Representatives has fixed or solved anything? I mean, where have you been, Senator McCowski, this Republican House is dysfunction on steroids.
▶ 0:18:57And let me say to my Republican friends, I understand that the Senate just jammed you, but you don't have to be complicit. I get it. I know the Republican leadership and Trump don't want scrutiny. They don't want the American people to understand what's really happening here. This bill is a middle finger to millions of Americans. It isn't just a bad bill. It is the most dangerous piece of legislation in modern history. Dangerous because of the very real damage it will do to real people.
▶ 0:19:26Sick people, hungry kids, families just scraping by. If this re if this is Republicans top legislative priority, this Congress, it tells us everything about where your values lie. And it's not with working families, not with struggling communities, but with mega corporations, billionaires, and Donald Trump.
▶ 0:19:46Madame Chair, I know that once I'm done, you will say, as you did at the beginning, that I'm fear-mongering that Democrats, nonpartisan analysts, experts, and industry, doctors, children's hospitals, food banks, utilities, organized labor, and journalists. all what they say about this bill. Um, every every legitimate critique critique that we have heard about this bill, you will say that is that it is hyperbole. But just because you say that, it doesn't make it so.
▶ 0:20:16Facts still do matter. And the facts say that this bill is terrible. Now, we know Republicans are about to gut Medicaid and cut Medicare. That's a fact. That's not an opinion. This bill rips health coverage away from roughly 17 million people. Of those, 11.8 million will lose health care due to the Medicaid and Affordable Care uh act cuts.
▶ 0:20:38Another 5 million will lose their health care because Republicans are allowing premium assistance to expire for those who qualify for help with paying for health insurance on the ACA exchanges. Now, that's not my opinion. That's the conclusion of the CBO and every single other credible budget expert across the country.
▶ 0:20:57the Joint Committee on Taxation, Penn Wharton Budget Model, Yale Budget Lab, Tax Policy Center, and even right-leaning organizations like the Tax Foundation and researchers at the American Enterprise Institute. This bill will devastate rural hospitals, shut down nursing homes, hammer community health centers. It will punish people. We ought to protect the elderly, the disabled, lowincome kids, and working families just trying to survive.
▶ 0:21:26It will end nutrition assistance for millions. We are the richest country on earth and you'll be taking away food from our own children. Why? To shovel tax breaks to billionaires and corporate executives. I mean, give me a break. This bill will kill thousands of clean energy jobs and raise Americans energy rates while rewarding big oil with billions in subsidies.
▶ 0:21:49Because Republicans think welfare is okay if you're Exon Mobile, but not if you're a family struggling to pay your skyrocketing power bill or a grandma who stays in assisted living or our parents struggling to put food on the table. It gives $150 billion more to the Pentagon, not not for peace or security, but to line the pockets of defense contractors.
▶ 0:22:12This is on top of record levels of defense spending that we already provide the Pentagon and our annual annual spending bills. For all you budget hawks out there, let me ask you, when was the last time the Pentagon passed an audit? The answer is never.
▶ 0:22:29You're worried about someone on SNAP who gets an average of $2 per meal might get $2.75 per meal, but you couldn't care less when bu millions of dollars are wasted by defense contractors and cost There is $900 billion for giant corporations. Corporations that are known to lay off hundreds of workers as they stash their inflated checks and offshore tax havens like in the Cayman Islands.
▶ 0:22:57And this bill showers the wealthiest Americans with tax cuts. Get this. A family making less than $50,000 per year, they'd get less than $1 a day in tax cuts. I mean, you can't buy a damn cup of coffee with that. But those making a million dollars a year or more, well, they'll get more than $250 a day in tax breaks or $96,000 tax breaks on average in a single year. I mean, that's even worse than the original House bill.
▶ 0:23:29That's how rigged this bill is to benefit the wealthy. The average millionaire gets more in tax cuts than most families earn in an entire year. And to be clear, there is deep support on the Democratic side for extending the middle class tax cuts and passing no tax on tips. We'd be happy to work with you on something that delivers just that. But Republicans are holding bipartisan initiatives hostage to provide handouts to billionaires and gut Medicaid and SNAP.
▶ 0:23:58Now, meanwhile, the new standards for the child tax credit leaves leaves one in every three eligible children behind because this bill doesn't invest in children. It abandons them. All this and Republicans are adding more than $3 trillion to the national debt. You hear you hear that? over $3 trillion. Now, I know some of the Republicans on this committee consider themselves real fiscal hawks.
▶ 0:24:26Well, you cannot with a straight face say that you care about deficits and the debt if you vote for this bill, whether that's out of this committee or on the House floor. This bill even raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion because Republicans know the policies in here will explode our debt. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. This is the biggest transfer of wealth in American history. Stealing from the poor to give to the rich. This is Republicans let them eat cake moment.
▶ 0:24:55It robs for the most vulnerable to pay off the already powerful. It tells every kid without wealth this government has nothing for you. That the American dream is only for trust fund babies. And here's what baffles me. You all know the truth. You all know the truth. You know this bill is cruel. You know that it will hurt millions of Americans. But Trump wants you to fold. And the sad fact is that many of you will fold in a nancond.
▶ 0:25:23You'll vote for this even though you know it's bad for your own constituents. You're absolutely terrified that the guy in the White House will get mad and try to find someone to run against you in a primary. Like one of our Republican colleagues said this weekend on CNN, and I quote, "Everyone in the House knows the peril they're in if they vote no on this thing. They know that their jobs are at risk." end quote. You're terroriststricken that what happened over the weekend to Senator Tom Tillis will happen to you.
▶ 0:25:51Well, Senator Tillis did the right thing, speaking truth to power. You should listen to him when he says that the Senate's version of this bill betrays President Trump's promise not to take Medicaid away from its rightful recipients. He decided to retire because he wanted to put his constituents first. And quite frankly, I think he's tired of dealing with the relentless MAGA threats and BS. Truly, I've never seen anything like this in my life. The kind of petrified feely we see we we're seeing on the right.
▶ 0:26:21Scared by a man who who called voting against this bill the ultimate betrayal. Like who who what kind of president talks like that? Uh that's the language of dictators, not the language of of a president. But let me remind you all of something. The people you should be afraid of, uh, the people you should be afraid of betraying are are not in the White House or dining at Mara Lago. They're back home.
▶ 0:26:44The people in Boone, North Carolina, in Morehead, Minnesota, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in Austin, Texas, in Salem, Indiana, in Jamestown, New York, and Tiffan, Georgia, in Abington, Virginia, in and Nunan, Georgia. They're the ones who hired you. And if you vote for this bill, you're voting to screw them over. Plain and simple.
▶ 0:27:06When their kids go hungry, when their healthc care is gone, when their energy bill skyrocket, when they watch big oil rake in profits while they get pink slips, when they realize that billionaires like Jeff Bezos are getting 40 times the tax breaks that they're getting when they watch the wealthy get richer and they're left behind, they are going to feel the pain that you brought on them. And I think they're you're going to see that reflected in the next election. The American people are watching. They deserve better than this.
▶ 0:27:36Uh they deserve certainly better than this cowardice, better than this cruelty, better than this betrayal. So I'm asking all of you to have a spine. Find your moral comp compass. Vote no on this bill and come up with something better. There's still time. Work with us on tax relief for people who are not making millions and billions of dollars. Let's go back to the drawing board. we can come up with a bipartisan consensus.
▶ 0:27:59Um, and so, Madam Chair, for a million from process to substance, and quite frankly, to give Republican members a chance to read their own bill, I move that the committee do now adjourn. I thank the gentleman. The uh question is on the motion to adjourn. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed say no. No. In the opinion of the chair, the nose have it. Ask for a roll call.
▶ 0:28:30Madam Chair, the gentleman asked for a roll call. Uh, the clerk will report. Will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy, Mr. Roy, no. Mrs. Hchen, Mrs. Hen, no. Mr. Langworthy, no. Mr. Langworthy, no. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, hi. Mr. from McGovern. I Miss Scanlin I Miss Scandlin I Mr. Negus I Mr.
▶ 0:28:58Nagus I Miss Ledger Fernandez I Miss Ledger Fernandez I Madam Chair no Madam Chair no the clerk will report the total four yays nine nays. Uh the nos have it. The motion to adjourn is not agreed to. Without objection any prepared statements that our witnesses may have will be included in the record.
▶ 0:29:22I now welcome our first panel, Chairman Arrington and Ranking Member Bole from the Committee on the Budget, Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Craig from the Committee on Agriculture, Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Palone from the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Chairman Smith and Representative Moore from the Committee on Ways and Means.
▶ 0:29:48Your full statement will be submitted for the record and we ask you summar you summarize your statement in five minutes. Chairman Arrington, I welcome your testimony. Well, the ranking member knows how to get me off topic here. I've got a prepared set of remarks, but I'm just going to speak from my heart. Um, and I appreciate uh the opportunity to be back before this committee.
▶ 0:30:13A little like Groundhog Day because we've been covering this uh uh subject matter, which is important to pour over for the American people. But I got to say that the the people from West Texas sent me here um and especially in this last uh to reverse the curse of the last four the lawlessness and chaos at the border that has devastated my home state of Texas and I would say
▶ 0:30:44probably communities in every state in the country because of the open border and the crime, criminals, and drugs that have been pouring into our communities. I It is the most imminent national security threat to the country and the last president did not faithful faithfully uphold the laws of the land nor did he take serious his constitutional mission to provide for a common defense. That has to change. It's changed on day one with a new commander-in-chief.
▶ 0:31:10And we aim to give him the tools and resources uh to to continue continue to do that job. Secondly, um they all suffered from the 21% roughly regressive inflation tax. Why? Because of Democrats failed policies and their wild unbridled $8 trillion in deficit spending. I'm sure we'll have some good back and forth, but let me be clear.
▶ 0:31:38Um, the American people and our great economy has suffered as a result of paying people not to work, of taxing and regulating small businesses and um, and then of course spinning us into 40-year high inflation. Uh, that hasn't gone over well for the people in West Texas. So, they sent me here to make America uh, stronger, safer, and uh, more prosperous. And uh that's the mandate they gave our president.
▶ 0:32:08That's the mission I'm on. Um and uh I'm going to work uh every day to that end. I believe this bill gets us uh closer to that vision. Um I believe that um the most important thing we can do is equip our sons and daughters to be safe and successful in providing a common defense. Uh we're long overdue to to to invest in military readiness v visv our adversaries.
▶ 0:32:35Um there are lots of things that go into unleashing economic prosperity, but a centerpiece of that is progrowth tax policy. We had the highest levels of investment, job creation, uh, um, repatriation of capital after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, not to mention the lowest poverty rates and unemployment rates on record.
▶ 0:32:58So, uh, this was after the the tax cuts and jobs act, which by the way, the people at the bottom half and and the bottom 10% did far better than the top half and top 10% in terms of wages, in terms of income, and the top 10% or the top 1% paid a greater share of taxes after the tax cuts and jobs act. So, I I think so much of this is misleading nonsense and ripping people off the safety net. My last comment is this.
▶ 0:33:26We I heard quotes about the CBO and 7.8 million people being ripped off the safety net. Let me tell you who those people were according to the nonpartisan CBO. People here illegally, people ineligible, people who have access to other subsidized government health care programs and uh people who are work capable but refuse to work. That's the That's not me, m Mr. Frank member. I assure you it's the CBO, the same source that y'all uh quote uh adnauseium about us ripping the safety net.
▶ 0:33:56Listen, the American people are for what we're doing. They're on our side. They don't want their tax dollars to flow to to to waste, fraud, and abuse. They want to help people and they want the program to help their fellow Americans into the future. And none of this none of this stuff is sustainable. None of it. And we should do more. You're right about the debt. We should do more. That is an area that I think we have to do a lot more or it's going to undermine all of it.
▶ 0:34:24The economy, security, our leadership in the world, my children's future, all of it. And every party, both parties, I should say, both parties have come up woefully short in that regard. And so I hope we can get a commitment from our Democrat colleagues. Let's work together on those things that we know will not be done unilaterally.
▶ 0:34:43and then we'll take a first good shot at cleaning up the waste, fraud, and abuse and the entitlements and the mandatory programs that are driving us closer to that dangerous and and irreparable debt crisis. With that, I yield back, Madam Thank you, Mr. Arrington. Mr. Bole, you're recognized. Thank you, uh, Madam Chair, Mr. Ranking Member, and all the members of the committee. It is an honor to get to be able to testify before this committee.
▶ 0:35:12It is an honor in this moment and a privilege to be here because the next 24 hours might be the most important of our entire careers. The health care of 17 million people who have it today and may lose it by the end of the week. That's all on the line.
▶ 0:35:35the food assistance that another four million currently get and may have taken away from them, that's on the line. So, I can tell you this, there is no place I would rather be than right here, right now, in this moment when each and every one of us can make the critical When this bill passed the first time, it was only by one vote in the House. Just an hour ago in the Senate, it was passed by one vote in the Senate.
▶ 0:36:05I think this will come down to one vote yet again, whether or not this becomes law. And if it does, it will be the greatest loss of health care in American history. Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed 17 million Americans. And let me explain how they arrive at that number.
▶ 0:36:28Roughly half of that is due to the largest Medicaid cuts in American history, but another half of it is due to changes and allowing certain tax credits and provisions to expire in the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. I give the other side credit. They have been working like hell for 15 years to do away with Obamacare. This is the closest that they've ever come.
▶ 0:36:56Millions and millions today currently on Obamacare will lose it if this becomes law. And that's not all. As we confirmed again from CBO a few weeks ago, due to the massive increase in deficit spending in this bill, there have to be 4% Medicare cuts. That's over $500 billion worth of cuts to Medicare.
▶ 0:37:21So Medicaid cuts, Affordable Care Act, ACA cuts, Medicare cuts, the largest loss of health care in American history. I referenced new nutrition assistance moments ago, also the largest cuts to SNAP in American history, cuts to higher education programs, cuts to Head Start. It goes on and on.
▶ 0:37:44And yet, as large as that is, and as bad as that is, that still does not fully pay for the over $5 trillion in tax cuts that mostly go to the hyperwealthy. How is the rest of that financed? Through deficit and debt.
▶ 0:38:03The same crowd that would bemoan the last four years there was a Democrat in the White House about the deficit and debt is adding more to our national debt in this bill than any other piece of legislation to pass since I've been We can do far better than this. The American people are smart. when they've been asked about the provisions of this bill.
▶ 0:38:28I have never seen poll numbers truly I have never seen poll numbers this terrible by a roughly 2 to1 margin. The American people oppose this bill. They oppose millions of Americans losing their healthcare. They oppose millions of Americans losing their nutrition assistance.
▶ 0:38:49They oppose the idea we're racking up even more deficit and debt, which we both acknowledge is a serious problem in our country and bound to get They oppose making a bad problem even worse. And why? For what higher noble purpose to give tax cuts that mostly benefit the top 1% of Americans?
▶ 0:39:16This is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest votes in each and every one of our careers. I am proud to be here doing everything I possibly can to say, "Hell no, let's kill this bill." I yield back. Thank you, Ranking Ranking Member Bole. Chairman Thompson, you're recognized. Well, thank you, Chairwoman Fox, ranking member McGovern, and members of this committee.
▶ 0:39:45I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today concerning the agriculture title of the one big beautiful bill. I'm proud of our product. We're delivering $120 billion in net deficit reduction while delivering a generational investment in the farm economy, giving farmers the tools to expand international markets and ensuring that top tier agricultural research can be conducted here instead of China.
▶ 0:40:11We saved close to $200 billion from the SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by making necessary changes to restore integrity to the program and preserve its ability to serve the most vulnerable long into the future. These represent the largest and most significant reforms made to SNAP in the history of the program.
▶ 0:40:33This bill ensures SNAP works the way Congress intended it to by reinforcing work, rooting out waste, and instituting long overdue accountability incentives to control costs and end administrative overreach. This program is in dire need of reform. Since just 2019, SNAP costs have skyrocketed from 60 billion to $110 billion annually, an 83% increase, while enrollment has grown from 36 million to 42 million.
▶ 0:41:03And in 2024, over 10 billion in erroneous SNAP payments were sent out. That's disgraceful not only to the taxpayer, but also the SNAP recipient. The agriculture title of the bill includes several improvements to the SNAP program, including preventing future administrations from unilaterally increasing SNAP benefits beyond Focusing on a core principle that everyone receiving the benefit that can work should work.
▶ 0:41:34And modernizing the work requirement and closing loopholes allow for widespread waiverss. closing various loopholes that states exploit such as gaming the system to artificially increase SNAP benefits and creating incentives to ensure states run the program more effectively and more efficiently. SNAP is the only federally funded state administered entitlement program where the state has zero skin in the game on the benefit.
▶ 0:42:03It's human nature to be more careful when you're spending your own money than when you're spending others. And that's why we put forward a cost share structure that requires states with high error rates to pay a portion of the SNAP benefit beginning in fiscal year 2028. In addition to the most significant reforms to SNAP in history, our committee was able to deliver a historic investment in the farm safety net and infuse critical investments into rural America.
▶ 0:42:31It's imperative for Congress to rebuild the safety net, the farm safety net. These muchneeded changes mitigate further unbudgeted ad hoc spending and prevent a full-blown financial crisis in farm country that could devastate the food and a supply chain, let alone the economy.
▶ 0:42:49Finally, on the investment front, we take a we take care of a few other important items like investment in trade promotion, animal disease preparedness, specialty crops, dairy research, and some programs that currently are without standing baseline.
▶ 0:43:05In closing, I'm proud to deliver a historic amount of savings to the taxpayer and to do so in a way that will ultimately have positive outcomes for low-income individuals who who give back into the workforce while also standing by our farmers, our ranchers, and our rural communities. This is a win-win. I have great respect for the chairwoman, uh the ranking member, and the members of this committee, and I thank you once again for the opportunity to come before you today. And I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Thompson.
▶ 0:43:35Ranking member Craig, you're recognized. Thank you so much, Chairwoman Fox and Ranking Member The more the American people learn about this big, ugly bill, and it's nearly 200 billion in cuts to food assistance, the less they like it. I honestly don't know how a single one of my colleagues could vote for this bill. 17 million Americans lose their health insurance or lose their health care.
▶ 0:44:05Millions and millions of people across our country are going to lose access to food assistance. You know, most Americans don't even know this yet in our country, but I promise you they will. A recent Fox News poll found that 59% of voters oppose this bill. The American people are not buying what the Republicans are selling even on Fox News. The American people, like House Democrats, want to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.
▶ 0:44:34This bill doesn't reduce waste, fraud, or abuse. It gives government sponsored tax breaks to the wealthiest among us. And you pay for it by taking food and health care away from seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities. And it isn't even paid for. It adds nearly $4 trillion to the national debt. So much for fiscal responsibility here. The American people, including motans, know the cost of living is too high.
▶ 0:45:03This bill does not lower the cost of living. It makes meeting the basic needs like groceries and accessing medical care more expensive. I promise you, this bill will raise health care costs for everyone. The American people want efficient and effective governance. This bill doesn't do anything to improve good governance.
▶ 0:45:24It makes worse makes it worse by pushing billions in new expenses onto state and county governments, forcing our state and local governments into a position where they have to decide between taking food away from their friends and neighbors or slashing other local services or raising taxes. And I mean that.
▶ 0:45:45In 10 states across this country, folks are going to have to look at raising county taxes in order to pay for the administration and perhaps even the benefit of cutting food assistance. In Minnesota alone, where the burden for SNAP cuts will fall to the counties, the Association of Minnesota Counties projects they'll have to raise property taxes by an average of more than 5% to pay for it and by even more in some counties.
▶ 0:46:14Many of you sitting here today do not even know the effect that this bill will have on your counties. Republicans have managed to do almost the impossible. Miraculously, you've created a bill that takes food and healthc care away from millions of Americans in a way that does not save taxpayer dollars, but instead adds trillions of dollars to the national debt. motans and Americans in every corner of this country are asking how is any of this actually possible.
▶ 0:46:45It's simple. You've picked tax breaks for large corporations and ultra wealthy people in our country over hardworking families. Republicans are selling the American people down the river. This bill sells out our farmers and the families they feed. Of course, we need all the elements of a farm bill. Mr. chairman talked about the elements in this bill.
▶ 0:47:10We should be doing this in a farm bill, a full 5-year farm bill with 12 bipartisan titles. It sells out the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans struggling to keep food on the table. It sells out more than 300 rural hospitals that are at risk of closing due to Medicaid cuts.
▶ 0:47:29It also cuts hundreds of billions of dollars from SNAP, our most effective anti-hunger program, by taking $6 a day out of the pockets of vulnerable seniors, veterans, children, and people with disabilities and putting that money back into the pockets of billionaires. Taking food away from the people who need it forces seniors to choose between having a meal and paying for medicine.
▶ 0:47:54And let me just say this because we were in committee for over 20 hours and over and over I heard my Republican colleagues talking about that this activity would not cut access to veterans nutrition benefits. This is exactly what the Senate version does. And most of you, many of you don't even know what this version says. We had one hour to come into this room.
▶ 0:48:19Many veterans, as we know, suffer from behavioral or physical health issues connected to their service. One in three working age veterans with disabilities aren't sure where their next meal will come from. One in four working age veterans can't find work who can't find work are food insecure. Our veterans can't pay for meals with support the troops bumper stickers and they can't eat thoughts and prayers. And it doesn't stop there.
▶ 0:48:47This bill takes food away from former foster youth leaving the foster care system who may not have the same level of support from families that many of us benefited from when we were just starting to make our way in the world as 18 or 19 year olds. I just don't understand where these values are coming from. The American people are right not to trust this bill. The bill doesn't save us a scent. It adds to the debt.
▶ 0:49:13If passed, it will pass millions and millions along to the nation. This bill was a disgrace when it left this chamber. Most of you haven't read it to know that it's even a more of a disgrace now that it's back. And folks, this is one of the worst mistakes anyone who votes yes for will make in your political career. Thank you and I yield Thank you, Ranking Member Craig. Chairman Guthrie, you're recognized.
▶ 0:49:43Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Fox and Ranking Member McGovern. Thank you for holding this hearing today. And the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts wasteful spending, defends our nation's energy dominance, supports the rapid innovation of American industry, and preserve and protects Medicaid for the Americans who are most in need. We will send a bill to President's desk that delivers on Americans leadership across industries, spurs technological in innovation, and supports individual workers.
▶ 0:50:10We will unleash American energy dominance through strategic investments while also putting an end to wasteful subsidies. We will spur technological innovation by renewing American wireless leadership through spectrum auction authority that protects national This legislation begins to refill our dangerously low strategic petroleum reserve and creates new investments to generate reliable energy that will secure our grid and power AI.
▶ 0:50:37This bill also raises $85 billion of new revenue through historic agreement reauthorizing the FCC Spectrum Authority while protecting US national security. Our priority has been to strengthen, secure, and sustain Medicaid for expectant mothers, children, people with disability, and elderly.
▶ 0:50:57Our legislation starts billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program by beginning to close loopholes, ensuring states have the flexibility to remove ineligible recipients from their roles, and removing beneficiaries who are enrolled in multiple states. HR1 ends coverage for deceased beneficiaries, limits the ability of enrolles to obtain duplicative coverage, and ensures individuals with million-dollar homes are no longer eligible to qualify for Medicaid coverage.
▶ 0:51:26These are all common sense policies that will return taxpayer dollars to middle class Americans and families. Republicans seek to return the core intent of the Medicaid program, which was created to protect health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves. Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission, allowing spending to grow into trillions, if not addressed.
▶ 0:51:51Our common sense work requirements and community engagement policies for ablebodied adults who choose not to work encourage individuals to reenter the workforce and regain their independence. This provision speaks to Republicans commitment to strengthening Medicaid to ensure it is available for those who need it most. And this is an issue that resonates favorably with the majority of Americans across the board.
▶ 0:52:15HR1 fulfills President Trump's promise of generational growth, prosperity, and health for the American people. It fulfills our commitment to lowering taxes for working families, unleashes American energy, and safeguards Medicaid for patients that need it the most, and supports the rapid innovation of American technology. It's time to pass this vital legislation and see it signed into law. And thank you, and I will yield back. Thank you very much, Ranking Member Palone. You're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair.
▶ 0:52:46I, you know, I respect you a lot, but when I heard you in the beginning talk about Democrats fear-mongering, I just want to assure you that when I went home on Friday and this short weekend that we had, um, I was not fear-mongering. And um, I was actually shocked because I live in my district, a lot of it is at the Jersey Shore. You know, it's almost July 4th. People were out at the beach in their bathing suits having a good time.
▶ 0:53:12I thought, "Oh, I'm not going to hear much about this bill." But in reality, it was the opposite. I couldn't go anywhere without people talking to me about this bill. Uh, first day Friday, I found out that the county commissioners in my home county, which is a Republican county, consistently votes Republican, had passed a resolution unanimously opposing the bill, all Republicans. Then I went to um church, I guess, on Sunday.
▶ 0:53:39It was a a church, I have to be honest with you, that is uh most of the people there are Republican. There aren't too many Democrats in the church. And literally some of the trustees came up to me and said, "I'm so glad that you're voting against this bill. Please continue the fight against it." I went to the to a a concert. This wasn't a rock concert. This was the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Maybe the name will give you an idea. Methodist Camp Meeting Association. And uh was a classical concert.
▶ 0:54:08I couldn't even get out of the room without uh the hall without people coming up to me and saying um you know this is a terrible bill. I hope you can stop it. Then uh I also met with the governor over the weekend because on Monday our state adopted the state budget was about 57 billion dollar state budget and he and the health commissioner said to me that we're not going to be able to deal with this. We don't know what's going to happen.
▶ 0:54:31And they estimate about $3.5 billion dollars uh cut for the state of New Jersey out of a budget uh next year that as I said was just adopted money 57 billion. What is that about 6%. They don't think we can survive. So uh you know I in all honesty you know you said well we're fear-mongering. We're you know same as doomsday destroying the health care system. But that's what people are saying to us. That's not what we're saying to them.
▶ 0:55:00That's what they're saying to us because they realize that hospitals will close. They'll realize the shortfall in funding for nursing homes. They realize that the uh the deficit spending not only is going to lead to uh sequestration of Medicare by 4% across the board, but that it's going to hurt the economy and the economy could actually go into recession because of the level of deficit. So, I just want to assure you this is what Democrats are hearing from our constituents. It's not what we're necessarily saying.
▶ 0:55:30is what they're saying to us. Now, the other thing I want to stress is that look, the reality is that every time this bill moves forward, more and more people lose their health insurance. I think when it was before our committee, the CBO figures, Mr. Chairman, were like 13.5 uh million people would lose their health insurance. Then when it passed the floor, it was like 145. Now, the CBO is saying that the Senate bill is almost 17 million people that will lose their health insurance. So it becomes cruer.
▶ 0:56:01I don't want to say ugly. I'm going to say cruel, more cruel as we proceed. And I don't know, you know, whether we read the bill or not, this is what the whether you read the bill or not, the CBO is saying that we're talking now about almost 17 million Americans that are going to lose uh uh their health insurance. And what does that mean? It it basically means that the hospitals, the nursing homes, uh community health centers are not going to be get the third-party payment that comes from people who have health insurance.
▶ 0:56:31And so, so much of this is now uncompensated care, which means people will go to the emergency room at the hospital. They can't afford to pay it. It becomes uncompensated care. And then the hospital, what do they do? They either raise prices, which means that insurance premiums and co-pays go up for people that have insurance. You know, we still know the majority of Americans get health insurance for their job. So, those policies are going to be more expensive. The co-pays are going to be more expensive.
▶ 0:56:58And people, all these people that don't have insurance are going to go to the emergency room and they don't get care. They don't see a doctor on a regular basis. They get sicker. And the consequences of the health care system really are uh devastating. Now, the other thing I wanted to say too is that one of the things that got significantly worse in the Senate bill is the provider the provider tax.
▶ 0:57:18In other words, in the House bill, it was bad enough that the level of direct payments that states could make to failing uh hospitals or nursing homes was cut, but now it's made even worse in the Senate bill. the provider tax uh limitations in the House bill made it so that if you didn't if you whatever your provider tax revenue was, it couldn't grow, right? Or it couldn't change. But what they did in the Senate is to basically cut back on it.
▶ 0:57:46So over the next few years, the amount of money that states can raise through provider tax actually decreases. It's not the status quo. It decreases. And that means because of the what happens with that provider tax and going back uh to the hospitals and and nursing homes that they're going to have even less money to deal with and more likely to close, more likely to have cutbacks in services. So look, in my opinion, this is an extreme bill and it's not about waste, fraud, and abuse.
▶ 0:58:17It's not about whether you work or not. Instead, the Republicans are taking away health care from some of the poorest Americans so they can give these big tax breaks to the billionaires, to the to the large corporations, and and they're putting all kinds of paperwork, burdensome paperwork, time-consuming roadblocks in the way people just people who are trying to get by, people who are working or people who can't work because they're disabled.
▶ 0:58:42And now all these uh barriers are being put in the way of there being able to get Medicaid or the ACA. If you if you can't if you're not eligible for for Medicaid because of these roadblocks, then you're also not eligible for the ACA uh because of these same uh roadblocks. Um now let me just talk a little bit beyond healthcare. We're mostly talking about healthc care and SNAP today, but our committee as you know deals with a lot of other things.
▶ 0:59:07So I think you I need to also stress before I conclude that this bill is going to raise energy costs. It's going to prioritize corporate polluters over people. It's going to undermine our efforts to fight the climate crisis which people care about as well. When we pass the inflation reduction act three years ago, Congress took a massive step forward towards lowering energy bills for American families. However, that progress is reversed in this bill.
▶ 0:59:32By rescending a lot of those programs, we're lowering energy costs and helping to build clean energy manufacturing here in the United States. It's a disaster for the environment. I use I know I'm using these these tough words, Madam Chair, but I have to. It's a disaster for the environment because it guts critical environmental protections and programs that were in the IRA. Uh, it rescends the unobligated funds for virtually every Environmental Protection Agency program that was uh that was put into the inflation reduction act. It repeals the greenhouse gas reduction fund.
▶ 1:00:02It also undermines the landmark methane uh reduction bill and the fee that holds polluters accountable and and just gives another leg up to the fossil fuel industry by eliminating uh clean energy initiatives. I believe in all the above. I believe we need new fossil fuels, we need nuclear, we need clean energy. what you're doing in this bill is eliminating the clean energy portion and saying that the rest is okay, but that's not the way it works. We need to move forward with clean energy as well.
▶ 1:00:29And then the last thing I think because my co my my chairman mentioned it about spectrum. He was very proud of I think what you said about the spectrum. But the bottom line is you're taking $80 million from a spectrum auction which traditionally we have used to help uh um you know expand um options for the public like we we funded grants with spectrum for next generation 911 or to make highspeed internet more affordable for American families.
▶ 1:00:59That's what spectrum auction should be paid should be used for. It shouldn't be used to give tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. So, I know I've I've heard you guys say this is the big beautiful bill. I've heard our guys say this is the big ugly bill. I think it's a big cruel bill because American families are really going to suffer and they shouldn't have to suffer in the ways that I described today. We should be trying to help them uh with affordability uh w with making their lives better. This bill is going to be the opposite.
▶ 1:01:27It's really the the big cruel bill in my in my opinion, Madam Chair, and I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Palone. Chairman Smith, you're Thank you, Chair Fox and Ranking Member Member McGovern for this opportunity to testify on how the one big beautiful bill is delivering on historic tax relief for bluecollar workers, middle class families, farmers, and small businesses.
▶ 1:01:56We are at the point now that both the House and the Senate have had their voices heard. And while some of the bill has changed, its promises have not. We are delivering an American economy that prioritizes the working class and the families that make up the heart of this great nation.
▶ 1:02:19We embraced policies that were cheered by the small businesses, the farmers, the moms and dads that appeared before the Ways and Means Committee in field hearings and in tax team meetings throughout the country over the course of more than two years.
▶ 1:02:39In fact, we visited more than 30 more than 30 different states to hear to those small business owners, those working moms, those farmers. This disproves the Democrats claim that this bill is rushed and was created behind closed doors. The American people know exactly what is in this bill.
▶ 1:03:0577 million Americans voted for this bill. We should do the same. Democrats used one party control of Washington to supercharge the IRS with more middle class audits and more reporting requirements for gig workers and small businesses.
▶ 1:03:28They spent over 600 billion on handouts to the wealthy, well-connected, and the political class. The Republicans one big beautiful bill not only ends Democrats lavish, the lavish green handouts and stops the threat of a $1,700 tax increase on working families.
▶ 1:03:55But because of a bigger child tax credit, an increased standard deduction, Americans will get an immediate tax cut compared to what they would pay today. Households earning less than $100,000 get a 12% tax cut compared to what they are paying right now.
▶ 1:04:20wealthy Americans will pay a greater share of the tax burden than they do now. Just as what happened after the 2017 tax cuts, Democrats want to tell a different story. But simple math, simple math shows who pays more taxes under this bill. With the one big beautiful bill, we will protect or create more than 7 million jobs.
▶ 1:04:51Small businesses alone are projected to create 1 million new jobs Democrats spending fueled price hikes. Republicans tax cuts will boost Under Democrats, American families experienced rampant inflation caused by President Biden's lavish spending.
▶ 1:05:19Under these Republican tax cuts, a typical family of four will see their take-home pay increase by upwards of nearly per year. Real wages for workers will rise by as much as $7,200 per year.
▶ 1:05:40We go even farther by including President Trump's promises of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime pay, and no tax on auto loan interest of autos made in the United States and tax relief for seniors. The waitress making her living on tips gets an extra $1,300 in her pocket because of this bill.
▶ 1:06:07The lineman working overtime to restore power after a natural disaster gets an extra $1,400 because of this bill. 40 million 40 million American families will see a permanent increase in the child tax credit to $2,200.
▶ 1:06:30For the 91% the 91% of Americans who use the standard deduction to file their taxes, they will see a permanent increase of up to $31,500. Democrats want Washington to tell families what to do. Republicans believe parents know what works for them. for education.
▶ 1:06:59We give parents and students more opportunity to choose schooling that best fits their needs, including trade schools by expanding 529 education savings accounts. for family growth and health.
▶ 1:07:17We enhance the adoption tax credit, make permanent the paid leave tax credit, we increase the child and dependent care credit as well as flexible spending arrangements. And we expand health savings accounts for our children's future. Trump accounts put children on a financially secure footing pegged to America's economic success.
▶ 1:07:45Under Democrats, families could barely get by. Under Republicans, one big, beautiful bill, families will thrive. This is a historic opportunity to build on the successes of the 2017 Trump tax cuts and provide additional relief for workers, families, farmers, and small businesses.
▶ 1:08:14more investment, more growth, and more jobs right here in America. In fact, even before this bill's passage, policies contained within it have already notched huge victories with the recently announced G7 global tax framework and Canada ending its unfair digital service tax.
▶ 1:08:41The G7 agreement alone will stop foreign governments from stealing upwards to $120 billion dollar of revenues from our country's coffers. That's a huge, huge win.
▶ 1:08:58Madam Chair, we are prepared to get proworker, pro- family, and pro-America tax relief to the president's desk so families and main street businesses can start planning their own futures as soon as possible. I want to thank you for your time and I look forward to the Thank you, Chairman Smith. Representative Moore, my classmate, you are recognized. Thank you, Madame Chair uh Fox and Ranking Member McGovern.
▶ 1:09:28I'm a little congested here today, so it won't be possible for me to be my loud self. Um, but you know, uh, I'm really glad to be the last one to speak on this distinguished panel because I think that you've heard two different arguments here. On one hand, you hear about people getting $11,000 more tax breaks. the the at the lower end of the income spectrum, you know, is all these benefits.
▶ 1:09:58And on the other hand, you've heard members talk about the draconian cuts and the impact that it'll have on hospitals and on on poor people. So, whose report do you believe? And I think that this is the conundrum for the American people.
▶ 1:10:17Well, given my uh in my own faith tradition, I look toward Matthew 7:16, which says, "By their deeds, you will know them." And no matter what, I know many of us have been here for many years, Madam Chair, more years than you and I have been here, and people have already decided what their legacy in this place will be.
▶ 1:10:41But no matter what you think your legacy was, today will seal your legacy. Your legacy will be sealed in the next 36 hours by virtue of how you vote on this bill. And I think that the American people are now seeing the soul of the formerly grand old This Republican party is nothing like the GOP.
▶ 1:11:12You know, the Committee on Ways and Means was uh asked to increase the US debt by trillions of dollars and boy did we meet did we meet that mark with this We done good with regard to meeting that market. And what did the American people buy with the $4 trillion in debt?
▶ 1:11:38Massive tax goodies for billionaires at the cost of 17 million Americans losing healthc care coverage and more hungry school children. By their deeds, you will know them. This is the moment for all of us to stand on the shores of the Rubicon where you can never go back on your legacy.
▶ 1:12:03As Senator Tillis from uh the great state of um North Carolina, he's he has decided that he cannot go back. whatever happens in North Carolina that he would rather resign than to go back on his values as a human being.
▶ 1:12:24So, as we once consider the billionaire's uh bonanza bill, which of course the Senate made worse, I mean, it's hard to imagine, but they did. The Senate, the Republican senators found a way to provide more debt, more lost health coverage, and stifling clean renewable energy of the future.
▶ 1:12:49You know, our nation's founding fathers entrusted this House of Representatives to tax and spend. They felt that the House would act more responsibly with this awesome power because we are responsive to the people. And yet this legislation is nothing short of a total betrayal of the founding father's faith in this body.
▶ 1:13:15You know, I take particular and I'm representing the Ways and Means We take particular offense at the characterization of millions of citizens as cheats, fraudsters, and wastes in order to justify the cuts.
▶ 1:13:36The of people has been extraordinary uh in order to create the narrative, you know, because this bill in fact will make this country sicker, less educated, hungrier, and deeper in debt. And for what? So that billionaires and corporations can have more and more and more by their deeds. Madam Chair, you shall know them.
▶ 1:14:05Back in May when we went through the paces on this bill, we had a bill that handed out billions and billions of dollars to millionaires. Uh in fact, when we looked at this bill, on average, a person making over a million dollars got a tax cut of $81,500. The bill in front of us sent back by the Senate has an average tax cut for a person making over a million and That's right.
▶ 1:14:32The United States Senate took our House bill and said $81,000 in tax cuts just isn't enough for millionaires. We got to give them even more tax cuts. Now, let's check in on the average Americans who are teaching our children and building our roads in Milwaukee and Greensboro and New Brownsvilles in Rock Hill or Bloomington.
▶ 1:14:56In May, we learned that on an average, a household that makes under $50,000 got a tax cut of just 73 cents per day. That was about $247. Spend it wisely, America, because it cost you it's going to cost you your health care and your child's education. By their deeds, you will know them.
▶ 1:15:20And by the deeds of the United States Senate, we saw that we provided even more and more and more to millionaires and billionaires. Um, the Senate saw that that 73 cents a day that we were providing the average American was just too much. So, they clawed back a nickel. That's right. If you made under $50,000 on average, you were getting 68 cents a day.
▶ 1:15:49Uh that's not even enough to buy a a Snickers. Uh and that's what the Senate did. They took away the 73 cents a day and made it 68 cents a day. By their deeds, you shall know them American people.
▶ 1:16:04When we were here in May, we learned that in just 2027 alone, the top onetenth percent, not 1%, onetenth percent, the riches of the rich, that is people making over $2 million a year, the people who we've are told pay the most taxes, well, they got $50 billion in tax cuts just in 2027. $50 billion with the capital B.
▶ 1:16:34That was a House bill. But you know what? Uh that $50 billion just wasn't enough for the Senate. They thought that that because they objected to it not making enough cuts. So they decided to squeeze more and more and more from the old infirm and children. So they moved that number to $60 billion dollar that they gave tax cuts to. That's right.
▶ 1:17:01In 2027 alone, the top onetenth% got $60 billion in tax cuts. Now imagine the need in this country for better schools, child care, and job training. Imagine the needs we could address with the money. Nope.
▶ 1:17:20Republicans want to give a stimulus boost to the super yacht Madam Chair, back in May when we were here, I expressed my deep sadness that in order to quote unquote pay for these tax cuts, Republicans were kicking millions of the most vulnerable Americans off healthcare. Well, you heard it here from this panel. The Senate upped that number to 17 million people. What will we do?
▶ 1:17:49What will the Americans in nursing homes do when that money is moved from health care to the banks of the wealthy? Put them into the streets and hope for the best. Maybe they can get online and do a GoFundMe for all their health care needs. By their deeds, you will know them. Finally, Madam Chair, when we were ha here last May, we had a bill that the the CBO said would blow up the deficit by 2.4 4 trillion.
▶ 1:18:21And when you add interest cost to that, you get $3 trillion. I know we have a lot of people among our Republican colleagues that don't like debt, but for some reason, they like this debt. And the Senate saw this and they were thinking, gee, $3 trillion in debt. We can afford a little bit more debt.
▶ 1:18:42Why don't we just juice that number and make the debt number $4 So, I don't know what it means to be a fiscal hawk because if you vote for this bill, you're adding $4 trillion to the You know, I um I I know that uh Republicans have gone on TV for months and months and months solemnly insisting to the American people that this bill is going to cut the debt, that this
▶ 1:19:12will not hurt anybody on Medicaid, just those lazy bums and and you know, unworthy people. Uh they've g given us uh fantastical growth projections coming out of the White House. They're going to look at revenue from tariffs that are going to be that are going to save the country and generate all these savings.
▶ 1:19:36by their deeds, you're going to know maybe this is what the Senate was when they said that trillions of dollars in tax debt, we don't know the exact number yet, but somewhere between four to five trillion dollars in tax debt equals zero. I got three great granddaughters. I don't know how in the world I'm going to teach him that math. So, Madam Chair, I'll close with this.
▶ 1:20:06I know that sometimes here we're prone to exaggerations. I've heard a lot of exaggerations here today about how, you know, people are going to get $7,200 more in income and all these tax breaks.
▶ 1:20:21Um, I didn't know a lot of drama around here, but I'm not being dramatic when I say that this lipstick on the pig is the worst bill I've seen since I've been in Showering millions on millionaires and billionaires with tax cuts they don't need.
▶ 1:20:41sticking our grandkids with the tab, kicking 17 million people off healthcare, cutting the neediest off of SNAP benefits, cutting off our energy, clean energy uh future, the moral failings of this building are just too many to count.
▶ 1:21:00And yet, rather than step back and ask ourselves, is this really what we want to do, we're barreling toward an arbitrary And I'll tell you, the American people will not be celebrating on the 4th of July.
▶ 1:21:22They'll be looking at us and when they ask me what's the difference between Democrats and Republicans, I will refer them to HR1, the Senate amendment to HR1 and say by their deeds you will know them. And I yield back. Thank you very much, Miss Moore.
▶ 1:21:47Um, Chairman Smith, Chairman Arrington, uh, I've heard hyperbole before, but to say this is the most dangerous piece of legislation in modern history really is beyond hyperbole, I believe.
▶ 1:22:09But we're hearing this constant refrain that this bill benefits no one and harms Can you expand on how this bill benefits low and middle inome Americans? I'll start with you, Chairman Smith, and then come to you, Chairman Arrington. Thank you, Madam Chair.
▶ 1:22:32Let's first say um if you vote against this bill, you're voting against the child tax credit being at $2,200 per child. At the end of this year, it will drop to a,000. That makes a huge impact to 40 million hardworking Americans. And it's simply when they vote no, they're voting against a $2,200 child tax credit. And they're okay with $1,000.
▶ 1:22:59They're also voting against no taxes on tips. There's a lot of millionaires and billionaires that gets tips. No, there's not. But if you listen to the Democrats here, they said this is all about billionaires and millionaires. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime work. How many millionaires and billionaires, Madam Chair, works by the hour?
▶ 1:23:30I don't think there's one. So, by saying that this bill is for the billionaires and millionaires, it's just completely false because no taxes on overtime, no taxes on tips, tax relief for seniors. This affects real Americans. You have permanency for paid family and medical leave tax credit helping work and workers balance family and careers.
▶ 1:24:00Partial refundability of the adoption tax credit. Numerous items could go on and on. But they'll try to say that this is all about the millionaires and billionaires.
▶ 1:24:16But let me tell you, in addition to stopping a $1,700 tax we're stopping a $1,700 tax increase by passing this bill. Working families making between 15,000 to 30,000 will have their taxes cut by 21%.
▶ 1:24:43the largest of any income group in the distribution title. The largest. And that's a fact from CBO. As a result, the one big beautiful bill, the top 1% will pay more in federal taxes. They did before TCJA over 40% of all federal taxes.
▶ 1:25:08And so it's important to know that 66% 66% of the one big beautiful bill's tax cuts benefits American families making less than $500,000 a year. That's a tax cut for real Americans and it counters the false narratives that we have heard this day. Thank you, Chairman Smith. Chairman Arrington.
▶ 1:25:36Madame Chair, I agree with uh Chairman Smith. I can't imagine working families sustaining um a tax hike after the inflation tax which as I mentioned was 21% there. These good people from everyone's district have suffered a cost of living crisis the likes of which we haven't endured or experienced in 40 years. So, I agree with the chairman Smith.
▶ 1:26:06I mean, let's start with do no harm. Let's not have a 22% hike on top of the 21% hike uh which is thousands of dollars from these famil family's uh pocketbooks. But I think the best way to predict the future is past performance.
▶ 1:26:28And if you look at what happened after TCJA was passed, I would say coupled with deregulation and other good economic policies, but we had the highest wage increase in a quarter of a century, for the median household. Um, the people on the lower end of the spectrum did better than those at the top in terms of their the value of the tax cut.
▶ 1:26:57and and wages grew two times as fast in the bottom 10% as the top 10%. The bottom 50 income grew. The bottom 50% of income earners grew three times that of the top 1%. And as the chairman Smith said, the top 1% actually paid a greater share of their taxes. So, uh, not to mention small businesses that support working families and family farms. And so the list uh goes on.
▶ 1:27:27Um but I would say for those lowest income and those that need the safety net, I think this helps them by not allowing illegal immigrants and folks who are otherwise ineligible from siphoning money off and uh jeopardizing the sustainability of these programs into the future. And and in fact, Numbers USA says that uh it's $9,000 in social services taxpayer funded for people here illegally.
▶ 1:27:58That's more than we spend per American citizen on Medicaid. So, uh to Miss Moore, who's a friend to her comment about we will be known by our deeds. How about the Democrats in the Senate, all except four, who voted against the prohibition of illegal immigrants getting taxpayer funded health care when we can't sustain 51% increase over the last four or five 400 to 600 billion roughly on Medicaid.
▶ 1:28:27It will be a trillion dollars in the next over this next budget window. It's it's not sustainable. So, uh, Madam Chair, this this is this this couldn't be a better time or better policies to strengthen working families. Thank you very much, Chairman Guthrie.
▶ 1:28:46Out of all the fear-mongering we've heard, the most ridiculous is the claim that people will die if this bill is The healthc care provisions in this bill target waste, fraud, and abuse in our Medicaid program to ensure it's sustainable for future generations and can continue to provide for our most vulnerable populations such as women and children for whom the program was intended to serve.
▶ 1:29:16Is that correct? That is correct. Thank you very much, Mr. McGovern. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I have questions for everybody. Um, but before I do, I have a question for you, Madam Chair. I'm um I'm just reading some of the This is a post from uh Fox News saying that um uh Andy Harris, who's the uh colleague, the head of the chair of the Freedom Caucus, has said that um he will vote no on the rule
▶ 1:29:47uh when this when this rule comes uh before the the full committee. Uh he said that um he vote no on the rule for the big beautiful bill. He said that um I don't think it's going to be in the next couple of days, but it's going to have to be a compromise between the House and the Senate, basically saying we're not there yet. I I guess if if the head of the Freedom Caucus is now publicly announcing he's against not the bill, but the rule, then what the hell are we doing here?
▶ 1:30:15because I'm if if we lose if you lose three or four members, then we're just we're spinning our wheels here. So, do you do you have any information on where we how many Republicans are going to vote no on the rule because I can assure you every Democrat is voting no on the rule. Uh no, sir.
▶ 1:30:35And as as you know, we are the speaker's committee and it's our task to um hold this hearing on um on the bill and we'll continue until we're given directions that um there is no chance that the uh rule or the bill will pass. Okay. I I I just wanted my colleagues to know that. Uh, and I'll keep announcing as people on the Republican side announce that they're voting against the rule. Um, because I think that's relevant information.
▶ 1:31:06But, um, thank you, Mr. McGovery. Uh, I just I just want to say for the record, I mean, um, uh, Chairman Smith said that Democrats said that this bill is only for billionaires. That's absolutely not what I said in my opening remarks. Um, and um, and I'll say it again. Um it is mostly this bill mostly benefits the welloff and but I said I would support you know some of the tax relief in this bill.
▶ 1:31:33Uh you you know you um you know the the bottom line is that um I support extending the tax benefits for the middle class. Told you I supported tax relief for you know on on on tips.
▶ 1:31:46Um uh and um you know um and so I think we have some consensus there where there is disagreement I think on the tax stuff is the millionaires and billionaires and I I don't know whether you felt you were constrained for time in your opening testimony or not but um you didn't you didn't say anything about the benefits why why we're doing uh why there's tax relief for millionaires and billionaires.
▶ 1:32:13So I, you know, you might want to I'm I'm happy to give you the the time now to explain why do we need tax relief for millionaires or billionaires, especially when people are worried about increasing the debt and, you know, people losing healthcare and SNAP benefits, but this is going to cost them. So why why why a billion why does Jeff Bezos need a tax break?
▶ 1:32:34Ranking MC uh ranking member McGovern, usually when you hear people say that we're uh cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires, they point to section 199A, which is the small business Almost 80% of all businesses in the United States are pass through entities.
▶ 1:32:59And by making that permanent, that small business deduction, that is what helps create so many jobs. And that is where your side of the aisle continues to talk about the millions and billionaires. And the other section that you talk about it is just is Jeff Bezos not getting a tax break in this bill?
▶ 1:33:19The other section that you all are talking about within um tax cuts is is that we're keeping existing tax rates as they are today moving permanently. We're not move we're not reducing those tax rates. We're just keeping them the same. So the fact that we're keeping them the same, you're saying that we're giving Jeff Bezos a a tax cut, but he he he gets a tax cut in this bill. I mean, I'm looking at the uh at some of the statistics here.
▶ 1:33:47According to The way I interpret this bill, the top 1% get 22% of the benefit. The top 5% get 43% of the benefit. The top 10% get 52% of the benefit. And the top 20% get 66% of the benefit. And I don't know about your district, but most small businesses in my district aren't multi-millionaires or billionaires. Um, and you know, you mentioned the child tax credit um in your um uh in your opening.
▶ 1:34:14the child tax credit goes down next year because Republicans designed it that way. Um you made it temporary, but you made tax cuts for corporations permanent. So that's why we're we're dealing with that. Um you know, Republicans want to pretend that this bill provides meaningful tax relief to families through their child tax credit modifications. This is patently false. In fact, what Republicans are doing with the child tax credit in this bill is in many ways even worse than doing nothing at all.
▶ 1:34:43Under this backwards proposal, one in three children in America will be ineligible for the full child tax credit. That means millions of American citizens, citizen children, will lose access to this life-changing assistance that they're currently receiving. In addition, families making more than $400,000 per year will be able to get the full value of the credit, but inexplicably lower income families will get nothing or just a fraction of that due of that due to how Republicans structure the tax credit.
▶ 1:35:13So, the official nonpartisan joint committee on taxation estimated that next year, if this bill passes, 17 million American citizen children will be blocked from getting the full value of the credit. Now, Republicans claim that they just want to they want people to work. But that's just false because this bill actually strips the child tax credit away from children whose parents do work but just don't earn enough.
▶ 1:35:36So, under your proposal, even if parents work full-time for an entire year, they'll earn too little to get the full credit if they're paid minimum wage. And again, this is all happening while we're some of us are are astonished by the way the the tax benefits seem to go toward those at the top.
▶ 1:35:56And I um you know, I and again I um I you know and and and the and the people who this is not just me or Democrats on the ways and means committee expressing concern about that. I mean, the Children's Hospital Association put out a statement opposing this this this bill, saying the new version of the budget reconciliation bill is a crisis for children's healthcare, hospitals, pro and providers uh nationwide, and we asked Congress to oppose it uh you know, as an act to support Americans, America, America's children.
▶ 1:36:26But um but again, I I didn't really get a good answer to why Jeff Bezos needs a a tax break. There's more. Um, I want to make sure that I have this straight because I, you know, I I talked about this, you know, previously and I couldn't believe it, but the House bill got rid of nearly of the nearly 100year-old excise tax on gun silencers, right? But that wasn't enough for the Senate. They also got rid of the tax on saw off shotguns.
▶ 1:36:52Um, I mean, I gotta admit, uh, I'm not much of a gun enthusiast as some of my colleagues here might be, but I would imagine that it's easier to conceal a saw off shotgun or rifle, you know, you know, under your clothes. So, Republicans are basically doubling down on what I call the the hitman handout. Congresswoman Moore, am I right about that? How much would the hitman handout cost taxpayers? And can you talk about any other special interest giveaways in this bill?
▶ 1:37:23Thank you for that question. Thank you, Mr. McGovern, for that question. Uh, it's uh they the Senate got rid of the tax on sawoff shotguns. You're absolutely correct. Uh, and uh, so there will be no tax on shot sawoff shotguns. I mean, I I don't I mean, do you are there any other little giveaways that we know about?
▶ 1:37:52Are we going to have to wait for a few days before we um we uh we find out if they're Well, I I I I think that some of the things that we're seeing is that while we're cutting educational opportunity uh for millions of people, we do provide a tax credit uh for the so-called choice program that will provide tax credits to those investors that invest in uh uh non-public education.
▶ 1:38:21We also see that there's a special carveout for banks of certain loans uh that will not be uh taxed. Of course, we do see uh the um uh movement toward fossil fuels. Yeah. Uh and um No. And I I No, I I mean I'm just saying I think in the in the coming weeks we're going to find coming days if this becomes law, we're going to find out more stuff. I know M Mr.
▶ 1:38:49Smith I don't know if you wanted to And and of course you remember the silencer. Oh yeah. No, which is you know like I I I don't But Mr. Schmidt, did you want to respond to why Jeff Bezos is deserves a tax cut? I would be happy to talk about the the tax on suppressors and the short barrel rifles that you were asking. Yeah, but that wasn't my question. But you can, you know, if you want to talk about, explain to us.
▶ 1:39:14I think people want to know like why does someone like Jeff Bezos need a tax cut when all this other stuff is being cut? You know, I and I think that's a that's not an outrageous question. It's it's what's on a lot of people's minds, by the way, not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans. That's why all the polling that's what the polling tells us is that people don't quite get it. But if you if there's a quick answer as to why Jeff Bezos or people who earn what he earns deserve a tax cut, then I'm happy to yield to you.
▶ 1:39:41So, I'll just say the reality is is this legislation is specifically focused on delivering more jobs, permanent tax cuts, and bigger paychecks for hardworking Americans. That's why the no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and the tax relief for seniors. Mr. Spent $50 million on a wedding. Um, and he's getting a tax cut and but whatever. But I didn't get invited, Mr. The answer to your question, the $2 billion tax cut on the saw off shotguns and so forth comes to about $2 billion. Thank you.
▶ 1:40:10uh you know the dedicated uh uh nonpartisan civil servants at the Congressional Budget Office, you know, provide fact-based estimates on how much bills will cost the American taxpayer, how many people will gain or lose health coverage and other important quantifiable pieces of information that all of us, I think, um want to have before voting on on legislation. And we should be thanking them for the work that they do. And yet Republicans vilify them now. Um, I don't know why.
▶ 1:40:40Uh, maybe because Republicans may be threatened by the facts, but um, I think the facts are important. We need to know how many people are going to lose their healthcare. We need to know how many people going to lose their nutrition assistance. We need to know how much it's going to add to the debt. Um, Chairing Ar Chairman Arrington, I mean, do you agree with CBO's analysis that this bill will add 3.3 trillion to the deficit? Yes. Yes or no? No. Okay. As the current chair of the budget committee, do you agree with President Trump that CBO is quote run by Democrats?
▶ 1:41:11I think they are mostly Democrats and most likely they're biased in in in that regard philosophically. In fact, the current director of the CBO is a Republican. Yeah. And that's according to a recent interview we gave with the Wall Street Journal. That's true. And do you know what you said about the current CBO director when he was reappointed to his position two years ago? Probably something good. I Yeah, you did. He said he has the two key ingredients to faithfully execute the role as our nation's budget scorekeeper scorekeeper. Objectivity and integrity.
▶ 1:41:41Um and then now we hear a whole different version because you Republicans don't like the numbers. And it's not just CBO saying that your bill will cost trillions. It's every budget modeling organization with any credibility. Do you agree with the Yale Budget Lab that your bill will add trillions of dollars to the deficit even when accounting for growth? Yes or no? I probably disagree with most of what's coming out of Yale University. Do you agree with the pen Wharton budget model that your bill will add trillions of dollars to the deficit even when accounting for growth? I disagree.
▶ 1:42:10Do you agree uh with the right-leaning tax foundation that your tax cuts will add trillions of dollars to the deficit even when accounting for growth? I disagree with the with every organization you've mentioned because of a growth rate assumption. Well, and they account for growth. Do you agree with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute that your bill will add trillions of dollars to the deficit even when accounting for growth? May I make a clarification? I mean, you're running through a pretty good list, but I I'm almost done with it. I think what I'll let you finish.
▶ 1:42:40I mean, do you agree with the tax policy center that your tax cuts will sir trillions of dollars to the deficit? I don't. And what about the House Freedom Caucus? uh that these tax cuts will they they have a law estimate but will add over a trillion dollars to the deficit and is way more expensive uh than the House pass bill. Here's my position.
▶ 1:42:59I um I don't think Democrats or Republicans have gotten serious about uh addressing the cumulative deficits into the future and and and even when President Trump before he put his hand on the Bible and took his oath for a second term, CBO projected 20 trillion. So they they I think a lot of organizations will lump the entire $20 trillion.
▶ 1:43:26What I would say is this bill is focused on the growth part of the fiscal health equation and what we have attempted to do is make sure we don't make the deficit problem worse while reaching out to my Democrat colleagues. So you you would disagree with the Freedom Caucus then? Um yeah, I I assume that's one of the reasons why Andy Harris is voting against the rule is because he's concerned about what this is going to add to I think there are a number of people concerned about that issue, Mr. McGovern to be honest with you. Yeah.
▶ 1:43:56Yeah. In March you said, and I quote, "If the Senate is simply using current policy to get tax cuts permanent while avoiding or skirting the responsibility to bring down spending commenurably, then that is a non-starter." That's end quote. Yeah. Then in our April hearing on the budget, when I asked you if you were here supporting a non-starter, you told me, "I opposed the notion that in the final reconciliation bill that we would have a deficit increase on the watch of a party that claims fiscal responsibility as a core principle." And as recently as June 10th, you signed a letter that that said, and I quote, "We remain
▶ 1:44:26unequivival unequivocal and our position that any additional tax cuts must be must be matched dollar by dollar by real enforcable spending reductions." That union um that union is the cornerstone of the House framework adopted in section 4001 of H Conres 14, and it's the minimum standard for our support." End quote. So you've been very consistent in your demands and so I have that so I have to ask you did the Senate follow the House's reconciliation restrictions.
▶ 1:44:52They did not according to the latest analysis from the committee on responsible federal budget the Senate violated the House's instructions by over half a trillion dollars and the final bill will add four trillion to the national debt in including interest. So, here we are with a final uh bill that does something that you called a non-starter that violates your core principles and that doesn't meet what you called the minimum standard for your support. Have your core principles changed since April? I mean, no, sir.
▶ 1:45:23I mean, do words min the words minimum and non-starter not mean what I think that they mean? uh like I I don't understand like why I mean if I were on on the right of this I mean I don't know why you know you wouldn't take this opportunity maybe to follow Lisa Marowsk's advice to you know maybe have a conference with the Senate and try to to to work something out. Um you know I I it just it it seems that everything that everybody you might be on to something. Yeah.
▶ 1:45:52Well, well, it's it Well, and again, if that's the case, then I don't know why we're here in the rules committee taking up your time, but ranking member Bole, it seems to me to be the prevailing view of literally every credible budget expert across the country that the Republicans proposal will blow a multi- trillion dollar hole in our debt. Even Republicans can't seem to get their stories straight. The Trump White House claims that the bill will reduce the deficit by trillions using ma magic math.
▶ 1:46:18Senate Republicans are opting to opting to pretend that $4 trillion in tax cuts don't count as new tax cuts. And a select few House Republicans like Congressman Massie, and I hate to add to his misery, Congressman Roy actually admit that the bill would raise the deficit. Ranking member Bole, can you explain in very simple terms what Republicans are doing here by ignoring current law and using an alternative way to estimate the cost of their bill?
▶ 1:46:46And is it true that the new version of the bill add adds hundreds of billions more to the deficit than what the House Republicans passed earlier this year? Yes, thank you uh Ranking Member McGovern. I have to give uh Republicans credit for this. They have been able to get left-leaning groups and right-leaning groups both on the same side saying exactly the same thing that this bill adds trillions of dollars to our deficit and debt. to be specific, four trillion.
▶ 1:47:17Now, one of the ways process-wise that the Senate Republicans achieved this is actually truly historic. Ever since 1974, we have operated under the Budget and Empowerment Control Act. That's what created House Budget Committee, Senate Budget Committee. It's what gave birth to the Congressional Budget Office. It was to ensure that all members would have accurate numbers.
▶ 1:47:40the official scorekeepers, the Congressional Budget Office would initial uh or would initiate 10-year projections. And within the process known as reconciliation that was created, these numbers needed to add up. If you were going to have new spending, it needed to be paid for. If you were going to um give out tax cuts, that also needed to be accounted for uh either through cuts or additional revenue elsewhere.
▶ 1:48:09Ever since 1974, we have used something called the current law baseline. So, for example, with these tax cuts, the original 2017 TCJA tax cuts, they're set to expire midnight December 31st of this year. If you want to extend them the following day, the following month, the following year, following decade, so be it. You have to pay for it.
▶ 1:48:33Now, because of this legislation, for the first time in 51 years, that will be violated by switching to something that's called current policy baseline. It is an intellectually bankrupt Current policy baseline is jargon for essentially this concept. I bought a donut this morning. I paid for that donut.
▶ 1:48:59Now, tomorrow and the next day, and every day for the rest of my life, that doughnut will cost me nothing. According to current policy baseline, that is true. This bill uses, make no mistake about it, current policy baseline. And again, because I'm being magnanimous, I want to give Republicans credit. You have just solved Democrats problem and come up with the way Democrats will pay for Medicare for all. You have actually solved it by using current policy baseline.
▶ 1:49:31This is a new precedent that has been set and when this bill becomes law, if it, God forbid, does become law, this will be the new standard that the Democratic side of the aisle will absolutely follow from now on. Well, I um I thank you for that, Chairman Thompson. Um I want to go go to something that ranking member Craig mentioned in her opening because I think this is important.
▶ 1:49:54When our committee marked up this uh big ugly bill in May, I I recall you saying that your bill protects veterans. In fact, you actually took credit for the exemptions from work requirements for veterans, former foster youth, and homeless people that that uh were signed into law as part of the fiscal responsibility act.
▶ 1:50:15And as we're here now with a bill that actually gets rid of the protections for veterans, for former foster youth, and for homeless individuals, Mr. Chairman, I know you know this, but I'll lay this out for members in this room who who don't serve on the agriculture committee like us and for people watching this uh at home.
▶ 1:50:36This means if this bill gets signed into law, veterans, former foster youth ages 18 to 24, and homeless individuals will now be kicked off of their SNAP benefits after 3 months. So, a 64 year old veteran who can't find a job has nowhere left to turn. I mean, he will go hungry in three months.
▶ 1:50:58a 19-year-old girl uh a 19-year-old who lived a complicated life in and out of different foster homes gets snapped for three months and then she's out of luck. A person who can't find stable housing and is trying to find a place to stay is kicked off his of his food benefits in 90 days.
▶ 1:51:18And and so, you know, uh when we when we're talking about people being hurt, I mean, these are the people that we're talking about. And so, my question for I mean, do you support removing the protections for veterans? Well, Mr. Governor, I'm hesitant to correct you, but my statement was President Biden uh was the one that was pushing those three populations of having them exempt.
▶ 1:51:47Uh from what I saw, and I complained about this at this time in those negotiations, we were cheating those three populations from greater opportunity. uh because we um we were not going to be able to provide them access to the SNAP employment and career and technical education benefit which we sign in invest significant monies on um if they can't work as you know being on the committee as long as what you have been and being in and and being a champion for nutrition which I appreciate your passion um that
▶ 1:52:17there's two other alternatives is an average of 80 hours a week working or 80 hours of volunteer week work a month. I'm sorry. 80 hours a month. Yeah. Uh of uh working, volunteering, or engaged in and and quite frankly, it's my it's my favorite. I I'll be honest with you. It's engaged in 80 hours of SNAP employment and career and technical education.
▶ 1:52:42And so, just because somebody can't find a job doesn't mean their their their benefits stop after three months. They could volunteer an average of 80 hours a month and still be eligible. Or better yet, uh, let's give them a shot at at the American dream, which is not stuck in poverty. Uh, it's it's having access to that ladder of opportunity.
▶ 1:53:04Well, I make sure that I I'm not misquoting you here because I I this is from the this was from 51425 when you said, quote, "This committee, Mark, continues to exempt veterans." That was part of the negotiations I reached with President Biden during the fiscal responsibility act negotiations. Our veterans are exempt from SNAP, the SNAP work requirement. That is the law. Uh we are not proposing to change the law. Well, those negotiations are negotiations are give and take. That was not my position.
▶ 1:53:30I thought we were cheating those three populations and and the House version did leave did leave them intact given the fact that they would naturally expire on their own after just a and with respect that somehow we're cheating them of opportunities. I mean, if we're leaving them stuck in poverty, we're cheating them. Um, most states operate voluntary programs and can assign people who are interested in SNAP ENT to the program regardless of work status. These programs are severely limited. That's right.
▶ 1:53:58Due to a history of underfunding by both the state and the and the federal government. So even if you're subject to the paperwork requirements, there's no guarantee that you can participate in training because states don't have enough spaces. So this bill subjects millions of new people to the time limit in SNAP and there aren't nearly enough ENT slots. So to put in perspective, there were just over 300,000 ENT slots total.
▶ 1:54:24The demand is high and we aren't here talking about more funding for ENT. We we we are here talking about you kicking more people off of benefits. And just to be honest about what you're doing, you know, please I I think it's important to state that. I don't know uh ranking member break whether you want to add. Mr. Rank member, I I guess I would I would challenge you to say there are not plenty of volunteer opportunities in every community. Yeah. And and and people's lives are very complicated.
▶ 1:54:54In case um you're not out and about in your districts, people's lives are very complicated. people don't fit into these nice neat categories that everybody uh that that you all outline that is life is not doesn't fall into the black and white categories. They they a lot of gray area in terms of how complicated people's lives are. Ranking member Craig, I would just add I would just add ranking member that these are people who've served this nation in our military and we each know them.
▶ 1:55:21Uh we know homeless veterans, we know those who are suffering with mental illness. And the idea that um we are going to take food away from them in their time of need because they can't work 80 hours a month. Um to me, it's unamerican. Yeah. And and I again I I I find this a particularly cruel provision um in the bill.
▶ 1:55:46Uh, ranking member Craig, this bill sets up a massive new bureaucratic system, forcing states to, for the first time ever, cover the cost of providing benefits to people. States have no clue how they're going to come up with the hundreds of millions of dollars uh to cover SNAP benefits. I mean, CBO and 23 governors wrote to us to say that states may be forced to drop out of SNAP entirely due to the increased cost. States not offering SNAP benefits to people would be catastro would be catastrophic.
▶ 1:56:16It would make hunger exponentially worse in this country and push people deeper into poverty. And I can't even begin to guess what kind of long-term consequences that would have on health care costs, workplace productivity, and educational outcomes. So, you don't have to take my word for it. We had 23 governors write to Congress and they said, quote, "If states are forced to end their SNAP programs, hunger and poverty will increase. Child and adults will get sicker. Grocery stores in rural areas will struggle to stay open.
▶ 1:56:43people in agriculture and food in the food industry will lose their jobs and state and local economies will suffer. End quote. I ask unanimous consent to insert their letter into the record. Um, yeah. And in some states, I know Minnesota is one of them, and you mentioned this. Um, and by the way, Mr. Palone and Miss Moore, New Jersey and Wisconsin are also on that list. Counties counties will be on the hook for a portion of that cost.
▶ 1:57:09In Minnesota, I think I think counties will be on the hook for coming up with $43 million per year to continue offering benefits. I I know you do your homework, Miss Greg, and I know you talked to county officials about this. Do county officials in Minnesota have confidence that they can come up with $43 million a year? And if they can't, then what happens? No. Uh, Mr. Ranking member, they do not.
▶ 1:57:34In fact, those county commissioners in Minnesota have been burning up my cell phone all weekend long. Um, states already have skin in the game. You know, 50% of the cost share for administer administering SNAP goes to the states. And in some states, that cost is even higher. In Minnesota, for example, the cost of admin administering SNAP mostly, uh, it's about 80% falls on the counties. And this bill shifts more of the cost for federal food assistance programs onto them.
▶ 1:58:04I I've heard from a bunch of them in the last 24 hours and today the Minnesota Star Tribune the headline front page was Trump's federal spending bill could force Minnesota counties to raise property taxes. Realistically, uh, Mr.
▶ 1:58:19Ranking member, the only thing that those Minnesota counties are going to be able to do with this unfunded mandate is either raise local taxes, county property taxes, or they're going to have to not fund other priorities uh, in the So this this could end up being a tax increase at the at the state level or at the county level. I mean in order to be able to make sure the people have the basic necessity of food. Yeah.
▶ 1:58:43For many motans the tax increase at the local level is going to just completely uh offset. It's going to be much much more than the tiny little uh tax decrease that some of the folks here are suggesting people may end up with. Look, it's a lose-lose for motans, but you know, Virginia, New Jersey, the members on this committee, the rules committee, and I would suspect a lot of the folks here, Mr.
▶ 1:59:07McGovern, don't actually know about this uh yet, or you've only learned about it in recent days, uh Colorado, Ohio, and in particular North Carolina and New Jersey, where counties pay actually 100% of the administrative cost.
▶ 1:59:21In fact, I have a statement here from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners that was issued last week that I'd like to read because I think it should be incredibly important to members of the rules committee uh across the aisle by reducing federal funding and shifting administrative costs to state and local governments. Congress would force North Carolina and its counties to replace tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, either by generating new funds through increased taxes or redirecting them from other essential programs.
▶ 1:59:51Should the state be unwilling or unable to replace the SNAP benefit reductions, individual counties will be forced to choose between diverting funding from their own programs, raising local taxes, or watching their residents go without this important safety net. local governments are most disadvantaged to replace SNAP funding. The best way to ensure our residents receive this benefit is to preserve federal funding. It's just really truly difficult, Mr.
▶ 2:00:18McGovern, to see how the people in this room could support a bill that is going to increase taxes at the county level on so many of the states across this country. And I I I think on this is a big deal. It's a big change. And I I do think this should have been the subject of hearings and we should have heard from people from all around the country as to what how they would potentially deal with it or not deal with it and what the impact would be.
▶ 2:00:45I mean the cynic in me says that maybe part of the deal is to get states to op out a snap and to not provide people a food benefit and just take that off the off the table. Um, you know, but but I I this is going to have an impact that I think most states don't even have a clue of, right, of what it's going to mean for them. If I may, Mr.
▶ 2:01:07Governor, the CBO uh scores that you um that you quoted, that was actually when there was um when there was state share that was scored a state share of 50%. Well, that out which is outrageous. And of course, the Senate uh made some refinements to the process. Any error rates under 6% is a zero cost share. The idea here is not to punish anyone.
▶ 2:01:32It's to incentivize the states to do a better job error rates underpayments. Well, underpayments or overpayments because overpayments get clawed back and that hurts people in future months. Well, I I would encourage um us all to read read what actually came back from the Senate because in fact um you know 10 states in this country are not going to be subject to the cost shift that others are as a result of a lastminute deal cut over in the Senate by one US senator.
▶ 2:02:01And for that matter, I just say last night, um, the governor of Pennsylvania warned that his state, your state, uh, here, some of you here, might have to opt out of the program, leaving two million people without federal food assistance if these cuts become law. The consequences for that, our health, our rates of childhood obesity, of of hunger for econom. It would be devastating if this happens. Just one quick question. Are undocumented immigrants um in SNAP? No, of course they aren't by federal law.
▶ 2:02:30And look, every member of this committee should just go on their phone. I know you all know how to use a phone. The USDA website clearly states, this is a direct quote, SNAP is not and has never been available to undocumented non-citizens. Only American citizens and certain other select groups of documented, that means their country in this country legally non-citizens may uh receive SNAP.
▶ 2:02:56embarrassing that any member of Congress would actually No, but I thank you for saying that because I've heard some of my Republican colleagues on talk shows talking about that and they aren't and they never know what they're talking about. I just have one last set of questions for um energy and commerce. Mr. Guthrie, President Trump has said time and time and again and and he and and in fact he continues to say that Republicans will not touch Medicaid. Uh but but which is it blows my mind that he says that.
▶ 2:03:24But anyway, but if Republicans enact this bill, you will be in clear and total violation of that promise. This bill, as I read it, includes $930 billion in cuts to Medicaid. That's according to the nonpartisan budget scorekeepers at CBO. But just don't don't take it from me or even from the budget experts. listen to the doctors and the hospitals across the country that say this bill will de devastate the health care devastate healthcare in this country.
▶ 2:03:51The Children's Hospital Association said and I quote, "The new version of the budget reconciliation bill is a crisis for children's health care hospitals and providers nationwide. And we ask Congress to oppose it as an act of support for America's children. your child, regardless of their insurance status, could see the the services they rely on reduced or eliminated with significantly less support to sustain them.
▶ 2:04:15The bill amounts to fewer doctors and nurses to see your child, longer wait times, and sicker children." End quote. Hospitals across the country have raised alarms, including in Louisiana, Ohio, and in your home state of Kentucky. On June 26, the Kentucky Hospital Association said that this bill will force hospitals to close and endanger 20,000 health care jobs in your state.
▶ 2:04:39In in total, estimates suggest that more than 300 rural hospitals and over 500 nursing homes could close because of this legislation. The fact that this bill cuts Medicaid has even been confirmed by key Republicans, including Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina, the Chairwoman Fox's home state, who asked, quote, "What do I tell people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them
▶ 2:05:10off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore?" So, Chairman Guthrie, can you answer that question? What what what should Senator Tillis tell the hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina who will be pushed off of Medicaid because of the the cuts in funding? And and what about the 40 40,000 people in my district in Massachusetts who will lose their healthcare?
▶ 2:05:30I mean, I think you you think that they deserve to know why uh cutting these benefits is such a priority and uh especially because the the offsets are being used again not to reduce the deficit or the debt but to pay for tax cuts for very wealthy people. Yeah. Let me start start with as as we were here before the people who were losing their health insurance on the Medicaid side of the people who were most affected one were illegal.
▶ 2:05:56There are people that are illegal that receive Medicaid benefits through states that choose to do that. That was that was that was burded out of the bill. So that's not part of it. So you got the most but but never federal Medicaid. Well well there's two there's what two ways to do it. One is they use the the federal office to that's that's 9010 whatever you want to call to administer it. So that's what we were looking at was is the administration costs. The other thing is you don't have to verify legal legal status until 90 days into being on Medicaid.
▶ 2:06:25There's people technically be on Medicaid and it's scored. So there's no that it happens with CVO and and that was not allowed in by the bird rule. So the other is people that are not eligible because of eligibility rules and then people that are able to work. It was 4.6 million. That number um is is of people who were estimated that were able to work and we say able to work it's people based that all the ones that you talked about with mental health with all the other they're exempted out people with substance disorder.
▶ 2:06:52Well, according to the joint e economic committee, um 184,526 people will lose their healthcare coverage in Kentucky. Are they all are they all deserving to lose their healthcare benefits?
▶ 2:07:05So, I would say if they're able to work and choose not to work, when I say under the restrictions that we have for for eligibility, uh most Kuckians, I know there was some criticism that came out from the governor's office of our bill, but if they're defending people that are able to work and they're not working, an awful lot of people in Kentucky, ranking member, well, Kentucky has one of the lowest workforce participation rates, people who are eligible to work that are working and and we they'll be better off if they're working. Yeah. I I I I I I I I want to make just one thing before go Mr. Cologne.
▶ 2:07:35This notion that, you know, all these millions and millions of Americans really are living the easy life, you know, staying home, watching TV and being on Medicaid and being on SNAP is ludicrous. A food benefit that's on average $2 per per meal for an individual. I mean, I mean, it's just like it's so offensive to people in this country.
▶ 2:07:58Um, and you know, I mean, I don't know whether you talk to your constituents who are on Medicaid, but I'll tell you, I mean, their lives are often times very, very complicated. And I think they just they part of why this bill is so unpopular is because people think you're talking about them. I I agree that people have complicated lives and everybody fit, you said it, and that everybody fits into a neat category, but but it doesn't make sense to let people that are there are substantial number according to studies of people that are receiving Medicaid that could otherwise be working.
▶ 2:08:25That's why we were very careful to to to sculpt an provisions where people that are that are on substance use disorder, people that are mental health, they're they're all exempted. People with dependent child at home, living through the last 24 hours and watching the the minations of the United States Senate trying to add things, take things out, move things around, using the words very careful don't seem to apply here.
▶ 2:08:47And I'm willing to bet you anything that if this thing becomes law, you know, you'll find out in a few days that there's something in here that none of us knew was in there uh or that has an adverse impact on on something that we care about and it's going to be too late to do anything about it. So, I'm I'm I'm just telling you this is this was not a very careful process. We don't we don't know all of the implications about what is what is coming before. The eligibility requirements from the House have stood and those were very carefully drafted because of the points you made.
▶ 2:09:14So, Raiki Member Palone, Republicans continue to falsely claim that the that the only people who will lose health insurance will be undocumented people or people who sit at home watching TV all day. Can you can you address this point and discuss who will lose health care under this bill? Who is actually losing health coverage and why do they need Medicaid and the ACA? Well, let me divide the answer in two parts.
▶ 2:09:37One is about the people that lose their health insurance and the second is about um the u the cuts to providers and the children's hospitals and the other things you mentioned. First of all, the Republicans have to stop I know they won't but they have to stop saying that the only thing they're doing here is work requirements or uh or you know paperwork.
▶ 2:09:58Um the bottom line is that if you talk about the trillion dollars that's going to be cut here or the 17 million people that are going to lose their health insurance, there's probably only a third of that trillion dollars that's related to the paperwork. Now, that's significant because the bottom line is that, you know, it's not fair. use the Georgia example. I've used a million times where they estimated three or 400,000 people that were eligible for Medicaid expansion and only 4,500 of those actually got uh Medicaid because of the paperwork requirements.
▶ 2:10:29Meaning, you know, you've got to file every month, you have to show that if uh that if if you're not working, it's, you know, because of a level of disability that's impossible to reach. You know, that's that's maybe a third of it. The rest of it is all the other cuts, right? So, for example, uh with regard to the ACA, the uh the subsidies, the enhanced subsidies are gone.
▶ 2:10:52So, if you're health insurance cost you uh you know, is is valued at say $5,200 a year and you're paying $100 a month, you're now going to have to pay an extra $4,000 that would have been subsidized and you can't afford it. So, therefore, you don't get health insurance, right? So, this is not primarily about paperwork requirements, although those paperwork requirements are so awful that a lot of people will lose their health insurance. The other thing I was going to say too is that you talk about the children's hospital.
▶ 2:11:20You know, this is what the the what the what the Senate did that made this so much more honorous. We don't talk about CHIP, right, much. You haven't heard much about that, but the what they what's been done collectively between the House and the Senate with CHIP is devastating, right? So now there are lifetime and annual limits on how much uh can be spent for a child on CHIP. There are provisions that say you have to wait 30 days before you're eligible for CHIP.
▶ 2:11:46So the children's hospital hospitals are devastated in part not only because of Medicaid and the ACA cuts but also because the impact on CHIP and then what the Senate did with the provider tax was even worse because you understand that there's two things here that hospitals depend on if they're failing a state like New Jersey will give them what we call direct state payments so that they don't fail. Those are significantly cut back in the House and Senate bill. the provider tax.
▶ 2:12:15You know, if you say in the House bill, we said, "Well, we're going to just keep the provider tax the way it is. You can't raise it due to inflation. You can't change it any any other way." But they didn't change the status quo. What the Senate did is to scale back and say every year the provider tax is going to be less and less.
▶ 2:12:34And then if you don't get that provider tax at the state level, then you can't give the providers in this case the hospitals and nursing homes uh the the level of money so that they can actually operate. So look, I I don't want to I don't want to to eliminate the emphasis on the paperwork or whatever the Republicans call it, the work requirements. That's devastating enough, but you you have to understand that that's a ver that's a a certain percentage of this overall cuts.
▶ 2:13:03It's not the majority. A lot of this is just directly cutting these programs and the amount of funding that's coming to the providers. That's what's going on here. Thank you. Uh Mr. Mr. Guthrie, um are you aware how much damage this bill is going to do to the clean energy industry in Kentucky?
▶ 2:13:25I mean, uh, I I have a letter here addressed to you from manufacturing companies in Kentucky, and the letter states, quote, "There are already more than 14,000 clean energy jobs in Kentucky in the battery, manufacturing, automotive, grid, infrastructure, critical minerals, and clean energy industries." End quote. The letter further states that 8 bill that $8 billion in announced funding for these industries to your state has yet to be spent and is a significant risk if this bill pass. That sounds like a heck of a lot of jobs.
▶ 2:13:53Uh I mean what do you what do you say to to these employers and um you know um and I again I mean we you know I mean on the tax portion of this bill I mean what do you what do you tell the thousands of people who could lose their their jobs from Kentucky or for that matter your I mean Missouri I mean who want to work in these highpaying industries. I mean this this bill is a is a job killer and a and a climate killer. Three of the largest battery plants are in my district. one battery plant.
▶ 2:14:22Uh Ford offers a good product people are going to buy. They were going to build two battery plants in my district. They built two plants. They're going to equip one because it they make a good product and people are going to buy it. They're not going to equip the other. They're looking for other uses for it. The other one is actually in my hometown and I say this and I've told people who've asked me about this. I think if people choose to buy an electric vehicle, that's absolutely their choice. I don't think it's the federal government's job to mandate them to do so.
▶ 2:14:49And uh I think it it's better off for the American people regardless of what it uh the specific issues. But I think people are going to end up buying these cars because they're good products, but I don't think that uh they should be mandated. I just don't think they should be mandated to be bought. Mr. I just our clocks have gone wonky on us now. Been going about four minutes. No. And I and I and I I think that's really testing. No.
▶ 2:15:19And I and I appreciate the chairwoman's ad admonition, but with all due respect to everybody who's here. Um, I mean, this is a big deal. Um, and we're we don't we don't even have we don't even have time to to read everything in this bill. Uh, and you know, for many of us who have looked at the House bill and tried to follow what's going on in the Senate, we are really worried about how it's going to impact our constituents. And so, I I get it.
▶ 2:15:45But we have no other opportunity to be able to ask these questions and get these answers. And so again, I will I I I apologize to the panel. But this is important and I will I would Can I finish my thought though? Oh, yeah. Yeah. But if if I was a business and my member of Congress was not going to mandate that people buy my product, I might send them a letter as well. Mandating you to buy a product. Well, they're mandating you have to buy electric.
▶ 2:16:10We're actually we're actually trying to get an industry off the ground and maybe do do provide a little help in combating climate change and actually being good to this planet. Yeah. And uh you know, so anyway, I think people would rather that than tax cuts for Jeff Bezos. um Thank you very much. I want to make take five seconds.
▶ 2:16:35We've heard mention of people who are on SNAP and on welfare having complicated lives. Let me tell you, the most complicated lives are the people in this country who are working 40 plus hours a week to pay their taxes and deal with their children and and health care and other things. And I don't hear too many people defending those people. Madam Chair, with all due respect, the majority of able-bodied adults on SNAP work for a living.
▶ 2:17:04Um, and the majority people on the program are children and they're senior citizens. So, let's not leave the misimpression that, you know, that that that the program is just for people who don't work. Mr. Norman, I want to thank all the committee heads, chairman, for what you've done. The first bill that we put out, each of you worked hard to get. each of you uh had had things and and were part of the process.
▶ 2:17:32Our Democrat colleagues, no one voted for our bill uh that we that the House sent over. No one agrees with giving uh money back to the taxpayer that they earned. And to have my good friend Mr. McGovern question whether they were really people who uh are able-bodied and it's not that many of them. you hadn't been in the real world.
▶ 2:17:56You go to that restaurant, you go to that electrician, you go to that tire manufacturer, every day the number one concern is getting people who are willing to do hot work. It's not there. You've been in government too long. Uh and all I would say is that uh the uh and the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence would be astounded that we're sitting here uh talked about something that we hadn't read fully. We hadn't got a copy of it. Now, Mr. McGgovern, I do agree with you on that.
▶ 2:18:26Uh, the fact that we should have it in hand. I think the founders and the 56 signers of Declaration of Independent would be astounded that we're adding debt to our children who and grandchildren uh who are defenseless. Debt is a is a curse. And Jody, you were right. Uh, we got to reverse the curse. And what the Senate did is unconscionable. What they did to our bill was unconscionable.
▶ 2:18:51Um and that's why you know I will be unlike my Democrat colleagues they will not support anything that's I mean their new leader in New York Mandani uh you know governmentr run stores governmentr run gas stations governmentr run apartments uh I wonder how many U-Hauls are now leaving New York and the theory the socialist theory just does not work so um I'm against this because what the Senate did I'll vote against it here and I'll vote
▶ 2:19:21against it on the floor uh until we get it right. And the fact is the good news, we're going to pass the tax cuts. The tax cuts don't expire until the December of this year. We're going to pass the tax cuts and I think we're going to go back to the drawing table.
▶ 2:19:37It it is my hope we'll go back to the drawing table and get very close to what we sent the Senate because instead of each individual senator getting a goodie bag in and sacrificing the health of this country is an abomination to again the founders and the 56 signers of Declaration of Independence. So, um I do think that uh hopefully we'll get to that. Uh we're not there yet, but uh I think hopefully we will be.
▶ 2:20:06and the American people will be better off for it. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Norman. Mr. Scandlin, you're recognized. Yes. I'd first yield to Mr. McGovern. No. Uh the gentleman just took a swipe at me. Let me return uh a swipe by saying I think he spent too much time at Mara Lago and with people who are well off and well connected. Um he needs to spend a little bit more time talking to people who are struggling in this country. And by the way, I think we just have another announcement of somebody who's opposed to uh the bill you opposed the rule to.
▶ 2:20:37Yes. I'm gonna vote against the rule and I'm going to vote against So that's three. If we get one more then then we're done for today and you can go and work out something different. So I don't know why we're here. If uh we already know three people who are going to vote against the rule. We're not even get this thing to the floor. if unless unless uh unless you cave, which has become a kind of a a a pattern around here, but I yield back. Thank you, ranking member.
▶ 2:21:06Um yeah, it's interesting how many how many qualms we're hearing from across the aisle, whether the Senate or the Senators Yes, it is. Um whether it's senators or members of the House who don't think this bill is ready to go. Um I couldn't agree more. I think uh it's it's the most expensive bill in in the history of our nation. Um I had a town hall this weekend. My constituents have questions about it. I've got a lot of questions about it.
▶ 2:21:35It all the reports we're seeing come out have that it's the biggest wealth transfer in our nation's history. It's the largest effort to kick people off their health care in history. It's a sweeping assault on nutrition assist assistance that's going to have kids going hungry and also without health care. So I think it's a monstrosity. I don't think it's defensible either morally or economically. It's supposed to reduce the national debt and it adds trillions to the national debt.
▶ 2:22:04Um that's because the real purpose is not debt reduction. And I think it's pretty clear the real purpose is to give tax cuts to billionaires in big business in service to this failed economic theory of trickle down economics which has proven over half a century to never spur the kind of economic growth to make up for the deficits that tax cuts for billionaires create.
▶ 2:22:30If Republicans run through these tax cuts, our economy will not magically overperform to make up the lost revenue. It just doesn't work that way. But we will see even more income inequality as the rich, the Musks, the Bezos, the Mara Lago millionaires get richer and everybody else gets left behind.
▶ 2:22:51Um, some of our colleagues say they hate this bill or they don't like parts of it, but at the end of the day, they have lacked the guts to stand up for the American people and they have voted for this travesty of a bill over and over again because the head of their party wants it. Time and again, we've seen the only Republicans willing to stand up for their constituents in the country are those who are on their way out the door.
▶ 2:23:18So, what kind of moral compass does one need to have to think that a millionaire deserves a tax cut, but a working mom should lose her healthcare? As ranking member Moore suggested, our bills, our budgets make clear what our priorities are. And what's clear here is that Trump's Republican party only cares about rich people and large companies. They don't care about working people. They don't care about kids. They don't care if you need Medicare or SNAP to make ends meet.
▶ 2:23:45This bill is an unconscionable attack on the middle class and on our poorest American neighbors. It's a 940page testament to Republican values. And those values are grim.
▶ 2:23:58It's really shocking to see the supporters of this bill trying to justify taking away health care from 17 million people, kicking 5 million people off SNAP, causing the closure of hundreds of nursing homes, community health centers and hospitals across the country, allowing mining and oil drilling on our public lands and in our public forests.
▶ 2:24:21raising energy costs for consumers across the country while adding nearly $4 trillion to the national debt so that the mega rich can get mega richer. Who in their right minds thinks this is a good deal for the American people? For every millionaire that gets a tax cut, 19 people will be kicked off their health care and six people will lose their food assistance.
▶ 2:24:45I don't think these measures reflect the values of the hardworking families that I represent in Pennsylvania's fifth and I don't think it's what most Americans want now that we have the details in writing and that's why I think this hearing is particularly important as this bill has been constructed over the weekend with lastm minute additions in they're out um we all need to be reading this bill and not after taking the votes this bill puts the government's weight entirely
▶ 2:25:15on the side of the wealthy and well-connected. It values caviar over kids. It values hedge funds over health care. And it values Mara Lago over the middle class. The healthc care cuts alone in this bill are breathtaking. Medicaid, a program that ensures over 90 million Americans, including almost half of all the births in this country, is on the chopping block.
▶ 2:25:39The bill slashes state funding, imposing work requirements and paperwork traps and repealing incentives to expand Medicaid altogether. And the Republican justification for these Medicaid cuts is bold.
▶ 2:25:53As we have heard, as anyone who's looked at it knows, federal Medicaid does not cover undocumented immigrants, but it does cover millions of children, including 99% of all foster kids, which I know is a particular concern for Rep. Moore, almost half the births in this country, and one-third of all kids with cancer. And that's whose health care coverage is being threatened by this bill. The work requirements are a particularly cruel hoax.
▶ 2:26:23They don't increase employment. They just increase the red tape. And I thought our Republican colleagues were against bureaucracy and red tape. When Arkansas tried similar work requirements, over 18,000 people lost coverage and there was no increase in employment.
▶ 2:26:40This bill manditates mandates similar complicated paperwork requirements so that a Medicaid recipient has to prove they're doing 80 hours a month of work or community engagement even though the vast majority of folks on Medicaid are already working in school or caring for a family member.
▶ 2:27:00So, even though most Medicaid recipients are working, if they forget to file a form, if they miss a verification deadline, if their employer fails to respond, or if their state a agency makes a mistake, they get kicked off Medicaid. It's not that they're not eligible, it's that the paperwork gets them kicked off. It's a cruel bureaucratic paperwork trap, not a work incentive. And that's why the CBO found that these policies won't increase employment, but they will cause millions to lose their coverage.
▶ 2:27:30When people lose coverage, their illnesses don't disappear. Their needs don't go away. They go to the emergency room. They delay care until it becomes catastrophic. They miss bills. They lose their homes to pay for treatment. Ultimately, people will die due to the loss of coverage. That's the real world impact of this bill. But many of our Republican colleagues don't seem to get that.
▶ 2:27:56Mitch McConnell said, "People will get over it." Jonie Erns said, and I quote, "We're all going to die." And today in this meeting, we're hearing statements that show an unfathomable uh callousness towards the American people who are going to lose their coverage. I had at my town hall meeting this weekend, parents of kids with disabilities who overwhelmingly rely on this coverage.
▶ 2:28:21And the idea that they could navigate um caps on coverage for their kids is simply astonishing. Plus, we're hearing from every corner that the Medicaid cuts are going to cost hundreds of nursing homes. We've got a list now of 537 nursing homes that are at risk of closing. One's in my district, two are adjoining. This is going to cause nursing homes, hospitals, and community health centers to close. It It is really mind-boggling.
▶ 2:28:52We know that more than 60% of long-term care residents rely on Medicaid, but this bill cuts that funding while simultaneously eliminating staffing requirements at our long-term care facilities. So, people aren't going to be able to afford the care, and the care they get isn't going to be as good as it is now. That's a recipe for disaster. We're going to see facilities shutting down and horror stories of abuse, neglect, and poor conditions. Then there's the gutting of food assistance.
▶ 2:29:21The bill imposes harsh new work requirements for SNAP that would kick millions off the program, including, as we've heard, families, seniors, veterans, and foster youth. It turns LI heap assistance into countable income. And for many of our communities like um chairman um Thompson's comm community mine lie heap is absolutely essential for people trying to get through the winter.
▶ 2:29:46It bans using internet bills in utility allowances and that's an especially egregious cut in the 21st century. On top of that states are going to have to start footing part of the SNAP bill for the first time ever. This is a backdoor cut and I know my state as well as I assume many of the others are not prepared to take that hit to their budgets. Like so many provisions in this bill, the SNAP provisions would shift billions of dollars in costs to the states.
▶ 2:30:16In addition to all the paperwork and personnel costs that this bill would add, for example, when you no longer have automatic um registration for school lunches because you have untied it from SNAP, all of a sudden all of our local school districts are going to have to re-engage with an arduous process to make sure that kids are eligible for school lunches.
▶ 2:30:40We had a round table with our local um school districts a couple weeks ago and they are terrified about this. At a time when school budgets are under so much stress, all of a sudden we're going to require them to hire dozens of new people to make sure kids can get lunches and be able to study while they're at school because their stomachs aren't growling.
▶ 2:31:02Multiple analysis have shown that any minimal benefit that we might get from this tax structure for lower income Americans is going to get eaten up by Trump's tariff wars. According to a new economic analysis put out yesterday by the Yale Budget Lab. This bill is actually going to reduce income for the bottom 40% of earners.
▶ 2:31:27a massive chunk of the middle class will actually see their incomes drop as a result of this bill. Meanwhile, people at the top 1% are going to get a $30,000 tax cut and the 0.01% sorry, we'll get a $100,000 handout. So again, every responsible study that is looking at this is showing that we're going to see a wealth transfer from lowincome Americans to the wealthiest among us.
▶ 2:31:56And all of this is going to be paid for with borrowed money. The bill adds nearly $4 trillion to the debt. That's not me saying it. It's Moody's, the Wall Street Journal, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. It's going to be the single largest increase to the deficit in American history. Republicans say the tax cuts will pay for themselves. It's a lie. It always has been. It was a lie in 1981. It was a lie in 2001. And it was a lie in 2017. It's still a lie today.
▶ 2:32:26uh the the promise of tax cuts for the rich creating jobs and economic growth has never materialized and we have the data of half a century to show that. What we have witnessed is a massive increase in income inequality, an acceleration of corporate concentration, stagnant wages for workers, jobs shipped overseas, and an economy that doesn't revolve around Main Street, but around shareholders, Wall Street, and CEOs.
▶ 2:32:56The climate provisions in this uh big ugly bill are no better. It represents a near total roll back of the historic investments in clean energy and environmental protection that we enacted in the inflation reduction act.
▶ 2:33:11These cuts are going to jeopardize 1.75 million goodaying construction jobs and billions of dollars in private sector in investment that is growing our economy now with solar, wind, and hydroelectric We're slamming the brakes with this bill on some incredible economic growth and seeding energy dominance to China. Also, our Republican colleagues can plate their fossil fuel donors.
▶ 2:33:39This bill is a brazen handout to polluters. It has sweetheart deals for the oil, coal, and gas industries that read like they were written by lobbyists. It mandates lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, threatening one of the last truly pristine ecosystems on Earth. It opens 4 million acres of public land to coal mining and slashes royalty rates, a direct subsidy to the oil and gas industry.
▶ 2:34:06And household energy costs are going to go up as a result of this bill. We've seen two studies already showing that uh costs for energy in my state in Pennsylvania, in New York, are likely to increase 7 to 8%. In Minnesota, they're likely to increase by 12% and 16% increase in energy costs for Texas and South Carolina.
▶ 2:34:32This bill not only repeals clean energy tax credits for wind and solar, but imposes a steep excise tax on any new wind or solar project that doesn't comply with restrictions that are designed to be impossible to meet. This is a particular burden on Pennsylvania because Pennsylvania's legislature recently passed a law to help our schools convert to solar energy using some of the credits in the inflation reduction act.
▶ 2:34:59And this was viewed as a win wininwin winin because it was good for our construction folks. It was good for our school districts because it was lowering their costs of construction and of energy costs moving forward. And of course it was good for folks who are concerned about the environment.
▶ 2:35:16So, it was a broadly bipartisan bill um that we now have school districts that have signed up to to get the benefits of that and to use solar as they undertake needed reserv or renovations in our schools and now that's all put on hold because of this bill. Um you know, we've seen the bill's going to gut tax incentives for clean vehicles and for purchasing energy efficient appliances.
▶ 2:35:43For the last year, my office has been holding seminars for con consumers so they know how to claim these tax credits. Um, you know, folks, if you want an electric car under this bill, you better buy it before September because it's cutting it off that quickly. The bill also slashes funding for environmental justice initiatives that were finally beginning to address decades of pollution and disinvestment in frontline communities.
▶ 2:36:07And I have many of those in my district, places that are subject to flooding and other environmental harm because they were redlined because they haven't had the help to um address those things. The bill is not just bad for the environment. It's a deliberate coordinated attempt to reverse our progress on the climate crisis. It's going to cost us jobs. It's going to cost us economic growth and it's going to cost us leadership in the global clean energy race.
▶ 2:36:36Some of us were involved in a roundt with folks from the UK last week and one of their business leaders said, "Wow, you know, Europe and the UK were really ahead of the curve when it comes to clean energy um investment and innovation." But then the US passed that invest uh inflation reduction act and if you heard a giant sucking sound it was all the investment coming out of Europe and going to the US. But they said but now we don't know because there's too much uncertainty.
▶ 2:37:04It looks like you're going to roll that back and we're probably not going to invest in the US again. So you know it's this is a a multibillion dollar gift to the most polluting industries on the planet. It is a betrayal of future And when you add the environmental harm to the harm of adding $4 trillion to the deficit, um it's just it's it's a betrayal of our kids.
▶ 2:37:32So, um, we've also got issues of the money that's being added to the budget in this bill, especially around immigration, the dollars that are being sent to private prison contracting companies, billions of dollars. Um, we know that they're um supporting this administration in its claims that they're only going after the worst of the worst, but certainly the scenes that we're seeing on the ground are telling a completely different story.
▶ 2:38:01We've seen masked agents grabbing hardworking people, not hardened criminals, but people with no criminal past from their workplaces, from court appearances. The administration has ripped families apart, detaining grandmas and landscapers without notice and without any information about where they're being held, including disappearing people to countries they've never been to based on tattoos.
▶ 2:38:27US citizens have been mistakenly arrested and we're on track to see more deaths in ICE custody since that information started being publicly reported in 2018. Know the reality is it's not the worst of the worst.
▶ 2:38:43According to a recent report from the very conservative KO Institute, 65% of the people taken by ACE ICE have had no convictions Clearly, this ICE, etc., is not deporting the worst of the worst. They're just trying to meet Steven quotas, no matter who gets hurt in the process.
▶ 2:39:07So, you know, in addition, we have concerns that this is being done at the expense of legitimate national security and crime fighting efforts. What we're seeing on our streets is dystopian. It's unamerican. And people, including US citizens, are scared of their own government, which is not something I ever thought I'd be saying, and it's really horrific to see.
▶ 2:39:28But Americans understand that when an immigrant is denied due process, it's a slippery slope for ev everyone because if the government doesn't have to prove whether someone's a citizen or not, whether there's a criminal or not, then they can take anyone. without the rule of law, who's to say who's a threat to our national security or just a threat to this White House. So, none of this makes people's lives better, makes our but doesn't make our country safer.
▶ 2:39:57Um, we do see our colleagues trying to rush through a 940 page bill that touches everything from taxes and healthcare to border security and defense spending. No one has had the time to read all of it or review all the changes it makes. Senate released the text on I think early Saturday morning, made major revisions as recently as noon. Um, and there real consequences when you rush through bills. We saw that with the 2017 tax cuts and jobs act.
▶ 2:40:25There were major drafting errors in the scribbled provisions in the margins of that bill that it took years to sort out. You know, when the House voted for the first time on this bill, many members of the Republican party said they hadn't read the text and began complaining about the provisions weeks later when they finally took the time to do that job. So, here we are again with a bill that is almost a thousand pages long, new material added overnight and this morning.
▶ 2:40:54Aren't our colleagues, our Republican colleagues, offended that the Senate is trying to jam this bill down your throats that you're being told just go ahead and hold your nose and vote for it. Don't worry about what's in it because the president wants it, so you just have to roll over. Um, this is the largest spending bill in history. It costs more than the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Bill, and the CHIPS Act combined. And it's not paid for.
▶ 2:41:24Republicans are going to make the country borrow another $4 trillion not for clean energy, not to promote health care, not to promote housing, but to pay for tax cuts. It doesn't sit well with my constituents. It shouldn't sit well with yours either.
▶ 2:41:42If this bill is passed and it's sent to President Trump, then our Republican colleagues will be responsible for the most expensive and wasteful bill in our nation's history, the biggest transfer of wealth, the biggest loss of health co coverage in that our country has ever experienced.
▶ 2:41:59And I think it's a tremendous failure of leadership that despite all the opposition to the bill, despite its cost, despite the major fiscal implications that it's the country is being sent off a cliff and watching this bill advance is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It doubles down on policies we all know will leave our country worse off. It's a roadmap to a sicker, hungrier, and more unequal America. Hospitals will close. People won't get the care they need.
▶ 2:42:27our kids won't get the food they need and the rich will get richer no matter the cost to everyone else. This is a mortgage of our future. It's putting us deeper in debt. It's a legislative failure. It's a moral failure and it should not become law. You will be shocked to know I have some questions. Um ranking member Bole, do we have a distributional analysis from CBO for this bill? Given the Senate changes, uh we do not.
▶ 2:42:57Um uh even with JCT they were only able to do distribution analysis just on the tax portion but we do know from previous work CBO did the totality of this bill when it left the house finds that the bottom one-third of Americans will actually be poorer as a result of this bill again when you analyze it in terms of all of its components.
▶ 2:43:22bottom third of of households, you're talking about households making $55,000 a year or less, they would actually be worse off as a result of this legislation and with the bulk of the benefit going to the top 1%. Um, now the Senate changes or the Senate changes will impact somewhat that uh distribution analysis. All indications are it will actually get worse and not better.
▶ 2:43:50Um I I know we've seen a new budget analysis from the Yale um budget lab which in the pale pink is the House version of the bill and the redder one is the Senate version and it shows that the bottom 20% of American earners are going to be have a household income that is almost 3% less um than it is now. While the wealthiest among us are going to be about 2% wealthier.
▶ 2:44:18Everybody's getting more if they start with more. And I would seek unanimous consent to enter the Yale budget analysis in the record. Without objection. Thank you. Um can you tell us a little bit? There's there's um the carveouts that were um put in the bill for Alaska specifically. Can you speak to that or is that something for Mr.
▶ 2:44:48Palone? Uh I I can't say I'm an expert on uh Alaska and what may or may not have been in theerted at the uh the last second. You know, I remember there was a piece of legislation 15 years ago famous for the Corn Husker kickback. So this is perhaps the Eskimo kickback, but that would be the extent of my knowledge uh on this uh on this provision.
▶ 2:45:11Although I would say it would be a pretty good reason for us to actually have the final text in front of us and have a chance to analyze all of the remarkable changes the Senate was making um on the fly, minuteby minute uh rather than rushing the most significant piece of rushing to a vote on the most significant piece of legislation in decades. Sure. And I mean I think I've I heard at my town hall from some of my constituents who were really concerned.
▶ 2:45:39They were calling it the caribou kickback, but they thought it was, you know, basically unfair. And as someone who also represents Philadelphia, maybe we should go for the soft pretzel or the cheese steak kickback. You know, what's sauce for the goose here? Um, we've been hearing a lot of nonsense about how these tax cuts are going to pay for themselves. Can you help us better understand why that's not true?
▶ 2:46:02tax cuts have have never uh paid for themselves as as even um right-leaning economists who've testified before the budget committee have acknowledged. Targeted tax cuts can have some stimulative effect, but even then never so much that they entirely make up the lost revenue. Um and frankly, we've had a 45-year experiment in this. If tax cuts paid for themselves, then our national debt wouldn't be $36 trillion.
▶ 2:46:32The bulk of the added debt since 2001 has actually come from four different rounds of major tax cuts. 2001, 200 uh3, their full extension about or mostly full extension about a decade later, and then the 2017 Uh all told, that combines for more than $10 trillion in missing revenue that would have been there had we just kept in place tax rates uh as they were
▶ 2:47:02in the 1990s uh under President Clinton. Thank you. Um I I know we've heard some concern from our Republican colleagues that we have to pass these tax cuts or else middle class families will get slammed. I think it was a concern for Mr. Norman, although he said we got plenty of time. That doesn't happen till the end of the year. we could pass a bill to address that.
▶ 2:47:23Um there was an interesting graph that came out from the joint committee on taxation today that shows that if we did keep the tax cuts for middle class families that would only and I use the word only advisedly add 1.6 trillion to the debt. It's the keeping them for all the highincome folks that adds 3.3 trillion to the debt.
▶ 2:47:48And then as someone has mentioned already, the House and Senate bills actually added more tax cuts than are in the 2017 package. So that's how we end up with four or more uh trillion dollars in additional uh debt. Um ranking member Moore, um we heard a little bit about the child tax credit before and I think it's important that I mean I'd like it if you could address a little bit.
▶ 2:48:13We had an expanded child tax credit um during the COVID crisis which actually did put more money in the pockets of those who need it most and it was shown to reduce childhood poverty in this country by something like 40%. That's not what we're talking about in this bill, is it? I know there's some changes to the child tax credit in this bill, but that doesn't reach the same people or it's not likely to have the same effect, is it? No, ma'am.
▶ 2:48:40No, Miss uh Miss Scandlin, this is not the same old uh child tax credit that reduced poverty among children by 40%. Um and indeed, it's a child tax credit that is more stingy as it left the Senate than what was produced in the House.
▶ 2:49:00Uh and what it will do, it's not refundable, which means even if a married couple, uh both working at minimum wage, worked full-time, uh they probably would not meet the $30,000 threshold uh to get the full child tax credit. So, it's not about laziness or not working. Um this uh child tax credit would endure to the benefit of wealthier people.
▶ 2:49:28If you're making $400,000 uh and your income, you get your income from dividends, you'd be eligible for the child tax credit. Uh whereas there'll be 17 million children whose parents don't earn enough money or any money that will be left behind. Um, so you think of a child tax credit as something that uh we ought to, you know, that's an admirable thing to add to a bill.
▶ 2:49:58When we think about the cost of children, the added expense, the um group called the true cost of living says that when you have a child, that automatically adds $19,000 worth of costs to your family. So certainly those families at the lower end of the income spectrum uh who could use it will not receive it.
▶ 2:50:23That it seems to be a theme with this bill that in every instance where there's a choice to be made the halves get more. So with the child tax credit it's going to give more benefits to people who already have some means with this salt tax deduction that we've heard so much about. You know that we're not talking about people who get the standard deduction. it's only people who have enough real estate that they're paying a lot of taxes who benefit from that. Um, you know, that the rich get more tax cuts and more benefits.
▶ 2:50:51So, it just feels like it's an overriding theme throughout this. Um, I wanted to point out clock is working. I will keep moving along. Okay. Sure. Um I did have another question for um Reps Moore and Palone.
▶ 2:51:19We've heard so much about the work requirements in this bill for Medicaid or SNAP, but particularly Medicaid being necessary to address But I was doing a lot of research this weekend and every time we hear about a big Medicaid fraud case, it's not the people who are the recipients of Medicaid who are the ones committing the fraud.
▶ 2:51:44It's the insurance companies, it's the medical providers, it's the doctors, it's the health care systems that are committing billions worth of fraud. How will work requirements on recipients address the bulk of Medicaid Well, the the um the the report that came out that talked about fraud, as you said, I think it was from CMS and it basically was talking about the insurance
▶ 2:52:15companies. It wasn't the people themselves. So, that's obviously clear. To put it in simplest terms, I think what these uh what this paperwork does, right, is it makes you file as much as once a month to keep getting your Medicaid and say that you're working, right? But you can and you know the people that are actually working, it's a burden because they have to do it every month and they may miss it and then they're out, right?
▶ 2:52:40But I think the bigger problem is the fact that uh if you want an exception to that because you're disabled because you're pregnant or the various categories they put in those are extremely strict, right? So let's use an example like if you're disabled and you want to get social security disability, right? That's a very stringent test, right? There are a lot of people who don't meet that test but still um are disabled and can't work or can't work enough, right?
▶ 2:53:08those people, the way I see the definition, they're out, right? Um, so what what they've done is they put all this paperwork and and burdens on people that even if you think you can qualify an exception, you're not going to be able to. And that's what happened in Georgia. That's why in Georgia, you had those three or 400,000 people that were eligible for Medicaid expansion, but only 4,500 actually qualified. not because they weren't uh they actually weren't able to work.
▶ 2:53:38Maybe you're taking care of a relative, right? And that's a category that's in there, but how do you actually prove that, you know, because these are so stringent that that's legitimate? I mean, this is the problem. I I I agree with everything that he said, Miss Scandlin.
▶ 2:53:54I would just add uh we've had an example of this in our recent experience uh when we had an expansion of Medicaid during COVID uh and people were asked told they had to reup in order to to be made eligible for Medicaid. 70% 70% of the people who fell off of Medicaid were people that fell off because they didn't keep up with the paperwork.
▶ 2:54:22they they didn't notice the and they were eligible. And so I think that this bill very cynically uh is really claiming a trillion dollars worth of savings just by frustrating people who may otherwise be eligible by uh having them on this treadmill of eligibility.
▶ 2:54:47Well, it does seem like an area for uh reduction of regulations that uh maybe our colleagues could agree with us about. Um you know, I think any of us who've done constituent services work know um certainly social security people get denied on their first round. They have to appeal. We deal with this all the time. We saw the same um things that you did, ranking member, with respect to people who were kicked off and and having to try to work with them to get them back on.
▶ 2:55:14So I I am concerned and the CBO seems to have affirmed that it's not that it's people who are not eligible getting kicked off, it's eligible people who won't be able to meet meet the requirements. But I'm more concerned about the fact that if we really want to address abuse, the billions of dollars that is going to insurance companies to uh medical device manufacturers or or distributors, etc.
▶ 2:55:39then it's a real problem that this president has fired the inspectors general who go after that fraud and have been very successful in bringing down you know major abusers including some me members of the senate um and that there's now a proposal in the 2016 fiscal year budget process to slash funding for the general accounting office which also works on cutting that kind of fraud and abuse um ranking Member
▶ 2:56:10Palone, um we've been hearing about how this bill is going to increase energy costs. Can you tell us why why that's happening? We just saw this new language on Saturday and and we're seeing that, you know, everyone's constituents are going to see higher costs, five to 16 17%. Well, in general, what we find, you know, I I talked before about all of the above, which is my philosophy, right?
▶ 2:56:35you want to do fossil fuels, you want to have nuclear, you want to have clean energy, you know, so be it. I'm not I you can ask uh Chairman Guthrie. I've never been opposed to any of those, right? But the problem is if you cut off the clean energy, which is, you know, the wind, the uh the solar, whatever. Um then um inevitably and you put the burden more on fossil fuels, right? Well, right now those things are more expensive, right?
▶ 2:57:01I mean particularly um coal for example which everything the Republicans have done in the committee in the last uh six months has been to try to encourage coal right now that's more costly right so just in general by cutting your clean energy arm off which is essentially what this does you're raising prices in general right um in in addition to that as you mentioned you know and again you know part of this is my understanding is a lot of these things were in that last I don't know what you call call it the
▶ 2:57:31I'll call it the manager's amendment at the end which you know you know I hope I'm I hope I know what was in it because frankly it's been difficult at 12:00 we got them so I don't think they call it the manager's amendment in the Senate but whatever they call it right that from what I understand just wiped out almost all of the uh credits if you will for any kind of clean energy right and um they did I think have a tax on clean energy which they got rid of thank god So we went
▶ 2:58:01from encouraging clean energy to actually taxing clean energy which now the tax is gone. But I mean all these things you know and we did so many things uh to try to help people pay their energy bills too. A lot of that you know so it's just it's just an uh increased costs in my opinion primarily because they've eliminated any help or any movement towards clean energy and moved in the opposite direction. certainly doesn't seem like something that looks towards the future.
▶ 2:58:31Um we have heard quite a bit with respect to the Medicaid cuts about um senators being so concerned about the impact of those Medicaid cuts on rural hospitals that they added a fund to try to prop up rural hospitals. I don't have rural hospitals, but I have urban hospitals that are frontline hospitals and have been really challenged. We've lost several in recent years. So can you talk about the impact of these Medicaid cuts on urban frontline hospitals?
▶ 2:59:00Well, first of all, this rural hospital fund is not going to be adequate, right? I mean, it's it's poultry, right? Uh in terms of the actual monies available. So when you when you make it um that so many more people who are on Medicaid um lose their Medicaid or people that are on the Affordable Care Act uh you know lose their health insurance.
▶ 2:59:20Now you have these hospitals, a lot of them in rural areas, but now you're talking about urban areas just as maybe even more dependent on um on Medicaid, uh ACA, you know, as in those cases by by making those people now uninsured, they have to absorb all the costs of the uncompensated care.
▶ 2:59:41And some of these hospitals, disproportionate care hospitals, safety net hospitals are overwhelmingly dependent on, you know, Medicaid, uh, you know, exchange policies, whatever, as opposed to, uh, you know, insurance that you get on the job. And so what do they do, right? They don't have the money. Well, this is all third party payments that they've now lost.
▶ 3:00:02Well, they either they either raise costs, which means uh the burden goes on people that have insurance on the job with increased premiums or or increased co-pays, but more likely not. More likely, they just don't have the funding, right? And so what states have done is many states give them direct payments like in my state to help some of those hospitals that that could fail, right? Or they also depend on the provider tax.
▶ 3:00:30The Senate devastated the pro provider tax because the provider tax at least in the House was made uh at the current rate. You couldn't increase it because of inflation. That was bad enough. But in the Senate bill, they actually decrease the provider tax even if you already had it. So if you're charging 6% now, uh you know, and they're going to make it, you know, I don't have the actual number again. It'll go down to five, it'll go down to four, it go down to three to the point where it doesn't even exist anymore.
▶ 3:00:58And and even though you say well okay you don't have to pay the tax the bottom line is the way that uh formula distributed as you reduce the provider tax they get less money in the hospital's back and that's what's devastating but any kind of safety net hospital whether it's rural or urban ranking member Craig I had a couple questions for you I'm I'm finishing with the last one yes understood understood
▶ 3:01:28Um I'm really concerned about the impact of this on our schools especially coming as it did after the administration impounded funding for the local food purchase uh programs. Um can you talk about the impact on both schools kids who may be hungry and our farmers who are now not getting the payments they were expecting? Yeah, this is it's going to be devastating.
▶ 3:01:50On top of uh the administration and Doge uh pushing back on some of the appropriated funding for those farm-to-school programs across the country, this is an added layer because the truth is that uh most people uh who rely on uh SNAP as a supplemental uh way of get putting food on the table uh are folks who are already working and folks with with children.
▶ 3:02:13And so our children are going to be hungrier and as we know the impact on learning when kids are hungry is uh very substantial. Um you also asked a few minutes ago about the contours of the agreement that came back from the Senate. We're all still learning that framework.
▶ 3:02:30But as it relates to the cost shift to states, my understanding is because the carbout that was attempted for the state of Alaska uh could not pass uh muster with the Senate parliamentarian, uh they had to go back to the drawing board. And it's I I think about just how ridiculous the policy sounds of now we're going to let uh DC, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon, including Alaska because one state didn't pass muster.
▶ 3:03:01We're going to let them all get two bites at the apple of delaying implementation of the cost shift because they are the states with the highest error rates in our country. I if I were on the other side of the aisle and this came back to me from my Republican colleagues in the Senate, I'd be calling every single one of them saying, "What the hell are you thinking?" Well, I think uh I may have to renew my request with uh ranking member Bole that we go for the cheese steak carve out uh because clearly we
▶ 3:03:32the policies just aren't passing muster here. So, appreciate all of your testimony and uh I will yield back. very much. Miss Fishbach, you're Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Noose. You're recognized. I thank uh I thank the chairwoman and the ranking member and of course, welcome back to all of the chairs and ranking members, and thank you for your testimony today.
▶ 3:03:59Uh I of course oppose this bill for all of the reasons that my colleagues, Ranking Member McGovern and uh Representative Scandlin, articulated. I think it is a terrible bill. I think it's cruel. I think it'll have devastating consequences certainly for the people of Colorado that I represent, but ultimately for millions of Americans across our country. But I will also just say this before I jump into a few questions that I have for the members that are here today. I I think that the has been abysmal.
▶ 3:04:30It's a debasement of the way in which the House is supposed to operate. Most of you, the last time you were here in the rules committee was at 2 a.m. 4 weeks ago when we last considered the House version of this bill because House Republicans decided in their infinite wisdom to schedule that hearing in the dead of night, hoping that the American people would not learn what was in the bill, knowing that it was indefensible.
▶ 3:04:59Now, of course, a few mere hours after the United States Senate has passed this bill, without any final text on what we're actually going to be voting on, we're here considering this bill. It's and in my view, deeply disrespectful to the way in which the House of Representatives is supposed to function. Mr. Noose, of course. I'm happy to yield. Would you yield for a question? Sure.
▶ 3:05:29Are you aware that the Democrats did this when the Senate passed a bill and sent it over to the House and the Rules Committee met very soon after that? When was this? Perhaps uh I think I'm not sure if it was the IRA.
▶ 3:05:50I will get you the uh specific date, but I I don't know if you were appalled at the way the House operated then, but I I figured you probably weren't aware that the president was set very badly by the Democrats. So, thank you for yielding. Well, Madam Chair, I'm yield to the ranking member in a moment. First, I would hope that you might ask the team, your team to provide us with that example so that we can have a more wholesome uh colloqui instead of you sort of citing a random example that I'm not aware of.
▶ 3:06:20But I also would just say if I guess that madam chair is is making the case that I I I now have the facts consolidated appropriations bill in um So an appropriate an appropriations bill that was bipartisan that the vast majority of the United States Congress voted on. That's the example you're offering compared to a reconciliation bill that is purely partisan and not a single Democratic member of the United States Senate or the House of Representatives voting on. That's the correlary to this particular bill.
▶ 3:06:50As uh Ricky member Bole I think eloquently put it uh in questioning or rather in his answers to Representative Scandlin, the precedents that Republicans are setting in this Congress will certainly be leveraged down the road when political winds shift. and we have seen that on full display over the last month and a half. But in any event, the ranking member wished to jump in. I I deprive him of that opportunity. I'm going to withhold my my comments because they won't be productive at this moment. Yeah.
▶ 3:07:18And look, I I I I think the Ricky member uh or I suppose maybe the chair thinks the Ricky member. I I guess my point here is let's dispense with this notion that you know every one of the witnesses who are here today on either side of the aisle I think the Democratic members would probably concede to this that they know what is in this bill we don't know it was just approved 4 hours ago none of the members that are gathered here have gone through in detail
▶ 3:07:48the wraparound and I I think it's disrespect respectful to the voters, to the citizens of the country to pretend otherwise. I who would I ask I don't know if it's chair Guthrie or maybe it's Chair Smith with respect to changes made to uh HSAs and FA FSAs and sort of medical spending accounts who who that I send that question to you. Yep. Okay.
▶ 3:08:13So, under the prior bill, my understanding is there was a provision that allows individuals to utilize discounted health care services at workplace clinics to maintain an HSA. Is that provision still in the bill? Has it been taken out of the bill? What What's the There's only a couple provisions of the HSAs that stayed in intact. Um, the primary care being qualified in HSAs um is one. What about the workplace clinic provision?
▶ 3:08:44I don't believe so. Okay. How about uh there was a provision that allows employees to convert flexible spending arrangements to health reimbursement arrangements. Did that stay in? I will have to get back to you on that one. Okay. U what about there was a provision actually you all testified to this. I remember hard to believe because it was 3:00 a.m. in the morning during this rules committee hearing, but there was a discussion about permitting individuals below a certain income threshold to be able to contribute additional amounts to their HSA every year. Was that included, excluded? They cut a lot of our HSAs.
▶ 3:09:15Is that one of them? That That's one of them as well. That was cut or Yeah, it's not in the bill. Okay. That I mean, part of what I'm getting at here, Chair Smith, because you you alluded to this earlier, I I hear you with respect to the process that you engaged in prior to the bill's consideration by this committee, the House version. But no one can argue that this is good governance.
▶ 3:09:36That we should all gather here and in real time figure out together what provisions of the bill that was passed by the house had survived and which were excised as part of a you know political gamesmanship to get the necessary votes in the Senate. That that's my that's my process point here. If in regards to the tax portion of the bill, there's 103 different tax provisions that's in the Senate version.
▶ 3:10:02Of those 103, 85% of them are either identical or just technical changes because of the parliamentarian of what we passed out of the house. What are the new ones? Are there new ones? Yes, there are. Let me read these to you. So, the new ones that they added was the dyed fuels, which is Miss Moore's um provision that she likes.
▶ 3:10:31Um, New Markets was included, made permanent, the New Markets tax credit program. Um, they eliminated the deduction on sports teams owners that was in there. Um, they eliminated the salt workaround that was within the House bill. Um they uh I'm trying to just do tax through here. Sure. Um the increase in excise tax on private foundations was eliminated which we had in the House bill.
▶ 3:11:02They also lowered the rates on the endowment taxes. We had a 21% rate. They kept the same brackets but their highest is 8%. Um they did a child care boost to the CDC TC and FSAs. Um the the the Chips and Science Acts tax credit was adjusted in this bill and also the charitable deduction.
▶ 3:11:32I think you're missing one. Which one is that? Whalers. What's that? a new tax break for whalers, right? Whalers. Am I Are you talking about allowing someone who uses a harpon to deduct the cost of that harpon? Correct. That's included. It's a business expense. It's a new new tax break. Correct. It's a business expense that was capped at $10,000 and now they can deduct it up to $50,000, right? Yes. Yes.
▶ 3:12:02And why was that added? I think we all know. You would have to talk to the senators. I'd have to talk to the senators. I was kind of convenient, Chairman Smith, that that was the one the one addition that you omitted from that list you provided, but uh I think there's probably more that I that may be the case.
▶ 3:12:19Um I think it's emblematic of the broken process that the Senate engaged in that as we go through this 900page bill, we will find a variety of different provisions that different senators inserted uh for their own purposes. And of course, one of them was this uh whailing tax deduction for the 160 or so people uh that would be able to claim that in the state of Alaska so that one of the senators from Alaska would feel comfortable voting for the bill.
▶ 3:12:48Uh I I don't think that that's in my view the way this process should unfold. But in any event, while we're having this collequate Mr. Chairman, we talked a bit, or rather I know you talked a bit with the ranking member previously about the way in which this bill's benefits are distributed and that's been a topic of conversation throughout this hearing.
▶ 3:13:15I want to talk about one particular example that to me and and it's perhaps an ideological dispute I suspect between the two of us here uh that crystallizes the way in which this bill benefits the wealthy few. This bill includes an increase in the estate tax cap. Correct. What? It goes up to $30 million. 15 million per person. 15 million per person. $30 million for a married couple. Yes. Right. Okay.
▶ 3:13:46Do you know what state benefits the most from that provision? I can tell you of the family farmers in my congressional district that benefits from that provision. Um, and that is what it's focused on in regards to Missouri. No, no. I know you represent Missouri. I'm I'm asking you this provision, right? In which state in the union? How about you? How about you tell me that would be I'm happy to tell you it's California.
▶ 3:14:12California has the most individuals, 742 people to be exact. 742 estates that benefited in the most recent tax year from this particular deduction. Right. That is to say, by increasing it, there's you will Hold on. I I'll give you a chance, of course, Mr. Smith. I'm not. But the state that has the most individuals that will benefit from this provision happens to be California. That That's not me saying that. That's empirical data.
▶ 3:14:41Now, what is the population of Missouri? Six over six million. Over six million. It's not similar size to Colorado. How many estates were subject to this tax in the last It it all depends. I don't know how many people died in the last year, but what I will tell you in your district alone, um 3,700 farms, just farms are affected by this provision for family farms.
▶ 3:15:10I can tell you that's pretty substantial limit above the $30 million limit, right? Or excuse me, under the $28 because right now it's what's the number now? 26 or $28 million for a married couple. It's 20 It's 14 million 20, you know, 28 million. Correct. 28 million. So, I can tell you that in Missouri, the number is 44. 44 estates that ultimately would be subject to that estate. I don't believe that number.
▶ 3:15:37I I will provide you the the Yeah, people can make a lot of numbers, but I can tell you in my district alone, there's over 4,000 family farms that are falling underneath this trap of the the death tax. I will we will follow up and happy to engage with you further on it. Uh Chairman Yes, sir. Welcome back. Good to be back. So, this is your third time testifying in the last month and a half and the third time's a charm. I think I'm going to convince you to support this bill.
▶ 3:16:08Here's where I'm struggling, Chairman Arrington, is that the first time you came on the budget resolution, right? Second time you came on the House version of this bill. That's correct. Now you're here on the Senate version of this bill. Yes. Every time you testify, this bill gets more expensive. Right. I mean, you don't contest that. It's gotten more expensive since the first time you were here. The Senate bill is more expensive than the House. I'll see that. Yeah. Okay. I mean I we set the targets the first time.
▶ 3:16:36Second time we had the policies and this isn't these aren't got you question. Yeah. Not a gotcha question. This is the the center for committee for responsible federal budget. Right. Headline. This is uh just two days ago. Newest Senate reconciliation bill would explode the debt. Right. It says here if you thought the House bill borrowed too much and it did. The Senate manages to make things even worse.
▶ 3:17:01The four this $4 trillion borrowing bonanza is fiscally dangerous at a time of already exploding debt. It would borrow $1 trillion more than the House bill violates the House reconciliation instructions by hundreds of billions of dollars littered with special interest giveaways. Right. So this bill continues to get more and more expensive. Committee for responsible federal budget agrees. the litany of organizations that ranking member Bole and ranking member McGovern agree.
▶ 3:17:32The House Freedom Caucus, of course, of which we have a number of uh members here that serve on the committee uh that are members of the committee. Uh they concede that as well, right, tweeted out the Senate's version adds $651 billion to the deficit and that's before interest costs which nearly double the total. Chairman, I I have made this request of you every time you're here.
▶ 3:17:56that at some juncture you might say you know this is a bridge too far because you have championed deficit reduction earlier in your career but you know the speaker is asking you to defend that is indefensible with respect to deficit reduction and it's not me making this case so I I just uh I'm going to give you an opportunity to respond here but I what do you say to the House Freedom Caucus? What do you say to the committee for a responsible federal budget?
▶ 3:18:25Wh why why not engage in a conference? Why accept what the Senate has sent you at face value? You're the chairman of the budget committee. Well, I think you would agree that in large legislative initiatives like this one, Democratled or Republican, there are things you like about a bill, things you don't like about a bill, things uh that you uh and and certainly that exists for this bill with me.
▶ 3:18:54I have my policy preferences um and I'm certain that my colleagues do as well. Uh I'm concerned that neither party has been serious in addressing this unsustainable debt trajectory that we're on and the and a debt crisis that looms large for the country. I'm concerned that that neither party has um but but you're the chair. I mean, you have the opportunity to guide that now. You've got a lot of authority and as you know I've championed that concern.
▶ 3:19:24Help me understand why why did it get more expensive? So here that maybe that's a sort of too simplist of a question. What happened in the Senate? Why did this bill get more expensive? What did they add that increased the cost? Well, the savings in the uh on the SNAP side uh or in the A jurisdiction uh I think it's about a hundred billion loss in savings on the Senate side versus the House side.
▶ 3:19:51Uh there were more savings in the Senate on Medicaid reform versus the House side. You know, all of that when you go through the the details on still way more expensive. No, I'm going to get to exactly I think it's mostly a wash on uh mandatory program reforms. Gain some, lose some. The tax policy is where the additional expenses. That's where the preponderance got it.
▶ 3:20:18Of the difference in cost in the Senate versus the House. So, why not go through this bill and find some opportunities to get some of the pork out of the bill, which I presume would uh, you know, maybe satiate some of your colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus, certainly would be a lot less harmful to the deficit. I mean, why not? Let me give you an example.
▶ 3:20:42This bill includes a slush fund for OM upwards of a hundred $100 million. You're familiar with that? I'm familiar with a lot of the funding, right? And that that that wasn't in the House version. So, you know, you're not going to ask all of your colleagues to just give a hund00 million blank check to the Office of Management and Budget. That doesn't seem like good fiscal policy to me. I can't imagine that you you would you you'd think that that's good fiscal policy.
▶ 3:21:12Well, if it was used, for example, to um Oh, come on. No, this is this is a fair and true statement and I think I've said it before. If I um if I haven't, I've believed it. Um I think there are ways to invest money in the oversight and the infrastructure to actually prevent fraudulent and even um overpayments. So is there no pork in this bill then? There and OM in fairness to OM.
▶ 3:21:43No, I'm talking about in the bill. There's no pork in this bill that we can take. It's a pork- free bill in your view. That's it. This is just If you'll if you'll ask me specifics. What about the Garden of Heroes? $40 million for President Trump's Garden of Heroes. Can't we Why not just say, you know what, we've got a huge deficit and that's probably not the most prudent way to spend our taxpayer dollars. Let's just reallocate that $40 million. That's a bridge too far for you.
▶ 3:22:11Well, I think there's not a bill that I have read and reviewed since I've been a member of Congress, certainly since I've been the budget chair, that I felt lived up perfectly to what I thought we ought to do in stewardship of tax dollars and what I thought was consistent with the with the constitutional scope and I hear your chair. You could understand our struggle because as I said last seven weeks, you've testified a few times here.
▶ 3:22:40every time you testify, this bill gets more expensive. Yeah. And the answer is always, well, down the road, you know, of course, we could address this and there are ways in which we can try to identify potential places where funding uh, you know, where potential cuts can be identified, so on and so forth. Here is an example right in front of you. $40 million. You could take care of that today. There's an amendment, I believe, that was submitted.
▶ 3:23:04You could you could rule that in order and say, you know what, we're going to put that $40 million towards deficit reduction if if you're serious about wanting to uh wanting to address the fiscal health of the country. But I to me I I think this bill couldn't be a worse representation uh of fiscal discipline.
▶ 3:23:27You have a bill that according to the committee for responsible federal budget is more aggregated than the car's act, the inflation reduction act, the bipartisan infrastructure law, and the chips and science bill combined. Combined. All four bills are equivalent that this bill takes the cake. It's bigger than all of them. And I just don't know how one can can justify supporting it. I disagree with that statement.
▶ 3:23:55I I know you agree with that assessment on on the uh and I'm hoping I can get you maybe by the end of this hearing to support the the removing the garden of heroes funding so that we can at least maybe make a crack at addressing some you know fiscal sanity in the country. Maybe Mr. Roy might consider supporting that amendment. We'll see. Uh I wonder obviously we've talked a lot about all the folks who oppose this bill. I'm sure you saw U.
▶ 3:24:19Elon Musk is very has been very vocal about his opposition to this bill. You're aware of that? I am aware of that. And sincerely held convictions. You disagree with you think he's wrong? No, I think he has sincerely held convictions about the runaway spending. But then why not follow his I mean he's he's he has encouraged everybody. I don't follow any man in You don't follow any man? I follow my conscious. Let me read you a quote from a Let me just finish this quote.
▶ 3:24:48I'll read it to you and you can respond and then you'll let me respond. This is from your website. This is from your website on May 29th. Quote, this is the headline. Arrington applauds Elon Musk's leadership. And the quote here is we should not only appreciate Elon's courageous leadership, but follow it by holding Washington accountable, rooting out waste, restoring fiscal sanity before the debt burden crushes the future of this great nation. So I I don't Yeah.
▶ 3:25:12Sounds like you were telling people about a month ago that we should that folks should follow his lead on debt reduction, but it's a different tune. No, it's not. We we we cut twice the amount of spending that has ever been reduced in this the people's government in the history of the people's government. So, you know, if you're looking to make the argument this bill isn't perfect when it comes to any principle, including fiscal discipline, you win. Well, I appreciate because it's not perfect and so you win.
▶ 3:25:43I mean, honestly, but to say that, you know, the old Ronald Reagan 8020, uh, fill in the blank in not so perfect processes in a political process, uh, having significant reforms on the fiscal side, excuse me, like the spending cuts, like the welfare reforms that are long overdue, much needed, like preventing, which 40 some odd Democrats opposed, preventing taxpayer dollars
▶ 3:26:13to flow to people who are here illegally that I think is all consistent with what I what I understand Elon Musk's and I hear you Mr. chairman, but I would just simply say I mean again part of the part of the frustration for me and I suspect many Americans that there's sort of this notion that we don't have the agency to shape the bill.
▶ 3:26:32So, you know, if we as a Congress decide that we don't really want to have special interest tax breaks for tanning salons, as was the case in the original bill that the House put forward, or for whailing uh deductions, right? If we decide that we don't want to spend $40 million on a the garden of heroes at the White House, we can proceed with shaping policy that does precisely that. And I I just I would just venture to say, Mr. Chairman, that it feels like you have an opportunity here.
▶ 3:27:01You have a number of members on this committee on the other side of the aisle who've expressed their opposition to the bill and their indication that they're going to vote against the rule. And I I would just would hope that you take that opportunity uh to uh to perhaps change course. I want to move to the SNAP, excuse me, to the the uh SNAP cuts and also just the agriculture title of the bill and to ranking member Craig and to Chairman Thompson.
▶ 3:27:26So, Chairman Thompson, I guess I want to understand more clearly what you all are trying to achieve with the state cost that this this sort of new imposition of state costs with respect to SNAP because my understanding was that this was designed originally to try to improvement in SNAP payments, right? state-based, right?
▶ 3:27:56Basically to reduce the error rate. Am I is that right or am I Yeah, the ultimate goal was to have the the state who was a a partner within the the SNAP nutrition program, uh obviously they've had uh no skin in the game before. And as I said in my opening remarks, you know, there is a tendency if you're spending somebody else's money, you're you're reckless with it. If you have a little have to spend even part of your own money, you pay closer to the attention of the effectiveness.
▶ 3:28:23And we have been uh the error rates uh have been it's a real problem. It's been a real problem. My own state of Pennsylvania under Governor Shapiro uh it was at 17%. I'm glad they got it down to 11%. As of the data that came out yesterday, but that's still unacceptable. If it's an underpayment, that's a family that's wants their EBT is looking to their EBT card to be to be uh loaded appropriately. So when they go to the grocery store, you know, they know that resource there.
▶ 3:28:51It's not and it's supplemental. It's in addition to everything else in their lives, right? But still, if it's if it's uh if it's an underpayment, it hurts those family members. If it's an overpayment, believe it or not, it hurts even more. Uh they're going to spend it uh because it's there. Uh but then the states will come back whether it's two months or six months and they'll claw all that back and all of a sudden these families find that they have no money in a given month.
▶ 3:29:19And so, uh, these error rates have been absolutely, uh, the bottom line, we got to get we got to get the error rates down. Absolutely. So, this is meant to be an incentive. Exactly. And, um, and I I Here's the question. Yeah. Under the bill as it's drafted now, the higher your error rate, the more likely you are to get a waiver, not to have to pay anything as a state. Well, that's but it's short term. It's for a number of years for why give states. Well, it you know what?
▶ 3:29:47You'd have to sit down with the senators to figure out why they did that. Alaska is one of them, I think. But does that I mean, does that make sense? From Pennsylvania named the states that wound up on on on that. Um I mean, correct. The 10 states, Oregon, New Jersey was a Senate amendment delay implementation of state and it's a delayed implementation of state cost share. It doesn't Why does that I guess what I'm trying to understand and and and you may not Why did they do it? Well, I Well, we're all in politics.
▶ 3:30:14We know why they did it in the Senate in order to get uh certain votes from certain states. And if that is the case, does does that not violate the very objective that you all were trying to achieve? Let me let me let me explain why and I'll give you a chance long term because it does result in a state share that gives him more time to be able to get there. Let me let me say it this way. The gentleman from Texas, Mr. Royce here, uh Texas has an error rate that hovers around 6%.
▶ 3:30:41So right now under the bill as it was as it is proposed Texas wouldn't necessarily if it right if it stays below that 6% doesn't have to pay a stateportionedbased cost for SNAP. If it gets above 6% say jumps up to For the next several years Texas the state of Texas and Texas taxpayers have to foot the bill of a state proratic cost. That's correct.
▶ 3:31:11Never a question. Mr. Never had a payment. I'm not asking a question. Texas has to do so. I I will. Texas has to do so. Oregon right now, which has one of the highest error rates in the country, does not have to pay a single taxpayer dollar towards this program. You have designed a program in which you are incentivizing states to have a higher error rate.
▶ 3:31:37If you're if you're a state rank member Craig maybe I'm asking rank member transition plan she can ask she can answer uh if she'd like if you are a state with an error rate of 10% or 11% or 12%. If you can get your error rate higher, that's right, then under this bill, you won't have to pay a dime.
▶ 3:31:57And you get under this bill that came back today from the Senate, in fact, you get two bites at the apple over two years to get your error rate up so that you can not have to pay the cost shift for a period of time. It's insanity. A state like Colorado or Missouri or Texas, the states that are trying to keep their error rates down and are doing a good job of it, they get penalized.
▶ 3:32:25Meanwhile, New Jersey, Oregon, Alaska, states with a high error rate are benefit insanity. I I don't and maybe there's another Republican here, Chairman, and I know this is not your outside of your respective departments. So, but if if Chair Guthrie or Chairton or Chair Smith want to jump in to defend that particular provision, I I don't and and by the way, I mean, I before I give that opportunity, I don't know.
▶ 3:32:54We'll see if this bill passes in the House. But I can assure you that if it doesn't pass, you know, if if there are enough Republican members who say, you know what, this is a bridge too far. This provision is not surviving. It's not going to survive the sunlight of the next 48 hours. There's no way. I I I am calling it now. I I cannot imagine that Republicans are going to say, "Yeah, we're fine with Portland paying not a dime for a state portion of SNAP.
▶ 3:33:22We're going to instead just make sure that we impose these costs on the states that are actually doing a good job. And you do realize that none of the states will correct for the immediate future. Zero states because it is an implementation. Yes. But you've delayed it even further for the worst the worst offenders. So this you know basically if you're a state you are incentivized to get that error rate up you know get it up to 18%. That way you could delay having to comply with this mandate as as long as possible. Ricky member Craig. Uh Mr. excuse me.
▶ 3:33:51Um, I I just want to say I may never have another chance in my entire career here to say that I agree with Chip Roy. So, I'd like to get that on the record here in my testimony today. Uh and and secondly, what beyond the Republicans in this room agreeing that this is a good policy, try going home to your own constituents with low in a state with a low error rate and explaining to your county commissioners why they in 10 states across
▶ 3:34:21this country are actually going to have to increase taxes at the local level. so that these 10 states, the other 10 states with high error rates, don't have to pay their fair share of taxes. Again, I I've just never seen anything as ridiculous as what we've seen come over from the Senate. And I I wish my colleagues on the other side of the aisle could stand up and say, "No, we need more time. We need to fix this." Yeah, I I certainly agree with you, Rank Member Craig. I think you articulated it well.
▶ 3:34:50As I said, whailing taxes, tanning salons, all the the the pork and nonsense that has been included in this bill, this provision really is the most nonsensical. And I chair Arington, if I may, maybe you might. If I may, you know what the cost share is today of states that have an error rate of let's just use Alaska since it's a subject of uh conversation.
▶ 3:35:1760% 60% 60 cents on the dollar error rate. Do you know what the policy is today and under the last four years of the Democrat uh administration and the leadership of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle? Yes. No question. Correct. Zero. So I hope I believe you to be a fair person. I'm sure that the indignation that you have over not phasing this in quick as quickly as maybe we all would want.
▶ 3:35:44I certainly would be one to say we should implement it effective uh But it hasn't even existed and I think you would agree. But why give that special break to New Jersey, you know, over Texas? I don't know that I can answer that, but I can tell you that having four years when you all had total control over this process, when you jammed a partisan bill, it was a tax and spending bill called the inflation reduction act. This wasn't addressed then.
▶ 3:36:13I would say kudos to Republicans. It's not perfect once again, but we're going to phase in accountability for states who have a 60 cents on the dollar air rate. If we could get that implemented today, I take it if we can get it better than what it I chairman. I would just simply say I think that's going to be a hell of an argument to make to the people in West Texas to two years from now to say, "Look, I get it. I know y'all are paying more now for SNAP, you know, by virtue of this new mandate.
▶ 3:36:43But just rest assured the people in Oregon and the people in New Jersey who are or rather the state governments there who are doing a far worse job with respect to the error rate, don't worry, they're not paying a dime. I I don't that doesn't seem like an argument that I would think Republicans want to make to their constituents, but that's I'm not a Republican. So, Rep. Ranky Member Craig. Yeah. I I just like to uh this is certainly want to make sure all my Republican colleagues know this, but uh high error rates uh actually are subject to sanctions.
▶ 3:37:11And in fact, USDA fined Alaska $12 million last year for failing to ensure SNAP recipients are eligible. Uh Pennsylvania was fined uh as well over the last couple of years. So, uh, there is a penalty for, uh, high error rates in this country. Thank you. Last question. Now, there's a reward for them. La, last question I have, uh, for Chair Guthrie. Couldn't couldn't, of course, didn't want didn't want you to feel neglected here. Um, want to talk about the hospital fee, the provider fees.
▶ 3:37:41try to ring I rank member McGovern kind of cited to some of the criticism and the concern that the Senate bill that we're now considering has elicited from rural hospitals. That's certainly true in my district. I think as you and I maybe talked previously, I represent really large geographic district in western Colorado, a lot of rural hospitals who are deeply concerned that if this bill is signed into law, it's going to be devastating for rural parts of my district.
▶ 3:38:12And I have read similar refrains from folks in Kentucky. Right? So the article that ranking member McGovern quoted uh the title is Kentucky hospitals leader excuse me Kentucky hospitals leader warns Senate mega bill would devastate health care and the economy and I'll just quote to you two sentences. The advocacy the advocacy group for Kentucky hospitals is sounding the alarm about a massive bill that's near passage in the US Senate saying its cuts to Medicaid could cause the closure of hospitals and lost 20,000 jobs.
▶ 3:38:42The Kentucky Hospital Association has changed its tune on the bill since May when it supported a version to pass the House, making it an outlier among state and national healthcare groups. So the point here, right, chairman, is that even those organizations that maybe had a different worldview than mine about the House bill are now ringing the alarm very loudly, saying there will be rural hospitals that could potentially close in Kentucky and in Colorado.
▶ 3:39:12And I I make the same request of you that I made of Chair Arrington. Why not conference with the Senate and say, you know what, this is untenable. I'm not going to allow uh Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Hospital, right, which is one of the hospitals in your district. Right. Right. That just said recently, while we don't know the direct impact any potential changes would have, we are certain the proposed cuts to Medicaid would harm access to healthcare not only in Western Kentucky, but across the country.
▶ 3:39:40I mean, I clearly this is going to have an impact. I I don't I just don't think that we can argue anyone can argue in good faith that it's not going to. So So when we if we all discuss this and we we discussed it in the House and if you look at provider taxes, it goes back to President Obama the So the Senate version takes it to 3.5% for states that didn't expand that did expand. Kucky's an expansion state.
▶ 3:40:07President Obama had that that number for safe harbor for provider taxes within his uh 2014 budget. Uh President Biden called it a scam. I've never called it a scam. It's it's a loophole. The provider tax is a loophole. And I would understand hospitals and and others that if they can take their money come up match federal money and bring it back down to the state. So we know we knew that it needed to be addressed.
▶ 3:40:32We chose in the House version to do it um with a freeze so that people would have what they had this year for next year. Uh the Senate has chosen and we're debating and we're going to be debating I'm sure after we get through this rules meeting about where we go with it.
▶ 3:40:48But if you look at Medicaid policy, uh, a lot of the issues has been that the particularly now that it's 9010 for expansion states that that when it was first designed in the 1960s and through most of the time, states run the policy. It's an open-ended checkbook on the federal government, but the discipline has always been that the states have to put their money in as well. But now they're able to to tax the healthcare entities that receive the money.
▶ 3:41:15some states are actually taxing the med the managed care Medicaid managed care organizations that receive the money and so it's just become almost an open-ended checkbook on the on the federal government. So it we're we're going to debate it and see which way we go but I I will tell you that it needs to be addressed and and we tend to address it and we'll see where where we go. Well, I will uh stop. Yeah, I'm I see that uh my time has grown long here. So I I appreciate the chairwoman's indulgence.
▶ 3:41:43I'll simply say there are a lot of rural hospitals that will close if this bill becomes law. Well, so so that assume but that assumed because I had some people from Kentucky come to me since you brought Kentucky up and say y'all need to make this a priority when we were debating whether it was going to cut back. Y'all need to make this a priority. from Kentucky government.
▶ 3:42:02And so that says, well, then my answer back to them, why don't you make it a priority because it so the 3.5% is is a is the where the state takes the money to match and so they they don't have to put any money in their general fund. So they're wanting us to make it a priority, which I do make it a priority. I want my hospitals to be successful, but the state also has to pay their share as well. I and I would just simply say similar to my the point that um I articulated in my colloquy with chair Arrington.
▶ 3:42:32I think it's be awfully tough. It's going be awfully tough for your members uh to make the argument that you just made. I I hear what you're saying. And I understand you're saying, well, you know, the state may needs to step up to the plate and so on and so forth and state legislators will have to that that that's an argument that you're obviously entitled to make, but there's a reason that the House bill didn't include the cut that the Senate bill has now proposed with respect to the rate to the hospital uh rate fee and so or excuse me to the hospital provider rate.
▶ 3:43:02And in my view, I think it's a mistake and I I I think it's going to have devastating consequences for rural America. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Noose, Mr. Roy, you're recognized. I thank the chairwoman. Um, it is rare indeed that I have too many reasons to agree in this in this room, but I do have to go ahead and start with uh the absurdity of that provision that was added by the Senate. In fairness to our chairman, it was not added on the House side. It was in fact the Senate side.
▶ 3:43:32Uh it was clearly um a mistake and uh shouldn't have been done. I just go ahead and state what it is. It's just an absurd policy. Why would you penalize a state for having a lower error rate and encourage them to have a higher error rate which I can I can read the provision to do nothing else. So, uh let's just call balls and strikes here. Uh that was a ball and it wasn't even close. Um a couple things here just to level set uh for the American people. If I can just go down the line real quick.
▶ 3:44:02And none of this is this is just level setting. We're all we're all here just reacting to what we're reacting to. Okay? is not trying to put anybody in the hot seat or anything else. Uh can you just tell me whether you've been able to read the Senate bill uh as it came over from the Senate before testifying here today? Can we just go down the line yourself? Have you been able to read the Senate bill? Just just within the scope of the agriculture require title.
▶ 3:44:26So the changes that were made there, you're able to read the changes to the bill, the summaries of them, the the items that they made. Ranking member. No. Chairman, I am reading through it as we speak. You're reading the bill. I have not read through the entirety of it. If you've not read it, you're reading through the bill while we're here. Correct. Correct. We continue. Thank you, members. Actually, my same my answer is exactly the same as Jodis.
▶ 3:44:51Uh, chairman, we're reading the wraparound, excuse me, reading the the wraparound amendment that affected our area briefly, not not word for word to get familiar with the changes before we came here and we'll be reading it tonight. Thank you, M. My reaction is the same as Guthrie. We tried as quickly as possible to get through, but we only had like an hour before we had to come here.
▶ 3:45:16No, I've not been able to read the whole thing or chairman Smith just to read summaries particularly relating to our jurisdiction on ways and means. Thank you, Ranking Member. Chairman Smith, the the tax provisions we've been following throughout the whole process. The bill that was um the language was dropped on Saturday. I'm very well aware of everything that's in that. The wraparound amendment that was a couple hours ago, I know the details of it, but um I know the tax provisions. I I appreciate that.
▶ 3:45:46Um I don't intend to take a whole lot of time. Um for all of our benefits, um it's fairly well um documented that I've got strong concerns and reservations about the bill. Um I do think a couple of questions merit um And so I'm going to ask again in a non-pointed as matterof fact as I possibly can way to my friend from Texas.
▶ 3:46:14Um if it is our understanding that at least as you accept as we accept the CBO analysis even on a dynamic basis assuming the budget committee's assumption of 2.6% 6% growth and therefore 2.5 or 6 trillion of additional revenue created from that growth that it would still leave us about 651 billion in additional deficit spending still accounting for the
▶ 3:46:44defense and and uh uh border plus up is that roughly accurate that's accurate and to the best of our understanding and I think you answered this question earlier uh to the extent that we had a framework in place that we thought was important to adhere to. Are we within that framework?
▶ 3:47:06Uh we are the Senate's bill is about 450 plus 450 I think 5 billion uh outside of that outside of that framework and that that that number is different because it does not factor in the defense and the border plus up. Is that correct? The 455. Yeah, that variance to the 650.
▶ 3:47:29It's mostly the cost of uh of tax policy being different than what it was in the house on a current current law basis on a current law perspective. The numbers we're talking about here in the variance with respect to the CBO calculation that does not factor in interest. Is that correct? Uh that's correct. And if we were to factor in interest, the number would be necessarily higher if those deficit numbers are correct. presupposing that they're correct, which these are all models.
▶ 3:47:59Is that fair? Uh when you're for every dollar you borrow, 50 cents on that dollar is going to interest. So, it's a significant additional cost. Would it sound correct that if we're at $651 billion of additional deficit spending that if you use the CBO's own calculator at the CBO's own assumed 3 and a.5% interest rates which are far from guaranteed over the coming several years that that would
▶ 3:48:29produce over a trillion dollars of interest. Uh I'm sorry, let me restate that. over a trillion dollars total when you take the 651 and then add in interest that we would be in the $1.2 trillion range. You are in the ballpark. So that that is the concern for those out there trying to observe what we're doing about the extent to which there's deficit implications to to the legislation that was moved forward through from the Senate and sent to us.
▶ 3:48:58Um I think it's important and I might ask um might have a question here just think just for level setting because there's differences of opinion here in philosophy. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have opined that uh you know they kind of mock trickle down and like kind of impacted the implications of tax policy. We can have those differences of opinion about where we want dollars to reside. And we believe we want dollars to reside in the pockets of Americans.
▶ 3:49:25Whether it's the child tax credit, you can debate the policy. I've got some views on that. Whether it's this doubling of the standard deduction, whether it's the uh marginal rates, which are lower for people in the lower end of the strata and lower on people at the higher end of the strata, right? We can at least agree to the facts. Those are all true. And that some of those impact people hugely in numbers, people at the lower end of the spectrum. So, we're talking about tax rates that are and tax policies that are helping working class and poorer Americans.
▶ 3:49:51We're also talking about tax rates that are by definition going to uh impact and help those at the top upper end of the spectrum. You say help? Well, they don't need the dollars to live. But the question is whether those dollars are going to create more wealth and jobs in their pockets, right? There's a philosophy on the right side of the spectrum that they do that. I adhere to that philosophy that the money in the hands of the American people produces wealth. You produce wealth, you create jobs, you create opportunity. I think that's a good thing.
▶ 3:50:17Where I think I've got a problem is that the Senate wanted to embrace that part in full. They wanted to go whole hog on that and they want to go fine, we'll make tax cuts permanent over 10 years. Great. God bless them. I'd love to do that. I'd love to have rates that don't change and they're permanent and they're low. But by doing that, they're exposing the problem. And that problem is just simple arithmetic.
▶ 3:50:42And that is if you do that then you're going to have an issue with respect to revenue and with respect to And the last point that I'll address rather than the form of a question is the policy baseline.
▶ 3:50:58The policy baseline is a dangerous It is a dangerous gambit for either side of the aisle because to my colleagues on this side of the aisle, please please come explain to me when my colleagues on that side of the aisle are talking about what's going to happen with the Affordable Care Act What's going to happen in future policym when it comes to things we disagree with when you just assume
▶ 3:51:29what is current policy rather than having us vote on said policy. I've seen a lot of messaging and rhetoric coming from very good friends of mine talking about how it's somehow a anathema or accepting leftist dogma to say and to ask the question about a policy baseline about whether or not that is foregoing our responsibility to do the math.
▶ 3:51:58you can believe that the current tax rates that are X whether it's for the lowest bracket or the highest should stay the same and I take on face value that many of my colleagues the administration and my and myself included would like them to stay at that level or even lower that's my preference but if you do that you have to do math what will be the impact then on revenue and my colleagues I think in the Senate in particular because God bless the the house at least we created a framework work by which
▶ 3:52:29we were trying to do dollar for dollar. I realize my colleagues on the other side of the aisle disagreed with that. But I want to give credit to the budget committee chairman for trying to hold a line of saying that there ought to at least be a connection that we ought to at least say if we're going to do the tax policy, at least do the spending policy. Have the courage and the fortitude to do what you campaign on when you're talking about balancing the dang budget. Don't just talk about it. Don't talk about balanced budget amendments and then go home and say, "Look at me. I got a balanced budget amendment vote. Did it fail? Did it? Yeah. No, it failed. Yeah.
▶ 3:52:59Is it law? No. Right. But I man, I got you your tax cuts. But ignore ignore that inflation that is a result of $37 trillion of debt. My colleagues in the Senate failed us. My colleagues in the Senate failed us. They sent us a bill knowingly using a policy baseline gimmick. They sent it and they sent it knowing that it was going to have increased deficits.
▶ 3:53:31Last question. I'm sorry it's for my good friend from Texas who I don't really want to put on the spot here in a way that's beyond I think the core question, but this matters regardless of what one thinks about these policies and and wanting to be able to have the economic growth. I want the tax cuts to be permanent. I want all this stuff. But is it fair to say that the lion share of the deficits will be in the first five years of the 10-year budget window? Is that fair to say?
▶ 3:54:01Yes, that's fair. Is that relatively irrefutably fair to say? It it's irrefutable to my knowledge. The only way to refute the idea that in the first four to five years of the budget window that we will have significant deficits to the tune of probably close to two trillion 1.8 trillion even on a dynamic basis assuming the budget committee's number that you have to make up for it in the tale in the last 5 years of the budget window the only way to do that to
▶ 3:54:31the best of my knowledge is to assume more revenue for tariffs and assume higher growth rates. So I think you have to assume I haven't done the exact math three to three and a half% growth over 10 years which I hope we have and we should aspire to get and tariff revenue at the rate that we currently are bringing it in or more which CBO has scored to CBO's math 2 point what 8 trillion I just did that from memory something like that be about 280
▶ 3:55:01billion a year so you have to assume that tariff revenue and assume call it three and a half% roughly growth then you start to kind of wash out what we're doing in Congress by our choice. Everything we just said, we're leaving essentially the administration to go carry out.
▶ 3:55:19If I'm characterizing anything incorrectly, does anybody want to challenge what I just said With that, I will yield back. Thank you, Mr. Roy. Miss Leger Fernandez, you're recognized. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and uh hello to all of our panelists.
▶ 3:55:43Uh it is nice to be here when I believe the sun is still out and we haven't had to like have 10 cups of coffee just to make it here. So, thank you for being here. It is sad to be here yet again uh to review a proposed bill that will do so much harm.
▶ 3:56:06And the reality is across America, we are hearing loud and clear that this bill represents the Republican party's moral failure. And I use the word moral failure because we have had faith leaders use that word. We have had your own Republican colleagues use that word. And indeed, this bill, it's shameful. It's a betrayal of your voters because the Americans haven't asked for it.
▶ 3:56:35In fact, they've told you they don't want it. It's hugely unpopular among Republican and independent voters. And it's cruel. It's the biggest tax cut to Americans healthc care ever. And it takes this riding inequality gap and turns it into a Grand Canyon of inequality. It takes from the working poor and gives to the ultra rich.
▶ 3:57:02And it saddles, as Representative Roy is pointing out, all of us in this room and importantly our grandchildren and our children with And nobody can refute that. And this is strange when we are indeed agreeing with cher with representative Roy. It happens as they say a broken clock is is right two times a day. And we are agreeing with him.
▶ 3:57:31We think the numbers are than what he has pointed out, but it is debt and deficit. And you know, when you think about this weekend, right, it was a little surreal because we had the Senate Republicans taking action to get a bad bill and make it worse, taking away that $616 a day that veterans and
▶ 3:58:01children and hungry mothers get for food. That was happening this weekend at the same time that we saw one of the wealthiest Americans loaded in on his $500 million yacht to have a $50 million wedding.
▶ 3:58:22And the reason why that is so important is because those are the two ends of what's going to happen in this bill is that the wealthiest, as was pointed out by my good friend Miss Moore, are going to get richer and more powerful. And then the working families of America, the veterans, those who can't work are going to get hungrier and sicker.
▶ 3:58:52And that's the d that's that's what we were seeing. You know, Chairman Guthrie, um Jeff Bezos is worth $237 billion. $237 billion. And we have a little discussion earlier um about hospitals in in your district.
▶ 3:59:11And when we think about Jeff Bezos, they got a lot of tax cuts through Amazon and the large corporations and those tax cuts were supposed to expire some of them, right? Some of them were made permanent, but others were going to expire. And that's why we're in this exercise right now. Correct. For the which tax cuts are you talking about? Well, there are but we are in this exercise because there are some of the tax cuts are expiring and the question is what are we going to do about it?
▶ 3:59:41And there are tax cuts that benefit those who make under 40,000 and there are tax cuts that benefit the largest corporations. Now you talk we talked a little bit about some of the hospitals in your district including Owensboroough Health Twin Lakes Medical L uh Leechfield and the Kentucky Hospital Association itself has said it would be greatly damaged and essential services would be eliminated from that
▶ 4:00:13And as we know once you start eliminating hospitals you services you often then see them closed. I visited some of the rural hospitals in my district and as one of the uh heads of the hospital pointed out when a community loses its hospital the community eventually dies because nobody wants to be living in a community where when something goes wrong they can't get care.
▶ 4:00:43If you are a pregnant woman and you have to drive three hours to give birth, that's a problem. Especially if you have something that goes wrong, right? So, people leave those places. And that hospital I just mentioned, it's there isn't another one for another 22 miles. That's a little better than my places where they're three hours away. So, I think when I think about this bill, I think about who needs more help right now.
▶ 4:01:14What do you think? Does Owensboro Health Twin Lakes kind of deserve more of your attention and help or Jeff raises? Well, I focused on that hospital. That hospital is in in Litzfield in Grayson County. Like you said, it's 22 miles from one another hospital, about 35 from another hospital, but important to that community.
▶ 4:01:33and and and as I said that when when you limit the provider tax, you don't you just it changes the way that the state uses its money to match. So, when you have an open-ended federal pool of money and states have figured out how to not use any general fund money or not use general fund money, use use money within the health care system to match what a lot of people said, President Obama said, President Biden said, is that if
▶ 4:02:03we don't get a handle on this open-ended match, then we're going to continue to have budget issues, and we're trying to figure out the right policy to get there. and the 3.5 that's in the Senate bill was in President Obama's 2014 budget.
▶ 4:02:17So I think the question is is there is in this bill a multitude of policies that taken So what what the hospital associations are telling us is you add together the provider tax, you add together uh the cuts to who is eligible, you add together all of the different pieces and that's what leads to the hospital closures. And I think that that's what's really important.
▶ 4:02:47And the question is the question that you're asked to do is maybe is whether where where do you stand where are your priorities? Are you going to sit here and say I am going to do everything I can to craft a law? Well, I have worked with the people that you're the people you're quoting I've worked quite closely with and and also we know that the general assembly has it's as I said that people came from the Kentucky government said that don't do anything within provider taxes so forth.
▶ 4:03:14You need to you need to then said it to me you need to make this a priority. And when I this, you know, the state budget folks working in the state, I said, "Well, does that mean you're not making it a priority as well?" I mean, and so your argument that you're making is if the federal government doesn't come in and do everything, then the states aren't responsible. And and that's the problem. Uh Medicaid has been spent $700 billion this year. We're expected in 10 years to spend $1.4 trillion. It's going to double.
▶ 4:03:44And we're still under this scenario going to spend over a trillion dollars on Medicaid. So the idea that we're cutting Medicaid backwards is is just not accurate. We are cutting Medicaid. There is no question that we are cutting. We're going to spend we're from 700 billion to a trillion. You will be taking a vote that will hurt that hospital. And the Kentucky Hospital Association, we talked to them. They are worried about the vote that you talked to him as well because of what it's going to do to the hospitals. Ranking member Palone.
▶ 4:04:13I mean when when we are talking about these cuts, it's the cumulative effect but their assumption is the general assembly is not going to do anything and that's what the program is set up for. Is is is that I mean that is a concern and it's a concern across uh uh the the whole United States. Am I right on that?
▶ 4:04:30Yeah, I mean I think you're really, you know, stressing the point too which I made before uh I think which is that, you know, when we talk about this trillion dollars in cuts uh to health care and this 17 billion Americans who are going to lose their health insurance, it's not just, you know, the paperwork requirements, you know, that that we've talked about that makes people lose their health insurance. It's all these other cuts, right?
▶ 4:04:57So the provider tax cut I think is you know like maybe 225 or $250 billion. The the paperwork is $330 billion, right? The ACA, the fact that you're not renewing uh the subsidies, the enhanced subsidies um is is a big factor.
▶ 4:05:17all these all these uh uh efforts to block people from getting uh health insurance either because you can't have automatic reinrollment, you can't have a special enrollment period, you can't uh um I mean the the list goes on and it is a cumulative effect on the on the health uh on health care that just devastates health care. So if you're a hospital, you're sitting there saying, "Well, wait a minute.
▶ 4:05:43Now I'm not going to have all these patients who who are paying because they don't have insurance or they don't have Medicaid. And now I have all this uncompensated care cost that I can't absorb. And then I have u all my provider cuts. You know, the the fact that I can't get the money, the reimbursement rate anymore because you're reducing uh the provider tax. You know, how am I going to stay open? And the states can't do it. I mean, I talked to the governor over the weekend. You're talking about a $ three.5 billion dollar cut uh to healthcare in New Jersey.
▶ 4:06:13Uh our budget is that they adopted Monday was 57. You're talking about six or 7%. How are you going to make that up? There's no way to do it. I think that that's the problem is that in each of these states and in ev every Republican sitting in this room or those who are not sitting here, their states are going to have significant loss of people being able to show up at those hospitals because in Kentucky it's 184,000 people in in Missouri 265,000 people will lose health
▶ 4:06:43insurance, Medicaid or ACA or Medicare. uh and and this is where this idea of moral clarity and moral decisions come in as was pointed out earlier and it seems that you know in order to have some of that moral clarity uh you might need to decide to not run for reelection because you're going to get attacked. Uh but we have we're hearing it from everywhere. Republican Senator Tom Tillis.
▶ 4:07:09What do I tell 660,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore, guys, because this is a decision. It's a decision you're making. You know, Republican Senator Holly, he ended up writing saying this, tweeting it, writing a New York Times article.
▶ 4:07:33We can't be cutting health care for working people and for poor people in order to constantly give special tax treatment to And then further, that argument is both morally wrong and politically suicidal. The moral test of a nation is how it treats those most in need of support. In our view, this legislation will harm the poor and vulnerable in our nation through to the detriment of the common good.
▶ 4:08:00Its passage would be a moral failure for American society as a whole. The faith leaders which included Jews, Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, imams, it's seen by everybody.
▶ 4:08:14And then the archbishop of the US arch dascese for the military services because he sees the military who serve us that is the responsibility of politicians to promote and protect the common good including by working to overcome wealth inequality. And that's what we are here to decide to do today.
▶ 4:08:39Because in the end, these cuts or in order to pay for the tax breaks for the wealthy, that's the problem. If it was just we don't have enough money. We're going to figure this out. We're going to work it out with the Commonwealth. That would be different.
▶ 4:08:54But that's not what we are dealing with today is we're making these cuts in order to have the one to one that the freedom caucus wanted or but in order to then end up saddling that is the problem and you know and and the problem is going to be that it's going to be the people in our districts who are going to suffer and we know what that will look like because there are going to be we all met those people.
▶ 4:09:22We've gone out and they've come and testified or we've gone to their homes or we've gone to their places. You know, Chair Smith, when we are here in May talking about no tax on tips, you pointed out that you ate at a restaurant and the waiter asked you if we would be able to uh deliver on the tax break for no tips. Do you did I did I remember that correctly? You're the one who said that, right? Yeah. Um and this bill delivers no tax on tips. Yeah. So, for that waitress. Great.
▶ 4:09:51Has a rate a male or female? It was It was a female. Oh, great. How many years will the tax break on tips last? It'll last for four years. But that's very typical of tax policy. In the American Rescue Plan, you guys enhanced the child tax credit and that's already expired. The question was how long the premium tax credit is expiring at the end of this year, which you all made temporary. That's on tips for I'm I'm sorry. I'm going to rec my time.
▶ 4:10:19gentle lady's time and if I'm going to be asked a question I hope I can answer it Mr. Chair understand that instead of just cutting me off well but one of the things we need to try to remember to do is to work through the chair instead of getting into a discussion with each other I'd like to reclaim my time because I asked a question and then if you would and then you can a good way to do that is then say and Mr. Mr. Chairman, I'm wondering if the gentleman would answer this following question and then you can respond back followup question. I know.
▶ 4:10:46I'm just saying but but instead of doing it directly, it works better if you run through the chair. So, so Chair Smith pointed out that the tax break on tips last uh for four years. Um so, uh maybe I'll ask the ranking uh uh uh Representative Moyer here. How many years will the tax cut for Americans earning over 600,000 a year last? Uh those will be permanent. So those will be permanent. So Mr.
▶ 4:11:13So Chair Smith, I would suggest that the next time you go to dinner and brag to the waitress how you're delivering a tax cut for them, point out that she's only getting it for four years, but somebody earning 600,000 and more is going to get it permanently.
▶ 4:11:28And I would point out that whenever you talk to your constituents that you would tell them that you voted against um tax relief on tips, tax relief for overtime, um basically 91% of your districts are has the guarantee deduction and that's going to be slashed in half. So these are things that when you vote no, you're voting against a child tax credit have a refundability at 1,700, which this does down to a,000.
▶ 4:11:56a thousand is what the refundability on that child tax credit will be if you don't vote for this bill. So, thank you for pointing that out, Chair Smith, because the issue here that Democrats have is not with the tax child tax credit. We don't have an issue with many of these taxes that need to be extended.
▶ 4:12:22In fact, we will be presenting and I have an amendment that would state that any of the tax provisions that benefit those earning less than 400,000 should stay in the bill that we take out of the bill all of the provisions where the tax benefits go to the JF Bezos and Amazon of the world and that we only keep that. Would you support that kind of amendment? Would you vote for the bill if that amendment was adopted?
▶ 4:12:49that amendment was adopted, that would be a bill that I think you'll get a lot of Democrats supporting because it wouldn't be a tax cut for the rich. That is our problem. That is our problem. So, that is exactly where we're going. And by the way, when you went out to eat, um do you remember how much you paid for that It was um actually at a Mexican restaurant in my hometown. I think it was about $32. $32. Yeah.
▶ 4:13:17Well, you know, the thing is is that when you were talking uh to that waitress uh and I hope you gave her a good tip. I hope you get a realtor because I always do because they work so hard. I hope that you do as well. They work so hard. And so you gave her a tip. Hopefully it was more than 20% but it was about $6 a day which gets us to about what you get. You were able to pay in a tip what a hungry veteran or a hungry mother would be able to get in food stamps a day. But I don't know.
▶ 4:13:46You probably didn't have a conversation with your raider about whether she had health insurance because the reality if you had you might have that or you might have noticed I mean most of our raiders and waitresses or service members I think it's two in five tipped ra workers are on Medicaid or the marketplace on Obamacare right so the thing is is that while you're giving a tempor temporary
▶ 4:14:16four-year tax break to your raider. You can be taking away their Medicaid coverage or maybe their ACA. Maybe the raider earned too little money to get Medicaid, so he's getting his health care through the Affordable Care Act. Um, if they're working, they're not going to lose their Medicaid. And that's energy and commerce. But that's the case. I don't know. Iraq can can re unless they're illegal. I I'm going to ask Gren Moore if she would like to join the conversation.
▶ 4:14:46That's not true. Pro part of the problem is that they'll hit there's marginal tax rates. So, uh in my state, for example, you qualify for Medicaid or Badger Care if you're at or below 100% of the poverty level. So, you could go to work, work for minimum wages. That would push you over the uh 100% of the poverty level. You know, if you made $16,000 a year, you would no longer be eligible for Medicaid.
▶ 4:15:16You'd be working yourself into poverty. You're working yourself into poverty. And we have heard over and over again for people who are working not one job or two jobs. We don't pay enough money, especially for states who have a federal minimum wage and don't have a living wage.
▶ 4:15:32But, you know, if that worker wasn't getting Medicaid and they were getting they were on the ACA, they're getting perhaps tax credits, the premium tax credits, right? Ranking member Palone.
▶ 4:15:48And if a raider is earning around $39,000, right, and is getting Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, they would see their bronze plan premiums rise by over 500% in 16 states. In Nebraska, that waitress's premium would go up from about $190 to $2,200.
▶ 4:16:18So that's why when we look at this bill, you can't talk about this bill. Thank you for smiling. Isn't it awful the way that happens, Mr. Chair? You can't talk about this bill is just the tax provisions sit in isolation of everything else. And that's why we when we talk about this bill, who is getting who is losing out? And it's people below that 40% who are earning 40% or less because they're going to be paying more for their ACA payments. They're going to lose their Medicaid. they might lose this nap.
▶ 4:16:48Those are it's when you put it all together and this is what we're talking about values, right? Because the reality is Republicans are tossing some shortterm tax benefits to raiders and they're giving away diamonds that last forever to the wealthy. So, Chairman Thompson, uh I don't know if you've been out uh to have I mean, I don't know if you got to go to a wonderful Mexican restaurant, but you might not have.
▶ 4:17:14I just wanted to talk about what it would take like when you went shopping uh this weekend or if your wife does the shopping, were you able to have uh what did you have? Were you able to go and buy some eggs, buy some steak, maybe some chicken, uh some avocados? You wanted to make your own tacos? toast. Avocado toast. Yeah.
▶ 4:17:45Yeah. I'm more of Sorry. Um I I I'm the the secondary team when it comes to cooking. I'm the taster. But I can tell you those avocados, if we sent uh somebody who was on SNAP benefits into a store to buy groceries for three meals a day, she would not be able to buy an avocado and she would not be able to eat. And I'm sure you're aware why.
▶ 4:18:14Um in Mexico, most most of the avocados come from, we have a problem right now. A lot of the avocados are grown in the area that are heavily in um presence of the cartels. to USDA is trying to work on that to make sure that uh you know there's adequate um proper inspections within the grove. So that's that's really impacting the supply of avocados right now. But but they're expensive. Basically the point more expensive than ever right now because of that.
▶ 4:18:43So much is more expensive than ever. So much is more effective than ever. In fact, we now have a tracker that tracks how things are more expensive than ever. People might want to check it out. But that's the problem is that it's not just avocados. I ran in in Clayton, New Mexico, another one of my beautiful rural towns. Great grocery store. You know, we have a problem with grocery stores in rural America because there aren't enough of them. This guy has a beautiful store.
▶ 4:19:10And uh Representative Ranking member Craig, you know what this would be like? If you go and try to buy food for three meals on $6.16, you're not going to be able to do it. And in fact, that's why these and these faith leaders have said that there we cannot support this bill. And I know Representative Chairman Thompson, I wish those faith leaders and you named a few denominations, but I wish they were were better informed.
▶ 4:19:39I wish they would be more um discerning where they get their information. The fact is everything we're proposing maintains inflationary adjustments which would adjust which would respond to what you're talking about the inflated costs whatever the reason that those inflated costs would be taken into consideration for determining SNAP benefits going forward in the future. Well, I think where I think they're fairly informed.
▶ 4:20:03It's and I will I want to give a shout out to my own Archbishop Rester and I think where he's basing it on and I know you uh a man of great faith uh uh and and believe and you know you know Matthew right you know Matthew what does it say uh when I was hungry when I was hungry you gave me to eat when I was thirsty you gave me to drink you know you know it really
▶ 4:20:33well ranking me. I also know that Matthew is talking to the church and to the people, not not to the Roman government. So I I think it's important that if we're going to quote scripture to make sure that it's kept in context. Matthew uh 7:16, which was quoted earlier, was talking about false prophets uh not u and quite frankly.
▶ 4:20:57So I think we have to be very careful with what we say in this room and other rooms that we don't play the part of a false prophet. Well, in that instance, there's actually an exchange that's going on where then the apostles say, "But when have we ever seen that that you haven't been hungry and you haven't been thirsty?" He says, "Ah, but it's in the least of us. It's how we treat each other." And that's what it's asking. Am I understanding that it's how we treat each other?
▶ 4:21:22And I think that we have an obligation because we are elected by the people we represent to bring those kinds of values and work on them. Absolutely agree with that. If you're still addressing the question to me, absolutely um agree with that. But keeping people not providing a pathway uh to greater opportunity is violating that.
▶ 4:21:45keeping people comfortable stuck in poverty, making poverty a spiderweb u where there's no chance for the American dream is just absolutely wrong. And um you know and a lot of what we're working on in this bill actually is focused my the things I've worked on in this bill is so I just speak for myself is really focused in providing those ladders of opportunity providing those encouragements recognizing that there are different uh um
▶ 4:22:15uh challenges and barriers sometimes that people run into. Uh but we also if you do a deep enough dive of some of these programs like the SNAP program now you'll see that there's the states have uh you know 8% uh waiverss that they can offer because you can't anticipate everybody's life circumstances you know uh if you're the gentle lady yield oh uh uh yes excuse me if you were if you were done I will yield. No, I I just again I just so there's no misunderstanding here.
▶ 4:22:44The majority of people on SNAP are not expected to work because they're children or they're senior citizens or they're disabled. Of those who are able-bodied, the majority of them work. Um the problem with SNAP, um I will I would tell you is not that we're providing people too much. Uh $2 per person per meal is really too little. Um and we want to talk about making America healthy again. it. They ought to be able to go to the store and they ought to be able to buy avocados. They ought to be able to buy healthier food.
▶ 4:23:13Um, so I just I just I don't want there to be this misimpression out there that somehow, you know, the majority of people on the program are either expected to work or those who are able-bodied are working or not working. They are. And you know what? And you're working and you're still earning so little you qualify for SNAP. There's something wrong with that. So it's not about lack of opportunity. people are out there doing their best, working as hard as they can, and they get this measly benefit that quite frankly is inadequate and we're nickel and dimming it.
▶ 4:23:43Um, so I thank the journal back. Yeah. And I Oh, and and we do want to hear what you're saying because so can you get closer to the microphone? Sure. And just just to qualify, the most recent data shows that uh basically 30% of able-bodied adults without dependent children are working. 30% 70% of just and we're just talking about the demographics of an able-bodied adult without a dis, you know, so they don't have a disability that do not have dependent children.
▶ 4:24:1070% are not working currently on the that are on the SNAP program. Uh, ranking member Craig, you wanted to join the conversation. Well, I I'd just like to also offer some fiscal year 24 data. more than you know almost 70% of SNAP participants are in families with children and more than se 37% are in families with members who are older adults or disabled.
▶ 4:24:34So, uh, look, the ranking member said, uh, most ablebodied folks in America who can work, who are on SNAP, are already working, number of children. But I I keep coming back to this concept that somehow the Senate sent us a bill and we can't ignore it. You know, maybe it wasn't there when it went over to the Senate, but as a body, we have to now codify what they've sent back to us.
▶ 4:25:02And I just, you know, this idea that our veterans that former foster youth and homeless are going to lose their access to nutrition benefits. Folks, every month in this country, 1.2 million veterans depend on SNAP to put food on their table. And no, it's not all of the food that's on their table. It's supplemental. That's the name of the damn program for a reason.
▶ 4:25:30That's because they aren't making enough to be able to afford a day or weeks worth of groceries for themselves and their families. And this idea we keep saying that able-bodied adults, you cannot tell me. And and look, I I mean, don't even try to say that you can look a veteran who served this nation in war or served our country, signed up to serve our country, that somehow they're not willing to go to work.
▶ 4:25:59There are all kinds of circumstances in which we know our veterans face when they come home. They risk a much higher degree of food security. They have a much higher risk of food security than nonveterans. 33% of disabled veterans and 20% of unemployed veterans are working age and are food insecure.
▶ 4:26:20So, look, I it may not have been a deal you like to cut, but this was the right deal for our nation's veterans, for former foster youth to help them get their feet under them, for homeless individuals in this country. You know, every year 20,000 young adults age out of the foster care system and they face higher rates of food insecurity. And so, it's not enough to me to say that we're okay with just voting yes on what the Senate sent us back.
▶ 4:26:50This is immoral to tell our nation's veterans that we're going to take your food supplemental away from you. And the House gets to vote. The Republicans control the vote. So, it's going to be up to the Republicans to say this is not acceptable. And whether you're saying this is not acceptable because we don't like the budget numbers and the deficit numbers and whether they're going to hold and not be Congress people who are caving again or whether it's because it's wrong.
▶ 4:27:19But you know I want to go to the issue of rural communities and actually go to go back to the things about rural hospitals uh because that is my community uh and I've had ranking member Palone actually meet with the rural hospitals who as you pointed out ranking member Palone those are all in those are for the most part in the Republican areas of my district you know a trillion dollars it went over it was bad and it came back and it's even worse right uh and uh the uh that 50
▶ 4:27:49billion rural health fund as a solution. Um but that that isn't a solution because it goes away after a while and it's just not enough. Is that right? Uh uh ranking member Palone. Yeah. I mean the rural members in the Senate, you know, went back and forth on this, but from what I saw in the numbers that were ultimately adopted, it's woefully inadequate. Right.
▶ 4:28:16and and and and part of the theme that we see in Medicaid is the same theme about oh people aren't working right and the reality is the when I've gone to my schools you know we're kicking but Trump was trying to call close jobs core where people are trying to get uh you know better trained so they could have better jobs so they don't have to be on Medicaid but I mean on SNAP but they need it so they're not starving while they're in school but we hear this again and again that they're only kicking off people who don't
▶ 4:28:46deserve to be there. Well, you talk about the job, you know, that was June 30th and they're done. And in my district, you know, I've been there many times and it's the best program there is to get people to work and now it's gone. Right. But what we have this this de this sort of trying to say that people who are on Medicaid, people who get SNAP are somehow fudsters and lazy. It's just and don't want to work.
▶ 4:29:11And in fact, Senator Roger Marshall said, and I quote, "When they talk about people not being on Medicaid anymore, half of those people are on it because of fraud." Half, repeat it, half of those people are on it because of fraud or some type of abuse of the system. The other half is because they're unwilling to work 20 hours a week. Um, Chairman Arrington, do you agree with that statement that half the people on Medicaid are basically committing fraud?
▶ 4:29:43I'm just looking at the CBO report. It's a letter in response to my request and Chairman Guthri's about who those 7.8 million people that my Democratic colleagues have suggested are being ripped off the safety net.
▶ 4:30:01that it's a honest straightforward question to the rhetoric that I think has been quite um predatory really because I think you're praying on the fears of people that have no reason to be afraid.
▶ 4:30:16And in that letter and in that and by all means we can we can we can have this discussion but in this letter CBO says 4.8 8 million are able-bodied adults between the age of 19 and 64 who have between 19 and 64 who have no and who do not meet the 20 hours of community service of school or of a job which is by the way only 10 to 15 hours lower than
▶ 4:30:46the bill that Bill Clinton signed in 1996 along with Joe Biden and other Democrats but I just this is just Medicaid alone 4.8 8 million. This is the nonpartisan independent CBO that I think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are fond of sourcing. I'm sourcing it right back to you. And I think it is so disappointing. I think there are some honest disagreements. I think there are really good questions about the debt and spending.
▶ 4:31:16And man, it's tough. It's tough for me. But this kind of BS about telling the world and it's no wonder that people in your district are saying I I'm I I'll stop. I You asked a question. I I told you these are the these are the these are the uh data points from a letter from the Congressional Budget Office and this is just for Medicaid.
▶ 4:31:46And AEI says 70%. I think that's what the chair has quoted of saying able-bodied adults uh 70% uh uh aren't working. Uh California and five other states have nobody working. Literally nobody is working. Effectively, they don't enforce the the the work require not the ablebodied adults. Now it's not like half of them now nobody's working.
▶ 4:32:12the able-bodied adults in California on SNAP are not required to work. They're not required. There's no enforcement. There four or five other states similarly situated. And I think I I I I mean I think that I think that the reason when we go to uh uh jurisdictions like mine and the reason why we're seeing these numbers and if you go out into the community, they are not people who are fraud or just aren't working.
▶ 4:32:41But I'm going to uh uh and and if I could just remind folks that you've used about 37 minutes of time and and the chairwoman would be upset with me if I didn't point that out. Well, thank you for pointing it Gentle lady has yielded to the gentleman. I just want to point out um you throw around the word able-bodied adults as as if every able-bodied adult is equal, you know, in terms of what's going on in their life. But an able-bodied adult who might not be working might be taking care of a child at home.
▶ 4:33:10or might be taking care of an elderly mother or might be or might be be in between jobs, you know, or might not be able to get into a a a work training program or might live in an area where they don't have access to transportation. And so that's the deal here. So I'm not this is not uh we're not trying to be this is this is the real you know the claim that only 30% of nondisabled adults without dependent children work while receiving SNAP.
▶ 4:33:39I mean, we know that 70% of SNAP participants are children, seniors, or people with a disability, all of whom are exempt from work reporting requirements for what I hope are for obvious reasons. Many of the working age adults that participate in SNAP do so temporarily, often while between jobs or when their work hours are cut. It is exactly because they don't have work that they need to turn to the program oftentimes.
▶ 4:34:03And as a reminder, uh, we give them only three months, three months, uh, to find work again before they get kicked off the program for three years. For three years thanks to SNAP's time limit. So that is that is I I mean, you may all find that to be humane and just. Uh, we don't. And so there's a difference in terms of values and in terms of what we believe is right. I thank the gentle lady. Thank you.
▶ 4:34:28And I just also want to point out that as was discussed earlier that a lot of the reason why people will fall off of Medicaid is because it becomes very complicated, right? And uh we've we've had hearings where we've heard people talk in in New Mexico, I mean the SNAP application is like the average SNAP application is 17 pages long and in some places 21 pages.
▶ 4:34:52like Republicans who always talk about wanting to cut regulations, they don't mind putting more regulation and more more paperwork and a mountain of paperwork on working people. But I would also point out that this is a crazy one that the moratorum on simplified eligibility. So to try to make things easier, there was actually uh a rule that said let's make the let's make the application sort of more streamlined, simplified, eligible.
▶ 4:35:22So it works and that actually there is they're barring that in the Senate bill. So, not only are they trying to sort of make it harder for you uh to eligible, but they actually are getting rid of the rule to make it easier to apply for these things. Because I'm running out of time, I just wanted to touch quickly on tax credits, and I'll try to be quick.
▶ 4:35:41Um, so I uh wanted to just touch quickly on the issue of of the energy tax credits and the fact that we are seeing uh energy costs rise. And that while we discussed earlier that they did get rid of the tax uh the the the the new tax on renewable energy, we are still going to see rising energy costs, electricity costs from this bill.
▶ 4:36:08Um and and I think that that is just some an important thing to point out. Uh Mr. Chair, I would like to enter into the record um the uh energy innovation federal clean energy tax credits make energy more affordable. uh a matter analysis and I know you're going to ask me for the date and it is March 2025. Thank you. Without objection.
▶ 4:36:32So ordered and and what this goes through because we've seen lots of documentation the the tax on renewable energy would have been really bad. Right. But the fact that they are uh pulling out of renewable energy projects early that are benefiting Republican states primarily, right? Because they have wind projects. Once again, I represent an area with huge Republican area. We got lots of wind power. We have lots of oil and gas, too.
▶ 4:37:01But the idea that to heard earlier, oh, we shouldn't be subsidizing. We need to remember we subsidize oil and gas and fossil fuels and coal to the tune of about three billion dollars was 2022, right? And now they're in decreasing the royalty rate on oil and gas. They're going to make another I think uh another six billion dollars.
▶ 4:37:30So we are constantly subsidizing fossil fuel. And it's sort of like the Republicans, it's like renewable energy is where where where it's at, right? That's the next frontier. And we need to do a lot. It needs to be a little bit of everything. But what they want to do is say, "Oh, no. We don't really want to use electric lamps. We prefer the gas ones. We shouldn't really put any of our mail, any of our correspondents in email. We should send it all by paper post." I mean, let's keep the horse and buggy.
▶ 4:38:00Who wants a gas fired car? But that's what they're doing, right? That's what they're doing. They're taking us backwards. And so I wanted to be able to give an opportunity. As you know, I'm the last Democrat, so I wanted to give an opportunity. Is there anything else that you wanted to raise? Uh, Representative Moore with regards to the bill. Thank Thank you for this opportunity.
▶ 4:38:26Uh I have heard the scheme of requiring work requirements um uh and it's a major uh economic um solution to raising the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.
▶ 4:38:45Uh and again I have been very agrieved the committee has agrieved that we are characterizing our constituents just lazy and bums uh in order to do it. Let me just mention some other people who will be losing health care that we haven't talked about. Um we we've all we we've also claimed that illegal immigrants have been receiving uh health care.
▶ 4:39:14uh and that's been a a a feature of these testimonies and these discussions. I just want to say that legal immigrants, legal immigrants who were brought to to this country because of asylum, people who have uh U visas or uh V visas because they're facing violence were people who were going to be able to get Medicaid.
▶ 4:39:41These are people that will no longer be eligible for Medicaid. Um, there are legal legal immigrants who have lived in this country for decades. People scientists, doctors, engineers, people have worked and paid into for 30, 40 years who will no longer be eligible for Medicare even though they have paid into the system. Thank Thank you.
▶ 4:40:11represent I'm going to try to move along but I you know I did want to make sure that u uh ranking member Borl was there anything else you wanted to raise I take it the Medicare issues the the regressive manner in which this is a transfer of Ralph from the poor to the Ralph did you want to add and add anything else because he's he's signaling me to stop you to you if there's anything else you wanted to No, I I
▶ 4:40:41will just say uh briefly is I know we've uh been here uh all afternoon, but given the uh the importance of this piece of legislation, uh it is it is certainly warranted and this might be our last bite at the apple. Um let's not lose the forest through the trees. I come back to how I began this uh some 5 hours ago. Um, the reality is that if this becomes law, 17 million Americans will lose their health care.
▶ 4:41:10Millions more will lose their nutrition assistance. Millions more will be impacted by these devastating cuts, all to help pay for tax cuts that are skewed toward the top 1%. That is the bottom line or the headline about what this bill is really about. There's a lot there. A thousand pages. We're still figuring out some things that were added uh minute by minute on the Senate floor as horse trading was going on.
▶ 4:41:40Nothing can obscure that overriding reality. Millions of lives will be adversely affected by this legislation. I yield back. Thank you. And the and the last thing is it's not just the skewing up to the wealthy because there are some trees that are really problematic. And I think that it was discussed earlier the elimination of attacks on firearm silencers and short barrel rifers and shotguns that would cost $1.7 billion.
▶ 4:42:09And uh that would be a lot of families that we could feed with the SNAP uh programs. uh 396,000 families could be fed with just what they're giving away for the silencers, right? The the mafia tax. I don't know. Uh is there anything else you'd like to add? Thank you.
▶ 4:42:35I would just like to bring us back up to a high level on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This is the most effective anti-hunger program that this country has ever seen. Every dollar we invest in this program returns a $1.50 to our overall economy and about a $180 in rural communities across our country.
▶ 4:42:58And when you cut $200 billion in SNAP benefits to this nation, you are literally taking around $25 billion directly out of the pocket of this nation's family farmers. But that's not all because it affects the entire food supply chain. It's the truckers who drive the food to the grocery stores. It's the clerks that puts that food on the shelves.
▶ 4:43:22And of course, it's the hungry children and seniors and veterans that we are trying to support as a nation. So, I want to say to all of my Republican colleagues, I hope that you will seriously reconsider, especially because at the end of the day, you are doing this for no other reason to give tax breaks to the already rich in our country. Thank you. Thank you very much. I hear often from the farmers, the small farmers in my district.
▶ 4:43:53I have small farms, not the kind that need a $ 38 million estate tax benefit, but they are hurting because they sell they sell the double up bucks programs. I love the double up buck program. They do too. It's how they how they make their living. Uh thank you for the indulgence and Mr. Chairman, the last Democrat yields back. Yeah, gentle lady yields back. Now recognize Mr. Langworthy for any questions. Sorry.
▶ 4:44:18Apparently the list is uh I I am not going to ask any questions. I want to salute each of our uh committee chairs for the diligent work that has gone into the hundreds of hours of putting this together over the last 14 months uh into this reconciliation pro process. Um you know I really want to salute Chairman Guthrie for the work of the energy and commerce committee. Um you know my colleague brought up the Clinton era work reforms.
▶ 4:44:45Um and these are um bringing accountability and fundamental fairness. And as I travel around to businesses and talk to workers on factory floors, uh they are saluting the fact that the people, you know, that can work and choose not to work will now have to work for benefits uh that they work hard to provide for their families every day.
▶ 4:45:06So, uh, I think that it's, uh, to take a lesson from a Democratic president and bring it into the future, uh, is something that is going to help us bring fundamental fairness in and equity across the program. So, thank you and I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Now recognize Mr. Scott for his time question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There's been a lot of long- winded discussion here today. I thought I might read for the general public just from the bill. uh modifications to SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults.
▶ 4:45:36Now, regardless of what you've heard from um other people, this is what the bill says. Exception 6 O of the Food Nutrition Act of 2008 is amended by String Paragraph 3 and inserting the following exceptions. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to an individual if the individual is under 18 or over the age of 65. So, if you're under 18 or over the age of 65, none of the SNAP changes impact you. That's what's written in the bill.
▶ 4:46:04Medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment. So, all of the discussions that you've heard from the Dems about us kicking disabled people off SNAP benefits. They're just not true. This is this is what's actually written in the legislation. a parent or other member of a household with responsibility for a dependent child under 14 years of age, otherwise exempt under section D2, a pregnant woman, uh, and it goes on from there.
▶ 4:46:33So, anybody uh under 18, anybody over 65, anybody who is medically certified is physically or mentally unfit for employment is exempt from any of the changes. So all of this talk that we're kicking disabled veterans and all off of SNAP, it's just a flatout lie.
▶ 4:46:53Now with regard to with regard to the matching funds, what we have said here is that if you have an error rate of less than 6%, the federal share of the cost of the a lotment described in paragraph one for that state and a fiscal year shall be 100% and the state shall be shall be 0%. If you're a business owner and you've got a 6% error rate, you know what you are? you're bankrupt.
▶ 4:47:24The federal government owes it to the American citizens to have better than a 6% error rate on on people's SNAP benefits. So, I I just I want the American citizens to know you're not being told the truth by uh the the dramatic statements on the other side. If you're disabled, you're exempt from the changes. Uh under 18, exempt from the changes. Over 65, exempt from the changes. That's what's written in the language.
▶ 4:47:51Um, I I don't have any questions for any of the members and uh, Mr. Speaker, I yield back. Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank you very much, Mr. Scott, for uh, clarifying the record. Mr. Griffith, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. We've had a lot of discussion about the bill and folks earlier in the afternoon were saying that nobody had time to read the bill and I just say we got it in my office around 11:00. I had it printed out.
▶ 4:48:19I had 245 pages read before I got here and I finished up the rest of it while Miss Scandlin was talking. So, a lot of folks a lot of folks have had an opportunity and when we get when we get to the floor, everybody will have had an opportunity to read it. It does help that I read the the first bill as well. So, there were sections where I got to it and and looking at the cheat sheet, it was identical to what was there before. So, I don't I don't make myself read the same chapter twice, but I I did read it.
▶ 4:48:48Now, uh that said, I do want to ask my chairman uh Chairman Guthrie uh a I I think we can pretty well rest assured this is not the last bill that will ever pass the United States Congress. Do you agree with that? I agree with that. and and as a part of that we're always trying to improve things on energy and commerce committee.
▶ 4:49:15So as we move forward will you commit to work with me and others on the energy and commerce committee and in the house as a whole to analyze the ongoing status of the health of our rural hospitals and rural health care in general and rural health care providers so that we can improve access to health care in rural communities. I will.
▶ 4:49:38And I I suspect that those would be the answers to the questions, but I just want to underline for everybody that um even when we disagree, we're all trying to to move things forward. And sometimes when we disagree, uh things don't work out exactly the way people intend. And I I know that in my district, as a result of some of the policies in the Affordable Care Act, we had two hospitals that closed down.
▶ 4:50:05One of them has since reopened and but we're all working towards this this goal and I I appreciate you chairman Guthrie agreeing that at least in the energy and commerce committee and I think all the others as well that we're going to continue to move the United States forward and as we see opportunities to improve whether it be teleaalth which you we you and I have talked about any number of times or other ways that we can improve health care in rural communities we're going to do it. Isn't that correct? All right I yield back madam chair. Thank you.
▶ 4:50:36Thank you very much, Mr. Griffith. Mr. Jack, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I I'll be brief uh in you know, to to really wrap up all the testimony we've heard today, and I think we're all grateful for everyone's testimony. Um this bill is a codification of President Trump's agenda, and in large part, um many of us and many of our colleagues were elected on an identical platform when we ran for Congress.
▶ 4:51:03And that platform was embraced by 77 million Americans. It earned an 86 electoral vote margin in the 2024 presidential election. So I'd love to start with my good friend Chairman Smith. If you just like to again wrap everything up in your testimony today, how is this cottifying President Trump's So, I would totally agree um representative that this is following the priorities that the president laid out um when he was running for office and 77 million Americans supported.
▶ 4:51:33We're delivering on no tax on tips. No tax on tips. 70% of Americans support that. We're delivering on tax relief for seniors. 83% of Americans support that. We're delivering on no tax on overtime. 71% of Americans support that. And we're also making permanent the expiring provisions of the 2017 successful Trump tax cuts.
▶ 4:52:03And 62% of Americans support that. This is the largest tax cut in US history. It is also it is also the largest cut of mandatory spending in US That's phenomenal. And it is also the largest investment in securing our borders in US history. Creating the Golden Dome.
▶ 4:52:30All these things that the president campaigned on, it is in this bill. It is absolutely in this bill. And I know people were talking about suppressors earlier and I think it's really important. The reason why that's became an issue is because of pistol braces. The Biden administration put pistol braces under the the short barrel shotguns, which they shouldn't be, and it did.
▶ 4:52:57And for the first time in a we eliminated attacks on the Second Amendment. I think that's a huge win. For the first time in history, parents are going to be able to have school choice. And I think that's super important. So, this is a bill that is delivering on what members of the House campaigned on, members of the Senate campaigned on, and clearly what the president campaigned on. Very well said. Chairman Guthrie, same question to you.
▶ 4:53:26How is this bill and closing a cotification of President Trump's campaign? Well, that gets to the all the above and energy dominance. There's a provision in here for to making sure that we invest in critical minerals. We invest in in delivery of energy and President Trump was very strong. This said that America was going to be energy dominant and it's important that we are given what's going on in the Middle East and this bill delivers. Thank you, Chairman. Chairman Arrington, same question to you, my friend.
▶ 4:53:52I I think I I think that um I think a reprieve from failed economic policies to unleash the spirit of our entrepreneurs and risktakers is is in order. And uh our economy is the foundation of of everything great about this country, including our way of life, our quality of life, certainly our global leadership.
▶ 4:54:23So, you know, there's always going to be more cuts for a budget chairman. Uh there will always I mean cuts that I'd like to see materialize. Uh but you you've got to work on both ends of the equation. you've got to grow the economy while you're bending the curve on spending.
▶ 4:54:42And um and so I I think it's substantial uh the impact that these policies that President Trump implemented and um executed on in the first Trump administration and now we're doubling down on them. And I suspect just like the first round, all boats will rise on the tide of of prosperity. I think that's the key feature quite frankly of this.
▶ 4:55:10Uh but the fiscal reforms are no small things and again I think they are there uh to serve as a sort of a winwinwin win for the program sustainability win for those who are trapped independents and a win for taxpayers who should not subsidize uh people who refuse to work like the 4.8 8 million people that uh on Medicaid per CBO or people who are here illegally
▶ 4:55:40and so uh a lot of good things in here and and um I appreciate the question. Thank you, Chairman Erington. And lastly, Chairman Thompson, to you, how does this uh your section of the bill uh codify President Trump's campaign priorities and agenda? Well, thank you so much for the question. And you know, President Trump uh knows that food security is national security. And that all relies on really the success of those hardworking families all across our country that are that are producers.
▶ 4:56:09uh those folks uh that uh are farmers or ranchers or foresters and um and this bill um and those families have I mean they're at a probably a 50-year low in terms of um economic challenges uh from inflation to all the different things that have happened over the past number of years um and it's really put them in a challenging situation.
▶ 4:56:35We saw that in December uh when many of them for the first time in a family's history were not going to be eligible for taking out a loan to be able to produce a crop or produce a herd or produce a flock. This um the one big beautiful bill, the agriculture title, really I I call it farm bill 1.0. Um it, you know, it uh it makes historic investments in reference prices. It adds base acres uh to for farmers who've not been eligible for it.
▶ 4:57:05Modernizes the the dairy margin program. Uh we make it there's investments in in the conservation programs in crop insurance uh in um the trade programs of market access program and and for market development program. We we double those.
▶ 4:57:23Uh it has um investments in uh in research, investments in uh animal health um uh including our large animal veterinarians uh you know it and and a three-legged stole when it comes to animal health. That's our laboratories. That's uh vaccination pools that we we have started in previous farm bills and and our large animal veterinarians and so and so much more. specialty crops. Uh this is most most significant specialty crop.
▶ 4:57:53Now this is 1.0. It's just the things that we were eligible to put into budget reconciliation. But what it leaves is is very a very small portion at a very small price tag. And um uh and so uh and at the same time it it you know, President Trump cares about those who are most at risk.
▶ 4:58:14And within the nutrition title, this is this is really about making sure that we have sustainability of programs like SNAP and all the other programs under the nutrition title. Um not just sustainability, but um you know that we're in a position to make sure the people that really need the help get it. But it's it's more than that providing supplemental nutrition support. It's providing a hand up towards the American dream.
▶ 4:58:39you know, with the investments that we make, uh, which is about $1.1 trillion dollars over 10 years. That's the nutrition portion of the farm bill. Um, you know, this this really is is about making sure that, you know, we uh folks have uh their have that opportunity to to through SNAP employment and career technical education, they have a shot at uh, you know, reaching a rung a little higher in the ladder of opportunity.
▶ 4:59:06And I will say uh I've seen that work in my travels around the country and I've done 115 listening sessions uh with 42 states, one territory. I I've seen it work. And when it works are actually everybody, our farmers, our grocerers, our truckers all do better because families are able to actually find they have more income. And at the end of the day, they're able to buy.
▶ 4:59:29They're not they're not limited by what they're able to afford because we've given them a shot at the American dream, which comes through the dignity of work. Thank you very much, chairman. I appreciate it. To our ranking members, thank you for your testimony. And Madam Chair, I yield back to you. I have a I just have a technical question. Um Yes, sir. Before you came in, Mr.
▶ 4:59:49Scott was was reading um some about a provision on on on who's exempt from the work requirements under SNAP and I was wondering where he was reading from because I mean the House pass the House version of the bill that you voted for took it from 18 to seven and my understanding is that the Senate bill moved it to 14. So you said 18 and so I'm wondering like like did something I'm on page 17. Yeah.
▶ 5:00:18Well, that's the 18 is under the age of 18 at the age or 14 is the age of dependence, right? That's which is he read he said 18. So it's actually 14. He he might have missed well 18 to 64 is when the um requirements uh kick in. Yeah. So with a 14y old at home, right? If you're 30, if you have a 14 old at home, you have to work, right? 14 or un 14 or under, you're exempt.
▶ 5:00:50I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. I Anyway, a parent or other member of a household with responsibility for a dependent child under 14 years of age. Okay. Yeah. Right. I thought you said 18. I'm sorry. No. No. So it's 14. Okay. 14. Yeah. Yeah. So, so you have a 14-year-old child who has health issues or whatever. Not true. If they're disabled, it's different, right? Well, I mean, or somebody who's is troubled in school or whatever, who's not classified as disabled. Again, life is complicated. Thank you.
▶ 5:01:20Medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment is is exempt and this is just the exemption from the work requirement. So, a 14-year-old is alone all summer. Okay. Thank you. Make a clarification. Well, and as I pointed out, there are many people who work full-time because they have to and they choose not to be dependent on other people. They have 14 year olds sometimes at home all summer long, too.
▶ 5:01:46And there were people who work full-time who still are eligible for SNAP, and that's a reality. And there are some who choose not to be eligible for SNAP or other taxpayer funded programs. Um, Miss Hin, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd just like to um commend our uh chair chairs for their hard work and leadership. Chairman Smith, Guthrie, uh Chairman Arrington, Chairman Thompson. Two of my chairman are at the panel today.
▶ 5:02:15Budget and ENC. So, thank you. What? Pick your favorite. I can't. I like you. I like all my children. No, I'm just kidding. Um, but I I just I do want to note that this is a bill, the one big beautiful bill is a bill for working, hardworking Americans. It's a bill that will still protect our most vulnerable. There's been a lot of um rhetoric from the other side about this bill that I want to just allow a couple of our panelists to respond to.
▶ 5:02:46Um, one is on coverage loss. the the Democrats keep throwing around numbers, exaggerating coverage loss numbers. In fact, the number of people that Democrats have said are going to lose access to health care even when this bill was still in the House went from um anywhere from 13 million to 17 or 18 million. It was just a number that kept getting thrown around. But when I read the CBO analysis, that's not what I see.
▶ 5:03:14Chairman Arrington also pointed this out earlier. Um, Chairman Guthrie, can you and and Chairman Smith, can you explain where those exaggerated numbers are coming from? And doesn't that include policies that the Democrats themselves have chosen to let expire that aren't even in this bill? Well, there there's a couple answers to that. One is some of those numbers are you have to look there are CBO score numbers, but you have to look at who who they are.
▶ 5:03:40So, if you look at the 4.6 six men and now that the dates changed on work requirements and there are some that that's that's a little higher but it's people that um that are able-bodied that choose not to work and it has the same exemptions there were just read also in Medicaid include people that have substance use disorder they're going through treatment such as that. So it's they're truly able-bodied and there are studies that say there are people that fit that category.
▶ 5:04:05The other one that that's frustrating is like when when you're sitting here listening to the to the back and forth, especially when they're going against the my good friend Ways and Means chair about putting limits on how long tax on tips or four years or whatever. Well, one of the fi over five million of the coverage loss is from premium premium tax credits which was in the IRA when people who voted for the IRA chose to fund programs like uh green energy funds where there was a um a nonprofit that's that was
▶ 5:04:35politically connected created itself one month put $100 in checking out got a $2 billion grant paid 847 million so I think my friend from New Mexico has left but when she goes and visits her hospital and she sees people lost coverage because that tax credit expires. She made that a priority over the over overinsuring people. That was a decision. I mean, if the shoe fits on both sides of the feet and if she's going to say that's your priority there, it's her priority as well and she has to own it. Mh.
▶ 5:05:06Chairman Smith. Yeah. Um, I would follow up with Chairman Guthrie. Um, according to CBO, the numbers that they provided, they said 4.8 8 million um would lose their health insurance who are ablebodied adults who just choose not to work. Um and so that is what CBO showed in regards to that.
▶ 5:05:29But it also provided CBO said that 1.4 million will lose it because they're illegal immigrants and then 1.6 6 million will have access to other forms of subsidized health insurance including the option to stay on Medicaid and then 1.3 million are already ineligible for the program period but they're on the system and these are numbers from CBO
▶ 5:06:00which I think is quite important and if you look at um people losing Obamacare in this bill according to CBO 1.8 8 million are illegal immigrants. Not legal immigrants, but illegal immigrants. And then 1.1 million are just simply fraudsters who don't submit common sense verification requirements. And that's according to CBO. Not according to us, but according to CBO.
▶ 5:06:32Miss Hin, would you yield for one second? Yes. Mr. Mr. Smith, I'd like to ask you to repeat those numbers because I think it is important that the American people hear the facts from CBO. I've had people writing me alleging what you we've been hearing from the other side today.
▶ 5:06:54They allege it and I say to them, please ask your to state the facts, not what they're being fed. So, would you please read those numbers again? Absolutely.
▶ 5:07:09According to CBO estimates of those on Medicaid losing health insurance, 4.8 8 million are ablebodied adults without dependence who choose to not meet modest work or community engagement And then 1.4 million are illegal And then 1.6 million will have access to other forms of subsidized health insurance,
▶ 5:07:40including the option to stay on Medicaid. And then 1.3 million are already ineligible for the Medic Medicaid program. Period. They shouldn't be on the program, but they're doing it.
▶ 5:07:54And when you look about the ones that CBO estimates of those on Obamacare losing health insurance, 1.8 8 million are illegal immigrants and 1.1 million are fraudsters who don't submit common sense verification requirements.
▶ 5:08:14And this is from CBO and M Chairman Smith, those are the only people that CBO uh in their report claims will be losing their health coverage under the bills. Yes. Um, and the number you hear of 17 million, that's the 5 million that's going to lose from the premium tax credits, which the Democrats in the IRA decided to make it temporary. Instead, they did all the green energy credits permanent.
▶ 5:08:44And guess what? 90% 90% of those green credits that you passed in the IRA goes to companies valued at more than a billion bucks. Not working families, but 90% of those credits that you focused on is valued over a billion dollars. So when when given the option to prioritize health care for working families or energy uh subsidies, they chose the energy subsidies.
▶ 5:09:13They absolutely did. wealthy billionaires succeeded and they were the winners of the IRA. And just to be clear, uh, Chairman Smith, in the if we're giving paying for health care for all of those people you just mentioned, able-bodied adults choosing not to work, people who are ineligible, people who are fraudulently act accessing the program, illegal immigrants, if we are funding healthcare for those people, does it not uh reduce the amount of money we have available
▶ 5:09:44to take care of vulnerable families? Absolutely. So why would we want to continue funding health care for those groups of people that you've just mentioned when it creates less resources for vulnerable families? Republicans priorities are for US citizens, not illegals. So despite the rhetoric from the Democrats, um they could have raised the top tax bracket when they had full control of the White House, the House, and the Senate.
▶ 5:10:12There's been a lot of talk about how the Republican bill favors the wealthy and that we should increase taxes on the wealthy. Um the truth is that this bill creates permanent tax relief for everyone for everyone across the board. But the the Democrats had full control of the White House, the House, and the Senate. They passed two, not one, but two reconciliation bills during the Biden administration, but did nothing to raise the top bracket.
▶ 5:10:43So, don't Democrats have a credibility problem on this issue? Absolutely. If you look at when the Democrats control the White House, the House, and the Senate, they passed two reconciliation bills, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. And both of those had tax chapters. And in both of those, the Democrats refused to increase the top tax rate that we currently are arguing about.
▶ 5:11:11And you're saying that we're giving a tax cut to Bezos. You are. You refused to do it when you controlled everything. And guess what? the hypocrisy. Last night in the United States Senate, the vast majority of the Senate Democrats voted against an amendment on the floor that would raise the top tax bracket for anyone over $25 million. It's hypocrisy. Well, thank you, Chairman Smith. Thank you to our panelists for your long testimony.
▶ 5:11:40I will reiterate, um, this is a bill for working families. It's a bill uh that will um help the hardest working families have tax relief. We're unleashing American energy. We are securing the border. We are providing for our defense. No bill is perfect, but this one big beautiful bill is a good bill. Uh I thank the panelists and I yield back. Madam Chair, that was that's a misinterpretation of the G uh CBO report that we just heard here today.
▶ 5:12:09Well, it's not it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't say what it does. And yeah, and this bill does give a tax break to Jeff Bezos, and I don't I don't think he deserves one, quite frankly. $50 million for a wedding. Mr. McGovern, thank you very much. Um I hearing no other questions, uh or seeing no other member who has not spoken, um our panel is dismissed. Thank you very much for being here and for your patience.
▶ 5:12:53Thank you very Did you get him out of the game? He hit you over here.
▶ 5:13:39need to call out some names. Um, Mr. Moland, Mr. Carter, Miss Dingle, um, Mr. O'Hevsky, Mr. Mrs. Narrows, Miss Randall, Miss Alfred, Mr. Dexter, if you all could take seats. Excuse me, Miss Dexter, pardon me. If you all could take seats up here, sort of in the order I've called you.
▶ 5:14:09Mand Carter Dingle, you're there. Debbie number three. Mr. Carter, you're over that way. Mistress is Narrow's right there. Miss Miss Alfred, Miss Dexter.
▶ 5:15:08Thank you all very much. Um, while we wait for Miss Dingle to have a seat, I want to point out that I asked for two random pages of the um the bill that came from the Senate, and there are approximately 125 words per page. Just so you know, in case people are concerned about how many pages you can read, there approximately 125 words per page. I I I just counted two pages at random.
▶ 5:15:38and madam chair and and it doesn't take too long. the the margins are pretty narrow as you can see like I said 125 words and I think even most members can read that pretty quickly with respect though you can read legislative language that's one thing we all can read but actually understanding what that legislative language means and getting independent analysis so we that that that takes a little bit while longer I hope we can all agree that that's the challenge here well um
▶ 5:16:09for those of I think most of us have been around a little while and and have some sense about how to handle that legislative language. I'm going you all can can put your written testimony into the record. I think all of you have been here before. Put your written testimony into the record. We hope you will keep your comments to five minutes. And I thank you very much, Mr. Mo. You are recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair.
▶ 5:16:39Ranking member, thank you for the opportunity to speak today on an issue that weighs heavily on my district. The need for our island to be fully included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, also known as RA provisions in the Senate's amendment to HR1.
▶ 5:17:00For far too long, the people of Guam have dealt with the consequence of US nuclear testing in the Pacific without recognition and without justice. Between 1946 and 1962, 67 nuclear weapons were detonated in the Marshall Islands, just 1,200 m from our The fallout from those tests did not stop at international borders.
▶ 5:17:30It did not discriminate based on island or person. It carried through the wind into our environment and into the very lives of our people. The fallout wasn't just physical. It left in its trail lasting emotional and generational scars that are still carried to this day. I speak today not just as a member of Congress, but as a son of Guam.
▶ 5:17:59I speak for the survivors, the widows, the caregivers, and the families who have waited decades for Congress to act. I speak for those who are no longer here to share their stories because they died waiting for someone thousands of miles away to acknowledge what happened. Guam has become a forgotten casualty of the nuclear error.
▶ 5:18:26Federal agencies have confirmed that our island received measurable radiation exposure as a result of US nuclear testing in the Pacific. And yet, despite this clear evidence, Guam remains excluded from RA, a program that was designed specifically to address the harm caused by our nation's own policies. Guam is not asking for a special treatment.
▶ 5:18:57We are asking to be treated with dignity equal for the same recognition afforded to other downwind communities across our Why constituents are dying from cancers linked to radiation exposure. Families are left with questions that were never answered.
▶ 5:19:19Veterans and civilians alike suffer the consequences of decisions made without their consent and far beyond their control. Including Guam and RA is not just a matter of eligibility. It's a matter of moral responsibility. It is about recognizing the hidden cost of national security and ensuring that those who shoulder that burden are not left behind.
▶ 5:19:49Today, we have an opportunity to write this wrong. If Guam is not included now, we risk losing a critical chance to provide long overdue justice to the people of Guam. I urge this committee and this Congress to act with urgency and include Guam and RA. Don't let Guam be forgotten once Let our people know that their government sees them, hears them, and stands with them.
▶ 5:20:20It's time to deliver the justice that has been long denied to radiation survivors. Suis Mossi and I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you very much, Mr. Moan. Mr. Carter, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ranking member, my amendment is simple.
▶ 5:20:43It states that 100% of any reduction in state expenditures resulting from reduced enrollment must be reinvested back into Medicaid. That means that this money will go directly into helping children, mothers, people with disabilities, and seniors instead of going toward tax cuts for the richest of the rich, billionaires, and corporations.
▶ 5:21:07My Republican colleagues say that they want to help the most vulnerable populations and get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse. Everyone here, Republicans and Democrats, are in favor of curbing waste, fraud, and abuse. We all know that that's not what this is about.
▶ 5:21:25Republicans are ripping health care away from the very people they say Medicaid was quote intended for, just to pay the biggest dividends for billionaires tax scams in the history of our country. No matter how they try to spin it, the reality is this. This big ugly bill will shutter nursing homes, will close hundreds of hospitals, including rural hospitals in red districts and blow up state budgets.
▶ 5:21:56This is unacceptable. Medicaid is a safety net for millions of Americans and a pillar in our health care system. These cuts will disproportionately affect states, especially red states like mine in Louisiana that rely on Medicaid funding. That's why I'd like to request unanimous consent to enter these two documents. Two resolutions without objection. Thank you, ma'am.
▶ 5:22:23These two resolutions were passed in Louisiana legislature that is a majority Republican run house and senate with the Republican governor who all recognize via these resolutions these cuts will be devastating. They will hurt Louisiana. They will hurt Louisianans. They will make this an unlivable proposition.
▶ 5:22:44House Resolution 369, a bipartisan resolution passed by the Louisiana Senate representatives last month urging Congress to prevent any cuts to Medicaid that would adversely affect Louisiana's hospitals and communities they serve. Senate resolution number 32, Republican le concurrent resolution that passed in Louisiana State Senate last month urging Congress to avoid cuts to Medicaid. State legislators in Louisiana, Republicans and Democrats alike, agree that this big, ugly bill is a disaster.
▶ 5:23:16These cuts won't just hurt Medicaid patients. No one is safe. If you have private insurance or Medicare, these cuts will also affect you. Less federal Medicaid funding means states will raise taxes for everyone or be forced to cut public services to offset loss in revenues. It means longer wait times in the emergency rooms, especially in rural areas. As uninsured people turn to hospital emergency rooms for health care, it means higher premiums and less coverage for everyone.
▶ 5:23:45It means hiring freezes and layoffs at a time when we are already experiencing health force shortages. It is indeed a crisis. It is essential that we continue to support and strengthen this program, not make it harder for people to access and keep their healthcare. Republicans know that cuts to Medicaid are shameful and will put the most vulnerable at risk. That's why they're pushing false narratives about waste, fraud, and abuse so they can cover up their billionaire tax scam.
▶ 5:24:16If Republicans really care about making a better Medicaid program and improving health care systems by getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse, then I see no reason why they wouldn't support my amendment, which simply says these funds must be reinvested into the program to build a stronger Medicaid for all those who deserve it.
▶ 5:24:38In fact, during the almost 27-hour long markup in energy and commerce in May, I asked my colleague from Georgia, Mr. Carter, what percentage of funds will go back into Medicaid? He said, and I quote, "All of it." Well, ma'am, where I'm from, all of it means all of it. So, there really should be no issue with supporting my amendment.
▶ 5:25:01I urge my colleagues to vote yes and even co-sponsor this amendment that makes good sense for the American people. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Carter, Miss Dingle, you're recognized. Thank you, Madame Chair, Ranking Member McGovern, and all the members of the committee. For months, I've raised serious concerns about this Republican reconciliation bill that will enact the biggest loss of healthc care coverage in American history.
▶ 5:25:30CBO's most recent uh estimate is it'll strip health care from 17 million Americans. I have almost 15,000 letters here from PE the governor's office sent me of people in Michigan who are scared to death they're going to lose their Medicaid and what it'll mean to their families. I would love to enter it into the record, but without objection. Thank you.
▶ 5:26:00Thank you for doing that. Medicaid is the but that people care. I mean, this is something that just makes it I can't go anywhere in Michigan right now. Mothers are coming up to me crying in elevators. Medicaid is the largest payer of health care for so many people. This bill is going to hurt them.
▶ 5:26:21It's also the largest payer of long-term care in America, which is why I filed an amendment to ensure Medicaid home and community-based services or HCBS are not cut or reduced as a result of this bill. We know that the majority of seniors and individuals with disabilities would prefer to receive care in the comfort of their own homes where they can maintain an independent life, remain engaged in their communities, and age with dignity.
▶ 5:26:49Yet, hundreds of thousands of Americans are already sitting on state waits to access homebased care, and this bill will only exasperate this issue. No one should have to sit for years on a waiting list to get the care that they deserve. And the fact of the matter is, home care is cheaper than nursing homes. It saves the government money. Let's be honest, our long-term health care system is broken. And until someone you love is using it, you don't realize how bad it is.
▶ 5:27:18We cannot talk about reforming our long-term health care system without addressing the need to increase support for the home care workforce who often work long hours for long pay, no benefits to provide care to people we love.
▶ 5:27:32And that's why I'm strongly opposed to a provision that would prohibit independent provider home care workers providing HCBS services from being able to make deductions from their pay for health insurance, skills training, and other employment benefits despite the fact that this does not impact Medicaid spending and has consistently been deemed legitimate by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
▶ 5:27:58I have filed an amendment to strike the provision which will ensure that the care workforce is protected and maintain stability for those who rely on care. I've also filed an amendment in support of President Trump's most favored nation drug pricing executive order that was issued in May 12th.
▶ 5:28:20In fact, I offered this exact amendment supporting President Tom during the Energy and Commerce Committee markup last month. The president, by the way, thinks this is in the bill. I've heard him say it on television. This amendment supports President Trump's executive order that aims to lower medication costs for Americans by preventing drug companies from charging Americans higher prices while giving discounts to other nations.
▶ 5:28:49No one in America should have to pay higher prices for medications than patients in other nations. Which is why I was shocked when every Republican in energy and commerce voted against this amendment that supports the president's own prescription plan. And even more shocked when I did way too early the next morning and they played that clip and they thought that this provision was in the bill. It's not. I'm ready to support President Trump on this. It simply doesn't make sense.
▶ 5:29:19This logic is backwards and absurd and we need to lower prescription drugs for Americans. And before I end, I want to express my serious concerns about this bill clawing back critical funding that protects our environment, our public lands, and our wildlife, especially endangered species. I have filed an additional amendment to strike the recision of funding for ESA recovery plans. As a co-chair of the Endangered Species Act Caucus, protecting our nation's wildlife is one of my top priorities.
▶ 5:29:50I'm deeply concerned the provisions included in this bill will cause our nation to backtrack on the progress we've made in species conservation. I want to remind my colleagues that for 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected and brought back many of our beloved species from the brink of extinction and has a success rate. We got to do this and work in a bipartisan manner to start addressing conservation early. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
▶ 5:30:21Thank you, Miss Dingle. Mr. Ovski, you're recognized. Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, members of the rules committee. You know, despite promises from the administration and from this congressional majority to lower prices for struggling Americans, this terrible bill will do the opposite, making things indefinitely and infinitely harder for families that are struggling just to make ends meet.
▶ 5:30:50Just one awful and cruel example. $300 billion dollar in SNAP cuts for 42 million households who rely on the program to put food on the table each and every day. 20,000 of those families live in my district. 80% of these households include a child, a senior, a disabled person, or a veteran. Let that sink in.
▶ 5:31:20As we've been discussing, the Senate just passed their version of the bill, one that expands work requirements for SNAP and shifts $64 billion of administrative costs to the states. It also granted, as you all discussed earlier, at least temporarily, an exemption to both these impossible burdens to just two states, Hawaii and Alaska.
▶ 5:31:42We have to start by asking ourselves if this bill is so awful that it requires outright exemptions to certain states in exchange for votes as has been reported by multiple media outlets and discussed at in this room. Why are we passing it in the first place? But if you insist on passing this big, ugly, cruel bill, I'm offering two amendments to HR1 that would extend these waiverss to every state in the country.
▶ 5:32:13Because what's good enough for Hawaii and Alaska should be good enough for your home state of North Carolina, Chairwoman Fox, to Mr. McGovern's beloved state of Massachusetts. To be clear, I do not support this bill. I do not support gutting SNAP benefits and other lifelines like Medicaid and utility assistance for Americans who are struggling with higher costs. I do not support ballooning the deficit.
▶ 5:32:38I do not support lining the pockets of But fair is fair. And if House Republicans insist on these misguided SNAP cost shifts, which states, by the way, will not be able to cover, and redundant work requirements, we must allow states to obtain an exemption. Not just two, not a few, all of them.
▶ 5:33:04Madam Chair, I came to Congress as a county executive and as a public school teacher. I saw the devastating effects of hunger firsthand, especially for our kids. I worked hard to address food security, and we leveraged SNAP dollars, embraced it with both state and local funding to ensure that every kid could receive a free breakfast and lunch. No stigma, no judgment. We just fed hungry kids.
▶ 5:33:31In fact, I was at an event this morning at a library where we were offering summer meals to our young people because it's the right thing to do. And so with our community partners, we're making a huge difference. We're feeding our kids. But this heartless bill threatens to undo the progress we've made. It literally will take food from the mouths of our kids. So I ask my amendments be made in order and be adopted. And before I wrap, just one other point I wanted to make.
▶ 5:34:00There are absolutely provisions of this bill that I and fellow Democrats would overwhelmingly support. No tax on tips, no taxes on social security. I can assure you, Madam Chair, if these if these pieces of legislation were put forward, we wouldn't need reconciliation to pass them. I mean, no tax on tips pass the Senate by unanimous consent. So, let's not put things that we can agree on in a bipartisan basis as the reason to do all these other terrible, cruel things.
▶ 5:34:31I really thank you for the time and I'm happy to answer any questions. I yield back. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Oashevki, Mr. Cisneros, my neighbor down the hall. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the rules committee. Well, here we are once again to discuss the same deeply flawed piece of legislation. No matter how hard Republicans try to cover up the truth, we know this bill is bad. And we know why. Millions of people kicked off their health insurance.
▶ 5:35:01Millions of people losing nutrition assistance, funding for clean energy stripped out, adding 4 trillion to the national debt, and much, much more. I'm here with my Democratic colleagues to amend this big, ugly, harmful, and wasteful bill. And I urge this committee to make these amendments in order. My first amendment seeks to provide funding for urban hospitals to offset revenue losses this reconciliation bill will cause due to the proposed Medicaid and marketplace actions.
▶ 5:35:30It's estimated that urban hospitals would see a total loss of 337 billion. This will lead to issues of overcrowding, infrastructure strain, worsening health inequity, and increasing health care costs and weight times. This amendment seeks to support health centers like the community safety net hospitals in my district. We cannot jeopardize the financial v viability of these hospitals and risk their ability to provide quality care especially for lowincome uninsured and vulnerable populations.
▶ 5:36:01There has been a lot of conversation around supporting rural hospitals in this bill which is important but this bill hurts everyone regardless of geography urban hospitals included. My next amendment seeks to help more small businesses receive the support they need to provide child care that attracts and retains employees. For the purpose of the employee provided child care tax credit, this amendment would use a definition of small business concerns that small business and the SBA overuse and understand.
▶ 5:36:31This definition is a smarter and more tailored way to ensured workingclass families benefit from better child care options from small business employers. My third amendment would ensure Congress is authorizing the funds needed to hire and retain skilled workers at DoD child development centers and provide much needed upgrades to modernize the infrastructure of these centers.
▶ 5:36:56My proposal would take funding from an unnecessary weapons program and use it to increase child care fee assistance for service members to 200 million. It would also add 1.3 billion for Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force child development center facility maintenance and include 1 billion for child care worker compensation. Our service members should not worry that the facilities where their children go to are understaffed or in desperate need of repair.
▶ 5:37:24My next amendment seeks to reassert congressional oversight at the Department of Defense as it relates to DOE. Elon Musk and his chaotic reign over the US government may not be in control of Doge anymore, but that does not mean that we as members of Congress should neglect our duty to conduct oversight. I support increased efficiency in management at the Department of Defense, and I know many of my colleagues do, but that is not what this is.
▶ 5:37:51Simply put, my amendment would allow the department to access access the first hundred billion of this bill's funding. But before the department can use the last 50 billion, it would require DoD to answer some basic oversight questions about how Doge and the Department of Defense are working together. Up to this point, our questions to the department have yielded unsubstantial or non-existent existent answers, and the administration seems unable to explain the role of Doge and the Department of Defense.
▶ 5:38:21At the very least, we should understand what this unauthorized department is doing to the Department of Defense, which has the largest portion of federal budget in the US government. Finally, my last amendment points out what we all know that nobody wants this bill. My amendment would revise a short title of the bill to the Nobody Wants Act. On June 30th, ABC News reported on a poll of the big ugly bill that found the majority of voters opposing this legislation.
▶ 5:38:53Fox News conducted a poll of registered voters in mid June where a majority majority of voters, 59% to be exact, said they oppose this bill. Specifically, Fox News reported by a 21point margin, voters oppose the federal budget legislation passed by the House of Representatives that the president calls the one big beautiful bill. About half think this bill would hurt their families.
▶ 5:39:18Multiple other polls from a range of outlets, Pew, the Washington Post, and many more, show the majority of Americans don't want this bill. Republicans in Congress don't want this bill. Nobody wants this bill. I would hope that my amendment would help my Republican colleagues see that fact. With that, thank you and I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Sis. Nerys, Miss Randall, you're recognized.
▶ 5:39:47Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the rules committee for the opportunity to once again testify on this big budget scam. I'm here today on behalf of the hardworking constituents of Washington's sixth congressional district, including more than 27,000 federal employees. I'm here on behalf of the 1.8 million lowincome children and adults who rely on Medicaid in my home state.
▶ 5:40:15But I'm also here today on behalf of the 72 million Americans across the country who apply who rely on Medicaid. Because what has been made abundantly clear in the last few months is that those Americans who live in states with Republican leadership are not being listened to by their members of Congress when they are sentenced to losing their healthcare.
▶ 5:40:40A senator from Iowa in response to concerns from her constituents at a town hall over Medicaid cuts said, "Well, we're all going to die." Apparently, she doesn't care that 700,000 Ians rely on Medicaid or that 36% of Iowa's children's rely on Medicaid. The senator from Kentucky said they'll get over it. But does he know that 1.4 million Kuckians rely on Medicaid and that 44% of the births in Kentucky are covered by Medicaid?
▶ 5:41:10Medicaid covers also 68% of the nursing homes in Kentucky. I guess the senator isn't worried about selling out those constituents because dead people can't make phone calls and turn up at town halls. The senator from South Carolina as recently as this week said, "We aren't cutting Medicaid," which is an outright lie. In South Carolina, 1.3 million children and families rely on Medicaid.
▶ 5:41:36And yet, after passage of the bill this morning, he said, "I feel great." The gentleman from Louisiana's fourth district said, "If you're going to be on the public wagon and you're able, you should try to help pull it." He also claims that Medicaid cuts are teaching a moral lesson to young men.
▶ 5:41:561.8 million people rely on Medicaid in Rural hospitals in his district, who also rely on Medicaid to keep their doors open, have been begging him to change his mind. I'm here because I actually listen to my constituents. I'm listening to Larry from Aberdine who wrote to me saying, "I urge you to reject the Republican Reconciliation Bill, which would inflict severe harm on rural communities.
▶ 5:42:24Many families in these areas already struggle with lower incomes and higher levels of hardship. These cuts would exacerbate poverty and threaten local economies by risking hospital closures and declining businesses for local retailers. Protecting rural communities should be a priority. Do not support a bill that prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy over the basic needs of our family. And I'm listening to Jessica from Tacoma who said, "I'm reaching out today to urge you to protect Medicaid.
▶ 5:42:52My daughter is one of the 80 million Americans who depend on Medicaid for health coverage. She's developmentally delayed, autistic, and profoundly deaf since birth. Without Medicaid, not only will she not have health care, but she will also not be able to work. She's a janitor who cleans public restrooms, but she needs a job coach to enable her to remember what to do. With the job coach, she does her job very well and has even won an award for efficiency. But Medicaid pays for the job coach. Congress says they want people to work.
▶ 5:43:21Please don't let them take away that ability from my daughter and people like her. I have filed eight amendments with this committee, including one that would strike the entire entirety of the Medicaid provisions from this bill. The vice president said that the minutiae of the Medicaid policy is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions.
▶ 5:43:45If that's the case, then there should be no problem removing these Medicaid provisions that will result in people literally dying. I also feel compelled to add that in this discussion about who is able-bodied and who is not, I think we haven't heard anyone comment on how frequently you have to reertify that you are disabled in order to continue receiving federal benefits.
▶ 5:44:15I have experienced that in my family's life. My sister was born with extreme developmental disabilities so that she was like an infant her whole life. And yet over and over for the course of the 19 years that she lived, we had to continue to prove that she was disabled enough to qualify for the benefits that kept her alive. We cannot ignore what we are doing to people in this country. And I urge the committee to make my amendment in order and to adopt it to save millions of lives.
▶ 5:44:45I yield back. Thank you, Miss Randall. Miss Elf, you're recognized. Thank you, Madame Chair, Ranking Member McGovern, and the members of this committee for sitting here this afternoon and trying to make sense of this devastating bill. I'm here to request of this committee to request the committee to include the following provision in the reconciliation bill, amendment 55, increasing the deduction for educator expenses.
▶ 5:45:07Because instead of tackling the very real affordability crisis facing tens of millions of Americans, our neighbors included, this bill instead gives the ultra wealthy annual tax breaks that are triple what the typical American household would earn in any given year. And even worse, as been discussed in this committee so far, these tax breaks are being paid for by cuts to healthcare and food assistance. Up to 17 million Americans who will lose their health insurance.
▶ 5:45:34five million SNAP recipients who are at risk of losing their benefits again already when so many of our neighbors are facing very real affordability crises. I'd also want to add that I represent 44,000 federal employees in my district and two to three times that in contractors, thousands of which have lost their livelihoods after decades of service to this nation. They don't know what health insurance looks like next. They don't know how to put food on their tables.
▶ 5:46:02They rely on Medicaid expansion and food banks simply to feed their families and keep their families healthy. And I ask us to just think about those folks as well today. So, not only is this bill the biggest cut to health care in American history, it's also the largest transfer of wealth in history from those who have the least to from those who have to those who have the the least to those who have the most. Um, and I sincerely plead with my Republican colleagues uh to reconsider these measures.
▶ 5:46:31But if we're giving away tax breaks, I'd ask you to consider one more. If you want to invest in American competitiveness and our national security, start with the children and their ability to thrive. Start with our teachers who reach into their own pockets to pay for school supplies for those very children. My amendment is simple.
▶ 5:46:47It would increase the amount educators conduct can deduct from their taxes on qualified out-ofpocket classroom expensive expenses from the current $300 to $1,000 and to continue to index it to inflation uh which we know is impacting so many families. Over the years, the amount of money teachers are spending out of pocket on items for their classrooms continues to rise and well over 90% of teachers spend their own money on school supplies and other items that their students need to succeed.
▶ 5:47:14On average, teachers can spend uh $820 out of pocket on school supplies. If you reject all the common sense amendments we bring to you today, I would encourage my Republican colleagues again to reject this harmful bill. I urge support of my amendment, and I thank the committee uh for your willingness to hear me out. I yield back. Thank you, Miss Alfred, Miss Dexter, you're recognized. Thank you, Chair Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members uh for the opportunity to testify today.
▶ 5:47:43I'm here today to offer several amendments grounded in a simple and powerful truth. Government should care for its people, not abandon or terrorize them. The big ugly betrayal bill will devastate our communities by ripping away health care, cutting food assistance, increasing energy costs, increasing government sh sanctioned ICE terrorism of our communities, decreasing government oversight, and jacking up prices for the middle class while leaving our states holding the bag. And all for what?
▶ 5:48:14To give tax breaks to billionaires. As a physician, I spent nearly two decades caring for some of the sickest patients in Oregon. I've seen the consequences of what happens when people don't have health insurance. This bill will strip coverage from nearly 17 million Americans. These cuts to care will remove health insurance for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
▶ 5:48:37If eliminating care from for from one in 20 Americans wasn't enough, these cuts also target hospitals and nursing homes. Make no mistake, passage of this bill as it stands will negatively impact every person in this country. Hospitals and nursing facilities will close. ER times will increase. Clinicians will be overstretched and demoralized. Planned Parenthood will be defunded, eliminating life-saving care for women across this country.
▶ 5:49:06We must pass my amendment that will ensure that coverage losses will not result in increased deaths among US children, seniors, and neighbors with Now, food assistance. This bill also slashes SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans, directly harming families, farmers, truckers, and grocerers across this nation.
▶ 5:49:28Deianne, a 78-year-old in Esticada, Oregon, now spends 90% of her income on rent after her roommate died. Snap is how she eats. The next amendment I offer today is for all the people in this country like Deianne. It would stop this bill from pro proceeding until we are certain that no child, no senior, and no veteran will go hungry because of it.
▶ 5:49:53I am floored that I have to offer an amendment like this, but I hope my colleagues will show courage and join me in accepting this incredibly common sense measure. My third amendment, offered alongside my colleague, Congresswoman Crockett, requires ICE agents to clearly identify themselves and not wear face coverings while conducting their official duties. ICE agents, if legally and responsibly conducting their duties, should have nothing to hide.
▶ 5:50:23People in this country should not have to wonder whether the person handcuffing them is a government agent or an impostor. Our constituents, especially our immigrant neighbors, deserve to know who is stopping them and why. Anything less continues our descent into If these horrific provisions weren't enough, this massive misguided handout to billionaires will also hike electricity costs for households, increase power outages, and devastate America's clean energy economy.
▶ 5:50:53At a time when electricity rates are already rising faster than inflation, this bill doubles down on expensive, outdated energy sources and slashes the very investments that make power cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable. and it's working families that will pay the price. A constituent from Clackamus County wrote to me in distress because Oregonians cannot afford another hit. And I couldn't agree more.
▶ 5:51:18In the richest country in the world, it's unacceptable that working Americans can't keep the lights on. This bill could raise energy costs for households by hundreds of dollars annually. And according to experts, we'd lose more than half of all new grid capacity planned over the next 10 years. An extinction level event for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow. My amendment puts a stop to these disastrous roll backs. We cannot allow this all-out assault on America's middle class to go forward.
▶ 5:51:48Before coming to here today, I answered calls from constituents imploring me to fight this bill. Some in tears about what this bill will do to their family. Our constituents are living paycheck to paycheck and are working tirelessly just to survive. Our job is to fight for them, not billionaires. I urge my colleagues to support these common sense amendments. And with that, Madam Chair, I yield Thank you very much.
▶ 5:52:17I'm going to defer asking any questions for the time being. Mr. Scott, do you have any questions? You have none. Mr. McGovern. Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you all for being here. I think this is important. Um I think it's important for people to see that their representatives are demanding better from this institution. Um Mr. Mullen, I I I think you have a good idea and I I I don't think it's going to make it in this package.
▶ 5:52:47Um but I'd like to work with you on that. Uh and to everybody else, uh thanks for coming here to defend people's healthcare uh and people's, you know, food benefits and their basic rights. Um you know, you I think you mentioned the uh nobody likes this bill. Uh I like that. Uh I let me read you a quote. I I wonder if you can guess where this came from. Quote, "I don't like cuts and we're going to have to see the final version." Any guesses who that was?
▶ 5:53:17That was Donald Trump today about his big beautiful bill. That was him being questioned by press before he went to Florida for his his press conference. He has no clue what the hell is in this bill, right? Uh and he certainly doesn't he certainly doesn't, you know, he he says he's against the Medicaid cuts. I mean, this is like the biggest hit to Medicaid in history. I mean, you know, but I just want to say one thing.
▶ 5:53:40I don't know if you were here for the uh previous panel, but toward the end um I found it offensive to hear uh the rationale for the cuts in food benefits and the cuts in Medicaid. Um the chairman of the budget committee and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee um and one of our members here, you know, of course they talk about fraud, waste, and abuse, but don't get specific about it. But then they went into this uh line about um you know this is all about going after illegal immigrants.
▶ 5:54:10Um and you know we were told that uh you know uh that all these illegal immigrants were somehow on Medicaid and on SNAP. Uh the bottom line is undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federally funded coverage, including Medicaid, CHIP, um or Medicare, or to purchase coverage through the ACA marketplaces. They're forbidden.
▶ 5:54:35That that the federal government saves zero dollars from kicking undocumented people off of Medicaid because zero funds, zero federal funds go to cover them. Only some states that are being penalized by this bill cover them with their own state funds. Nearly 16 million or 92% of people losing coverage due to Republicans healthcare cuts are American citizens. These are people who are here lawfully.
▶ 5:55:03And so, you know, when fraud, waste, and abuse doesn't work, they throw out illegal immigrants. Uh al also told that um you know um that of the 700 7.8 8 million people without insurance in 2034 under under this bill. 4.8 million are people who are able to work but who refuse to work. Again, that's not they they come on talk about the CBO report. That's not what the CBO report says.
▶ 5:55:29CBO's report states that these are able-bodied adults between the ages of 19 and 64 who have no dependence and who do not meet the Republicans red tape requirement. Miss Randall talked about all the red tape. all these new requirements, you know, you they don't just take your word for it. You you got to go through all this red tape and satisfy the federal government that in fact you're doing what what what they claim they want you to do.
▶ 5:55:53Research shows that able body the able-bodied population Republicans are targeting are typically women at the older end of their working years. They are not young men on a couch playing video games um as has been falsely claimed. Furthermore, evidence shows that as much as 4.8 8 million Americans losing coverage would occur among people who work or should qualify for an exemption, but nevertheless lose coverage due to red tape.
▶ 5:56:22More than 92% of the people relying on Medicaid are already rece are already working. They're in school or caregiving or unable to work due to illness or disability. the populations that you're all up here advocating for live complicated lives.
▶ 5:56:38um and throwing more hurdles um you know for them to have to jump over uh will just mean they go without health care or they go without nutrition assistance um and that's not the kind of America that you know I want I I want us to be I mean I want us to be able to be there for everybody um and to make and to lift up people who are who are vulnerable and who are struggling and I'm getting calls as well like all of you from you know not only you know elected officials, but regular
▶ 5:57:09citizens who are like, they don't, these Republicans, they don't understand my life. They have no idea what I'm going through. Um, and I don't fit any of their categories. you know, I could be an able-bodied adult, you know, um with, you know, who's taking care of, you know, um you know, an elderly person in my house and I somehow I I then I I lose my SNAP benefits if I'm not at work, but I can't afford long-term care to someone to check in on my mother or father or grandmother, grandfather.
▶ 5:57:39I mean, that's why, you know, some of us objected to the process uh that got us here. I mean, this is like rushed. There's no I mean 4th of July I mean that that's there there's no nothing happens on the 4th of July other than the fact that Trump wants to throw another party for himself. Um he didn't know what the hell's in the bill and yet we're rushing this through. Nobody knows the implications of the of what's in the what the Senate sent over to us. But we do know that a lot of people are going to get hurt.
▶ 5:58:10And and again, I that that that they my Republicans spent so much time demonizing struggling families and yet they say nothing about the fact that, you know, Jeff Bezos is getting a tax cut even though he could spend not withstanding the fact that he could afford to spend $50 million on his wedding. You know, we talked about fraud, waste, and abuse.
▶ 5:58:32Oh, because someone in the SNAP program might instead of getting $2 per meal might get $2.50 per meal, but you know, there's no accountability at the Pentagon. When's the I said this this morning, when you know when the last time the Pentagon, the Department of Defense pass an audit? Never. Never. I mean, you know, not a peep, but if it comes to food or healthc you know, you know, that's fair game.
▶ 5:59:00Um, and and again, I mean, I um I I I just, you know, I I I just want I want I want you to know how important it is that you were here. I think people are watching this debate. Um, and they are seeing who's on their side and who's not on their side. And um, you know, you know, I said this morning and I'll repeat it again. You know, I do believe that this is probably one of the most dangerous, disastrous bills in modern history because it impacts the stuff that people care most about.
▶ 5:59:30You know, I mean, their health and well-being and um you know, we'll see what we'll see what happens. But again, I I appreciate you being here and I I yield back. Thank you, Mr. McGovern, Miss Scandlin. Thank you. And I too want to thank all of the witnesses. is I mean the conversations you're talking about with your constituents sound like the conversations I've been having whether you know it's someone I run into on the street or someone in the grocery store.
▶ 5:59:54We had a town hall on Sunday and you know people are really concerned and I really appreciate the the thoughtful amendments that you're offering because they really highlight um the vision that Democrats are putting forward for the country and the contrast to what we're seeing from the Republicans. I mean, you're talking about fairness for everyone. You're talking about what our families need to thrive, what our kids need to thrive.
▶ 6:00:21Um, you're talking about a government that levels the playing field or invests in Americans rather than putting the thumb on the scale for the wealthy and the well-connected. Um, talking about a government that's looking to meet the challenges of the future rather than propping up failed theories like trickle down economics of the past. So really appreciate the thoughtful amendments, the the words about, you know, the families with kids with disabilities. I heard a lot about that over this weekend.
▶ 6:00:48Um, you know, the concerns about veterans and others who are going to go hungry. Um, it all resonates. It's all true and I just really appreciate you coming forward with these amendments. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to all our witnesses.
▶ 6:01:07And I certainly agree with ranking member and representative scandlin regarding the eloquence that all of you have demonstrated with respect to the amendments that you've suggested and I think expose the cruelty uh of this bill that I think will have disastrous consequences certainly for all of our constituents and ultimately I believe all Americans.
▶ 6:01:29I had I guess just one question that or perhaps maybe it might be a few questions for the gentleman from Maryland because while you are new to Congress, you may be surprised to learn that you and the chairwoman here have something in common which is that both of you come from states. You have the privilege of representing states that have very similar error rates with respect to SNAP.
▶ 6:01:54And I don't know if you were here previously and you hopefully heard some of the discussion that we had about this absurd provision that Americans are now learning about that apparently Senate Republicans put into this bill regarding SNAP ostensibly to uh to get the bill across the finish line to get Senator Macowsk's vote. And I just kind of want to walk through this because I my sense is that your amendment attempts to equalize everything.
▶ 6:02:24It would centrally remove this this deal that was made in the Senate uh from the bill. And if your amendment were not ruled in order, I want to kind of get a sense as to how this bill will work in practice. So in Maryland, the SNAP error rate right now is 8.85%. In North Carolina, it's 8.11%.
▶ 6:02:48So under this bill, right, assuming it's enacted into law, state of Maryland and the state of North Carolina have really only three choices. One, raise taxes to essentially pay for what is a cost share that's never been imposed on states before. two, cut SNAP funding and force countless vulnerable citizens to no longer have access to food assistance.
▶ 6:03:14Or three, this new option which is increase your error rate above 13%. So basically overpay snap or underpay, you choose, but make sure that your program uh is not working appropriately. And if you can get to 13%, you can join the 10 states that have such poor error rates that they're exempted from any kind of cost share for four years, including the state of Georgia.
▶ 6:03:45Uh Mr. Scott, uh actually only a Democrat state would actually intentionally increase their error rates. A Republican state would work to reduce them. Well, that's fascinating. If that's the case, not an option, you mentioned. Well, if that's the case, and I didn't yield to the gentleman, but in any event, but you did forget that. I hear you. I will simply say this. If that's the case, then you could just remove them entirely. Why Why include these 10 states? That's right.
▶ 6:04:10As part of this deal if uh apparently Republican states are so committed to reducing the air rate on their own valition, why don't you have that cost share start tomorrow? Clearly, that's not the case. Clearly, Republicans in the US Senate, what was that? I' I'd be fine with the Then you should vote against the bill.
▶ 6:04:27you have an opportunity tomorrow to make that well that's um unfortunately I I assume that that'll be fine for the people of Georgia because as I said they're exempted from this so they don't have to worry about that but the people of North Carolina do as do the people of Maryland so I don't know if the gentleman wants to I thank you for I thank you for the question Mr. Goose. And that's why we are offering this amendment. We are offering the chair and her colleagues the opportunity to not penalize the great citizens of North Carolina, to not penalize the residents of Maryland.
▶ 6:04:56We can create an even playing field where all states are in the same space as it as it relates to SNAP, where all states have the opportunity to work towards improving our error rates and not being penalized and in fact incentivized to go in the opposite direction. I I I think that is a a terrible thing to be incentivizing. I thought your conversation with Mr. Roy earlier was very instructive when he agreed and again I'll enter in the record as well from earlier.
▶ 6:05:23I I want to enter in the record that there's one time that I'm agreeing with Mr. Roy as well um that this is not sound policy. This will hurt our states. And so I would encourage uh this committee to both vote for the amendments. I don't know how you rule it in order if you're advancing a bill that already has these requirements in it. Uh so I would encourage this committee to rule the amendments in order, adopt the amendments, and then tank this bill. Uh because it will take away those benefits for hungry kids here.
▶ 6:05:53Here couldn't have said it better myself. I yield back. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Noose. Miss Leisure Fernandez, you're recognized. Uh, I too want to thank each of you because what we are engaged in right now is an effort to make sure that the American public knows that this time round, House Republicans are stealing Americans healthc care in the light of day. They are brazen about it and unashamed about it.
▶ 6:06:21Now they are fighting among themselves about it but there are only a few that are willing to have the courage of their convictions uh to vote no res uh a no vote and then a retirement in the senate. Right? The question is what will they do in the house? Because we know that all of you have been approached by Republican colleagues who don't like some aspect of this bill.
▶ 6:06:48Some have told us today uh Representative Norman does not like the increased deficit and he said I'm going to vote no on the rule. I'm going to vote no on the bill. We'll see if he's one of those congressmen who are not again. Hopefully you'll stick to his word. I wish we would hear from those moderates who say I'm going to vote against it because it's going to kill the rural hospitals. And so thank you for bringing that.
▶ 6:07:19I wanted to ask a couple and before I go to the questions. I think there's a real difference and and your point about giving away things to one state for a vote but not treating everybody the same. I think we have an obligation as legislators to see when our communities face similar hardships that we need to pass laws. It's the United States of America that benefit everybody equally.
▶ 6:07:46And Representative Mlin, I am pleased, as you can imagine, that New Mexico is included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. There are many aspects of this bill that many Democrats support. That is uh writing an But what is sad is that Guam and other communities were not included. And you know that the coalition the coalition did not ask for that.
▶ 6:08:15The coalition recognized that the harms from the radiation from our nuclear program felt by all American citizens need to be treated equally. Thank you for making sure that you came and made sure that the American public knew that it wasn't right. And and this is one of those amendments that would be wonderful. It could get in. I mean, it's it's your Republican colleague who's asking for this, right?
▶ 6:08:43And in fact, most of the compensation for those ra victims of radiation are actually Republican states and Republican districts. New Mexico is one of the few that's not. But anyway, a special plea that his get in because it's the right thing to do.
▶ 6:08:59But I wanted to um so I wanted to ask uh uh uh Representative um Randall, you were pointing out some of the horrible things that have been said about people who receive Medicaid and people who receive SNAP because they are working the and and this is going on. I I wanted to read you um uh this that Tommy Tuberville, one of those other awful quotes.
▶ 6:09:30Tommy Tuberville, Senator Tommy Tubville said, open quote, "These inner city rats live off the federal Close quote. Do you know family and friends and community members who receive Medicaid benefits, who receive SNAP, who receive PEL grants? Yes, I do.
▶ 6:09:59And you know, while a lot of my district is rural, um I also have the city of Tacoma. And I got a message from a mom this morning.
▶ 6:10:18um who is the twin sister of a a sibling with disabilities similar to my own sister and the mom of a a young boy with really complex disabilities. you know, she he's relied on Medicaid and other state and federal subsidies for a long time. And today she messaged me. She said, "I can't stop crying. I can't look at Owen, her son.
▶ 6:10:47I had to leave him and his nurse at home. I can't imagine a life where I have to do it all by myself again. Now with my disabled sister living with us, too. My heart is broken and I'm so tired. Please keep fighting for us. And I think that exhaustion from parents of children with disabilities, of siblings who care for loved ones with disabilities, you know, folks who are taking care of their own parents as they age.
▶ 6:11:17that exhaustion and trying to do all the paperwork, get to all the appointments, make sure that you are keeping the person you love cared for and safe. Um, and and checking all of the boxes and cutting through all the red tape so that you can get them the support that they are entitled to. It's all exhausting. And to have debated here in our nation's capital whether or not you even deserve those benefits that you work so hard for breaks my heart.
▶ 6:11:47Right. And to call them rats to say that they are half of them are engaging in fraud and the other half don't want to work when they are these children and they are these families and they are people we all know. I mean I would I would ask the entire panel including Representative Morland. Do you all know somebody personally, a family member, a friend who has used SNAP, who has used Medicaid, who has used pal grants? Absolutely.
▶ 6:12:18How about the audience? Is everybody here? I mean, really. I mean, that's why Americans are so upset about this and that's why the American people don't support this bill. It is underwater almost two to one. And then when they hear about the bill, when they actually learn what it does, they are even get even madder. And uh uh Representative Dingle, you have always fought for the care economy because the reality is you describe it so eloquently.
▶ 6:12:48It is not just it's also about the economy, right? That's why we need to make sure that we have the ability to both take care of our children and they get Medicaid and they get care and they get the nursing home but also those in the nursing home because if it's not somebody in the nursing who's who's going to drop out of the workforce and take care of these beloved family members of ours. First of all, the long-term care system is totally broken.
▶ 6:13:16Both for uh seniors and the whole caregiving system is totally broken. Quite frankly, caregivers don't get benefits. They will work two, three, four jobs and still be living below the poverty line.
▶ 6:13:29Uh a se senior came up to me uh and just started sobbing and said, "Are they going to kick my husband out of the nursing home and put him on the By the way, I had a mother in a got on the elevator at the University of Michigan Hospital to go to my asthma doctor and she just burst into tears and said, "You cannot I won't be able to bring my son here. He'll die. Please tell me that's not going to happen." I mean, there's story after story after story like that.
▶ 6:13:58These are real people's lives. People say people aren't working. There's another couple. There's a young boy that was put on an artificial heart at the University of Michigan. He's going to get a heart transplant. Both of his parents work. They both have insurance. If he doesn't have that Medicaid, he will die. People are going to die because of this bill. Actually, and it has been estimated there there would be 52,300 that are policy deaths related to this bill.
▶ 6:14:29It's not these are choices. So when you talk about being in favor of you could make policy choices. But let's talk about clean energy and renewable energy. Thank you for your amendments. Uh because it's not just uh it's bringing the cost down of electricity because they said they were going to bring the cost down and they haven't, right? I mean although Trump thinks that gasoline is like what did he say a dollar something?
▶ 6:14:55It's like I don't know anybody's once again does anybody have gasoline worth a dollar in theirs? No. you know, not not a lot of truth comes out of that that man. It's not a $1.98. It's just not right. But the other piece of that is we are giving away a competitive advantage to China, right? Like it the part of what you were trying to do with your amendment, it it's multiaceted, right?
▶ 6:15:20like you're trying to both save jobs, lower costs, save the planet, and we if we have a party on the other side that says they don't like China and they don't want to give everything away to China, what is what is their bill do to our comp competitive stance with regards to China? Yeah, thank you so much um Congresswoman for that.
▶ 6:15:39the the stipulation that any part that comes from China eliminates the project from being um um eligible and that the projects have to be completed by 2027 if they're for renewable energy is just insanity because even if they're in the middle of production right now, we know that delays in permitting and and the supply chain and all these other things are going to disappear potentially because of the risk.
▶ 6:16:06people are going to stop investing in these um energy projects because they're not going to have a sustained um income or revenue from that. So, we have invested millions if not billions, hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars across this country and certainly in Oregon where we need resilient electrical grids. We are in inordinate risk right now of blackouts and insufficient capacity with the loss of um currently planned or in process projects that this bill would kill. Right.
▶ 6:16:36And this is another area where Republicans actually want us to do this. They don't want us to have the only energy we want to do is the energy of last century. They want us to have an all of the above approach. You know, I wanted to I know that I'm gonna get tagged for time, but uh but very nicely, I'm sure, m Madam Chair, uh I uh I just wanted to uh Representative Carter, I mean, uh I have here
▶ 6:17:07267,550 people losing coverage. And this is just an estimate. Are you concerned that's actually worse than that? and and I' we've seen the press reports about people in Louisiana begging the speaker not to move forward on this as as evidenced by the two resolutions that I entered into the record.
▶ 6:17:29These resolutions were passed by Republican held House and Senate in my home state, demonstrating that these cuts will impact Republicans and Democrats, people throughout the state in every single one of our congressional districts, including the speaker's district, where nearly 40% of the people in the speaker's district are dependent on some way, shape, or form of Medicaid. You can't make this stuff up.
▶ 6:17:59How tonedeaf can you possibly be to not see and hear? In our home paper today, we had an op- ed that was written by all of our hospital CEOs from rural areas to all throughout the state with real numbers, not numbers that came from Republicans or from Democrats, but numbers that are coming from those people who live the numbers, the administrators, the hospital operators, the people who
▶ 6:18:29pay the bills, who maintain the care for the They said this will be catastrophic. Catastrophic people will die. Hospitals will close. I was in the state senate when we expanded Medicaid. Immediately people got on the roads. Rural hospitals started hope opening. People started being healthier because they had access to health care. The reverse is also true.
▶ 6:18:56When you cut Medicaid, rural hospitals will close. those precious minutes when you have a stroke and you need to get to a hospital, those moments will go away and people will die. When you have to drive 50, 60, 70 miles to get to a hospital, people will die. This is not just uh hyperbole. This is real. These are numbers that are not made up by Troy Carter.
▶ 6:19:23These are numbers that are well doumented by noted experts. When we talk about limiting dollars for uh NIH, National Institute of Health, when I talked to Robert Kennedy Jr. last week, he said that we were going to stop funding research for HIV AIDS because we hadn't come up with a cure yet. Oh god, you can't make this stuff up. The question I ask is what happened? What happened to you? Yeah. Thank you very much.
▶ 6:19:52And it would be nice if the speaker would listen to all of the hospitals in his district. That would be called actually listening to your constituents and not uh Donald J. Trump. I yield back. Thank you, Mike. Before you all leave, I I just like to mention thank you very much for coming.
▶ 6:20:17And as you leave, I'd like for the next group to come in, but there's going to be noise. So let me mention the names and I'll ask you to sit in the order as we others. Hy McBride Hayes Shantel Brown Horford Ross Menendez and Sykes. So thank you all very much.
▶ 6:22:34Thank you for being so orderly and Representative Hoy, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair, Ranking Member McGovern, members of the committee. Um, I rise today in to offer a series of amendments in this big bogus bill that speak directly to what Oregonians and Americans across this country have been asking for. Real support and not lip service.
▶ 6:23:03I represent a district in Oregon, uh, a district made up of working people, small business owners, students, and rural communities who are tired of just barely scraping by. So, that's what I'm focused on. My first amendment would double the Pell Grant because the cost of higher education is crushing our children's future. A generation ago, when I went to college, a Pell Grant could cover most of a four-year public college education.
▶ 6:23:29And now, students are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt before they even start a family or buy a home. And it's not just an education issue. It is a workforce issue. It's a kitchen table issue. We need to make good on our promise to the next generation. If you work hard and want to better yourself, you should have that opportunity.
▶ 6:23:51My second amendment would strike the changes to the to this bill to the Medicaid provider tax, a backdoor way to gut rural health care, and my communities cannot afford the consequences if this bill passes. The current version of the bill leaves an $8 billion shortfall in rural hospital funding in places like Kuz Bay, Roseberg or Gold Beach. That's not a line item. That's the difference between having a hospital and not having one.
▶ 6:24:19Rural hospitals are already struggling in Oregon. 11 of our 33 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closure, and they can't afford another hit. The Medicaid provider tax is a tool states use to keep these hospitals open. And it's not just our hospitals. My third amendment focuses on another critical rural lifeline, the timber revenue sharing.
▶ 6:24:44This bill would gut payments to count that counties receive from timber receipts, funds they use on to they rely on for schools, public safety, and basic services. These payments help keep rural governments functioning when the tax base just isn't big enough. But as timber production has declined, these payments have dwindled. And now this bill would gut what's left. This makes no sense whatsoever. My amendment would stop that and restore these revenue streams.
▶ 6:25:14If you're serious about helping rural America, you don't slash their health care and defund their schools in the same breath. And my final amendment would address the fact that this is a a a debt busting bill. It would um add the text of the Wall Street Tax Act and it's simple. Make Wall Street pay its fair share.
▶ 6:25:36Right now, highfrequency traders are moving billions of dollars in the blink of an eye, not to build anything or create jobs, just to skim off the top of a system that's already rigged. My amendment would place a tiny fee onetenth of 1% on these risky transactions. And to be clear, this is a tax that affects speculators, not retirees, not everyday investors. This amendment alone would raise over $700 billion.
▶ 6:26:05That's enough to fund Pell Grants, support rural hospitals, and more while not blowing a giant hole in the deficit. Let me let me close with this. I don't just represent families like this. This is the kind of family that I come from. And if you took this bill at face value, you'd think that the average working American is looking for a handout.
▶ 6:26:28We don't need to be taught the value of work by a bunch of career politicians who've never missed a paycheck or had to choose between paying their rent and paying for food. Uh working people don't need lectures. They don't need pity. And they sure as hell don't need to be scapegoed by the same politicians who are cutting their health care, defunding their schools, and then blaming them for being left My constituents and the people across this country, they want work.
▶ 6:26:58They want to provide for their families, and they want a fair shake and they don't want to be kicked while they're down. So pass the bill if you're going to, but don't wrap yourselves in the stories of families like mine to justify it because those are the people that are going to be hurt. My amendment offers a better way rooted in fairness and respect for the people that we represent and I urge my colleagues to support them. Thank you so much. Thank you, Representative McBride.
▶ 6:27:26Thank you, Madam Chair, Ranking Member McGovern, and all of the members of this committee. Today I join in defense of seniors and specifically in defense of a CMS rule that makes coverage more affordable and accessible for seniors in Delaware and nationwide. The CMS rule helps lower income seniors navigate the complicated web of eligibility rules and paperwork between Medicare and Medicaid.
▶ 6:27:49It streamlines enrollment in Medicare savings programs, programs that help pay for Medicare premiums and out-ofpocket costs like deductibles and co-pays. In other words, this rule helps low-income seniors afford their Medicare benefits, benefits they've been promised after a lifetime of hard work. It streamline streamlines eligibility and reduces paperwork. Today, I offer an amendment that is as simple as it is essential.
▶ 6:28:15If this budget is going to delay the implementation of that rule, then Congress should at least ensure that it mo won't make things worse for seniors. That's what my amendment does. It says this section of the bill cannot take effect unless the CBO certifies that it won't reduce access to medically necessary care or increase out-of- pocket costs for those who are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Right now, 16% of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare savings program. That's over 10 million Americans.
▶ 6:28:45Nearly 20% of all Medicare beneficiaries are dually eligible for Medicaid. In Delaware alone, that's more than 35,000 of my neighbors, mostly older, mostly low-income, and all just trying to live out their entire their retirement with some shred of dignity. The 2023 CMS rule is a common sense fix. It allows automatic enrollment when someone is already eligible. It reduces paperwork, and it's projected to help nearly 1 million more low-income seniors access coverage by 2029.
▶ 6:29:16Delaying this rule, as this budget does, does the opposite. It means more paperwork, more confusion, more delays, and more seniors falling through the cracks. This budget is designed to slash coverage for 17 million Americans and create red tape so thick that even those who are eligible for coverage will fall through the cracks. And for what? To make it look like costs are being cut when really you're just shifting the burden onto the backs of retirees.
▶ 6:29:46The majority claims they're not touching Medicare, but this provision is a Medicare cut. It's a backdoor attack on benefits seniors have earned and need. It punishes people not for breaking a rule, but for failing to navigate a maze of them. It's the worst kind of austerity, bureaucratic cruelty dressed up as budget reform. It's not fiscal responsibility. It's using red tape to do the majority party's dirty work.
▶ 6:30:12I've heard from seniors in Delaware who already struggle to understand the paperwork required to keep their coverage. If this bill becomes law, they'll be asked to do more, to submit more documents, reverify eligibility more frequently, and bear higher costs just to stay covered. And when they inevitably get tripped up, the system will let them fall. That's why my amendment is so important. Simply says, before this part of the bill takes effect, let's get a neutral assessment from the CBO.
▶ 6:30:40Let's make sure we're not making things worse for the very people who were supposed to be helping. If this delay really won't harm access or raise costs, there should be no reason to oppose my amendment. But let's be honest, we all know why the majority doesn't want that check because it will confirm what they would rather keep quiet. That this provision, like much of this bill, is a hidden cut, a way to avoid saying you're cutting care while still doing it anyway. Let me just close with words from President Lyndon B.
▶ 6:31:07Johnson when he signed this program, when he signed Medicare into law, quote, "No longer will this nation refuse the hand of justice to those who have given a lifetime of service and wisdom and labor to the progress of this country." That was the promise. A promise of dignity in retirement, of security and aging, of care that doesn't depend on your income or how how well you can navigate red tape. This bill breaks that promise.
▶ 6:31:34My amendment is a small check, a safeguard to protect seniors from needless harm. I urge this committee to adopt it. Thank you and I yield back the remainder of my time. Thank you. And thank you to this committee for allowing me to come before you once again today on the same issue, SNAP and re retaining nutrition benefits for the majority for 42 million people in this country.
▶ 6:32:03Hunger is a policy choice and once again we are considering legislation that makes the choice to take food away from people. Nowhere is that more apparent than with Republicans in the Senate where they went to great lengths to exempt certain states from their dangerous policies in order to secure votes. If it's so great and it doesn't cut benefits or food to people, why was Senator Marowski trying to protect her state at the expense of 48 others?
▶ 6:32:30The Senate worked through the night rewriting provisions by hand to convince the parliamentarian to approve workarounds to exempt certain states from the most harmful provisions of this bill. They bent over backwards to spare some Americans from these c cruel policies to secure tax cuts for billionaires. In fact, today at 12:44, President Trump tweeted in part, and I quote, "Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history by far.
▶ 6:32:58And without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa." Republicans in Congress made it clear that they have the power to choose who goes hungry in this country. They have the power to choose who is harmed by this budget. Last week, 23 governors sent a letter to congressional leaders to raise the alarm. If states cannot come up with the money to replace federal funds, they will have to cut SNAP enrollment or end their programs entirely.
▶ 6:33:27The choice was clear to protect certain Americans from going hungry. In my home state of Connecticut, 390,000 individuals are at risk of going hungry because of this legislation. Under this legislation, Connecticut could be required to pay up to an additional 221 million annually for SNAP benefits and an additional 39 million in administrative costs. These funds must come from somewhere.
▶ 6:33:52Connecticut, like many other states, will be forced to choose between feeding hungry people and using those funds for other critical services like housing, public health, education, or even public ser safety. P. The governor of Pennsylvania expressed concern that if this bill passes, this program may end permanently in his state. We do not have to make this choice. States should not have to make this choice.
▶ 6:34:17My amendment would strike the nutrition subtitle from this bill, eliminating these dangerous cuts and untested policies. It would protect 42 million Americans who rely on snap to help put food on the table. It would ensure hungry children, seniors, and people with disabilities are not losing benefits to pay for tax cuts for the billionaires. The wealthiest nation in this in this as the wealthiest nation, we can afford to feed our children.
▶ 6:34:45We've heard a lot from my colleagues about how this bill does not cut food to to hungry children and working families and it only applies to able-bodied adults. That is absolutely not true. If it were true, Senator Makowski would not have been working so hard to carve Alaska out of this provision. My amendment is an opportunity to demonstrate our values and protect these programs if that is what we truly want to do.
▶ 6:35:14Much of what we're talking about with work requirements and some of the other provisions. Uh we tried to offer workarounds for that when the when this bill was first considered before the House. We offered amendment after amendment to try to make this bill better and every single one of them was rejected. We should not be forcing Americans to go hungry so that billionaires could get another tax break. As Mr. McGovern said earlier, uh the defense department has never passed an audit.
▶ 6:35:44Elon Musk has more subsidies than any human being according to Donald Trump in the history of humanity. So why aren't we starting there? Why are we looking to take $2 per person per day from the most vulnerable individuals and not having any conversation about the wealthiest, the most well-connected, and some of these defense defense programs that have are bloated and have never passed an audit? I urge this committee to support my amendment.
▶ 6:36:13I urge the American public to read this bill and look at these provisions and understand what it says and who will be affected because at the end of the day, it is our neighbors. It is our friends. It is our children. It is our church communities. It is all of the people that we represent. And with that, I yield back. Thank you, Representative Hayes. Representative Brown, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to speak on this amendment. My amendment would strike one of the crulest provisions in this bill.
▶ 6:36:41A provision that was already bad when the House first passed it, and then the Senate Republicans somehow made it even worse. The big part of the the part of the big ugly bill rips food away from seniors, families with teenagers, veterans, homeless individuals, and those aging out of our foster care system just to hand tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans who do not need them.
▶ 6:37:08I would like to ask my Republican colleagues on this panel the same question I did the last time I was here. how exactly does taking food away from struggling families, seniors, and veterans make this country safer, stronger, more secure, healthier, or dare I even say great? And once again, you all can't answer that question because there is no answer.
▶ 6:37:36No reason will justify kicking vulnerable people off a program that gives them $6 a day to spend on food. $6 a day. Let's talk about what this provision in the bill really means. It means telling seniors who spent decades working that now they're on their own.
▶ 6:38:00It means telling veterans who put on the uniform that their service doesn't matter. It means telling teenagers aging out of foster care, "Good luck, but figure it out yourself." It means punishing homeless Americans who are already fighting to survive. It means forcing parents with teenage kids to choose between caregiving and feeding their families.
▶ 6:38:29These are not faceless or nameless numbers. These are real people in your districts and in mine. Here are a few stories from Ohio and the people that I represent. Anthony visited the Greater Cleveland Food Bank just a few weeks ago. He is homeless and he is doing everything he can to get back on his own two feet. SNAP isn't some line item on a budget to him. It is a lifeline.
▶ 6:38:56a lifeline that provides just enough to prevent him from going hungry as he searches for stability and work. And under this bill, Anthony would have 90 days. 90 days or he loses everything. Then there's Mary in her early 60s. She's battling serious health issues. She's worked her entire life. She's not on Medicare yet, not on full social security. She's caught in a dangerous gap. a gap that this bill targets.
▶ 6:39:27That's not reform. That's punishment. And then there's Mallerie who is caring full-time for her 99year-old grandmother while raising a teenage daughter because her daughter is 14, not 13, not 12. Mallerie would be forced to get a job or lose basic benefits for her entire household. We are literally telling caregivers like Mallalerie that if you are not punching a clock then you don't matter.
▶ 6:39:59What kind of government does that? What does this say about who we are as Americans? So when they vote today, I hope my Republican colleagues remember their names. Anthony Mary Mallalerie. And let me set the record straight. SNAP is not a job program. Never has been and never will be.
▶ 6:40:25SNAP is a lifeline, not just a line item in a budget. SNAP is an anti-hunger program. And food should not be some sort of reward for productivity. It is a basic human right. and no amount of spend, talking points, or tax cuts for the rich will change that. And with that, Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank you, Representative Horford. You're recognized.
▶ 6:40:56To the chair, to the ranking member, to the members of the committee. I'm Steven Horford representing Nevada's fourth congressional district. I want to thank all of my colleagues here today and those who have submitted 400 or more amendments to this one big ugly bill.
▶ 6:41:13And I'd ask the chair to make those amendments in order so that we can debate these issues on the floor in front of the American people because they deserve to know who who are we here to fight for. I'm not here to fight for Donald Trump or Elon Musk. I'm not here to meet some deadline for the president.
▶ 6:41:38I'm here to represent the 750,000 people in Nevada who elected me to do a job, and that is to fight and to represent and to stand for the future of them and their families. And it's been months, months since my colleagues and I started sounding the alarm about how devastating the impacts of this bill would be. And guess what? The American people see it.
▶ 6:42:09They feel it. They know it. And they reject it. Just look at the polls from Fox News to Pew. The minute voters learn what's actually inside this bill, their answer is loud and clear. No way. No way to cutting 17 million Americans off their health care, the biggest health care cut in American history. No way to ripping food from the tables of women and children and veterans.
▶ 6:42:38No way to hiking household energy cost on working families. and no way to putting 3 and a2 million clean energy workers, folks who are building up America's future, out of a job, which would be the biggest job cut in history. And to do what? To line the pockets of billionaires and special interest. I don't work for them.
▶ 6:43:06Even Senator Le Lisa Marcowski said it. The House needs to recognize that we are we are not there yet. Well, Madame Chairwoman, let me make it plain. This bill will never be there. It's cruel. It's reckless. And it's wrong for the American people. That's why I'm offering common sense amendments to do what this bill refuses to do. Put the working people of this country first.
▶ 6:43:37A lot has been said about work and the dignity of I want to talk a little bit about no tax on tips and the tip workers. I represent the largest share of tip workers in the country. Right now, millions of restaurant workers and tip workers in America make $2.13 an hour. Madam Chair, $2.13 an hour.
▶ 6:44:05Yolanda, a fountain worker who I invited to come to hear the president talk during his State of the Union because I wanted her to hear directly after he made a campaign promise around no tax on tips. I wanted her to hear the details. You know what she feels now? No tax on tips have become some tax on tips because for tip workers they cap it at $25,000.
▶ 6:44:35They don't do that for the It's temporary for four years. They don't do that for the big corporations. Temporary relief doesn't pay permanent bills. So, let's reward work and not wealth. So, here's my ask. Make no tax on temps permanent. And let's do it right. No loopholes.
▶ 6:45:00and let your and don't let your boss call wages a tip or let someone pass a birthday gift off as a tip. If we're serious about helping workers, you'd v vote for my amendment. But let's zoom out. This bill doesn't just hurt workers. It devastates entire like tourism. In my home state of Nevada and in states all across this country, tourism is an economic lifeline.
▶ 6:45:29But Trump's reckless, blanket tariffs are crushing it. The numbers are staggering. $64 billion dollar in losses to American tourism this year alone. And while they do that, this bill slashes funding for the Brand USA program, proven to generate huge returns for our economy. For every dollar invested in Brand USA, we get another $13.770 back in visitor spending.
▶ 6:45:59Yet, Republicans are gutting it in this bill. Once again, they are creating economic uncertainty, not producing economic opportunity. Working families can't find homes that they can afford. Why? Because Donald Trump and Republicans are making construction materials more expensive, driving up costs for builders and home buyers alike.
▶ 6:46:24So, I'm offering an amendment to help fix that, to support construction workers, reduce housing cost, and to make sure that firsttime buyers actually have homes to buy. I know my time is over, but let me just say this. It's time that we reject this cruel, rigged, and reckless bill. That we put the American people first. That we stand and fight for their future and not for the billionaires like Elon Musk or Jeff Basos.
▶ 6:46:54I yield back. Thank you, Representative Torres. You're recognized. Thank you. Good evening, uh, Madame Chair and Ranking Member McGovern. I'm here to testify in opposition of this Republican reconciliation bill and in support of including amendments that would help address some of the many serious problems with this legislation.
▶ 6:47:18I did not think that it was possible, but the Senate version in many ways is worse than the House version. This bill is a disaster for the American people. It would throw nearly 17 million people off Medicaid, known as medical in California. It would cause hospitals to close in the areas that need them the most.
▶ 6:47:44It means longer wait times in the ER and even fewer doctors and nurses and people dying from preventable diseases. For California, this bill puts 3.4 million at risk of losing health coverage. It drives up health cost insurance for two million more and causes residents to drive f far farther and wait longer for the care that they need.
▶ 6:48:10In my congressional district, more than 330,000 people relied on Medicaid and many would lose their health care coverage under this bill. Take for example the story of Mr. Houston. Mr. Houston from Chino in my district. His wife suffers from de dementia and receives care through medical's inhome supportive services program. My staff helped Mr. Houston and his wife secure this this assistance.
▶ 6:48:39But if you strip away medical, Mr. Houston will be forced to quit quit his job to care for his wife as they cannot afford the care his wife needs without medical. I asked my Republican colleagues, who in the heck are you to decide who gets to live or die? Who gets the care or not? These cuts will affect families like Mr.
▶ 6:49:07Houston's who work hard but still need Medicaid critical support to maintain their livelihoods. However, this Republican big ugly bill goes even further than that. More than constituents in my district rely on healthc care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. You remember the Affordable Care Act that you voted multiple times to try to kill?
▶ 6:49:37Well, thanks to this bill, those premiums will skyrocket. So maybe we you will eventually win that battle of killing the Affordable Care Act. This legislation also cuts food assistance for more than three million Americans. The bill would put over 700,000 Californians at risk of losing their CalFresh benefits due to cuts in SNAP and make and make us lose 200,000 jobs.
▶ 6:50:07More than 110,000 of my of my constituents rely on SNAP to help make ends meet. And most of those are households with seniors or children or the working poor. The working poor who cannot reduce their work hours to go into an office in person to reapply for their benefits. Buried under needless bureaucracy. That is what you're creating. More bureaucracy. And all of these cuts for what?
▶ 6:50:37So your billionaire um donors can and big corporations can get even more handouts so everyone else pays higher health premiums and has less access to care they need. This is unacceptable and unamerican. I submitted a number of amendments that would help address these attacks on working families.
▶ 6:51:00Amendment number 322 protects the health care of nearly of my constituents by striking the nearly 1 trillion dollars of Medicaid cuts contained in this bill. I also have an amendment to prevent hundreds of billions of cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP. I have submitted an an amendment to lift the salt deduction cap imposed by the 2017 Trump tax scam bill.
▶ 6:51:28The reality is is that this simply shifts more federal taxes onto Californians where when our state already contributes $83 billion more in federal taxes than it receives in benefits. We are the donor state of America, but yet you're punishing us. If anyone deserves to have an exemption, I would say it would be the donor states of America that help lift the rest of your communities.
▶ 6:51:59I also have common sense amendments to prohibit the use of federal funds to deport non-citizen US military veterans unless they have access to legal counsel in a fair hearing before an immigration judge. to prohibit ICE agents from using chemical irritants against members of Congress and to require ICE agents to visibly display badges and present official identification during enforcement actions.
▶ 6:52:27Lastly, I have an amendment to prevent the political persecution of states by a vengeful president intended on stopping federal funds to states just because he disagrees with their politics. And finally, I have an amendment that prohibits FEMA from cancelling grants that have already been awarded except in cases of fraud or incomp or non-compliance and requires reporting to Congress if a cancellation occurs.
▶ 6:52:56I think that the American people should know what is in this tax giveaway for billionaires made possible by trampling on working uh families like those in my district. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yel back. Thank you, Miss Torres. Representative Manendez, you're recognized. Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the rules committee for the opportunity to testify about my two amendments.
▶ 6:53:23Although it is clear that this bill needs a complete overhaul, I offer two amendments to address a few of this bill's many harmful provisions. The first is number 201 and the second is number 107. My first amendment is straightforward. It would prohibit the health policies in this bill from going into effect if they would result in the deaths of individuals due to reduced access to health care services. The data is clear. Uninsured people tend to be sicker and die earlier than people who have insurance.
▶ 6:53:54To put it simply, having healthc care coverage saves lives. Access to timely medical care saves lives. Access to affordable medication saves lives. But this bill will leave 16 million people, 16 million of our neighbors, without access to health care and life-saving health services and medications. My Republican colleagues are rushing to gut Medicaid to pay for tax breaks that only benefit the ultra wealthy and giant corporations.
▶ 6:54:23I imagine it is why they have held debates, markups, and votes in the middle of the night. I imagine it is why they refuse to do town halls because for us in the Democratic caucus who have done town halls, no one at those town hall says that health care is too accessible. No one says that healthcare in this country is too affordable. Yet Republicans want to take health care away from 16 million people.
▶ 6:54:47And I believe that if the Republican majority was listening, they would not support this bill because there's no way around it. This bill means that American people will die. Mothers, fathers, children who rely on Medicaid will lose their lives. And if you believe that that isn't true, then you can vote for my amendment to give an important and necessary assurance to the American people that they are safe when the Republicans are in the majority.
▶ 6:55:15My second amendment would strike the section of this bill that resends funding for reducing air pollution at schools. And I have to say it again, it rescends funding for reducing air pollution at schools. We know that indoor air pollutants pose serious health risk to children and air pollution can affect educational outcomes. In a classroom of 30 children, three are likely to have asthma.
▶ 6:55:38One study found a decline in children's English and math test scores for every increase in particulate matter in their school's air. And air quality at schools tends to be worse indoors than it is outside. Yet, this bill rescends much needed funding that supports our children's health and well-being. My amendments are extremely common sense. No law should result in dirtier air in schools or more deaths and less access to life-saving care.
▶ 6:56:08I do believe that is something that we should all agree upon, which is why I'm hopeful that you will support my two amendments. Yet, not one Republican voted for either of my amendments during the Energy and Commerce Committee markup on this bill, including our colleague from New Jerseyy's 7th Congressional District. That just proves the hypocrisy of what Republicans are doing with this bill. They say it's about putting America first, but they can't even get on board with preventing needless deaths.
▶ 6:56:35They can't even support protecting our children from dirty air in schools. We can only make America great if we put our great people first. And this bill fails to do that. This disgraceful bill abandons those who we have the privilege of representing. We serve in the most powerful legislature of the most powerful nation in the world.
▶ 6:56:57Congress has the obligation to protect our nation's land, air, and water, enshrine civil rights for those who have been denied them, and invest in America's future. We can leverage our nation's immense resources to meet the basic needs of every American. We can legislate for the future of our country and for future generations, one that is promising and hopeful to our children and grandchildren.
▶ 6:57:21But instead, this administration, congressional Republicans have abandoned their responsibilities to the American people by advancing a bill that fails all of our constituents. which is why we should all be voting no on it when it comes to the floor. But let me give a few examples to explain just how harmful this bill is. Congress authorized Medicaid because every American deserves affordable, accessible health care.
▶ 6:57:47Now with health care costs at an all-time high, 17 million Americans will lose coverage under this bill's healthcare provisions. Congress authorized SNAP because no American should ever starve. Now with so much work left to do to address food insecurity, malnutrition, and hunger, this bill cuts benefits that put food on the table for working families.
▶ 6:58:08Congress authorized tax credits for clean wind and solar power because transitioning to cheap, reliable, renewable energy sources will create jobs and power our homes during a historic heat wave that is driving up electricity costs. This bill sunsets those tax credits. And as millions of families struggle to make ends meet, this bill explodes the deficit by providing trillions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations and the Americans who need the support the least.
▶ 6:58:39Rep. This Republican bill will hurt workers. It will hurt the American people. It will hurt the economy. And it will set us back instead of moving us forward. is why it is so damaging and so hurtful to everyone that we have the privilege of representing. That's why I'll be voting no against it. And I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Mendez. Representative Sykes, you're recognized. Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and to all the members of this committee.
▶ 6:59:09Thank you for allowing me to come and testify before you today. Just a few weeks ago, we were gathered here to debate the House version of this reconciliation bill with many of us staying up most of the night fighting for the opportunity to advocate for our constituents. Thank you for welcoming me back for the second time to the rules committee.
▶ 6:59:25My colleagues and I offered amendments to strike the cruel and harmful provisions in this bill that would raise costs for Americans, including our most vulnerable individuals and families who simply cannot afford to spend another dollar to even feed themselves, much less pay for a billionaire tax cut. A few weeks ago, the Republicans on this committee and in committees across the House voted against every single one of our amendments that would restore benefits to their constituents and lower costs and voted to pass this legislation on the House floor.
▶ 6:59:54Last night, Senate Republicans voted against similar amendments despite constituents, businesses, and hospitals in their states begging them to cut these awful provisions. And yet, they voted to pass this heartless bill on Senate floor. I've said before there are no coincidences in Congress and it is clear that this legislation and those who vote for it not only intentionally cut plan to cut healthcare for millions of Americans but do so with determination but we're determined to.
▶ 7:00:22So, here I am, just a congresswoman standing in front of rules committee offering amendments that would prevent the devastation we all know this bill will cause for our constituents, including my amendment to strike the section of this bill that would cut Medicaid by $930 billion, an increase from the 880 billion from just a couple weeks ago. In my district, Medicaid means an opportunity to live. And that is what I'm fighting for today. Nationwide and in Ohio, about 40% of births are covered under Medicaid.
▶ 7:00:50And for black women in Ohio, Medicaid covers 71.5% of bo births. In Ohio, we have some of the highest infant mortality rates in the entire country. And for black women and for black babies, deaths are even higher than their white counterparts, upwards of three to four times higher. It is no surprise then, that Medicaid expansion reduced maternal mortality in the states that expanded it, like Ohio. This is literally lifesaving coverage.
▶ 7:01:15And yet, this bill threatens to take health care away from an estimated 17 million people, including nearly 500,000 Ohioans. Worse still, this bill doesn't just take away health care from vulnerable families, especially in rural areas. It also defunds trusted providers in our communities, including in districts represented by Republicans. I'm talking about Planned Parenthood. Last week, we saw the Supreme Court rule that states could eliminate Medicaid reimbursement for the providers they disagreed with.
▶ 7:01:40This is clearly a political decision aimed at creating a nationwide abortion ban, but will have farreaching consequences beyond access to abortion care. You should be able to see the qualified doctor that you trust and go to Planned Parenthood and get screened for cancer, receive birth control, and get a checkup. And this bill would prohibit Medicaid reimbursements uh at Planned Parenthood for all states. This will absolutely cause clinics to close.
▶ 7:02:06Clinics like the one in Akran, which is one of the most active in the state where people will go to get the lowcost care that they need. Well, you may be thinking, um, excuse me. In my district, we are blessed to have several outstanding hospital systems. Other parts of the country are not in as fortunate, particularly many of the rural areas as my Republican colleagues represent. But this bill makes cuts to Medicaid at the provider level, cutting provider taxes and state directive payments that allow states to fund their Medicaid program.
▶ 7:02:35In Ohio, this will be upwards of 16 billion. This means reduced services and hospital closures, which leads me to another group of people who will be impacted by this bill. The 22 million healthcare workers whose jobs are on the line. This includes more than 30,000 people in my district whose livelihoods are connected to the healthcare industry. Our hospital systems are our largest employers. Our local economy would be decimated if significant population of healthcare providers are sudden suddenly unemployed. And for what?
▶ 7:03:03A $930 billion cut to the health care system. Also, billionaires can get a $910 billion cut to their taxes. Again, heartless. Now, I'm sure there's someone running the math out there trying to figure out exactly how much this bill is going to cost our rural hospitals. But it doesn't take a genius to know that $50 billion added to the Senate bill is not enough. Madam Chair, our seniors rely on Medicaid and many of them as their primary way in which they get long-term care.
▶ 7:03:28And I don't think that most people went into this election season thinking that the mandate was that their grandmothers would be kicked out of their nursing homes. Yet, it is estimated that this bill could cause one in out of every four nursing homes to close. And so, I'm mortified that this bill has passed the Senate, and I is poised to pass the House again. To stem this devastation, I'm offering an amendment to strike the entire section addressing Medicaid from this bill. Again, it does not have to be this way. We do not have to cut health care for millions. Hospitals do not need to close and people do not need to lose their jobs.
▶ 7:03:58As I close, I want to say that just before midnight in the state of Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine st signed the state's bienium budget. Among many of its provisions, there was trigger language to eliminate Medicaid uh expansion uh and significant changes to funding for SNAP programs. By 5:00, I received an email from the CEO from the Akran Can Regional Food Bank. And this is what the email said. Currently, one in seven people in our community may be struggling with hunger. That's more than 200,000 of our neighbors.
▶ 7:04:29As our community continues to navigate economic hardships related to rising costs, we expect more individuals and families to turn for us for support. Amelia, our community deserves access to safe, nourishing food, and our food bank needs additional support to meet this increased need. That's why we are looking to compassionate supporters like you who will refuse to let our neighbors go hungry. Will you make a gift today? On behalf of the food banks and the Ohioans we serve every day, thank you for your generous and unfailing support during this critical time.
▶ 7:04:58Well, Dan, this is what I'm doing to stand up for the 200,000 people in our community, refusing to to go away silently, allowing Republicans to take away food access to hungry people. Even more disappointing than anything else, the tiebreaking vote to pass the bill out of the Senate came from Ohio's own vice president JD Vance. He voted against the will against 300 three million, excuse me, people who are on Medicaid in Ohio. That's 25% of the population.
▶ 7:05:281.4 million who look for food assistance. 9 billion dollar in payments to hospital systems. the potential closure of 11 rural hospitals in our state. That is what our vice president voted for for the great state of Ohio. Mind you, a red state. So, I am under no illusion that you will accept any of the six amendments that I'm offering to lower our taxes, to promote work, expand earned income tax credit, to continue to support and expand a man American manufacturing.
▶ 7:05:58But nonetheless, I am grateful for the opportunity to sit here to advocate for my community, for the state of Ohio, and all Americans. So again, thank you for the opportunity to speak. And Madam Chair, I yield back. No questions. Thank you. Well, first of all, I want to thank all of you for being here. I want to thank you for your amendments.
▶ 7:06:27I would love to support all of your amendments u uh you know on the House floor. Um I'm not very confident that they'll be made in order, but nonetheless, they're thoughtful amendments and they're good amendments. Um you know, one of the things that has bothered me uh about um the process that has gotten us to this moment is that it's been lousy. I mean, this is legislative mal malpractice.
▶ 7:06:54Um, I mean, you know, uh, the chairman of the agriculture committee was here a little while ago and Miss Hayes and Miss Brown serve on that committee along with with me and, um, and we were talking about, uh, the additional burden that states are going to have to assume under this bill, right? And all of the the costs and that some states won't be able to uh be able to find the resources uh to make up uh what they now have to do. um some may opt out of SNAP.
▶ 7:07:25Um and um you know and I was saying that you know one of the one of the frustrating things is that you know we're hearing from governors now we're hearing from others but we didn't do a single hearing on it. I mean if we had done a hearing in the agriculture committee on this topic we could have brought in everybody and had a thoughtful conversation and I think it would have become much more clear to the chairman and to others why this is a really bad idea.
▶ 7:07:49Um, you know, we're talking about cuts in Medicaid and throwing people off of healthcare and and and my Republican friends are talking about cuts to SNAP and cuts to Medicaid as if like we're going to we're going to save money, right? No. I mean, if you don't if you can't have access to to health care, you know, the only time you will see a doctor is in an emergency room. And that is the most expensive drain on our health care system.
▶ 7:08:16you know, if you are going without food on a regular basis, you know, um if you're a kid, you're not going to learn in school. You know, if you're a senior citizen taking your medication on an empty stomach, you're going to end up in the emergency room. If you're a worker who's missing meals on a regular basis, you're not going to be productive in the workplace. There's no savings here. Would the gentleman yield a second? I just want to add that the we're dealing with a series of competing crises.
▶ 7:08:45It would be one thing if governors only had to worry about backfilling the cuts to SNAP, but they also have the cuts to Medicaid, the cuts to public safety, the grants that have been uh the revision of the grants. So when I hear many of our Republican colleagues talk as if there is no state, not a single state that could absorb the amount of cost sharing that will be put back on them.
▶ 7:09:11And even when we talk about I I mean I talk about it at Nauseium cuts to SNAP and how it will harm children. What many people don't understand is that when students lose uh their SNAP benefits, they are no longer automatically eligible for free or reduced lunch. So those school districts no longer get those C, community eligibility provision, uh the reimbursements that they get.
▶ 7:09:37So local districts will also have to absorb those costs. So it's not just one thing that governors and states have to worry about um recovering funds for. It is all of these things at the same time. And I wish that there were some Republicans in the room to even listen because even if they don't make it in order, even if they don't vote for it, I want them to go to bed tonight with that on their heart.
▶ 7:10:02But there's an additional um issue that needs to be discussed in addition to the to the outright cuts and that is the additional burdens that could be placed on people who are vulnerable and who are in need. Represent McBride talked about the red tape. Um there's a lot of new red tape here for people. Um and you know and when you're talking about a program like staff for example which is two measly dollars per person per meal. That's it. I mean, try to find a cup of coffee for two bucks here in the capital.
▶ 7:10:32You won't be able you won't be able to do it. Um, but you know, to to have to fulfill all these new requirements and and fill out all this new paperwork and all the all additional red tape, a lot of people are going to just say to hell with it. It's just it's not it's it's not worth it. We should be talking about the fact that the benefit itself um is inadequate. I mean, two $2 per person uh per meal. I mean, I'm I'm sorry. It's embarrassing that in the richest country in the history of the world that is our that is the that is the SNAP benefit.
▶ 7:11:02Um, you know, and again, instead of, you know, in and instead of uh, you know, worried about the fact that the defense departments never passed an audit and we're spending, you know, $10,000 for toilet seats, right? Um, people here are more consumed with the fact that, oh, somebody on SNAP who, you know, might get $250 instead of $2 for their benefit. Like, it's the end of the world. People can't live on SNAP.
▶ 7:11:28the pe a lot of people on SNAP are working full-time and they still can't put food on the table for their families. I mean like this is not some exorbitant benefit and you know and and we're giving a tax cut to millionaires and billionaires. We're giving a tax cut to Jeff Bezos who just spent $50 million at a wedding. I mean we should have not seen this coming because at at Trump's inauguration the people in the front row were Jeff Bezos and the richest people in the world, right?
▶ 7:11:56I mean, um, so they're getting getting what they want. And Elon Musk, yeah, he he it's okay to subsidize him. By the way, I I, you know, president was asked whether u Elon Musk should be deported and he said he's open to it. Um, that was at that was today because Elon Musk came out against this bill. Uh, but I mean I I but but I think there's something really cynical and sinister going on here.
▶ 7:12:21I think in addition to the cuts, this red tape is aimed at trying to deny people who legitimately should be on these these these programs the ability to do it right. I mean, and so they feel like they can, you know, they can even cut even more because people will not be able to comply with all the new burdens. Um, and and I'm just like like what the hell are we doing, M.
▶ 7:12:52Yeah, thank you so much. I just want to touch on two points with respect to the health care provisions that you alluded to that we discussed on uh in energy and commerce. And one is we obviously heard about the fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid system, right? And all the savings that they're going to find. What I find so frustrating is if they really believe that's the case, why would you not reinvest it into the program? Yeah. Why would you not reinvest into Medicaid or other health care programs so we can have healthier outcomes for all Americans to use that those savings which I frankly don't believe exists?
▶ 7:13:20But it to use those cuts and the 16 million people that lose uh access to health care to pay for tax cuts for individuals who don't need it is just nonsensical and inhumane in my opinion. Two, with red tape, right? We've already seen in Georgia what these red tape requirements do. One, it adds to administrative cost.
▶ 7:13:37So, we're spending more money on administrative burden, less money on healthare, and all it all it does is just knock people off of healthare in addition to um not not them not being able to qualify for some of the uh expansion uh tax credits. The last thing I want to say is you started with process, right? And you've seen how rushed this process has been on arbitrary deadlines. When we first voted on this bill the day after, our colleague from Georgia said that if she had known there was a 10-year moratorium on AI, she wouldn't have voted for it.
▶ 7:14:05So, how can there be any assurance that the folks who are pushing this harmful bill through have full awareness of everything that's in it given the tight turnaround from when the Senate passed a much different version to when they're going to be voting on it on the House floor? It's too important to rush.
▶ 7:14:19And for that reason alone, uh we should take a deep breath and a deep pause and they should really consider the harm that they're going to do to the American And and and the other the final thing I'm going to say is again um you know the people are going to be hurt are the most vulnerable in our country right I mean our seniors our children um you know struggling families and veterans.
▶ 7:14:42I mean we had an there was an exemption they said to the chairman of the agriculture committee we had an exemption from for for veterans from the some of these new red tape work requirements. um and in committee um he bragged about how he worked with uh the previous administration to get them in place and then here he said oh no he's in favor of uh of not providing exemptions for veterans and uh kids who were from foster care and you know a whole bunch
▶ 7:15:12of other categories. But, you know, I I read him his quote back and he said, "Well, you know, you know, I I I may have said that, but the bottom line is is that is is is that you know, we're supposed to be about helping people, right?
▶ 7:15:27And so, we're hurting people who, you know, quite frankly, are looking for our help and we're helping people like who don't need our help." I I mean when you look at when you look at the the the tax benefits in this bill, you know, I mean it is, you know, the top 1% the top 1% get 22% of the benefit. The top 5% get 43% of the benefit. The top 10% get 52% of the benefit.
▶ 7:15:57The top 20% get 66% of the benefit. I mean, I like and that's fair. I mean, like and and people are saying that with a straight face, you know, and and again, you know, the the Lisa Rowski, I mean, voted for this bill because she got some stuff that quite frankly most people don't know she got. Um, but then said, I'm counting on the House to fix it.
▶ 7:16:25And I was like, have you been paying attention? I mean, the House of Representatives is like dysfunction on steroids. I mean, we don't fix things here. Unfortunately, we don't solve problems. Um, the idea that somehow the this leadership here is going to come to the rescue. I mean, what should happen is that they should go back to the drawing board. There should be a conference.
▶ 7:16:47Um, there's too much in this bill uh to just, you know, take everybody, you know, take take even I said earlier, Donald Trump doesn't even know what's in this bill. I mean, this morning he said he doesn't like cuts. Well, that's what this bill is, right?
▶ 7:17:03It's cuts and and and at the same time, and here's where kind of the people on the progressive side and the conservative side come together, and that is after all of this, you know, you are increasing the the deficit and the debt by over $3 trillion. I don't I don't I don't get it. But yeah. Um, so thank you.
▶ 7:17:28And and and to add to that, um talking about requirements as if they're very simple. It's just very simple. You just have to prove where you live, which is difficult if you're transient, right? If you're getting kicked out of your apartment. I know I have a family member who I help fill out her her social security requirements because she's not able for it. And it is not easy.
▶ 7:17:51And so if you're going to add those requirements um and then say well if they make one mistake they're then thrown off their safety net whether it's food or social security or Medicaid. This is not a small thing. And then finally, because we have Medicaid expansion in Oregon and we have managed to, you know, before the Affordable Care Act, my county had a 21% uninsured rate.
▶ 7:18:18And a lot of those people that were uninsured were farmers and small business people. You know, these were people that couldn't access health care or they had previous conditions. And you know who ends up paying for that? we end up paying for that because then they end up in the hospital, they end up in the ER and the fact of the matter is this is going to break our system. But when we say these are very very simple things that somebody could just fill out, just show us that they qualify, it's a trap.
▶ 7:18:48I'm not saying that we shouldn't have, you know, you know, we we should absolutely have uh requirements for who who qualifies for these benefits. But to say that we're just simply going to make sure that only deserving people when you're throwing up barriers that people who are struggling or people who are cognitively impaired or people who are under stress or people like in my district who had their um post the post
▶ 7:19:18office uh keys they got stolen and it's going to be a year before they can have a postal box near their house. So, they could only go on Saturdays because they work full-time to get their mail. I am sorry. That is not easy. That is not simple. And um I think we have to stop stop kidding ourselves.
▶ 7:19:39If you really want to make sure only people who uh who qualify for these these um for these things get services or get benefits, then let's make it simple. And that is not part of this plan for a reason. And the and the filing I'm going to say and I think my colleagues on the agriculture committee um know this only too well.
▶ 7:20:02If you don't comply with the red tape that's um and the new burdens um when it comes to SNAP, you know, you have like three months to be able to fulfill the new requirements and comply with the red tape. If you don't, you're off to benefit for three years. For three years. I mean, again, I don't know who thought this was a good idea, but it's it's not only a bad idea, it's a rotten idea. And again, I I thank you all for being here.
▶ 7:20:32I yield back. Thank you, Miss Gandlin. Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, I I really thank all of you for coming and for offering your amendments. I know that um the House Democrats have offered over 400 amendments to this big bad bill despite the fact that you only had about an hour in which to draft them.
▶ 7:20:53Um and dozens of you have come to testify about those amendments in the hope of limiting some of the harms of this bill which has been produced without our input. Um, but it's also really interesting that people are coming to the rules committee from all different committees because you start seeing the aggregate impact and and there's been a little bit of discussion about that.
▶ 7:21:15Um we talked about the fact that I mean multiple groups um the Yale Budget Lab, the CBO have talked about the fact that the aggregate impact of this sweeping bill is to take money away from the 20% of the lowest earners in our economy and give it to those who earn more. With the combination of tax cuts, benefit cuts, increased energy costs. That's something that's coming out of this.
▶ 7:21:43we're all going to see increased energy costs, the paperwork costs, and that's before we even get to the costs of the Trump tariff wars. So, this has a huge impact, particularly on the most vulnerable people in our economy. And I was really grateful speaking of aggregate impact um when Rep. Hayes started talking about what happens with SNAP and how the decoupling of SNAP and the student lunch program is going to impact our student lunches. But let's think about the other part.
▶ 7:22:13people are losing their Medicaid coverage and we're talking about kids with disabilities. Can you talk a little bit about what it's going to mean when schools are not getting reimbursement for the health care that kids with disabilities need um in order to access special education? Well, I think it's all of these things. I mean, all of these programs are intertwined.
▶ 7:22:34When you talk about kids on families who receive Medicare or even SNAP benefits would qualify for lie heap heating services in Connecticut, that's a big deal. But to your question, students um with disabilities receive many services at school. Uh their occupational therapists, they're speech pathologists, mental health uh services. Many of those funds are cut in this bill.
▶ 7:23:01So the idea that students don't receive any preventative care or any sustaining care that they don't have the um certified professional staff on site in schools to help not only identify these issues but get them early supports and intervent intervention so that they can stay uh in a classroom alongside their non-disabled peers where they can thrive. This bill cuts in so many different ways.
▶ 7:23:31So, it's not just one thing. I think we operate on all of these different committees and everybody is focusing on the thing that applies to them, but there's an intersectionality between everything in this bill and the common thread is that the most vulnerable people are affected.
▶ 7:23:47Um, I just saw that the president has withheld uh billions of dollars in grants that were already awarded to local school districts for afterchool program, for summer programs, for all of these things. Money that has been allocated, appropriated by Congress, and they're stopping them with no explanation. So most school districts by April, you're already planning your budgets for the next year. They don't have a June 1st, I mean a July 1 deadline.
▶ 7:24:17They're you already have to plan ahead for the next year. Make sure you have enough teachers. Make sure you have enough staff. Make sure you have enough faculty. It's already too late for school districts. And I fear and I think it is the intention that many students with disabilities with special needs with exceptionalities who receive services at school to help them just give them the accommodations to meet them where they are because they're still capable of learning. All of those things are going to be stripped in this budget.
▶ 7:24:46And it is it's it's such a dangerous proposition and it's personal for me because every time every time a Republican Congress and this president are at the bat, they target public schools, teachers.
▶ 7:25:05In the last tax cuts and jobs act, there was a $250 deduction that teachers used to be able to claim on their taxes for um supplies that they paid for out of pocket. That was what they decided to strip. So, as a classroom teacher, I was spending thousands of dollars in my classroom and and used to be able to claim $250 on my taxes. They stripped that to give tax cuts to the wealthiest.
▶ 7:25:30And we're doing it the same thing, just throwing crumbs at the most vulnerable communities to give the most, as your chart said, to the the top 10%. Thank you for that perspective. And I think it is important. I mean, I spent a decade on our local school board. I mean, local public school education is really kind of the heartbeat of our country. Um, and I'm just adding these things up as we're talking about it. So, you've got the loss of school lunch um reimbursement for a lot of kids.
▶ 7:25:59We've got the fact that the schools are going to have to pay people to do the new paperwork. So that's more personnel costs. We've got the loss of Medicaid funding for some of those special needs students. Um the after school programs, the physical upgrades that uh Rep. Menendez spoke about. Many of those things we added in during COVID because when we were talking about social distancing and putting kids back in school, most schools didn't even have functioning HVAC systems.
▶ 7:26:26So we tried to address that and with infrastructure and much much of what we did all of those things rescended once again and just on the infrastructure point Pennsylvania just passed a law to help schools invest in solar energy and it was a broadly bipartisan bill because um it helped the school districts reduce their energy costs. Labor liked it because it got them jobs. um folks who are concerned about the environment liked it because it was a transition to renewable energy.
▶ 7:26:56Um those programs, they just started awarding those grants and now they're all um being gutted because of what's going to be in this bill to rescend all the solar tax credits. So, can I one more thing that bill with infrastructure we replace lead pipes uh that were bringing clean water to so many schoolage children. So many like so many of our schools in urban areas are a hundred years old with hundred-y old pipes.
▶ 7:27:26So we were intentional about addressing uh clean water for kids. So to think that that is something that should be rescended, I just don't understand the direction of this of this bill. As I said with the last panel, I think it does show a clear contrast in terms of what our two major parties are interested in doing and our worldview and and where we think the country should go. So thank you for your testimony. Thank you for your amendments and I yield back. Thank you, Miss Kauma. Miss Leisure Fernandez, you're recognized.
▶ 7:27:56Thank you uh so very much for coming and testifying because as we pointed out uh every amendment is not likely to be adopted by the rules. But what every amendment does is tell the American public what Democrats are willing to stand for, what they're willing to fight for, and what they're willing to make sure that we come and do this for as long as it takes. So, thank you for doing that.
▶ 7:28:20Uh, you know, uh, Representative McBride, uh, I saw a poster of yours where you said the Republicans are not, uh, what was it? They're not pro-life, pro- family, or pro- freedom. They're just pro- billionaire. Uh and I know that you do a lot in fighting to make sure that families uh can get the care they need. Um and that seniors as your amendments indicated and and I think this is affects everybody.
▶ 7:28:46I'm trying to point ask some of the people who have not yet uh responded on the panel. It's all a web. I mean, in in uh in New Mexico, one of our legislators said, "When you touch one part of this intricate network that is holding up America and American working families and Americans with disability, those of veterans and the middle class, it affects the rest of it, right? And the Medicare cuts are particularly harmful for seniors.
▶ 7:29:16$530 billion of Medicare cuts. Medicaid cuts are also pretty darn difficult. Can you just talk a little bit more about why your amendments are so key when you think about everything being connected? Well, thank you so much, Representative, for that question. What is clear is that this legislation is a fundamental remake of the American health care system. This is Trump Care and Trump care means 17 million Americans losing coverage. It means rural hospitals closing.
▶ 7:29:47It means patients paying more out of pocket and having to drive further to get care. This is a fundamental and dangerous rehaul of our health care system, which to your point is a delicate system and all of the different aspects work together. But what's so incredible is that so much of this bill is inserting waste into that system. It's inserting waste into the Medicaid program and the Medicare program by adding excessive paperwork, excessive bureaucracy.
▶ 7:30:16They are importing the worst parts of the private health care system into Medicaid and into Medicare to make it more complicated, to push people off of care, to to make people just give up entirely around getting care. I I think this big ugly bill needs to be doed. They need to remove the waste from this bill because it is excessive. And and to your point, this is all about tax breaks for billionaires.
▶ 7:30:44The the entirety of this bill is about tax breaks for billionaires. And to partially, just partially pay for it. They are handing the bill to Medicaid patients. They're handing the bill to Medicare patients. They're handing the bill to hungry families. They're handing the bill to state governments. They're handing the bill to healthcare providers. They're handing the bill to future generations. I understand why this majority doesn't want to have their fingerprints on these cuts. They're they're trying to push off the difficult choices to state governments.
▶ 7:31:12They're trying to make it the fault of patients who can't keep up with the paperwork. This is trickle down And I I know this president loves gold things. This is a golden shower of benefit cuts toward the American people. So, we'll continue to fight for it.
▶ 7:31:30and and and I would rather us be here fighting to expand coverage, fighting to pass paid family and medical leave, fighting to pass affordable child care so it's actually affordable to start a family and raise a family. But this bill makes it harder to raise a family, it makes it harder to get care and people will not only lose coverage, people will die. People will die. 52,300 is what the estimated. It's a policy choice.
▶ 7:31:58And then to your point earlier this evening we presented the fact that they have repealed the rule which was intended to simplify the application process because they don't want it to be easier. The purpose of the paperwork burdens is to kick kick people off especially when we know that more than 92% of those who can work are already working on Medicaid. And that's why it is so unpopular.
▶ 7:32:26And the fact that in Ohio, in Ohio, people don't want to see this bill happen, right? You pointed that out very clearly about what people are worried about in Ohio. And what do you do when you have leaders like you do in Ohio? Well, thank you, uh, Madam Congresswoman, for the the question.
▶ 7:32:48You know, Ohio was one of the states that exam expanded Medicaid under a Republican governor, under a Republican state legislature, and yet here we are, our Republican vice president, voting to put the nail in the coffin to get rid of healthcare for over 400,000 people in the state of Ohio. It is exceptionally devastating that the leader, the the second person in command in this country would do that to his home state.
▶ 7:33:11Uh but the reason why I brought up in particular as uh the congresswoman from Pennsylvania mentioned the compounding impacts of this was states have government uh budgets, state budgets to pass. We have a two-year budget in Ohio. And there is so much burden shifting from the federal to the state government, which really is just going to the lowest earners in all of our communities.
▶ 7:33:35For example, you know, we're we we're talking about the changes to SNAP where one of the 10 states, including Ohio, is one where the counties who deliver SNAP benefits are going to be impacted. Counties collect property taxes, and in our state, property taxes are higher than they have ever been. Folks have been trying to get property tax relief, but they may have to add some type of levy in order to pay for the administration of the SNAP benefits.
▶ 7:34:02That's a compounding way in which we're going to impact particularly seniors and keeping people from being able to live their American dream because they won't be able to afford a home. We also will have an issue as I read about food banks. Um the state budget in Ohio cut 25% of the funding to food banks plus on top of that the food trucks that have not been delivered to our community food banks and there is more coming in the cuts from this bill.
▶ 7:34:28Those are more compounding impacts that are going to be left on the backs of middle and lowincome individuals. And not to mention the uncompensated care from our hospital systems. Just because people don't have health care does not mean they stop having chronic diseases. Diabetes does not go away. The pregnancy does not go away. And especially not in many of these states who have banned uh abortion and other maternal health coverage. But they are going to show up in emergency departments looking for healthcare. And it's going to be uncompensated and these hospitals are going to suffer.
▶ 7:34:56We have nearly 30,000 employees who rely on the healthcare industry to keep them employed, which means that they get money in their pockets. And as I asked in the committee last time, when my constituents lose their jobs because of these cuts, are you going to call them lazy? Are you going to tell them that they don't want to work? Are you going to say all of these negative things about them when they need to access SNAP benefits, but oh my goodness, they're not going to be there because you've already cut them? This is just a circular firing squad amongst the most vulnerable people.
▶ 7:35:25All while in the backdrop, Jeff Bezos is in Italy with a $50 million wedding with the most lavish of lavish entertainment. And it is to his benefit that this bill is going to pass so that after his lavish wedding, he will now be able to take a two-monthlong honeymoon. Meanwhile, the folks back in my district are suffering, struggling, and hungry. Right. 489,815 Ohioans will lose their health care under this bill.
▶ 7:35:55And it goes on and on. And thank you so much uh Representative Horsford for mentioning the impacts of the tariffs and the trade wars because it is all connected, right? And I bring up in front of this committee almost every I'm I'm not offering the amendment now because Democrats already have over 400 amendments to try to make this bill better. But you know, they they stop the clock. Republicans think that they can pass all these tax cuts for billionaires and it doesn't cost anything, right?
▶ 7:36:24with their new new uh math uh new math magic that they are doing. They also think that they can stop time. They have stopped the clock on whether we should consider Trump's tariffs. It's Congress's duty to take them up. And nobody on that side of the day is willing to say I will debate and vote on the tariffs. They're afraid to do so. And those tariffs hurt your workers.
▶ 7:36:54And they probably hurt your workers a whole lot more than any value they'll get from no taxes on tips because those no taxes on tips aren't lasting very long. And they don't really count as Representative Hy has pointed out before. They don't really count if you're not if you're not itemizing, right? And they go away in four years. And you know what? Like 68 cents. 68 cents, guys. That's what if you're making less than $50,000, it's all you get a day.
▶ 7:37:25Will the gentle lady yield I I would just add today is July 1st. I got constituents that are focused on covering the rent, making their mortgage The rent is too damn high. Uh the cost of health care, the cost of child care, the cost for families to make ends meet is too high.
▶ 7:37:51Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they were going to focus on bringing down cost. That is not what this big, beautiful, bogus bill for billionaires does.
▶ 7:38:05And for tip workers in Las Vegas and it you cannot on one hand say you're helping workers by giving a temporary tax relief that's capped when you're taking away health care, when you're taking away access to nutrition, when you're taking away access to child care. Those are the fundamental costs that drive a family's budget every month.
▶ 7:38:36And they're not they're not capping the cost or the the tax, excuse me, for billionaires. Why not apply the same tax cap that you're proposing on tip workers to the Why not make the tax cuts for temporary like you are for tip workers?
▶ 7:38:58If you really care about working people like you claim, then why not prioritize them over the benefits of billionaires? I'll tell you why. Because you're screwing America with this bill. Your priorities are about favoring Donald Trump. He cares about one person, himself, and his billionaire donors.
▶ 7:39:23And what is so enraging to me is that my constituents are going to pay the price. All of our constituents are going to pay the price because they're cutting on the backs of the American people to give tax cuts to the very wealthy. And all in a result, we'll also add more than $3 trillion to our federal debt that we're all going to pay for. But guess what?
▶ 7:39:52We the people still have the power in this. And so my message is simple. We do need to stand up. We have to speak up. We have to fight back. That is part of our responsibility as their representatives. And my constituents know that I'm going to keep fighting for them over the billionaire class every single day. Representative Cor. Yeah, thank you. Um and and further to that point, I uh I worked two jobs putting myself through college.
▶ 7:40:22I was a PEL grant student, was on the TRIO program, and was the first in my family to graduate from college and had opportunity. And I worked as as a waitress before they raised the tipped wage to 213. And I can tell you, never once did I itemize my taxes because when you're making that kind of money, you don't itemize your taxes. You take the standard deduction.
▶ 7:40:49So all this no tax on tips, you know, it it really doesn't work for normal people who use the standard deduction. So it's just a talking point. and my constituents, the constituents who are going to lose their jobs in my rural communities, who working on the wind farms, who are working on the infrastructure projects that just got cancelled, who work in tourism because tourism has really gone downhill because of tariffs and because
▶ 7:41:19international visitors are afraid to come to the United States. So, our tourism industry is being crushed. All of those people can't eat a talking point. They can't pay their rent with a talking point. They can't buy birthday presents for their kids with a talking point. That's all this is is a talking point. But still, we got the richest 1% that are going to get they're they're going to make bank.
▶ 7:41:44I I think trickle down cruelty is probably the best way I've ever heard to describe it. And we all know it has been proven over and over again trickle down economics doesn't work for working people. So thank you so much for bringing that uh bringing that forward. Again I think we have to make this clear that is a talking point and that's all it is.
▶ 7:42:07So and Representative Chantel and Representative Torres you also pointed out and I know that from your very different perspectives in the communities you represent why this doesn't make sense and your amendments are needed to fix this bill. Right. And what's interesting is Senator McCowsky wants us to fix even though she could have voted no and we'd be done and we'd be home, right? But no, she had to send it over to us.
▶ 7:42:31But so many of the representatives when we sent it over there, they said, "Oh, would you fix it over there in the Senate?" Well, they didn't fix it. They made it worse. So our amendments would fix it. And Representative Torres, Representative Shantel, I don't know if you wanted to add a little bit more to that The only thing that I would add to this discussion is it's a it's compiling of injustice where we have tariffs
▶ 7:43:01where we have um terrorizing ICE raids in in the community um taking violently beating up hardworking people at their workplace storming into uh work facilities ities. While all of that is happening, children that need to feel safe in their school don't feel safe in their school.
▶ 7:43:27Grants are being cancelled to our local governments because of this hateful agenda against the state that pays for your constituents to have a meal on their table because California is a donor state.
▶ 7:43:46And while you cancel our t our our grants, how do we respond to the need to have running water in school to fill the Californians are not shy about taxing themselves. They pass local bonds, local taxes. It's not the state legislature that is passing these taxes.
▶ 7:44:13is the citizens themselves that want to see better schools, that want to see um better uh access to public uh libraries that decide to tax themselves. And how does the federal government respond to that? You continue to punish the state by refusing to to provide a a an exemption for state and local taxes. Salt.
▶ 7:44:41I mean that is an assault on working families already that our insurance fire insurance rates have gone up so high the cost of living has gone up so high and on top of that you can't even have an exemption for the local taxes that you're having to pay to fulfill the failure of the federal government filling fulfilling their promise to provide
▶ 7:45:12um our grants and to return our money back to California. Representative Chantel, thank you. I think when you talk about kicking families off um and increasing their work requirements when work requirements already exist, these are really more paperwork requirements as we've talked about. Um and ultimately at the end of the day, and I'll be very brief, this bill is going to make people poorer sicker and increase their debt. Period. That's what it is.
▶ 7:45:39And uh when you when we when people when California says it's a donor state, New Mexico is not a donor state, I will say. Uh but uh it was 83 billion dollars in 2022 that you sent that you did not receive. Thank you. I yield back.
▶ 7:46:12people tell people um if you'll let me tell you we have Representative McGarvey, Representative Scott from Virginia, Representative Min, uh Representative Delaney, Representative Crockett, Representative Supermoya, Representative Su, and Representative Licardo.
▶ 7:46:36So, and if you'll come in the line, it would be First seat over here. I don't see Representative Scott. Is he Mr. Johnson.
▶ 7:47:06Yeah, I don't see Bobby Scott. Mr. Johnson. Well, how about we do Suzanne? No. Okay, they gave you the list. Yeah. Okay. Johnson. Mr. Johnson of Georgia, would you come and take Mr. Scott's place?
▶ 7:47:44Well, that's all right if you guys just scoot down. Just if you don't mind scoot You got Well, never mind. You're all members of Congress. Come on.
▶ 7:48:12Uh, most of you have been here. You know the drill. We ask that you submit your written comments for the record. And, uh, I ask that you keep your comments to five minutes. And if you get asked questions by the panel members, answer them in a short way. Thank you very much. Um we'll start with you, Mr. McGarvey. Thank you, Madam Chair. This budget hurts people, kids, families, seniors, veterans, young and old. And for what?
▶ 7:48:42So that the richest.1% of Americans can pay less in taxes. And what they're driving our nation's debt up by $3.3 trillion to do so. It's wrong. It's cruel. And it's a choice. Republicans wrote it this way. That's why I'm offering three amendments. One, to protect rural hospitals. Two, to keep our veterans from going hungry. And three, to ensure our health care costs don't go up. This budget will hurt rural Americans everywhere.
▶ 7:49:13But it punishes the people in my state of Kentucky the most. If this bill passes, over 133,000 rural Kuckians will lose their health care, more than any state in the country. 35 rural hospitals will close. more than any state in the country. Kentucky will lose $10 billion in rural Medicaid reimbursements, more than any state in the country. All while losing over 20,000 healthc care jobs. And it's easy to picture what happens next.
▶ 7:49:44All of a sudden, when something goes wrong, you know this is going to happen. When your parent has a heart attack, when your kid is in an accident, when your wife goes into premature labor, when minutes matter, when driving an extra 30 minutes is literally the difference between life and death. It isn't just people on Medicaid. These cuts hurt all of us. They mean worse care, longer waits, and higher prices for everyone.
▶ 7:50:12They are cruel and they are wrong. My second amendment is simple. It keeps the Republicans from jacking up your health care costs. This bill actually forces states to impose co-pays and other outofpocket costs on you, the patient. And how much more? A lot. People in Kentucky who get their care through Connect could pay an extra $542 a year.
▶ 7:50:39If you have chronic conditions, that could go up to $1,200 a year just to stay alive. Last night, I had a town hall in Louisville, Kentucky on Medicaid. I heard from people who were already stretched to the breaking point. A mom named Betsy told me a story about her adult son who has chronic conditions.
▶ 7:50:59He said, "If this bill passes, is it easier for me to just I heard from other people who are skipping their meds, who are delaying care, who are scared to check the mail just for another medical bill. Now Republicans want to raise our health care costs even more. Not for better care or more coverage, but to bankroll another tax break for the ultra rich. It's disgusting.
▶ 7:51:25I offer my final amendment with this simple principle in mind that our veterans should not have to fight one more battle, especially for food. Veterans don't just serve, they Time with their families, their health, potentially their lives, and when they come home, our obligations to them are not optional. This amendment ensures that no veteran will endure the Republicans's burdensome new red tape when they're hungry.
▶ 7:51:55Because for someone who's already served our country to have to prove themselves again in order to eat, that's not accountability. It's absurd. A budget is a moral document. It's not just a statement of what we value. It's a reflection of who we value. I value the people who are counting on hospitals in their rural community for care. I value people who can't afford higher co-pays.
▶ 7:52:25I value the people who put on a uniform to keep us safe and keeping them from going hungry. That's who I'm fighting for. Not the billionaires, not the ultra rich who already have enough and are about to get an additional tax break, but for the Americans who truly make this country great. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on these common sense amendments, and I yield back. Representative Men, you're recognized. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ranking Member McGovern.
▶ 7:52:55Uh I've sat and listened to a lot of this debate and and heard a lot of the back and forth around the Medicaid cuts, the cuts to food banks. Uh but you know as I step back and recall the origins of how this bill came to be I remember back to January 20th and it started with a discussion of waste fraud and abuse started with Doge. And the reality is if the Elon Musk had found $2 trillion in cuts in waste fraud and abuse we wouldn't be talking about cuts to Medicaid. We wouldn't be talking about cuts to food stamps or SNAP.
▶ 7:53:24The reality is we're talking about these massive cuts because the goal of this bill was never about waste, fraud, and abuse. It was never about putting able-bodied people on Medicaid. It has always been about a immoral tax giveaway to the richest people in the world.
▶ 7:53:41And I just want to note that the last TCJA in 2017 was estimated to give $350 billion to foreign investors, not even American investors, foreign investors because the way it was structured, giving benefits to pass through entities like corporations and private equity funds. That is what we're talking about right now. we are talking about massive cuts. So when Republicans claim, oh, this is not going to kick anybody off Medicaid, I don't believe them because that was never their goal. They don't really care about what this does to Medicaid.
▶ 7:54:11They care about what this does as far as finding a pay for for their giant tax cuts. And so when I talk to my hospitals, when I talk to my healthcare providers in my district, uh I have the same stories we've heard throughout. uh our hospitals will close, our pediatrics departments will close, quality of care will go down. Uh people that are struggling right now to find care are worried that they will die. And that is the reality in districts across America right now.
▶ 7:54:38And that is what is happening with this horrendous abomination of a bill that is the most immoral bill I've ever seen in my lifetime. And I will just note that um while our families are struggling across this country, what this effectively means is that if Jeff Bezos decides to get a divorce, doesn't marriage doesn't work out, he can get married like 10 more times and have 10 more weddings like the one he just had, all on the dime of American taxpayers. That's what this is about. Immoral. Now, I've got seven amendments.
▶ 7:55:08I will try to briefly go through them. They're more targeted. Uh I've got three relating to the environment. Uh the first is number 76, oil and gas financial asurances. And this bill amendment would prevent uh the ugly bill from reducing oil and gas royalty rates until there's a full accounting of the industry's untold environmental liabilities. We know that big oil has gotten away with a ton of liabilities that they're leaving on the backs of taxpayers, including off the coast of California, which I represent.
▶ 7:55:37Uh and what this bill would do is ensure accountability for the oil industry. My second amendment uh number 114, wind and solar in national energy policy would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from conducting any fossil fuel se lease sales under this bill until the Trump administration's national energy policy no longer discriminates against wind and solar energy.
▶ 7:55:59If Republicans are honest about their claiming that they want an all of the- above approach to energy, we should not be getting rid of the cheapest and most effective forms of energy, particularly when they're already online. adding penalties of the kind that this ugly bill purports to do uh kneecaps us and it kneecaps us in a way that is backwardlooking not forwardlooking. Everyone around the world knows that the economy of the future is going to be built on clean energy not fossil fuels.
▶ 7:56:25We could be investing in eight tracks and beta, you know, VHS players and the fax machine as well, but that that would be terrible economic policy. By doubling down on fossil fuels and abandoning the clean energy economy of the future and seeding it to China, uh we are making a huge economic mistake, a huge foreign policy mistake because this is a national security matter as well. Uh and at the very least, we ought to make sure that the playing field is level.
▶ 7:56:52My third amendment is number 160, fitness to operate for offshore drilling. And this amendment would establish a fitness to operate standard uh and and uh prohibit offshore oil and gas leases from being awarded to companies with outstanding environmental liabilities. Previous non-compliance with federal laws and regulations are those that lack the means to mitigate environmental risks. Too often offshore uh leases are resold to wildcat companies that are not able to uh pay for the liabilities that are incurred.
▶ 7:57:23We've seen this happen time after time off the coast of California. They leave taxpayers holding the bill. They declare bankruptcy, give dividends right before then. Uh we need to put a stop to that. This amendment would effectively hold those oil companies accountable.
▶ 7:57:38Uh number 197, this amendment would block federal funding for special government employees in Doge, including former employees like Elon Musk, until the departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce, determine that these individuals have not violated financial conflicts of interest law. Uh we have seen too many people playing too fast and loose with the rules.
▶ 7:57:59We don't have any full accounting or transparency of whether Elon Musk or Big Balls or any of the other people associated with Doge have actually complied with the rules that they're supposed to comply with. Do they have conflicts of interest? Uh have they cut spending in ways that or reallocated spending in ways that have benefited their own pecuniary interest? We don't know the answers to that. It's about damn time we figure this out. This is a question of good government and at the end of the day, the rule of law still needs to hold in the United States of America.
▶ 7:58:30Uh my next amendment is number 231 and this is uh based on a bill that uh Representative Licardo and Representative Vinman and I have put forward uh the PACO bill which would create a private right of action for violations of the Empowerment Control Act uh potentially with the ability to sue perpetrators personally if they act in bad faith.
▶ 7:58:52And this is important because what we've seen right now is a blatant disregard for the rule of law by members of this administration, including Elon Musk, big balls, and the people involved with Doge. Uh for too long, they have just sat there and decided that willy-nilly they're going to ignore the law, cut funding in ways that harms real people, including people I represent, uh people that you represent. And it's about time that we had accountability here. Uh Okay. Uh sure. I I'm trying to Okay.
▶ 7:59:22I two more amendments here. Uh, one, my next amendment is very simple. This would is number 232, tax, no new tax cuts for Americans earning $100 million. And this would basically just say that there would be no new tax cuts for anyone making $100 million or more. My last amendment is number 285 and this would uh prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks and require them to identify themselves.
▶ 7:59:47Uh we have seen in my district and across Southern California ICE agents wearing jeans and sneakers and masks. Uh they look more like gang members than they do like law enforcement agents and they're jumping out of unmarked vans. It's hard to tell if they're actually law enforcement agents. It's about time that they adhere to the same standards that other law enforcement agents do. We don't see our local police masking up, hiding their identities, refusing to identify who they're who they are. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I yield back.
▶ 8:00:21Thank you, Chairwoman Fox and Ranking Member McGovern. And I just have to say thank you, Congressman Men, and so many others around this table for the incredible thought leadership they have in all of these amendments and stepping forward to really make um and fight for um Americans across this country. Um before I speak to the substance of my bills, I do have to again address and reiterate what um many of my colleagues have said about the dangerous and immoral impact of the reconciliation package.
▶ 8:00:48Uh to me and uh many of my constituents, it's just an abomination that this bill will make life worse and less affordable for working families, not only in the sixth district of Maryland where I represent, but across the country. Um and again it seems like it falls on deaf ears but this bill will hurt Americans and every every district in American uh will will feel its impact. Um you know uh lately uh yesterday someone said make America great. No, I think this is going to make America break.
▶ 8:01:18And I really think it is um heartbreaking to see what's going to happen under this bill. More than three million people will lose access to food assistance including over two million children. And again and again this has fallen on deaf ears and more than 17 million will be uh stripped of course of their health coverage for the next decade. And in the sixth district many rural hospitals are really very fearful of closing.
▶ 8:01:42Um that 17 million people are denied life-saving care because of not what they've done or where they live um or how little they earn, but it'll be because of what we do tomorrow in our boats. And to make matters worse, this bill represents a breathtaking act of fiscal hypocrisy. For decades, uh, my Republican colleagues have raised the alarm of an increasing national debt and federal deficit.
▶ 8:02:07But they have tucked into this bill a $5 trillion debt sealing hike with no offset, no pay, and no common sense. This is not governing. It's a betrayal of public trust and a breach of our fiduciary duties to our constituents and to America. And don't just take my word for it. Like let's listen listen to some of the Republican colleagues. Senator Tillis said that this would force states to consider eliminating Medicaid coverage and cutting services for our most vulnerable.
▶ 8:02:32Senator Marcowski said we need more process and a better outcome for the American people about what this bill has to offer. And I do I joined uh Johnny Okowski on his uh amendment concerning that all states should be able to have some of these waiverss or carveouts. you know, not the Calibu uh caribou uh carveouts, but you know, let's figure out that there is something across this whole country that um will protect us.
▶ 8:02:58Um and then rushing this means stripping health care and slashing services and not one not one constituent in my district has wanted this to go forward. So, I have several amendments which I'm going to briefly go through. Um first, my first amendment is simple. Uh it is amendment 78 and it blocks any charges to nutrition policy under this bill unless there is a certification that no household with children under 18 will see their SNAP benefits cut.
▶ 8:03:28I shouldn't have to introduce this but we are because under this bill over two million children will lose food assistance. And in my district one in nine households depend on staff half of them with children. This isn't just about hunger. It's about dignity. It's about not going to school hungry and a right to live without worrying about where your next meal is from. The second uh number 86 blocks the reckless cost sharing of SNAP from the federal government to states.
▶ 8:03:53It requires the food and nutrition service, the economic resource service and every SNAP agency in each state to certify that the change won't reduce benefits, shrink eligibility, or four states to cut their vital services. In Maryland alone, the state would have to absorb 75 million per year because that money would be pulled from other critical programs for lowincome uh families.
▶ 8:04:15And several of my colleagues have spoken to this, but really there is a layering and a tsunami of cuts that's coming for rural America, Medicare, Medicaid, um cuts and potentially to social security as we look at our veteran services, but then with SNAP and our states cannot handle it. And last, I'm going to say my amendment 9 uh 93. I'm calling it the fiscal sanity circuit breaker. And that's what we need.
▶ 8:04:43We It would block the bill from taking effect unless the controller general certifies it will not increase the federal deficit by more than 2.5% per year. And it will look at economic impacts, including employment, investment, and GDP growth. Only by managing debt below the rate of long-term economic growth can the US debt be sustainable.
▶ 8:05:05But the truth is, while Republicans talk tough about deficits, this bill easily adds over 3.3 trillion and much more probably and pairs deep cuts to food and healthcare with tax giveaways and a blank check 5 trillion debt sealing hack. Mr.
▶ 8:05:21Norman, who I note is not here but is on the committee, uh, tweeted, "It's not more spending and more de if it's more spending and more deficit spending, it's a non-starter." Although I might not always align with my Republican colleagues, I appreciate that some of them on the other side are talking the talk and voting no, highlighting the need for fiscal responsibility. My fiscal sanity circuit breaker is common sense. If my colleagues truly believe in this bill, my amendments should not be a problem.
▶ 8:05:49And if they oppose them, then we should be honest about the harm that they are voting to inflict. To the parent wondering how they'll feed their child, to the state official staring at a financial cliff, and to the taxpayer tired of being misled by empty slogans and worried about our country's fiscal trajectory. That's who I'm fighting for. So, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these amendments. Let's show the American people that this chamber can still act with decency, with honor, with honesty, and with courage.
▶ 8:06:19I urge support on them. And I will last say this vote will be one of the most important, if not the most consequential vote of our entire public service careers. This vote will follow us always. It will it it will define us, our priorities, and our values, and our country will remember it. Thank you, and I yield back. Representative Crockett, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and to the ranking member.
▶ 8:06:46I appreciate an opportunity and I don't know that I'll have time to go through all eight of my amendments, but I did submit eight. Amendments 121, 149, 196, 258, 314, 325, 342, and 355. I would respectfully ask that they all be ruled in order. Now, let me tell you why I'm here. I'm here fighting for people in my district because Republicans are willing to sell out working and struggling folks in my district.
▶ 8:07:14and frankly theirs too to appease billionaires and big corporations. Now I know we've had a lot of talk about how much SNAP costs a day and the fact is that it's only $6 a day that a person gets when they get SNAP benefits. But we've not talked about the cost of Medicaid. It costs approximately $10 a day to ensure a kid gets health care through Medicaid. So we're talking about to take care of kids. Let's say they've got SNAP and Medicaid only $16 a day.
▶ 8:07:43But another thing we've not really put into perspective, we've talked about these billionaires and we've talked about the fact that this is all to benefit them. No one has talked about how many billionaires we actually have in this country. We have more billionaires in the United States than any other country. But the total number is 83. Last time I checked, we have 435 members in the House and we have a 100 members in the Senate.
▶ 8:08:05Yet somehow 83 people in this country have more representation than the hundreds of thousands that are about to lose their health care as well as their SNAP benefits. If I just started going through the Republicans that sit on this committee briefly, I would tell you that Chairwoman, you have 112,000 people that are about to lose SNAP benefits just in your district.
▶ 8:08:27I would tell you that it is estimated in your state as your senator stated that roughly 651,982 would lose their health care or I would tell Rep. uh Fishbach that 67,000 people on SNAP and in the entire state of Minnesota 173 would lose their healthcare.
▶ 8:08:47I could go on with these numbers or I could tell you about the fact that even when we look at my state and I know that Chip Roy sits on this committee but he's not here right now but we have 56,000 people that are on SNAP in his district but in the entire state of Texas we have 1.6 6 million people that may lose coverage.
▶ 8:09:07And somehow we have 83 billionaires and somehow they have 535 people that are speaking up for them every single day to make sure that when they get married for a second or third or fourth time that they can go ahead and have another 50 or 60 million wedding. Instead of protecting access to these programs, you're cutting them to help billionaires who pay less in taxes than some of the teachers in our country.
▶ 8:09:32You claim to want a tax system and budget that helps people, but that's impossible when you're subsidizing tax credits off of the folks who can't even afford to treat their kids or family to a nice meal because federal minimum wage hasn't gone up in 15 years. If y'all want to make a better system, then adopt my amendment number 314 that would require an increase in the federal minimum wage of $15 in order for corporate tax breaks to go into effect.
▶ 8:10:01Speaking of wages, this bill doesn't even give the same level of help to people living on tip wages and working overtime just to put food on this table as it does for Trump's billionaire buddies. In fact, the bill only allows no tax on tips and overtime until 2028. And we've talked about this. Listen, this is a joke. This was nothing more than a campaign scheme. This was about saying, you know what, I'mma make this promise to you. And we can talk about the fact that there have been a lot of promises made yet a lot of promises broken.
▶ 8:10:30In fact, that was one of the reasons it seems like that, you know, Senator Tillis has decided that he's done and he's going to get out because he understands that there's nothing but broken promises that are being made. Broken promises that look like, say, I'm going to deport the bad guys only. And then we end up with children with cancer or Americans or undocumented taxpayers that contribute more than a hundred billion dollars in taxes. Those are the ones being thrown in cages and sent to other countries.
▶ 8:11:00Or we look at the fact that there was a promise made and broken that Doge was supposed to be the magic trick. Now Elon is being threatened with deportation and the cancellation of his own contracts, which historically have been estimated at a whopping $ 38 billion after he decided that he was going to spill the tea about the Epstein files. And frankly, the truth is that we know that we could cut a lot of those contracts to Elon, but somehow that hasn't been done.
▶ 8:11:28Instead, we, the American people, have been left with a hefty tab of incompetence by Doge and feeling extremely vulnerable. In fact, there was a Doge employee who was fired. And I appreciate this man, but truly transparency and truth has no place in this particular government.
▶ 8:11:50This former employee of Doge says that during his short time embedded with the Department of Veteran Affairs, he did not find levels of waste, fraud, and abuse that he had expected and was pretty surprised actually at how efficient government was. I will wrap up by saying this. I don't really understand what it is that y'all plan to go back and tell your constituents.
▶ 8:12:13I'm glad that some of y'all decided to show up, but the reality is that you have sold your constituents out for 83 people in this country and each of our districts should have approximately 766,000 people. How is it that you can explain that we still are running up the credit card and we have nothing to show for it except for the fact that we won't have food on the tables and we won't have healthcare. And with that, I will yield. Thank you, Representative Subramanion.
▶ 8:12:44Uh thank you, Madam Chair, for five minutes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for um having this hearing and staying late tonight. And thank you to all the members of the committee. Uh I want to just talk about a couple things. First of all, um there's a lot of wasteful stuff in this bill. When you have a bill this big, you're going to end up with a lot of bad provisions that people may not hear about. And so, a lot of my amendments are actually aimed at bad provisions or provisions that aren't there that should be there that are hurting Virginiaians and especially my region.
▶ 8:13:12These are amendments 108, 113, 144, 235, and 269. And the first one is a real whopper. I mean, uh, because the Texas delegation in the Senate, uh, wanted to have their vote bought and paid for, they decided that they would actually spend hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to take this space shuttle that's in Northern Virginia at the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian and move it all across country to the to the Space Center in
▶ 8:13:43Houston. Now, I actually grew up next to the space center in Houston, and they already have a full replica model of that space shuttle. They also have six other flight vehicles as well. So, this isn't going to increase visits to the space center in Houston, where my family is. It's actually going to take away people's opportunity to for free see a space shuttle and show off American dominance in space for the past 50 years. And that's going to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars just to buy a couple votes in Texas.
▶ 8:14:13Next, um the for some reason, and no one's been able to explain it to me, last year, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, um which owns the assets, Dallas airport and and DCA, which many members of Congress fly out of, um actually renegotiated their lease with the federal government at a rate where they could afford to make improvements to those airports and make sure that we can also um make flights affordable and airlines be able to use those facilities.
▶ 8:14:41And and what happened is in this bill, we're actually blowing up a lot of those agreements and we're doubling in some cases the amount that they have to pay. And that's going to be passed on to anyone who flies in and out of DCA and Dallasos. And that includes all of you, all members of Congress in this room as well. And so that's going to cost everyone money. And certainly in my region where we all fly out of Dallasos and DCA, it's going to cost us a lot of money. And we have a toll road that is meant to pay off some of those expenses.
▶ 8:15:11And those tolls are going to go up on every single person who uses those tolls. I'm talking about the dulles toll road. And so we have a lot of issues with the fact that we already have very high tolls in our region in Virginia and they're just going to go up because of this bill. And no one's been able to explain to me why that is.
▶ 8:15:27And and then finally uh um the one of the president's branded golf courses is in my district and he likes to come out there and and golf and that's fine but then he golfs a lot and I didn't realize this he golfs almost more than 20% of his free time his time actually in not free time his actual time he's awake is spent golfing and he comes golfing so much that it's costing our region a lot of money and it's costing our local sheriffs and local at least a lot
▶ 8:15:58of money to make sure that that area is secure for his golf trips. And so what I'd really like to do is just make sure that we can at least reimburse my region for all the golf trips that the president is is costing us. And so finally, um there's a a 9 figure slush fund for Doge as well and for Russell Vote and OM. And no one's been able to explain to me why to capture waste, fraud, and abuse, we need a 9 figure slush fund for them.
▶ 8:16:24Now, the last time I checked, some of the stuff that they were using money on was to set up uh sleeping pods in the GSA's building while firing half the people in that building. And so, these are a lot of examples of waste and fraud. They they rep, you know, they hurt my region, but I can assure you that everyone can look through this bill, and I've read through most of it, if not all of it at this point, and you'll find that your region will be hurt by some of the waste in here.
▶ 8:16:49And and the second thing I'll say is uh you know I agree with this notion of this bill, this big ugly bill being about broken promises. I mean just look at what some of the stuff the president has said. He said about Medicaid and cuts the Medicaid. We're not going to touch it, right? And he said he would veto a bill that would cut Medicaid. And yet this bill kicks millions of American citizens off of Medicaid, 17 million, nearly 17 million. And he said that cuts to food assistance program are going to give everybody more food.
▶ 8:17:18But this bill puts 5 million people at risk of losing some or all of their food assistance. That includes 300,000 children children in Virginia. And let's be clear, this bill is also going to make energy more expensive. He said that the president said we are going to get your energy prices down by 50%. But the studies have shown that this bill is going to spike energy costs up to $250 billion nationwide. In Virginia alone, we're going to see an 8% increase in energy costs.
▶ 8:17:48And finally, the biggest whopper of all is that this bill is supposedly going to reduce our deficit. And we know that that's not true. In fact, it's going to add 3 to5 trillion to our national debt. It's going to hurt our deficit and it's going to mortgage our children's future. This bill is bad. Our Virginiaians and Americans deserve better than these broken promises. I yield back. Thank you, Representative Su. You're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and ranking member.
▶ 8:18:16My amendment would extend the Affordable Care Act's uh premium tax credit to Americans who are caught in the coverage gap, as well as Americans who would lose their Medicaid coverage as a result of this horrible bill. We must extend the premium tax credits for lowincome citizens below 138% of the poverty line. I have heard from countless constituents who fall in the coverage gap and they are desperate to keep their health care.
▶ 8:18:47I recently spoke with one of my constituents, her name is uh Kiana and Kiana was caught in the coverage gap. She lost her Medicaid coverage following the end of the COVID public health emergency. When she tried to qualify for Medicaid again, she was told that she made too much money. She made more than the $295 a month to qualify.
▶ 8:19:13In my state of Alabama, we have a Medicaid program. It's so bad that you have to really be You can't afford the O or the R. So, people like U. Kiana are really scared about this cost shifting. the cost shifting will mean that Medicaid uh will not happen in the state of Alabama.
▶ 8:19:41The fact of the matter is they're not going to pay for it. They're just simply not going to pay for it. Madam Chair, I firmly oppose this so-called big beautiful bill that has come to us from the Senate. Let me be clear. There is nothing beautiful about stripping health care from working families. There's nothing beautiful about taking food off the table of our most vulnerable neighbors. And there is certainly nothing beautiful about putting rural hospitals on life support.
▶ 8:20:09Madam Chair, this bill will gut Medicaid as we know it. It will slash funding for millions of children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. Medicaid is a lifeline. It is a bill. This bill will cause 17 million Americans, including 170,000 Alamians, to lose their health care. And it doesn't stop there.
▶ 8:20:31This bill will also gut SNAP benefits, a program that puts food on the table for hardworking families, for children who need breakfast before school, for seniors who are choosing between groceries and their medicine. In Alabama, it means 750,000 Alamians could lose their nutrition benefits or worse, see them reduced. The cost, the cuts in this bill are not just numbers on a page.
▶ 8:20:58They are empty uh cupboards and shuttered clinics. There are hospital wings closed in small towns already struggling to keep their doors open. They are parents lying awake at night wondering how they're going to be able to afford medicine for a sick kid. We should be strengthening the safety net, not shredding it. We should be investing in the health care and well-being of our most precious commodity, our people.
▶ 8:21:24not ripping it away from them in order to pay tax cuts for billionaires. This bill is not a blueprint for prosperity. It is a roadmap for further inequality, for deeper poverty, for rural communities left to fend for themselves while powerful while the powerful walk away from more with more. Madam Chair, we were sent here to stand up for those people, not to abandon them.
▶ 8:21:51Let us stand together and reject this careless, heartless bill. Let us build something truly beautiful. An America where health care is a right, not a privilege for the few. A right. No child goes hungry and no community is left behind simply because of their zip code. I oppose this horrible bill and I ask that my amendment, which will make it a little bit better, is considered by all. Thanks.
▶ 8:22:21I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, Miss Su. Mr. Licardo, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I have four amendments to HR1. Uh, and I appreciate the committee's consideration, but rather than delving into the complexities of these amendments, I'd like to take a step back. I'd like to step back from whatever we're going to tell the public in press releases tomorrow if this bill passes.
▶ 8:22:50I'd like to talk about what we'll tell our children and our grandchildren a decade from now if this bill passes. The children who count on us, not just the ones in our homes, but all of America's children will suffer immensely under this one big bloated borrowing bill. We are the grown-ups, but under this budget proposal, we're not governing like grown-ups. Grown-ups look out for kids.
▶ 8:23:16Grown-up governance recognizes the moral priority of our progeny. It emphasizes the imperative of taking the long view of saving, of sacrificing, and investing today for our children's tomorrow. We have a fiduciary duty, indeed a sacred duty to act in their best interest. You've heard from my colleagues how this bill cuts lifeline programs for our youth from their healthcare and Medicaid to their school lunches and SNAP to their student aid and PEL grants.
▶ 8:23:47But we're doing much worse than even that to our children. That is, we are spending their money and borrowing from their future to pay for our present. Now, many Americans could be forgiven for believing that with all these cuts, the GOP leadership must be proposing a budget that will actually reduce our monstrous $ 1.9 trillion deficit. But they would be wrong.
▶ 8:24:14The one big bloated borrowing bill will accelerate America's accumulation of debt by $3.9 trillion over the next decade if we include the interest payments according to the nonpartisan committee for responsible budgeting. Add another 1.4 4 trillion in new debt when Congress inevitably makes several of the temporary provisions of this bill Now, while congressional leaders may gaslight the public about the bill's true cost, nearly every independent expert from
▶ 8:24:44the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to the Conservative Tax Foundation knows The bill also hasn't fooled the markets after we passed the la less costly house version of this bill.
▶ 8:24:58Only weeks ago, Moody's downgraded US bonds in view of what they called quote current fiscal Weary bond investors have pushed bonds yields higher, and you can expect more of that in the years ahead as we all pay a hidden tax from this bloated budget through higher interest rates. Now, I feel bad for my Republican colleagues.
▶ 8:25:22I know that President Trump painted each of them and all of Congress into a corner by publicly promising $5 trillion in tax giveaways he had no idea how to pay for. An even bigger problem is that Congress has no idea how to pay for those promises either. That's why this bill leaves at best $3.9 trillion of additional debt on the credit card. Now, I know that grown-up budgeting is hard.
▶ 8:25:50When I came into office as mayor of the for the 1 million residents of the city of San Jose, I faced nearly $4 billion in employee retirement debts that were crippling our city's budget, courtesy of politicians who were happy to make promises that they had no idea how to pay for. For more than a year, we spent hundreds of hours in difficult negotiations, but we forged an agreement that helped us save billions, helped us reactivate fire stations and hire police. and I left my successor with a $30 million surplus.
▶ 8:26:20We Republicans and Democrats could similarly negotiate a much better budget than this. Let's doge this bill. Let's sit down and let's negotiate. I'd like to help my Republican colleagues to do what they know is right. when he realized that the Senate just added another $670 billion to the House's already bloated budget bill.
▶ 8:26:41Speaker Mike Johnson today told the media that quote, "I'm not happy with what the Senate did to our product." He shouldn't be happy, nor should any Republican member of this house. Let's fix this bill to make Speaker Johnson happier. Let's fix this bill for Republican Senator Mowsky, who today publicly urged us to do so. Let's fix it for Marjorie Taylor Green, who today called it a show. Above all, let's fix this bill for our children. Thank you. I yield. Thank you very much.
▶ 8:27:12Representative Johnson, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. What has been called a big and beautiful bill is as cruel and ominous a piece of legislation as I have ever seen in my many years on this The big ugly bill cuts access to health care for 17 million Americans.
▶ 8:27:34So tens of thousands each year will die and will die preventable deaths because big shots in government want to give their multi-millionaire and billionaire donors like Jeff Bezos and those who attended his $50 million wedding in Venice another huge tax cut. $3.8 billion dollars in tax cuts.
▶ 8:28:00The lion's share going to folks like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and yes, the king of crypto, Donald Trump While condemning the needy to preventable disability and premature death, this cruel legislation also cuts funding for food to feed the needy. I would be ashamed of myself if I ever voted for something like this.
▶ 8:28:27I would not be able to live with myself enjoying my $174,000 a year salary and government subsidized health insurance while 17 million of my brothers and sisters lose their access to medical care. And three million hungry children and senior citizens go without food just so that folks can buy another super yacht. I'm here this evening to speak up for the least of these.
▶ 8:28:57On my way here today, that phrase came to mind, the least of these. And so I Googled it when I sat down in here, it took me to Matthew 25 verse 40- 45. For, and to paraphrase uh verse 41, for I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, and I was sick, and you did not come look after me.
▶ 8:29:25I'm here this evening to speak up for the least of these. I'm here this evening because I'm deeply troubled by the big ugly bill, which weaponizes the social safety net against those who need it most.
▶ 8:29:39Among its gravest failures is the omission of support for unaccompanied minors who are forced to navigate complex immigration proceedings without legal counsel, leaving kids, children, infants alone, frightened, and unprotected in court.
▶ 8:29:58My amendment directly addresses this moral injustice by providing critical funding for appointed counsel, ensuring that children's rights are respected, their dignity is preserved, and justice is truly served.
▶ 8:30:13Through the crafting of this harmful Trump appeasing bill, the Republicans, MAGA Republicans, have deliberately undermined Medicaid with one senator dismissively claiming that concerned Americans would simply get over it.
▶ 8:30:30Such remarks reveal that they fully recognize how dangerous this bill weakens essential health care protections and will re result in the unnecessary deaths of half a million people over the next 10 years. Half a million of our brothers and sisters will lose their lives because of what MAGA Republicans are trying to do just so that their donors can get another tax cut.
▶ 8:30:56Section 71102 removes critical safeguards against coverage lockouts and annual and lifetime coverage limits jeopardizing children's long-term health. Additionally, section 7119 imposes an unnecessary 80hour work requirement that has consistently stripped coverage rather than promoting employment. You want sick, poor people living in rural America.
▶ 8:31:24I'll c talk about rural America, not about those uh inner city rats that Senator Tubberville talked about. I'm going to talk about my brothers and sisters in rural America are would be forced to get up from their sick beds and find a way to get to town or out to the field so that they could find a job and work a minimum 20 hours a week, four hours a day, five days every
▶ 8:31:54week before they could become eligible for coverage that would enable them to get well so that they could work Again, healthc care should be a right and not a privilege in the wealthiest nation of on earth. And access to a doctor must never be weaponized against the sickest of us. My amendment strike these harmful sections, restoring compassion, equity, and common sense to Medicaid.
▶ 8:32:20We watched as this bill rushed through under the cover of darkness, likely because it recklessly cuts critical funding without transparency. My amendment requires transparent public reporting, ensuring communities have visibility into how their resources are managed while protecting vital investments in cl in climate resilience.
▶ 8:32:43Lastly, Madame whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Is Matthew 25 verse 45. I think we should all keep that in mind as we go about our business today. And with that, I yield back. Thank you, Representative Johnson.
▶ 8:33:11I think most of us on our side of the aisle think about those verses and others every single day. Mr. Langworthy Mr. McGovern. First, I I request unanimous consent to insert a statement from Representative Hulahan in support of four amendments number 8, 19, 28, and 37.
▶ 8:33:36Taken together, these amendments would make significant progress in ensuring this legislation will not harm Americans across the country. Without objection. And I just want to thank all of the panelists for being here. I mean, I I I I support all of your amendments. I share your concerns. I mean, I really am deeply um disturbed by the fact that this is a bill that's going to hurt the most vulnerable in our country uh and going to reward those who are well off and well connected.
▶ 8:34:04Um and um you know, if we are lucky enough to to uh be in the majority again, I hope one of the things that we will look seriously into is honest to goodness campaign finance reform because there's too much damn money in politics. And I you look at some of these provisions, you can tie it directly to contributions and we I I think that's what the American people want and that's what has corrupted the system. But I I have no questions.
▶ 8:34:31I just want to thank you all for being Thank you, Mr. McGovern. Mr. Scott, I just uh my colleague from Georgia, those of us in rural Georgia would appreciate if y'all would stop cutting our forest lands down and maybe come get those solar panels off our farmland and take them back up there to metro Atlanta. We we'd be appreciative of that. Thank you. I yield back. Miss Gandlin, you're recognized.
▶ 8:34:58Just want to thank all of the panel members for their thoughtful amendments, for their testimony, for their patience in waiting to testify tonight. Um, I think collectively you've told quite the story of both the harm to our communities that this ugly bill will inflict as well as the real hypocrisy and and the real underlying purposes for why these cuts are being made to justify um giving to those who have the most rather than those who need the
▶ 8:35:29most. So, thank you. Appreciate all of you. I yield back. Mr. Jack, no questions. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Leisure Fernandez. Uh thank you very much uh to the panel once again. Uh and I'm, you know, ditto on everything that was said on everything you said.
▶ 8:35:47something that we haven't talked a lot about and we have a raise and means member uh here and uh you know raise and means right and uh the means are the ways is how do we get tax revenue and and I just wanted to ask a really quick question uh because it seems that the tax cuts are one thing but we also under Trump and this administration and the budgets really seen an opening door for the tax cheats Right.
▶ 8:36:18And right now it's uh the estimate that the cuts to the IRS are going to lead to a trillion dollars in revenue loss. A trillion dollars in revenue loss. Uh there's already been a $500 billion uh shortfall. And what we got from last year, like we don't have to cut Medicaid and and SNAP and and everything else if we would just like make sure we made people pay their taxes. Uh uh uh.
▶ 8:36:45Madam Chair, I'd like to enter into the record Trump pardon tax cheat after mother attended a million-doll dinner uh from uh May 26, 2025. Without objection, and and and uh Representative Hule, I think that this issue goes to the ranking members of there's way too much campaign money flowing in so that tax cheats can get away with stuff. I don't know if you have any thoughts on that.
▶ 8:37:34the fact that we would um be willing to cut um IRS service workers by such a big amount. I think it was $700 million they're going to take away means that we don't have the agents to go in there to find these tax cheats. Uh instead, uh I've seen in my district the easy the lowhanging fruit is to question someone's child tax credit or earned income tax credit.
▶ 8:38:02not to go after all of the complicated uh tax uh you know things that would really um bring us a lot of money and a lot of revenue. To your point, we wouldn't have to cut so much of our Medicaid if we taxed the the very wealthy what and they and them pay their tax, not figure out ways to and loopholes not to pay their taxes.
▶ 8:38:26And so, um, you know, in terms of campaign finance, I think that the article that you submitted to the record is really atrocious. was a a person who um was uh convicted as a January 6th rier and literally was able to get a pardon after his mother paid a million dollars to go to Mara Lago um and attend a million dollar per person dinner with our president.
▶ 8:38:56And miraculously, three weeks later, that person was given a Uh, and this person not only was January 6, but also defrauded the government is what he did. He defrauded the government millions and millions of dollars. Medicaid. Absolutely. So, look, I think that all of us here today have um submitted amendments um that we think will make this bill better.
▶ 8:39:27But the fact of the matter, it's a horrible bill and the American people know it. over 60% of them don't agree about the bill. And I think that we as um uh as lawmakers should really be putting the people first. And I think that the the the power of the people should be more important than the people with power. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you. And I yield back. Thank you, Miss Leisure Fernandez.
▶ 8:39:57I thank our witnesses for being here. And I'm going to call up. You're you all are Let's see if we can work this again. Mr. Tano, you're in the first seat. Mr.
▶ 8:40:11Uh, Congresswoman Morrison, Congresswoman Ensari, Congressman Espayot Badamichi Goodlander, you're close, Suzanne.
▶ 8:40:42You didn't have to move far. You might
▶ 8:41:49Thank you all for being here. Um, your written comments will be can may be submitted for the record and I ask you to keep your u spoken comments to five minutes. Mr. Tano, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. This 900page bill is a travesty and a gut punch.
▶ 8:42:14It puts the interests of the richest and most connected billionaires, polluters, and tech companies over every other American who is just trying to get by. It decimates healthcare. It literally takes food off the table of the vulnerable. And it even stoops so low that it actively harms veterans.
▶ 8:42:32This big ugly betrayal undermines our shared American values and allows this administration to continue its brazen efforts to strip our great nation for parts to be auctioned to the highest biders. It boggles the mind that the Republican party wants to deny 17 million people healthcare. Republicans have chosen to decimate health care infrastructure in rural and underserved communities.
▶ 8:43:00Republicans have chosen to harm seniors by forcing them to choose between basic necessities and health care. Republicans have chosen to callously hurt disabled people who need long-term care. No one is spared from this monument to greed. And that includes veterans. To allow my colleagues a modicum of course correction, I'm offering several amendments to try and blunt the impact of this devastating billionaire handout.
▶ 8:43:28uh to and uh and to blunt the impact on our veterans. First, I've introduced an amendment to exempt veterans from the new medic Medicaid work requirements. This is something that Senator Macowski tried to achieve uh for uh all the people of Alaska.
▶ 8:43:46uh she only was able to achieve uh waiverss of of work requirements uh for uh for for SNAP recipients, but she did indeed try to she was concerned about both uh and it was because of the uh the obstrusities of the bird rule uh and the workarounds that they could not achieve that.
▶ 8:44:07Um but nevertheless her concern is something that I think all Americans should also share that these terrible work requirements uh that are really uh uh as as my colleague Sarah McBride called them uh trickle down cruelty uh a golden shower of benefit cuts.
▶ 8:44:29you're trying to uh impose uh this paperwork, this this intended inefficiency, intended government inefficiency in order to cause people to not get their benefits uh because we'll just lose many many people through the cracks. Um currently 1.6 million veterans rely on Medicaid.
▶ 8:44:52And while the bill may exempt veterans with 100% VA disability ratings, it would still subject many uh as many as 1 million other veterans to bureaucratic red tape just to keep their healthcare. We shouldn't be doing this to our veterans. We shouldn't be doing this to anybody who is going through a complicated set of life experiences. Whether it might be taking care uh of a loved one, being a caregiver or any number of different things that we could imagine.
▶ 8:45:21People who are uh lower income are facing tremendous life choices. And our veterans uh you know, we can all imagine what what sorts of trials and tribulations our veterans are going through. Veterans with disability ratings other than 100% may still have service connected disabilities that present significant impairments to employment. Singling out veterans with 100% disability ratings is not reform. It's cruelty. Our veterans have sacrificed enough at the altar of freedom.
▶ 8:45:50We should not be forcing them to sacrifice even more. Second, if you're going to rip away veterans healthcare, at least we should the least we should do is tell them. My amendment would require HHS to notify veterans who are losing Medicaid coverage due to this bill. Third, I've offered a similar amendment requiring USDA to notify veterans and service members if they're being kicked off as SNAP. Over 1.2 million veterans live in households that receive food assistance through SNAP.
▶ 8:46:17Again, this bill takes away from those who served and gives to those who stockpile wealth without sacrifice. And if I had had uh enough imagination, I would have offered an amendment uh to uh provide a waiver to our veterans uh who are on SNAP in the way that uh Senator Macowski was able to get a waiver for the people of of Alaska uh got the waiver uh for those work benefit for those uh work requirements for those Alaskans uh
▶ 8:46:48who are in need of SNAP. We should have done the same for our veterans. Fourth and fifth, I propose creating websites through HHS and USDA to help veterans navigate the fallout to provide information about alternative health care and nutrition resources for those losing Medicaid and SNAP coverage. It's a modest effort to clean up the mess this bill creates.
▶ 8:47:07I also have an amendment that would strike the bill's decadel long delay of the 2023 borrower defense rule implementation, a consumer protection rule that provides loan relief to borrowers who've been defrauded by their colleges. Student loan borrowers should not be forced to repay loans for classes or degrees from schools that have lied to, deceived, or misled them.
▶ 8:47:29This delay makes it significantly harder for student borrowers to make a successful claim when they are victims of misconduct and cuts predatory institutions and loan services a break instead of pushing students to and over the brink of default uh that which devastates individuals, their families and taxpayers. We should not be paying for tax breaks for the wealthy by making students have to pay on their loans that they have been defrauded on uh by these forprofit monstrosities.
▶ 8:48:00Madam Chair, I and I yield back. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, ranking member, members of the committee. I honestly can't believe that I'm sitting here today again to try to convince my Republican colleagues that it's immoral to sell off the health of the American people in order to cut taxes for multi-millionaires and billionaires. But that's exactly what the Republicans big beautiful bill does.
▶ 8:48:28Unfortunately, the Republicans's budget is even worse than the last time I sat here before this committee and pleaded with the Republicans to not make the largest cut to Medicaid in our nation's history and upend our nation's health care system. But here we are discussing this bill yet again and the cuts are even bigger and the impact on our health care will be even worse. The Republicans budget is a betrayal of the American people. It is the largest cut to Medicaid in our nation's history. 1.1 trillion dollars in health care cuts.
▶ 8:48:58It will kick 17 million Americans off their health insurance. It will force hospitals to shut down. It will force nursing homes to shut down. It will restrict access to reproductive health care. It will increase health care costs. It will increase premiums. It will increase out-of- pocket costs. It will make more families go bankrupt from medical debt. It will our nation's health. And that's not even getting into any of the rest of the disaster of this bill.
▶ 8:49:22the largest cut to food assistance in our nation's history, killing more jobs in one single bill than ever before in history, increasing consumer energy costs, raising property taxes in all 87 counties of my home state, exploding the national debt. The list goes on, but I'm a doctor and I'm thinking about people's health. And today, I want to talk about the unconscionable disaster this bill is for Americans health and our nation's health care system.
▶ 8:49:47One thing I want every single American to know is that even if you don't use Medicaid, even if you don't know anyone who uses Medicaid, the Republican budget will affect you, too. It doesn't matter what insurance you have when your local hospital closes. And with this budget, hospitals will close. Clinics will close. This will be a catastrophe for all of us. We will all have less access to health care. It's incredibly dangerous. But I don't want us to lose sight of the human impact of this.
▶ 8:50:17As this bill gets closer to becoming the law of the land, I can't stop thinking about my patients. I see their faces. The faces of the mothers and the families I've taken care of who got their health insurance through Medicaid. Do they not matter? Are they somehow less important? Where are they supposed to go to get health care? 80 million Americans get their health insurance through Medicaid. Almost half of all American children get their coverage through Medicaid. What are you doing?
▶ 8:50:45Where is your What is the most chilling and soul crushing part of this entire process is that the Republican majority doesn't care. They don't care. And this isn't speculative. It isn't being presumptuous or guessing about their intentions. They are literally telling us. The vice president of the United States, JD Vance, called gutting Medicaid minutia and kicking millions of Americans off their health insurance immaterial.
▶ 8:51:12Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said Americans who are concerned about losing Medicaid will quote get over it. Republican Senator Joanie Erns defended the life-threatening gutting of Medicaid by saying, "Well, we are all going to As we sit here today, I am outraged by what Republicans are doing to future generations. I never want to hear Republicans say that they are the party of families ever again. Half of all children in the United States of America get their healthc care coverage through Medicaid.
▶ 8:51:43One in every four children in the United States of America get food assistance through SNAP. Republicans are taking away health care and food from our children in order in order to prioritize billionaires and perpetuate wealth inequality. It's wrong. It's immoral. It's unconscionable. We haven't even begun to unpack all the ways in which this bill is a moral abomination and honestly an embarrassment of a piece of legislation.
▶ 8:52:09If you were serious about putting together a good budget for the American people, you wouldn't try to shove it through on an artificial deadline. You wouldn't force debate through the dark cover of night. You wouldn't vote on it without even reading the text of the bill. But the Republican majority is just unquestioningly doing the president's bidding. They have seated all of their power to the president who is beholden to his billionaire class. The more the American people learn about this bill, the more they hate it.
▶ 8:52:38You've seen the polls. You've received the calls and emails. You know the American people don't want it. That's why I'm submitting an amendment an amendment to scrap the whole bill. Listen to the people you were sent here to represent. Let's start over. Write a bill for the American people, not the billionaires. Thank you, Madam Chair. With that, I Thank you, Mr. Amo. You're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
▶ 8:53:06Thank you, ranking member, and uh distinguished members of this committee. Look, we all know the saying. Uh we've heard it a bunch of times today probably. Budgets are a statement of values. You know, this has guided me through this process, this long process that we've been on and a big bad process.
▶ 8:53:24I think it's been 126 days ago in February, 82 days ago in April, and 40 days ago in May, the House voted on some form of this Republican scheme that would take the health care and food assistance away from millions to pay for tax breaks for the rich. Republican members in this chamber have had opportunity after opportunity to debate how to avoid hurting millions of people.
▶ 8:53:51You've had a chance, countless chances to improve this bill to state values. From the budget committee to the rules committee, I've been sounding the alarm alongside my Democratic colleagues. You know, we pulled a a college style allnighter to demand Republicans listen to these values we share, values that I hear at home in Rhode Island. Yet, here we are, July 1st, 2025, once again voting on this big bad bill for billionaires. Has it gotten any better?
▶ 8:54:21Nope. Republicans have undoubtedly made it worse. And every step of the way, every vote we've taken, every debate they've participated in, Republicans have been faced with a question. Does this budget reflect your values? And every single time, whether or not they've said it, they've answered with a resounding yes. Republicans value the wealthy over the working class. Republicans value tax breaks for billionaires over healthcare for the vulnerable.
▶ 8:54:50Time and time again, Republicans have refused to correct this reverse Robin Hood scheme. And I proudly voted no over and over in committee and on the floor. But Republicans refused to join us. And we'll try, I guess, through this process to make this bla bad blueprint uh to bolster billionaires a little less bad. Republicans are stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Period. It's immoral.
▶ 8:55:18And as such, I've introduced an amendment uh amendment 139 to raise the top tax rate back to 39.6%. This amendment fulfills a request from President Trump himself months ago. I'm not sure he knew what he was doing when he put it out there, but he called for raising taxes on millionaires. Let's do it. This bill also pushes the dream of higher education further out of reach for millions of Americans. So I introduced amendment 130.
▶ 8:55:46Uh I think it originally saw light in the Senate with one of my home state senators, Senator Sheldon White House to index the maximum PEL grant to inflation. This amendment honors the legacy of a great Rhode Islander, Senator Clayurn Pel, by ensuring vulnerable Americans and Rhode Islanders and students throughout the country can climb the ladder of success. This bill would rip away health insurance from nearly 17 million Americans.
▶ 8:56:15I introduced amendment 96 uh to block implementation of these dangerous policies until we confirm and have certainty that Medicaid enrolles won't lose coverage. Pretty common sense. We've heard over and over and over again, this bill does not take Medicaid away from a single person. after all of that insistence, if you pass this amendment, you will make it the case that not a single person will lose coverage. This is a common sense amendment.
▶ 8:56:44But let's be very clear with no ambiguity. This bill takes 17 million Americans off of Medicaid, no matter how you slice it. Now, we also know that this bill would gut the tax policies that spurred a clean energy boom throughout the country. This will increase Rhode Islanders, people in the Northeast, people across this country already sky-high energy bills and eliminate thousands of jobs. So, I introduced Amendment 106.
▶ 8:57:15We I know this also uh was led in the Senate by another one of my senators, uh Jack Reid. uh and it blocks bad policies from taking effect until we confirm electricity prices will not be increased for any American household. Make a commitment to the American people that the priorities that Republicans have put forth for months and months and months that they've articulated actually have the a potential of seeing the light of day. But I don't think that will be the case.
▶ 8:57:44And this bill uh would eliminate two taxes on gun silencers, shortbarreled rifles and shortbarreled shotguns. This would make Americans uh less safe from gun violence and cost $1.7 billion over 10 years. There is no better definition of a lose-lose. And yet this found its way into this big ugly bill.
▶ 8:58:08So, I'm proud to lead uh co-lead uh Congressman Mike to Thompson's amendment 146, which would strike this dangerous and expensive provision. These amendments won't solve everything. They will blunt uh the brunt of the big bad bill's betrayal for the American people. So, I'll leave you with this. This bill is worse now. I'm an emphatic hell no. And I beg you, vote no. I yield back. Thank you, Representative Vansari. You're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair.
▶ 8:58:38Since 8 am this morning, I have been leading a readin for our future, joined by students, joined by labor unions, joined by advocates, other members of Congress to read the almost 1,000 pages of the big ugly bill and expose just how cruel and egregious it is. I have spent all day hosting readers for this. We started outside the capital. Now people are still downstairs trying to get through this bill and it still is going to take another couple of hours.
▶ 8:59:05So, to my Republican colleagues, I have a genuine question for you. I'm sure all of your constituents would like to know, have you read this bill? I mean, have you taken the time to even try to look at it, try to skim it? I mean, new text came out today. And if you have, does does all of us being here right now, sitting here, mean that you're okay with everything that's in Are you okay with millions of people losing their health care as a result of this bill?
▶ 8:59:34Are you okay with people losing their homes as a result of this bill? Are you okay with millions of jobs being lost because of the clean energy roll backs? Are you okay with billions of dollars going to ICE to rip families away from one another to allow and enable Donald Trump to continue to break the law and to cement himself as a dictator of what is now an authoritarian Either way, honestly, I don't know which one is
▶ 9:00:05worse, but I know that either way, your constituents and Americans deserve so much better than this. I'm here today offering nine amendments to mitigate the drastic impacts that this bill would have in this country. I would like to highlight three of those amendments. My first amendment would prevent the natural resources title of this bill from taking effect until all subsidies for the fossil fuel industry are eliminated from the federal government.
▶ 9:00:32By even the most conservative estimates, the federal government gives $20.5 billion of fossil fuel subsidies to big oil annually. But Americans are not getting a fair return on their investment. In fiscal year 2022, direct subsidies to big oil exceeded revenue by $2.1 billion. Beyond dollars, the human toll of the climate crisis is staggering. Extreme heat, which is a deadly issue in my district, is already claiming 1300 lives annually.
▶ 9:01:02By the way, extreme heat actually kills more people than tornadoes, floods, and the majority of natural disasters combined. Researchers estimate that if we continue to heavily rely on fossil fuels, extreme heat deaths could rise to li lives lost annually. We have to turn away from fossil fuels. They're a bad investment for our future, both from a fiscal and a human health perspective.
▶ 9:01:30I'm also offering an amendment that would require the Secretary of Interior and controller general to ensure that this bill would not result in increased energy costs for Americans. Instead of investing in clean renewable energy, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are using this big ugly bill to continue giving handouts to big oil and fossil fuel polluters at the expense of working families. I serve on the Natural Resources Committee.
▶ 9:01:55We have had a number of hearings titled Unleashing American Energy Dominance. But then when you get into the weeds of it, there's no discussion of renewable energy. There's all of this talk about unleashing oil and gas all across the country when we already produce more more oil and gas than any country in the world at any point in our history.
▶ 9:02:16At a time when energy prices are soaring and so many Americans are struggling to pay their bills, the last thing that we should be doing is enacting policies that will increase energy prices even further. Unfortunately, that's exactly what this bill does. If my Republican colleagues are serious about lowering costs for Americans, they should have no problem supporting my amendment to ensure that this bill does not result in higher energy costs before it takes effect.
▶ 9:02:42And lastly, I'm submitting an amendment that would utilize any alleged savings made by cuts to education funding to fill budget shortfalls in the Pell Grant program. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Pell Grant program will have a shortfall of about $2.7 billion at the end of fiscal year 2025, which would widen to 9.9 billion by the end of 2026. It would then widen by 7 billion every year.
▶ 9:03:07This big ugly bill tries to solve this problem by stripping Pellgrant eligibility from single parents and workers who need to go to school part-time. Pell grants make getting a degree possible for people. For rural families, working families, students who are the first in their families to ever be able to go to college. These are future teachers and nurses and doctors and innovators. We cannot make school even more unaffordable and out of reach for them. This bill is a massive step backward for our future.
▶ 9:03:36It sells out our communities, guts our healthcare, and slashes programs that millions of Americans depend on. Letting this bill pass will be a death sentence for many in this country. And the fact that you can all sit here so callously, not caring at all and doing whatever it is that Donald Trump tells you to do is disgusting. I yield back. Representative Vespay, you're recognized.
▶ 9:04:04Thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the committee. Um, the American people will probably see this exercise and consider it to be an exercise in futility that dozens of members of Congress come before this committee. They present meritorious amendments uh to make this bill better and they're not heard.
▶ 9:04:34But in fact, I I don't feel that it is a collective testimony of where we stand on this bill. And this bill does not live up to the promises that Republicans made to the American people. Americans told were told once, twice, three times, forever that Medicaid uh was safe from from cuts.
▶ 9:05:01Instead, uh, we see provisions that will cause millions of Americans to lose their health care and millions more to pay higher premiums and co-pays. Americans were told that Republicans were putting power back in the hands of states. But we see policies that would attempt to control how states decide to use their own state funding. Americans were told that this bill will reduce the deficit and restore the middle class.
▶ 9:05:30And yet we see instead this bill would allow for millions in tax cuts to the very wealthy and add trillions of dollars uh to the national debt. So this is a collective testimony that we're putting forward today that shows how the Republican party has failed the American and hundreds uh several hundred amendments have been brought forward including 112 amendments
▶ 9:06:01from members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus which I am proud to chair. I have introduced uh three amendments. Madame Chair, amendment uh 312 will require a study on how Medicaid cuts will impact safety net hospitals and federally qualified health centers that provide services uh to medically underserved communities.
▶ 9:06:26And that's so important because they will get disproportionately hurt by these cuts. these safety nets hospitals will potentially have to close and so we must measure the level of hurt that this betrayal will perpetrate against the American people.
▶ 9:06:45Medicaid cuts are not just obviously harmful to patients, but they are also detrimental to health care facilities that predominantly ser serve Medicaid and Medicare recipients. Now I have 488,000 Medicaid recipients in my district. This will severely hurt more than half much more than half of the district.
▶ 9:07:10Many of them are seniors, children, women that uh relied on Medicaid and will see this program gutted. uh in the district there are 18 uh funded uh health care centers, federally funded health care center that that provide services to over 1 million people every year. So this will devastate the district. This will devastate the country.
▶ 9:07:36But ultimately, this is a collective testimony that we're putting forward that amass the betrayal of the Republican party to the American people on the pledges that you you made that you would not cut Medicaid. And in fact, we're seeing that you're devastating it. I've also introduced amendment 282, which will require also a study on on SNAP cuts, the biggest cuts in SNAP history. Yeah.
▶ 9:08:05This big is this bill is big. All right. Is the biggest cut in healthc care in the history of our country. It's the biggest cut in food stamps in the history of our country. And it's the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the richest in America. So this big is this bill is big. All right. in those three categories.
▶ 9:08:30And the cuts in SNAP will not only hurt recipients, but it will hurt small businesses, grocery stores, bodega owners that rely in many cases 50% of their business is through food stamps, the SNAP program. So, they will be hurt. Small businesses, grocerers, not just in cities, but in rural areas as well.
▶ 9:08:52And finally, Madame Chair, uh I have amendment 320 which will prohibit funds from being used uh uh to uh conduct immigration enforce enforcement in houses of worship, in churches, in synagogues and temples across America. You should not be afraid to be arrested and deported when you go pray to your God. 65% of the American people believe so. These are the three amendments.
▶ 9:09:21People don't want this bill. I urge the adoption of the amendments and I yield back. Representative Williams, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you members of the committee for being here to listen to us after a very long day. Y'all, I'm at the rules committee for the second time this Congress to try and fix the billionaire bailout budget, the most expensive single bill in American history, transferring wealth from working people to billionaires.
▶ 9:09:49I thought back in May that this bill just couldn't get any worse. But the Senate said, "Just wait." And they actually proved me wrong because the bill is actually worse. The first time the House debated and passed this bill, my Republican colleagues tried to hide it from the American people, debating it in the middle of the night, hoping that folks back home wouldn't notice what they were doing. This time, their cruelty has been on display in broad daylight all day long.
▶ 9:10:18My Republican colleagues are forcing a bill through that, Madam Chair, most of your colleagues haven't read this bill. They're voting to take food from the mouths of millions of families without even reading the bill. Democrats and Republican families alike who were allowing SNAP. And y'all need to understand that the reliance on SNAP and the strain on food banks, they serve meals to millions across this country. Not my constituents, but across all districts.
▶ 9:10:48When SNAP is slashed, food banks feel the pain in real time. Higher demand, increased strain on volunteers and donated supplies. This would make a bad situation worse for food banks across the country, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank in my district, which is already struggling after a $15 million funding cut following the defunding of local food purchase assistant cooperative agreement programs under this Republican administration.
▶ 9:11:14But I need to be clear, just because the Atlanta Community Food Bank is headquartered in my district, it 14 districts across the state. I was hoping that my colleagues from Georgia would have been here when I had an opportunity to speak because in the third congressional district of Georgia, the Atlanta Community Fe Food Bank serves people there. And I know that some of my other Republican colleagues in Georgia, four of them also are served by the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
▶ 9:11:44Real people like my constituent Denanisha will suffer. Madam Chair, Denanisha is among the 1.4 million people who receive SNAP benefits in Georgia. She's a mother of five already struggling on SNAP just to make ends meet. I had an opportunity to to talk with Denanisha because she contacted my office after she discovered that her SNAP benefits were missing from her EBT card. Denanisha says that she will do anything to feed her kids.
▶ 9:12:12That sounds like any and every mama that I know. Denanisha turned to food pantries to help her family and she told me food pantries are struggling too right now and they could not even help me to feed my family. When SNAP is threatened, food banks are often the only place families can turn. So today I propose an amendment adding a food bank relief fund to the bill.
▶ 9:12:35My amendment would appropriate $25 billion to the emergency food assistance program supporting food banks that so many people turn to in these uncertain times. That's only a drop in the bucket compared to the billionaire tax cuts. The food bank relief fund is just one of the 18 amendments that I'm leading today. This moment will go down in history no matter what path my Republican colleagues choose.
▶ 9:13:01I've chosen to fight for the people in my district who've called me day and night to ask me to oppose this bill. But make no mistake, this bill is not about cracking down on fraud or waste or abuse because we're all against that. It's about taking food from children and seniors who depend on SNAP and ripping away the health care from nearly 17 million Americans who need Medicaid.
▶ 9:13:24Although I know my Republican colleagues will refuse to change their billionaire bailout budget and accept any of these amendments, I'll continue to bring the voice of the American people that would be harmed by this bill into the debate. Y'all, I came I came to Congress to serve the people. And I've heard from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle claiming that they're here to serve the people as well, but the Republican budget abandons them. These are real people, not line items in a budget. Families who rely on SNAP to keep their children fed.
▶ 9:13:54Seniors choosing between food and medical treatments. Veterans already without stable housing. Instead of delivering for them and the promise of America, you're giving tax breaks to billionaires. That's not public service. It's betrayal. So when you go home to your districts, you'll have to answer for it. I know I'm going to answer to my constituents that I'm fighting for. I yel back, Madam Chair. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Bonamichi. You're recognized.
▶ 9:14:23Uh thank you to the chair and the ranking member, and thank you to the rules committee uh for being here and for listening to us today. I want to first uh align myself with so many excellent amendments that are designed to stop the harm that will come from these devastated devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. I met with hospital leaders, the hospital association, the leaders of the community health clinics. They the word that they agreed was applicable is catastrophic.
▶ 9:14:50Uh 97% of Oregonians have insurance and that is because we have been very innovative and forward with Medicaid expansion and one in three Oregonians including many children get their healthcare through Medicaid. But I want to talk about a couple of other issues that are in this uh big bad bill that are not getting as much attention. The first is my amendment number 348 about student loans.
▶ 9:15:14This bill is a sweeping calculated assault on American families, on students, and on institutes that institutes of higher education that give people uh the opportunity uh to be educated. This bill attacks higher education, make it making it even more expensive for students and their families. It eliminates plus loans. It modifies repayment plans to remove some of the lowest cost options for borrowers. Monthly student loan payments will increase dramatically.
▶ 9:15:42So my amendment number 348 provides a a necessary protection for existing student loan borrowers who are shortchanged under this terrible bill. These borrowers made important life-changing decisions based on the loan pay programs and repayment plans that were available to them at the time. They should not have to have unfavorably unfavorable loan terms forced on them just to pay for Republican tax cuts for billionaires. So, if left unchanged, this bill will set more borrowers up uh to fail.
▶ 9:16:11As written, it will dramatically increase the number of borrowers who will default. None of us want that. It's not good for borrowers. It's not good for the economy, and it's not good for the country. So, I urge my colleagues to support this common sense amendment to honor the promise that's made to student loan borrowers and allow them to remain in their current plans. Uh my second uh amendment I'd like to speak in favor of is number 436 and this strips the so-called institutional accountability provisions. The damage doesn't stop with student borrowers.
▶ 9:16:41It slams doors of opportunity shut for those who need it most. So in addition to making colleges and universities less affordable, this bill targets specific programs of study based on ignorant and arbitrary lowearning outcomes. Although the Senate's accountability proposal is unquestionably better for schools than the House House's so-called risk sharing plan, I'm glad that's out.
▶ 9:17:03The Senate's bill would discriminate against programs that lead to careers in valuable but perhaps lowpaying fields, especially in public service and the arts. What if a student wants to join the Peace Corps or become an early childhood educator? These are fields with low salaries, but that doesn't mean the work isn't valuable or that the students didn't benefit from their education.
▶ 9:17:24An analysis from the Urban Institute found that programs in human development, health and medical, administrative services, human services, and teacher education, they will all see the greatest losses. Uh, Madam Chair, people should not be punished for choosing service over salary. My amendment would strike this harmful provision so colleges and universities will not be penalized for the career paths their graduates choose to pursue.
▶ 9:17:48If my colleagues are truly interested in accountability for higher education, they can support gainful employment and the 9010 rule. So, I urge my colleges colleagues to support this amendment and end the assault on these valuable educational programs that make our country stronger, more innovative, and more competitive. The next two amendments are related. One is from ranking member Scott and the other is mine because this bill doesn't just fail students, it fails children and families. So, Mr.
▶ 9:18:14Scott's amendment 279 and my amendment 388 stop American children from going hungry. Federal nutrition programs including wick snap school meals and more are investments in the health, learning and development of children and young adults across the country. There's no excuse for slashing lifelines to children in need. Every congressional district is home to people facing hunger. Now is not the time to be making everyday life harder for American families and taking away vital nutrition support.
▶ 9:18:43These amendments are pro- family, pro-children, pro- mom, unlike the rest of the big bad ugly bill. Uh, finally, I'm supporting three amendments from rep that I'm working on and co-sponsoring with Representative Magaziner, uh, having to do with Noah, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I serve on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and I know how important Noah is. But this bill sabotages safety and puts Americans directly in harm's way.
▶ 9:19:09So, these amendments will strike provisions that gut Noah and kneecap our ability to forecast weather, protect coastal communities, and maintain the very sanctuaries that sustain our fisheries, economy, and way of life. Rescending funds for Noah's permitting and reviews will delay overdue projects that are designed to blunt the worst extreme weather events and harm coastal economies. And stripping support for community resilience will leave families defenseless against rising seas and billiondoll disasters.
▶ 9:19:38Cutting research means we'll fly blind into I'm almost into the next hurricane, heatwave, or harmful algabloom event. This bill is like cutting off the fire hose during a five alarm fire. Uh, in summary, I didn't think this bill could get worse, but it did. It's regressive and reckless and strips healthcare, food assistance from millions. It's legislative malpractice, and history will remember those who stood up for those in need and those who voted to burn it all down. I yield back.
▶ 9:20:06Miss Goodlander, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Madame Chair, Ranking Member McGovern. I am here tonight before this committee once again because this is the last committee, the only committee standing in between the people who I work for, the hardworking people of New Hampshire, and this big bill. And I brought the bill with me tonight because you might call me oldfashioned, but I read every bill we vote on in this body.
▶ 9:20:31We've had this text for less than 12 hours and yet here we are tonight once again in the dead of night pushing this big brutal bill across the finish line in an arbitrary deadline. This bill is 887 pages. Even if you don't read this whole bill, which every member of this body should, it should catch your attention that it includes the biggest cuts to Medicaid in American history.
▶ 9:20:57It's a beautiful bill only for one group of people and that is the billionaires who are going to make out like bandits with tax giveaways galore. Tax giveaways that they don't need. For the rest of America, this is a brutal bill. Its brutality is measured in the trillions of taxpayer dollars that this bill is going to add to our already sky-high national debt.
▶ 9:21:20Its brutality is going to be measured in the costs that millions of fellow Americans will pay in dollars and in their lives that are going to be upended by this bill. Look, I've introduced we had very little time um way less time than any deliberative body should have to introduce amendments. I've introduced common sense amendments that try to go directly to the costs that this bill is going to impose on millions and millions of Americans.
▶ 9:21:49Energy costs and housing costs, health care costs and food costs. But what I want to say tonight is that when we vote on this bill, I hope every member of this body will keep in their minds and in their hearts the real cost, the real human beings who are going to pay the price. the little boy in the town of Bosowin whose life depends on Medicaid and on SNAP and whose life is going to be forever changed by this bill.
▶ 9:22:19He will be in my heart and on my mind when we vote on this bill. The cancer survivor in the city of Keen who literally would not be here today if this bill this big brutal bill were law today. She will be in my heart and on my mind.
▶ 9:22:36the patriotic health care providers in the north country of my who've come to me with tears in their eyes because they know that this bill is going to shut down critical access hospitals and people will die. They will be in my heart and so too will the extraordinary people I sat with this afternoon.
▶ 9:22:57And the last thing I did before I came down here to this committee was to sit with a group of extraordinary people who are trying to do the Lord's work in providing health care to those who need it most. They will be in my mind and on my and in my heart as we vote on this bill. I hope you will read every word.
▶ 9:23:20I hope that the absence of our Republican colleagues here tonight is not evidence that they are not paying attention to the harm that this bill is going to wreak on our country. I urge this committee to adopt the common sense amendments that have been put forth tonight. But no, no amendments can fix the damage that this bill is going to cause to our country. And that is why I'm a hard no. With that, I yield back.
▶ 9:23:49Thanks to uh all of our um uh witnesses. Mr. Austin, do you have any questions you would like to ask? I'm sorry, Mr. Scott. Yep. Mr. Scott, Mr. McGovern, I just want to I want to thank all of you for being here. Um your words are powerful.
▶ 9:24:14Um, and um, I think it's it reflect it reflects what the American people are thinking right now. Um, I think people are really scared and frightened uh, and especially those who have benefited from some of the programs that seem to be targeted. Um, so I uh, we will do everything we can on this committee to be wind at your backs um, to try to advocate for your amendments.
▶ 9:24:37Uh, I'm not going to ask any questions, but I I do want to um ask unanimous consent to insert in the record uh a letter that uh we just a state letter we just received from the Congressional Budget Office. Um basically telling us that this big awful bill got more expensive. Um you know, it you know since coming it has added an additional $110 billion to the Senate uh original Senate bill.
▶ 9:25:05So now it now brings it would increase the deficits um up by over $3.4 trillion not $3.3 trillion. So this every time we deal with this it gets more expensive. So um in any event I ask unanimous consent without objection. I thank you again. I yield back. Thanks Mr. Griffith. Okay Miss Gallen. Thank you. I just want to echo the ranking members thanks to all of you.
▶ 9:25:35um the passion which you have brought to this discussion and each of you telling the stories of your constituents and and trying to help people understand the problems with this bill. Um each of you in a different way. I think together the tapestry is really really powerful. I know some folks took some unusual members measures to make sure that um everybody knows what's in the bill and that's a huge undertaking as well. So thank you everyone for all your work. I yield back.
▶ 9:26:05Thank you, Mr. Negus. Thank you, uh, Madam Chair. I don't have any questions. I would echo the sentiments of the ranking member and, uh, Representative Scandlin, with respect to thanking the witnesses for their impassioned testimony and certainly believe all of their amendments should be considered by the committee. Hope springs eternal that perhaps we'll be able to convince our our colleagues in the majority to consider them. I guess one note that uh I think bears mentioning and it's in response to Dr.
▶ 9:26:34Morrison's testimony just because it's rare that we have an opportunity to have someone who has spent her entire career serving patients and ultimately closest to the people who will be devastated by this bill. I I'm curious if you've heard from hospitals uh in Minnesota in the last I guess 24 hours here, 12 hours since the passage of the Senate bill.
▶ 9:27:02And the reason I asked that question is I've certainly heard from Colorado hospitals and we're kind of coating a lot of these statements that are now being issued this evening and earlier today from hospital associations across the country. I was just reading one uh from Virginia and just detailing the impacts to souththeast and southwest Virginia in particular the rural hospitals that are going to be closing uh if the Senate language ultimately is signed into law. So I I wonder if that's consistent with what you're hearing.
▶ 9:27:31Well, it certainly is. Um and I think it reflects everyone's experience. The hospitals in my district and across the state of Minnesota are literally panicking. um some of the longtime there are two kind of main safety net hospitals in Minneapolis and they both are concerned that they will have to shut their doors and the implications for the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area, the state, the region are catastrophic.
▶ 9:28:01We've used the word catastrophic a few times tonight. Um so yes, I've I've been hearing from hospitals, from providers, from patients panic. Well, I uh I've heard the same and it's all the more reason why I think your amendment ought to be adopted.
▶ 9:28:20I also look forward to the debate on the floor tomorrow because there are a number of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who made a lot of noise in advance of the Senate's consideration of this bill making the case that the Senate's approach to hospital provider fees was a in their view far less compassionate approach and there are many of our colleagues who signed letters to that effect directed to members of the United States Senate Republican
▶ 9:28:50members of the House who made the case that they simply could not support the approach that the Senate was taking because it would close rural hospitals in their districts. And now they're going to have an opportunity to uh perhaps test the adage of, you know, action speaking louder than words because they'll have an opportunity to vote up or down on this bill, it seems.
▶ 9:29:15So, in any event, thank you for all the witnesses and I'll yield back, Madam Thank you, Mr. Negus. Miss Leisure Fernandez. Uh once again, I join the and echo the comments about being concerned as well as the concerns about hospitals including South Carolina Hospital Association, Louisiana Hospital Association, Kentucky Hospital Association, like they're all concerned and they recognize it.
▶ 9:29:39And interestingly enough, some of the associations like in Kentucky as well as in uh South Carolina and North Carolina, they actually point out we liked the House bill better, right? So now it's back over here as a really bad bill. And the question is what are the legislators, what are the Congress people going to do here, right? are they going to stand up for? We didn't like their bill, but at least it wasn't as bad as what the Senate is doing to their own hospitals.
▶ 9:30:09And with regards to reading the bill, several of you mentioned that uh Representative Onsari, uh that question actually was asked of the committee ranking members and chairs and they were here having to testify in a bill that they hadn't had time to read. So, you're bringing to light what was in that bill, I think, is very important for the American public. Your testimony tonight bringing to light through your amendments is very important to the American public.
▶ 9:30:36Hopefully everybody is going to watch it and see it because we're all going to post it and retweet it and repost it. So if you're watching out there and you like what they said, make sure that you're letting your neighbors uh and friends and family know so your neighbors, friends, and family won't get kicked off of their Medicaid, their Medicare, their Affordable Care Act, their Women's Reproductive Hack, their education, loans, everything. So, thank you so very much.
▶ 9:31:06Thank you, Miss Leisure Fernandez. Thank you to our witnesses. You all are Kennedy, Clyde, Frost, Adams, Kam, Leger, Dove, Washerman, Schultz,
▶ 9:32:34Uh, I know most of you have been here for a while and you've heard what I've said before. Your written comments will be put into the record if you give them to us. We ask you to keep your uh verbal comments to five minutes. Um, I don't see Mr. Gleman. He was here Um, we'll slot him in here. Uh, Dr.
▶ 9:33:02Adams, if you want us move up one, you don't have to, but you'll be after Mr. If you or prefer, you can just stay right where you are. Mr. Kennedy, I think you win the prize for being here the longest. I'm not sure. Thank you. most patient.
▶ 9:33:25You're Duly noted. Duly, he might have something to say about that after tonight. Well, I'll get right to it. Chairwoman, thank you very much. Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the committee.
▶ 9:33:54Today, I offer a critical amendment to strike section 7113, which targets and defunds community health centers that provide family planning services, even in states where those services are protected by law.
▶ 9:34:09The broader provisions in the underlying legislation, the big ugly bill, include the massive cuts to Medicaid, which would decimate access to care for millions of Americans, particularly lowincome women, children, and seniors. In May, when we convened at 1 in the morning in this very room, I sat here the entire night and listened. I listened to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle talk about the implications of this bill.
▶ 9:34:40When it was finally my turn to speak around 11:00 a.m. that morning, I stood up and sounded the alarm and one by one so did my Democratic colleagues. We highlighted the consequences of moving forward with this dangerous legislation and exactly who would be harmed in all communities across the country.
▶ 9:35:04In response, the Republican majorities shoved this legislation through anyway, with many members later claiming they were unaware of what was actually even in the bill. And now here we are again after the Senate Republicans somehow managed to make this legislation worse. This isn't just the largest healthc care cut in American history. It's a direct attack on Americans.
▶ 9:35:29This legislation cuts more than a trillion dollars from Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act, leaving nearly 17 million Americans As a representative of a community with people who depend on these services, including 110,000 children, let me focus on what's at stake with the Medicaid provisions outlined in this bill.
▶ 9:35:56Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, nearly 25 million Americans nationwide have gained access to care through the Medicaid expansion. That means moms have access to prenatal and postnatal care.
▶ 9:36:12Children can get regular checkups, and people struggling to put food on the table can still see a doctor before minor issues become It means those in rural areas, often far from major hospitals, can visit clinics, access teleaalth services, or get prescriptions filled without having to travel hours for basic preventative care. In New York, expanding Medicaid has given over 1 million people access to care.
▶ 9:36:42With this bill, New York will face billions of dollars in new costs while other states could see their expansions repealed entirely. This will cost every single state in this country dearly, both financially and in the human cost.
▶ 9:37:05I cannot understand why members of this majority would rip life-saving care away from their constituents in the name of tax breaks for billionaires. It's unconscionable. As an occupational therapist myself, I've worked with patients young and old, people who rely on Medicaid for necessary care. Without access to care, our health care system will become destabilized and these same patients will suffer.
▶ 9:37:33And for those not on Medicaid who can afford private health insurance, they'll be sent back to the bad old days, forced to deal with overcrowded emergency rooms, more expensive premiums, higher co-pays, and more costly deductibles. Everybody gets hurt. In the meantime, hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centers will close.
▶ 9:38:01Congressional Republicans are forcing families to choose between life-saving medicine and going hungry. And they're putting lives at risk. This Republican bill shifts the burden to states, to hospitals, and to the people who can least afford it. It's an attack on the American people.
▶ 9:38:21It makes Americans less safe and health care less Healthcare is a human right, not a luxury reserved for the few. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I'll be voting no on this big, ugly bill. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy.
▶ 9:38:45Representative Clyde, you are Thank you, Madam Chair. I appear before you today uh to testify in support of my amendment to eliminate the tax registration requirements for suppressors and shortbread firearms under the National Firearms Act. House Republicans have a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to deliver real conservative constitutional change in Washington.
▶ 9:39:13This Congress has laid out bold priorities for President Trump's one big beautiful bill, including tax relief for working families and small businesses, major investments in border security, strengthening our military, and unleashing American energy. Yet, we also have a rare opportunity to restore significant Second Amendment freedoms. For 91 years, yes, 91 years, the National Firearms Act has unjustly sub subjected American gun owners to unconstitutional infringements on our Second Amendment freedoms.
▶ 9:39:43When I came to Washington, I promised to not only protect and defend my constituents second amendment rights, but to restore these God-given freedoms that have been taken from us. Removing the National Firearms Act taxation and registration of suppressors and shortbread firearms provides a tremendous step towards achieving this critical goal. That's why for months I've led the fight to ensure that we deliver as many pro-2A wins, pro- second amendment wins in the budget reconciliation as possible.
▶ 9:40:11I successfully added a provision to the House passed bill to eliminate the unconstitutional taxation and registration for suppressors under the Draconian National Firearms Act. I then worked closely with my Senate Republicans to go a step further by eliminating both the National Firearms Act taxation and registration requirements for shortbread firearms as well. However, the unelected Senate parliamentarian struck this provision down erroneously claiming that it violated the bird rule.
▶ 9:40:40I eminently disagree with her and I believe many of her rulings prove she's incapable of making sound nonpartisan decisions. Let me be perfectly clear. The taxation and registration under the National Firearms Act are inseparably linked. The registration database is the method used by the government to account for the tax paid on each firearm by the serial number of the firearm. And I'd like to show you something.
▶ 9:41:06This is um this is an example right here of the tax stamp itself for any of you who want to look at it. All right. This is a tax stamp from an actual um form for National Firearms Act, NFA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives form 4. And it says right here, submit the appropriate tax payment, and we will affix the National Firearms Act stamp. And this is the stamp right here. As you can see, it has a serial number on it.
▶ 9:41:36This is actually the serial number of the firearm for which the tax was paid. And you have the date 911 19 or 2022. And then you have another one right here, a different serial number for a different transfer tax. And another one. And another one. And another one. All of them you see are a National Firearms Act tax. Now you have two taxes.
▶ 9:42:02You have one that's a $5 tax and then you have one that's a $200 tax depending upon the type of firearm. In this particular case, it's a $200 Therefore, if you have no tax, you have no foundation for the registration database. Des despite this fact, the unelected Senate parliamentarian determined that the pro-second amendment provision in the Senate bill was not budget related and therefore violated the bird rule. This is simply false.
▶ 9:42:32Her ruling was flatout wrong. The tax stamp right here is clear evidence that you have a serial number of a firearm used to document the registration and the tax on the form itself. While I still believe eliminating the taxation of these firearms takes an impressive chunk out of the infringement caused by the National Firearms Act and sets up a strong foundation to challenge the registration requirements in court. I never want to rely on the courts.
▶ 9:43:01I believe we can and must do more. That's why I've introduced this amendment, which reinserts the Second Amendment victories the American people demand and deserve. My amendment would ensure the Senate has another opportunity to consider my common sense provision to remove these firearms from the tax database of the National Firearms Act. This amendment gives us another chance to eliminate the 91-year-old taxation and registration of suppressors and shortbread firearms.
▶ 9:43:31championing American Second Amendment liberties instead of tolerating the partisan unelected Senate parliamentarians illogical ruling. The American people are demanding that we fight and my amendment ensures that the fight lives on. I urge this committee to make my amendment in order to restore Americans Second Amendment rights and I look forward to taking any questions. Thank you and I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Clyde. Representative Frost, you're recognized.
▶ 9:44:00Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. This is truly, I believe, an evil bill that should never become law. The single trans single largest transfer of wealth from the working poor and the working class to the ultra rich, billionaires, and mega corporations in this nation's history. And I don't understand why anyone would vote for it, at least anyone that's read it. And of course, after this passed the House last time, many a few Republican members came out to admit that they didn't read the full bill.
▶ 9:44:31Well, I did. And this list of unacceptable policies, I think, are important to bring up, things that we should definitely strike. I mean, this bill is big and is evil. Taking away healthc care coverage from nearly 17 million people, 11.8 8 million people who would lose their care due to cuts on on Medicaid. Approximately 5 million people who would lose their care due to Republicans sabotaging the Affordable Care Act.
▶ 9:44:57And in Florida alone, more than 1.9 million people could lose their Children eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, will be out of coverage and have annual and lifetime limits set on their care. organization's Planned Parenthood is defunded, leaving many people with nowhere to go for cancer screenings and prenatal care. Hundreds of billion dollars will be cut from Medicare, reducing access to care for seniors.
▶ 9:45:24States will be stripped of the ability to raise funding to provide health care to their lowest income residents. Hospitals and nursing homes will be closed, especially those in rural and underserved communities. In fact, studies show one in four nursing homes would be forced to shut down. Nursing homes will be less safe by dramatically reducing staffing and safety standards by closing 338 rural hospitals and 590 579 nursing homes.
▶ 9:45:54Co-pays for people on Medicaid will increase. Those able to stay on the marketplace coverage would see annual premiums nearly double to $1,300 or $3,000 for families. Monthly health insurance premiums for millions of families will spike by failing to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that expire at the end of 2025.
▶ 9:46:15And as a result, 4.2 million more Americans will become The thrifty food plan, which helps people on tight budgets eat healthy, will shrink. Free school meals that are jeopardized by threatening SNAP eligibility for millions of children, literally taking the food out of children's mouths in schools. Food banks will be further strained and they're already at a breaking point. Millions would lose their SNAP benefits.
▶ 9:46:41Single mothers and families trying to feed themselves and their children's and their children. Grocery costs could rise for 40 million Americans. Energy bills will increase by up to $400 per year for families across the country and 10% for businesses. This puts nearly 400,000 jobs at risk. It can push mortgages to increase by more than $1,000 a year and small businesses loan small business loans by more than $800 a year.
▶ 9:47:08Taxes will increase for nearly 100 million families who pay an average of $1,000 or more a year. Meanwhile, the top 0.1, not 1%, the top 0.1%, the billionaires, will gain $39,000 in 2027 alone. That's $847 a day. Certain clean energy tax credits from the inflation action reduction act will end which reverses progress on combating the climate crisis and climate change.
▶ 9:47:38The climate collapse will be sped up by requiring a minimum of four oil and gas leases each year um in each of the nine western states. Support for our national parks and other federal recreation land will be cut. A permanent unlimited tax credit for private school vouchers will be created. And this tax credit would give private schools two to three times the tax benefit of other nonprofit organizations such as houses of worship, veterans groups, and homeless shelters.
▶ 9:48:06Literally taking food from our public education system and putting it in the hands of the private system. Borrowers uh student loan borrowers ability to pause student loan payments when experiencing unemployment or financial hardships will end. Monthly student loan payments will be even more expensive for borrowers due to eliminating the SAVE plan and replacing all incomedriven repayment plans with a new, more expensive repayment assistant plan.
▶ 9:48:34The Consumer Financial Protections Bureau will be dramatically slashed by capping the amount of money from 6.5% down to 12%, making it easier for banks and creditors and other huge corporations to rip off our people. And there's so much more in this bill that harms our constituents, that harms people across this country. I urge people to read the bill and vote no on it. And I do have to bring up one thing because Representative Hank Johnson earlier brought up some Bible verses about taking care of each other, the poor.
▶ 9:49:02And Madam Chair, you looked at him and said, "You read those verses, which is great that you read them." I read them, too. James 2:26 says, "Faith without works is dead." So, we can read the Bible verses all you want, but until you stand up for the health care of people, the poor, the people in our communities, those works are dead. I yield back. I know that scripture very well, too. Dr. Adams, you're recognized.
▶ 9:49:33Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to uh our ranking member and all the committee members. Uh this is just not a beautiful bill. It's backwards. It's a it's beyond beautiful. As a matter of fact, it's a betrayal uh to the American people and it's going to hurt a lot of beautiful people uh just to give tax breaks to billionaires. Let me just speak about North Carolina because North Carolina Medicaid recipients would lose their healthcare.
▶ 9:50:03North Carolina would have to pay more than a half a billion dollars more in SNAP costs and North Carolina college students would see their student loan payments doubled or tripled. Now, this bill, which now has trillion dollars, it adds to the Medicaid cuts.
▶ 9:50:22It's going to cause Americans to to die from lack of health care by being unable to to seek medical care and access uh necessary medical equipment and afford life-saving prescriptions or manage chronic illnesses uh that require consistent treatment. And all of this just to give handouts to billionaires who who can't afford medical care. Listen, you can't be healthy if you're hungry. We've got to be concerned about feeding our people.
▶ 9:50:50Feeding our children in particular. This bill takes food out of the mouths of children to to feed the pockets of people who who never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Because you know, if your stomach doesn't growl, you don't feel the pain that's coming from mine. The bill slashes financial aid to to students working to to realize the American dream, only to prioritize tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans who can already afford it. No tax on tips and over overtime.
▶ 9:51:20Well, well, that's a little disingenuous because this bill expires that expires uh in 2028 and caps it will cap how much you can receive. It's going to make tax breaks for the for the wealthy permanent. This bill doesn't cap the tax breaks for billionaires, nor does it place a time limit on on on the wealthy tax breaks. So So why does it do that uh for other workers? Well, it's backwards. It's a big ugly backward bill.
▶ 9:51:48It moves our country backwards while adding $3.4 trillion to our debt. And I introduced an amendment that would change the definition of the gross income of student loans that's currently in the bill for student loan repayments. Uh the Senate versions basically says that if you're married, your spouse's income can be factored into the calculation of loan repayments, which would mean higher payments. My definition would would would simply get rid of of that loophole.
▶ 9:52:18And so we know that that higher loan repayments limits the ability of for students uh to achieve the traditional life milestones such as buying a home or or starting a family. It keeps people from the American dreams. It's going to hurt a lot of beautiful people. Overall, this bill goes against our American values. It does not make America great.
▶ 9:52:41And with great fear and disgust of what this bill will mean for America's across this country, I cannot support it. We've got to continue to make sure that we provide for the least, the lost, and the left behind. We've got to make sure that we do the right thing for the right people at the right time. Now is the time. This is a bad bill. It's ugly. It's mean. It's evil. And Madam Chair, I'm not going to support it. I yield back.
▶ 9:53:11Thank you, Dr. Adams. Miss Kamler Dove, you're recognized. Uh, thank you, Madame Chair, and thank you, Ranking Member McGovern. You know, I too am going to start with some scripture. Deuteronomy 24:14-15. Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy. Pay them their wages each day. Otherwise, they may cry to the Lord against you and you will be guilty of sin.
▶ 9:53:42You know, I started my day in my district actually trying to protect constituents of mine from getting kidnapped by the federal government. And these are people who are working. These are people who own businesses and they are also people who do not have criminal convictions. And while that was happening, the Senate passed this betrayal of a bill.
▶ 9:54:06And then I got a call from a working mother who has a child with special needs and she is not on Medicaid, but she sees a really good doctor who is able to see her child and take care of her child because that doctor sees Medicaid patients. And then I went to the airport so that I could come here to this doom room and talk about this bill.
▶ 9:54:33And I ended up talking to a mother with a very young child and the child had a leg lengthener. The child was also on Medicaid. And I couldn't help but think, what's going to happen to this child when these Republicans pass this bill? What is going to happen to this child's healthcare? What is going to happen to this child's future?
▶ 9:54:57I'm from California, Los Angeles, and in my district of 700,000, of my constituents are on Medicaid. Seven out of the 10 highest Medicaid enrollment districts in this country are in my state.
▶ 9:55:17My district, Los Angeles, is number four, but Republicans represent the top one, two, and three highest Medicaid enrolly districts in the country. And I'm wondering what happens when you all pass this bill and those constituents get cut. I mean, and they die. Do they not matter? Do your constituents not even matter?
▶ 9:55:41Because trust me, if they don't show up in the morg, they will show up in urgent care or in the emergency room, and that is going to cost all of us so much more. But this bill is not just about cutting Medicaid or SNAP, or getting rid of baby formula for new mothers. This bill is also about cutting Pell grants, access to student loans, deferment options for young people who are trying to get an education.
▶ 9:56:05This bill will eliminate jobs because trust me, if hospitals and community clinics and doctor's offices close, jobs will go too. And this bill cheats working Americans by giving the richest of the rich permanent tax cuts while not doing the same for those who are just getting by. And that is why I am offering an amendment that does something my Republican colleagues claim they want to do, but apparently just can't bring themselves to the finish line.
▶ 9:56:35Making the overtime tax exemption permanent. You see, Republicans have been busy tweeting about no tax on overtime as if it's some eternal gift from the heavens. But when you read the fine print, which I know isn't as fun as tweeting, you find out that their provision actually expires after just a few years. And this bill doesn't even include all overtime.
▶ 9:56:58If your hourly rate is $10 and your overtime rate is $15, then you're only allowed a deduction of $5, not the full $15 you've earned. So, I have to ask, are no taxes even in the room with us? Yet again, their false god Trump fails to deliver for the American people. To be clear, they want workers to believe they're getting a forever tax break. But they quietly snuck in a sunset clause. That's not a real promise. That's a bait and switch.
▶ 9:57:29It's a cheap headline at the expense of hardworking Americans who deserve better, who deserve the truth. My amendment does the honest thing. It strikes the sunset clause and makes the overtime tax exemption permanent. Simple, straightforward, and without an expiration date. Because working people deserve more than tweeted out promises. They deserve to actually keep what they earn. All of it.
▶ 9:57:53If my colleagues really believe in honoring hard work, if they truly believe that every extra hour a worker puts in should be rewarded, not taxed away, then this is their chance to put their votes where their tweets are. Let's stop the performative politics. Let's actually deliver permanent real relief for workers and show them that Congress can be a place of action, not just empty words.
▶ 9:58:18You know, this bill will make make America more sick, more hungry, and more broke. At least it will do that for the majority of working Americans because we are all connected. If you close a hospital in somebody's district, it impacts those who are on Medicaid as well as those who are not.
▶ 9:58:39It impacts those people who have jobs there and it will certainly constrict the economy in those districts because there will be fewer jobs to go around. I'm going to end the way I started with 13:5. The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves. I will not be voting for this bill, and I yield back. Gentle lady yields back.
▶ 9:59:07Now recognize gentle lady, Miss Washerman Schultz of Florida for her five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and uh ranking member McGovern. Here we are back in the rules committee in the dead of night talking about a bill that hardly anyone has read yet. I'm proud to join my House Democratic colleagues tonight to shine a light on this disastrous big ugly bill that is nearly a thousand pages.
▶ 9:59:32I have several amendments filed on this bill to make lives more affordable for the American people and to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government for real, not the pretend fake way that Republicans are saying their bill does. Amendment number 16 adds a new subsection requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to certify in writing that the reductions and recisions made by this act will not affect cancer survivors currently on Medicaid or Medicare. It's a tiny bit personal to me, Mr.
▶ 10:00:01chairman because as a cancer survivor, I can tell you that it is unfathomable for me to imagine that in addition to getting a diagnosis where you are staring down the barrel of your life and whether you it will continue that you would also after this bill passes have to worry about whether or not you're going to actually be able to be cared for by a doctor or get any health care at all.
▶ 10:00:27There are thousands of people prior to the Affordable Care Act or who have not been able to access Medicaid who actually die as a result of not having that kind of healthc care coverage because they get cancer and their symptoms worsen and the cancer eats them alive and they die because they can't get basic access to health care. When you catch cancer early, we know we can save people's lives.
▶ 10:00:57when you don't when they don't have health care, then you are literally killing them. So that's on you. This amendment should be a non-controversial common sense policy. Protect the health care of cancer survivors. If Trump and Republicans truly want to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, this should be a no-brainer. And it shatters me to know that this bill will harm people who are grasping for hope, desperate to survive this terrible disease. Over 10% of cancer survivors rely on Medicaid for their care.
▶ 10:01:23And more than onethird of children newly diagnosed with cancer in our country are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. Medicaid is a lifeline to so many cancer survivors. And they don't need any obstacles or uncertainty to accessing their care. Nor do they need to struggle just to stay alive. Or also Republicans can stuff more big tax breaks into the pockets of the big corporations and the super rich. This is truly inexplicable. Survivors who rely on Medicaid will die because of this bill.
▶ 10:01:52My next amendment, number 184, requires the Secretary of Agriculture to certify that no students will be made ineligible for free or reduced school lunches. Why are you okay with kicking children off of their school lunches? My my governor of my home state refuses to take federal funds so that kids can have free breakfast in the summer.
▶ 10:02:12I I this this this abject cruelty and complete lack of caring about people who are less fortunate is is mind-blowing, but you certainly demonstrate how much you care about the fortunate. Amendment number 200 prohibits funds from being used to construct new ICE detention facilities near environmentally sensitive areas like the Everglades in my home state of Florida.
▶ 10:02:36Democratic and Republican administrations alike have invested in the protection and rehabilitation of the Everglades, which is an economic driver for Florida, by constructing any new facilities in this protected space without consultation with tribes or to understand the impacts on the decadesl long Everglades restoration efforts, spending billions of dollars for the last 25 years is totally wrong. Talk about waste.
▶ 10:03:01I I I mean nothing spells waste like just lighting on fire a hundreds of billions of dollars because we are now dropping a a detention facility in the middle of the sensitive ecosystem that we've spent billions of dollars on that, you know, has an air strip on it that was supposed to be a much larger airport abandoned decades ago because it was deemed too environmentally sensitive to put infrastructure there.
▶ 10:03:27to say nothing about the human rights violations that would occur putting humans in cages without regards to human to to human rights. I'm also proud to join an amendment offered by Representative Thompson of California striking section 70436 from the bill which would give tax breaks to people buying suppressors. How does this provision do anything to uplift the middle class or lower prices? It doesn't. Republicans are about to ram through a slew of awful policies that will weaken our country, economy, communities, and families everywhere. This bill is downright evil.
▶ 10:03:57As my colleague from Florida said, it's shameful. You want to talk about saving taxpayer dollars? Then fund early screening, fund treatment. Fund preventative prevention for advanced stage cancer. Because we all know that preventing diseases like cancer and catching it early is far less costly than treating it when it is advanced and spread. Access to insurance saves lives and lowers costs. I know you know that. But you simply don't have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump and defend your constituents for for fear he'll tweet you a primary opponent.
▶ 10:04:27And spare me the excuse this bill only kicks off ineligible people from Medicaid. That's malarkey. In the words of one great American, this is false and you know it. This moment calls for courage, not self-interest. It requires a hot, a heart, not a headline. There are 109,929 people who rely on Medicaid for their healthcare in my district. That includes children under the age of 19 and 27,000 seniors.
▶ 10:04:52That's who I'm here for tonight at almost midnight to stand up for because you won't. I yield back. Gentle lady yields back. Now recognize the gentleman from New York, Mr. Goldman, for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ranking member McGovern. I I'm here today to support two of my amendments uh to this big ugly bill, but I want to say a couple of things.
▶ 10:05:15First, about uh how absolutely dreadful and devastating uh this draconian bill is, and that it's gotten so much worse since you all passed it out of the House by one vote and sent it over to the Senate. Now 17 million Americans, more than 5% of this country's population will lose their health care. A trillion dollars, up from 800 billion, will be cut from Medicare.
▶ 10:05:42Many more jobs will be lost, hospitals will close, emergency rooms will be oversted, and care will be dramatically reduced. And we're only dealing with this bill because the Senate carved out those terrible, terrible policies from Alaska to buy Senator McCowsk's vote. This bill is going to reduce SNAP by 30%, $250 billion.
▶ 10:06:09I know for one, I just looked this up, that there are 90,000 constituents in Mr. Langworthy's district in our shared home state of New York, 30% of whom will potentially be losing their SNAP This bill does not eliminate the salt deduction cap as many of my Republican colleagues in New York promised, and it goes back to the same $10,000 cap in just 5 years, which of course prevents anyone from planning in the future and potentially
▶ 10:06:39buying a house. It eliminates so many clean energy subsidies. And this one is baffling because you can think climate change is a hoax. Fine, let's not even focus on that. Let's talk America first. America first is American manufacturing is lowering energy prices. At least that's what I hear. Well, there have been over 200,000 jobs that have been created in this country by the Clean Energy subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act.
▶ 10:07:09Over $400 million has been invested and most of that's been in red districts. It's your own districts. And Trump, as you will remember on the campaign trail, asked oil executives to give him a billion dollars and he would take care of them.
▶ 10:07:26Well, this bill is taking care of them because you're killing the growing Americanmade clean energy industry in your own districts that helps meet our energy needs just to throw a bone to the oil industry. Now, it would all be better at least you'd have an argument to say, "Oh, these are dramatic cuts and but we have to do it to get our fiscal house in order." Well, of course that this bill doesn't do that.
▶ 10:07:55It increases the deficit now by 3.3 trillion, up almost a trillion dollars from the House bill. There are some members of this rules committee who have said over and over and over again they will not accept a dollar more into our deficit than the House bill. This is a trillion more and much more than that when you fa factor in the interest payments. And 80% of these tax benefits go to the top 10% of earners.
▶ 10:08:26The lowest 20% of earners would lose $1,000 a year on average. Going back for a second to Mr. Langworthy's district. The House version of the bill that you voted for was estimated to kick more than 34,000 of your own constituents off of healthcare. And this bill is worse. What are you going to tell them? That you took their health care so you could give tax cuts to Donald Trump and Elon Musk?
▶ 10:08:55And this is actually fewer people than your other Republican colleagues in New York, including Mr. Lawler, Miss Maliotakus, and Mr. Loa. And then finally, ICE funding. Notwithstanding all these cuts, we're increasing ICE funding by tens of billions of dollars, including most importantly by giving the masked ICE agents an average of a
▶ 10:09:26So if you can be part of the secret police, you get paid an extra $40,000. And so my first amendment would address this increase in ICE funding, amendment 278, which just simply says that no funding may be used to prevent uh the uh members of Congress from conducting their statutoily authorized oversight of immigration enforcement and detention facilities.
▶ 10:09:52I, for myself, have been denied access to ICE facilities that are housing immigrants in violation of the law and the Constitution. And this one is simple. Do my Republican colleagues believe in congressional oversight? Do you think that the Department of Homeland Security should be accountable for these billions?
▶ 10:10:15Do you think that so little of people who are not citizens in this country that you will let them live in squalor for weeks have you no decency and I will submit my other amendment for the record but I do hope that you will make them both in order. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Gleman. Miss Fishbach, do you have any Thank you Mr.
▶ 10:10:44McGovern, I want to thank you all for being here at this late hour. Um, and I want to thank you uh again for your passion uh and for standing up for people quite frankly who don't have a lobby and who don't have a lot of money to come to Washington and uh go to fundraisers and uh hobnob with members of Congress and members of the Senate. So I thank you. I support all your amendments. Uh with the exception of Mr. Clyides, I I don't support yours.
▶ 10:11:11Um, your amendment would expand the hitman handout in this bill even further by removing gun silencers, shortbarreled rifles, saw off short shotguns, and other firearms that are easily concealed from reg regulation under the National Firearms Act. Uh, this goes even further than the version uh of the big ugly bill that passed the Senate earlier today, which removes the excise tax of $200 on silencers and these other weapons.
▶ 10:11:38Um, JCT says that this tax cut for silencers and saw off shotguns costs $2 billion. Um, and the National Firearms Act controls the most dangerous weapons available. It subjects them to strict registration requirements. This amendment would essentially mean that silencers and shot barreled rifles could be sold in private sales without background checks. It would it would be easy for gangs and felons and sex offenders to to get them.
▶ 10:12:08Combining a silencer and a concealable shortbarreled rifle with easy to assemble and totally legal parts would allow people to convert them into untraceable unregistered machine guns. This will make it easier to commit violent crimes and get away with it. Plain and simple. And this provision was removed from the Senate as you mentioned because it violates the bird rule. Uh and the parliamentary in the Senate just for the record uh was originally appointed by Harry Reid but then was kept on by Mitch McConnell.
▶ 10:12:37Um and uh the current leader uh John Tun said he has no intention of removing her but uh this is a dangerous and unserious proposal. Madam Chair, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert in the record a a letter from a variety of uh law enforcement uh organizations uh for continued support of the National Firearms Act. Um without objection sent to insert in the record a an article in the New York Times from August 25th, 2023.
▶ 10:13:05a lawmaker hid one key fact as he fought checks on gun shops and it talks about how Mr. Clyde did not disclose that uh uh that one of the two gun stores he owns in Georgia um was placed in the monitoring program in two 2020 and 2021. I assume you still own those gun stores. Without objection. Um basically this makes it uh I guess if you own a gun store, you could probably sell more guns if the this became um uh part of the law. It became law.
▶ 10:13:35And finally, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert into the record um an article, a article from CNN entitled, "A Republican host member just described January 6th as a normal tourist visit." Without objection, I yield back. McGovern, Miss Hen, Miss Scandlin, thank you, Mr. Clyde. I I think I agree with Mr.
▶ 10:14:04from McGovern that I support the amendments except for yours. Um, I understand you disagree with the Supreme Court and the Parliamentarian and the various courts that have upheld the Firearms Act over almost a century. Correct. You disagree? Um, no. I don't disagree with the Supreme Court. I don't disagree with the Supreme Court.
▶ 10:14:26They have not ruled on that yet, especially after the Heler decision of 2008 that declared the Second Amendment to be an individual constitutional right. Okay, understood. I I think we'll all disagree on that one. Um, but you do own a couple gun shops, right? At least I do. Taking in about 12 million a year. I believe in the constitutional right to keep and bear arms as I think every solitary person should believe in.
▶ 10:14:54Your your business is selling guns and accessories. Is that right? We are enabling the individual participation in the preservation of liberty. That's what we do. And I understand I understand that the push to uh deregulate silencers and and braces and other things is being led by the gun sales operations because there's a higher profit margin there.
▶ 10:15:19and sales of guns themselves tanked after the uh after the pandemic ended. So, um from what we understand here is this is yet another NRA gun manufacturer supported um rift effort to make money. And I would just uh seek unanimous consent to introduce uh the Washington Post article from June 27th, Republicans tax bill would water down a central role gun law. Without objection. Thank you.
▶ 10:15:49I yield Thank you, Mr. Langworthy. Thank you, Mr. Mcuse. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to all the witnesses for your testimony. I certainly agree with the ranking member and Miss Scandlin, in supporting all the amendments with the exception of yours, Mr. Clyde. But I appreciate everyone being here and clearly you all are impassioned about the amendments that you've submitted. And I guess one question would be, and I'll start with you, Mr. Kennedy.
▶ 10:16:20I I take it, you know, you're here at midnight. As Chairwoman Fox said, you've been here perhaps longer than just about any other member. I think it's probably safe to assume you're prepared to use, you know, every tool, legislative tool that you can to oppose this bill. Is that fair estimate? Yeah. I think this bill is the worst budget bill ever proposed in American history.
▶ 10:16:49It is a bill that creates the largest shift of wealth in American history. Some refer to it as the reverse Robin Hood, stealing from the poorest Americans to give to the richest Americans. increasing the debt by over $3 trillion. Updated tonight by ranking our ranking member to $3.4 trillion now.
▶ 10:17:18And that's just the tip of the iceberg when you talk about the nearly trillion dollars, over trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts and Medicare cuts and nutritional uh benefits and cuts to the exchange that'll defund the Affordable Care Act, that'll cut 17 Americans off of health care that they qualify
▶ 10:17:48for. That's going to increase emergency room uh weight times. Uh it's going to strain our hospitals finances. It's going to increase premiums and co-pays and deductibles for those that have the ability to afford health insurance. It's going to cut funding for education.
▶ 10:18:15It's going to cut funding for every aspect of our lives that make our economy run. People are going to be hurt. Jobs are going to be lost. The economy is going to suffer. All to give billionaires in this country a tax break. It's despicable. I I certainly agree with you, Representative Kennedy. I assume if your amendments are not made in order, you'll oppose the rule tomorrow.
▶ 10:18:47Absolutely. Representative Watson, Michelle, what about yourself? You've introduced a number of really important amendments and I was very moved by your personal story of course as a cancer survivor. And if these amendments are ruled out of order, will you vote for the rule? This bill is an abomination whether my amendments are made in order or not. I I came to Congress not to destroy lives, but to build them and to lift people up. And there are apparently some people who came to Congress for a different reason.
▶ 10:19:18Mr. Clyde, we I saw I saw you tweeted out u a statement that I don't want to misstate your words, but something to the effect of you're you know, fighting to the end to push this particular amendment. This provision that you're fighting for. It's constitutional. So I assume Yeah, I I hear you. So given that given your passion for that, I assume you're going to vote against the rule when this amendment is excluded. Um how I vote, you'll find out when I vote. Okay.
▶ 10:19:48But I will tell you this that um this my amendment would certainly make the bill much better. Well, but do you you know you realize your amendment's not getting ruled in order? I mean, that's not you don't actually think that it is getting ruled in order. We shall see. Well, I mean, I hope you'll stick around. the I I because you've testified before this committee before. So, I mean I I hope I know you understand this. We're going to finish here in just about five minutes. That's fine. And then as the members depart the room, the chairwoman is going to call up the rule.
▶ 10:20:17There are going to be no amendments to this bill. So, this is, you know, kind of theater here. Unless you're willing to vote against the rule tomorrow in 9 hours, I guess if this amen, if you feel so passionate about this amendment, you said it's constitutional. It is. You clearly are impassionate. Well, if you don't ask, the answer is no. What was that? If you don't ask, the answer is no. But you know the answer is no. Chairwoman, will you are you going to rule uh Mr. Clyde's amendment in order? Am I mistaken on this?
▶ 10:20:45Is that I thought this is a closed rule. Just like Mr. Clyde said, you'll have to wait and see. So, I guess in seven minutes we can we we all will find out lo and behold uh that your amendment and all the other amendments that have been submitted are not going to be entertained. And I I guess I would just say Mr. Clyde if you feel this passionate about it because some of your other colleagues Mr.
▶ 10:21:06Massie for example very passionate about particulars with respect to this bill and willing to vote against the rule to ultimately ensure uh that his worldview is reflected. So in so far as you believe this is you know a sacrosan constitutional principle as you've described I would think that you'd vote against the rule. But in any event, I hope you'll stick around for a couple minutes uh for the chairwoman to announce that your amendment has not been made in order. But I Mr. Yeah, I just want to reemphasize a point that Mr. Dus is making.
▶ 10:21:36It's not just up to this committee. You have some power over this process. Um you have to you can vote to block your own amendment or you can vote against the rule that blocks your own amendment. And and and maybe Mr. Clyde knows something we don't know. After all, this is not a bill. This his amendment is not about feeding hungry children or making sure people have health care or making sure people have access to um monies to be able to get a good education.
▶ 10:22:01This is about restoring a constitution silencers and and gun and and gun store owners making more money. So maybe that's more in line with what they might make in order. But in any event, you do have power over this. So I I think the ranking member uh well thank you for acknowledging that Republicans have power over I'll uh yeah I think he's and any event we've yeah we yeah belabored the point uh as I said I hope you and all the members will stick around for a couple minutes so that you can you can tweet out that your
▶ 10:22:31your amendment that you fought so vigorously for here uh was not ruled in order which we all knew was going to be the case but any event I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Negus. Mr. Scott. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Clyde, they're great at trolling. I I just I'm glad you're smart enough not to take the bait that they try to wave in front of everybody where they, you know, do these things.
▶ 10:22:55But I want to uh many of us don't believe that any of the things that you talk about would be available to anybody in America without the Second Amendment, right? And uh I know historically before you ever became a member of Congress, the government illegally seized your assets, right? And there's actually a law written that has your name on it. That's correct. That Doug Collins That's correct.
▶ 10:23:20wrote that went through the House, the Senate, was signed by the president because of the way you were treated by the federal government. Correct. That's correct. And everyone here who was it around in uh 2019 voted for it. So, thank you very much. because of the way because of the way Mr. Clyde was treated by abusive individuals in the federal government.
▶ 10:23:42Um, if I did a Google search or an eBay search for solvent trap right now, what what would it bring up, Mr. Clyde? Well, it would bring up u something that screws onto the end of a rifle where you can clean a rifle with it and it traps the solvent that drains out of the barrel of a rifle and maybe could hold a Napa 40003 or a Wix 24 3 perhaps.
▶ 10:24:10Not not not legally, but if but if I wanted to use a something to suppress the sound of a rifle in a crime, if I was going to commit a criminal act, That would do it, wouldn't it? Pretty much the same thing that I pay $1,000 for the same end result.
▶ 10:24:32If I go to a gun store, I go through the process with tax stamp and everything else, I'm gonna have somewhere between 800 and a grand and a and a good suppressor. I can do it for 50 bucks right now. Not legally. Correct. Not legally. Not legally, but you can still make your own suppressor legally. It's called an ATF form one. $200. That's correct. Right. I can do the following fee.
▶ 10:24:57So, so, so you know more about this issue than pretty much anybody else out there in Congress. And now, now I want to get back to what Mr. McGovern said. He said it would allow you to make a machine gun. Is that correct? No, that is not correct. It doesn't say anything about select fire. No. No, this amendment has nothing to do with select firearms. That's right. And that is I want to make that very clear.
▶ 10:25:27This is not about this has absolutely nothing to do with machine guns. It does not allow anybody to manufacture a machine gun, which which requires a certain license. That's correct. Um through the ATF to actually manufacture the license, manufacture the weapon, not just on it. I just if you've got anything else you want to say, Mr.
▶ 10:25:49Clyde, I'll give you the two minutes I got left and then um I just again if you're if you're still here watching this on TV, I appreciate it. But just under this, understand this. If you're disabled, you're exempt from any of the changes that are made to uh Medicaid and So um I I would like to add something because the whole point here is that the registration scheme of the federal government is a registration of the tax.
▶ 10:26:18Okay, they're inseparable. The two are and there's a decision by the by the fifth circuit. All right, I believe it was in 2000. It says, "Following Sazinski versus the United States, which was 1937, numerous courts have held that the registration provisions of the NFA, including 5861 delta, are permissible incidents to the legislative taxing power because registration facilitates the collection of taxes on the making and transfer of firearms." That's the fifth circuit court.
▶ 10:26:48So, it's registration and the taxation are inseparably linked. When you get rid of the taxation, you must get rid of the registration. It goes on to say, the test of validity is whether on its face the tax operates as a revenue generating measure and the attendant regulations are in aid of a revenue purpose. That's section 5861 delta. Making possession of an unregistered weapon unlawful is part of the web of regulations aiding enforcement of the transfer tax provision.
▶ 10:27:19I'm 581. CL, I've got 27 seconds. I I just want to make this final point. The parliamentarian is does play politics from time to time. They did that in the uh what did y'all call the horrible thing y'all did? the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act when they when they allowed the Democrats to specify an old definition of socially disadvantaged farmers.
▶ 10:27:44And by allowing the Democrats to use the noncurrent definition of socially disadvantaged farmers, which did include women, it allowed the Democrats to exclude all white people from eligibility for the payments through um their two pieces of legislation. and the federal courts overturned that. The parliamentarian played politics with it. Um, and with that, um, Madame Chair, my time's expired. And, uh, thank you, Mr.
▶ 10:28:14Scott, Miss Leisure Uh, I'll begin by yielding time to two things. One is if you don't believe this violates the bird rule, then you can put it back in. You're on the rules committee, you can do that. Secondly, you know, it just blows my mind that there's more passion and energy when it comes to talking about guns than about making sure people with cancer have access to healthcare. That tells you all you need to know about the difference between Republicans and Democrats on this. I thank the gentle lady and I yield back. Thank you.
▶ 10:28:43And I I'd also point out that uh Democrats, you know, what we see a lot is the tweet one, you know, tweet tweet no but vote yes, right? that you have these convictions. You know, John Lewis had a conviction about civil rights and he was willing to cross the bridge knowing you was going to get beat up, right? You have the ability. You didn't even have to do that. You can just say, "My amendment's not in order. This is a constitutional issue. I'm voting no on this rule." It's not even that hard, right?
▶ 10:29:14And that is what it's not a bait. It's an obligation and it's a power we have. The vote is our power and the vote is supposed to be our power exercised on behalf of the people we represent.
▶ 10:29:30And I wanted to ask Representative Frost a question about what we're hearing here because I think it's important to bring the other perspective of what is it like to have been a victim and to have lived through and counseledled and worked with so many other victims of gun violence because they never acknowledge the number of
▶ 10:30:00people who were killed on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, utilizing guns, often by those who should not be holding. Yeah. I mean, you know, I got involved in politics when I was 15 years old because I didn't want to get shot in my school. There was a Sandy Hook shooting that pushed me into this work.
▶ 10:30:253 years later, a gunman walked into Pulse nightclub, a mile away from where I was working, and murdered 49 people and injured another 49. He didn't like them because they were gay and Latino. 3 months after that, I survived an instance of gun violence in downtown Orlando in Halloween of 2016. Hundreds of us running away from the And that's after I had been involved in this work for three, three and a half years.
▶ 10:30:54You never think it's going to hit you home and then it hits your home and then it hits the block you're on. Two years ago at the scene of 400 violent crimes, silencers were found. I just think it's despicable that the gun industry, the gun lobby wants to push forth amendments like this that would result in more people dying just so they can sell more guns.
▶ 10:31:21No one on the Democratic side is advocating for anything crazy or radical. We want common sense gun reform that most Democrats, most Republicans, and most NRA members want. But it just goes to show you that organizations like the NRA don't even represent daily gun owners. They represent daily gun manufacturers and the people who sell the guns. They have no problems with more people dying as long as they can sell more guns.
▶ 10:31:47And if we want to talk about a safe America, over the last three years, because of the bipartisan safer communities act passed by Democrats, signed by Joe Biden and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, in the last 3 years, gun violence has gone down more than it has in our country's history. Cities of over a million people, gun violence has gone down 40%. This year, we're on track to have a reduction of 20% from last year.
▶ 10:32:15this we know that these solutions work while of course respecting the rights of people but also protecting the most sacred right which is the right to live. The ability to walk down our blocks, go to our churches, our synagogues, our schools, um our temples everywhere and not fear being shot. And this false notion that you got to pick one, you got to either be for the Constitution or you, you know, you're okay with people dying. I mean, it's just false.
▶ 10:32:45We are for rights, but we're also for making sure that the right to live is preserved. And that's been the fight of my life. That's why I came to Congress, and that's why I'm proud to be a Democrat and oppose this horrible bill. Thank you. And I think that the theme that we are seeing is you said it a right to life their desire for profit. You just described that and in this bill that's what we see over and over again.
▶ 10:33:14The right to life because you need the health insurance versus the right for Yeah. See, they they say they're pro-life because they want the baby to be born, go to school, and get shot in the school. Die in the school, die on the streets. No, there's that is what they say. Not gonna say anything, but you've gone over the cliff. I move to strike his words over the cliff. You've gone over.
▶ 10:33:43We were going to be quiet, but you've gone over now. You didn't use I meant every word. We are going to strike your words, but on the other hand, it might be good to leave your words. It might be good to leave your words because that's how you feel.
▶ 10:34:12But you are not going to come into this room and impugn our integrity. You will not. We are prolife people from conception to natural death. Most of us are.
▶ 10:34:36And don't you come in here and say we want to preserve life so people can get That's what I've seen. Thank you. Are you through, Miss Ledger Fernandez? I hope so.
▶ 10:34:54Well, Madame Chair, uh, I want to thank all of our witnesses for coming in and laying out the distinct perspectives and approaches between how we believe this bill will affect Americans, their ability to get health insurance, which is essential to their ability to both live a healthy life and to continue to live.
▶ 10:35:20And with that, Madam Chair, Madam Chair, I did make a motion that has not been acted on. If you would like for me to withdraw that motion, I will withdraw it. Mr. Scott, I think it's better to leave those words in the That's fine. Let's let them know how they feel. Motion just for the record. You're mo you're withdrawing your motion. Thank you. Thank you. The panel is dismissed. Thank you very much.
▶ 10:35:57By the way, I might remind my Democrat colleagues of Proverbs 135, Democratic colleagues, of Proverbs 13:5. And you can add 145 to that, too.
▶ 10:36:33Seeing no other members wishing to testify on HR1. Seeing no other members wishing to testify on HR1, this closes the hearing portion of our meeting. The chair will be in the receipt of a mo of a motion from the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Griffith. Madam Chair, I move the committee grant a rule providing for the consideration of Senate amendment to HR1.
▶ 10:36:57The rule makes an order a motion offered by the chair of the committee on the budget or his designated the House concur in the Senate amendment to HR1. The rule waves all points of order against consideration of the motion. The Senate amendment. The rule provides that the Senate amendment and the motion shall be considered as read.
▶ 10:37:13Finally, the rule provides one hour of debate on the motion equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on the budget or their respective design and the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means or their respective design. Thank you very much. You've now heard the motion. Is there any other discussion or amendment to the rule? Yes, Madam Chair. Mr. McGovern. One hour of debate on this.
▶ 10:37:46Yeah. No, this is um one hour debate. One hour debate. One hour of debate on this whole thing. Yes. Yes. I mean, you got to be kidding me. Um, I have an amendment to the rule. Uh, I move the committee provide four hours of debate for the motion to concur equally divided and controlled between the chair and ranking member of the committees on budget, ways and means, energy and commerce and agriculture.
▶ 10:38:14CBO says that 17 million people will lose their healthcare because of this bill. Shouldn't Energy and Commerce get at least an hour to debate that massively consequential policy on the floor? Millions of people will lose food support due to the SNAP cuts. and you can't spare an hour for the agriculture committee to discuss the ramifications of those cuts. The bill has trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but you aren't giving an hour for ways and means to discuss them on on the House floor.
▶ 10:38:41Not to mention all the other provisions in this bill on everything from immigration to Alaskan whaling to professional gambling to cold subsidies. I don't know about you, but my office is buried in requests from members who want to debate this bill on the floor, and we're having to turn lots of them away. This this Fourth of July deadline is completely self-imposed, but three extra hours of debate won't interfere with it. So, I urge a yes vote on my amendment and I yield back the time. Is there any further discussion?
▶ 10:39:11Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those those opposed say no. No. No. In the opinion, cheer the nos have it. Roll call on that one. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy, no. Mrs. Hchen, Mrs. Hchen, no. Mr. Langworthy, Mr. Langworthy, no. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, yes. Mr.
▶ 10:39:40McGovern, I miss gallon. I miss gallon. I, Mr. Noose, hi. Mr. Nus, I Mr. Ledger Fernandez. I Miss Ledger Fernandez. I, Madam Chair, no. Madame Chair, no clerk will report the total. Four, nine. The nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Is there any further discussion? There's quite a few. Uh, Madam Chairwoman, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 10:40:09I move to strike the text of the rule and instead make an order a motion offered by the chair of the committee on the budget or his designate that the house disagree to the Senate amendment to HR1 and request a conference with the Senate debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on the budget. This bill will hurt people in every congressional district and Republican leadership is racing to get it passed before their own members even figure out what the hell's in it.
▶ 10:40:37There's no real deadline we're working against. None. July 4th is just an arbitrary marker that Trump made up. We're rushing not because the country demands it, but because he wants to throw himself another party. This isn't policy. This is um this is uh ego management. So why not slow down? Why not actually do the work to fix all the problems we've spent so many hours in this room discussing? Why why discussing? Why not fix the problems instead of pretending we're in the middle of some five alarm emergency?
▶ 10:41:07I understand that the Senate and the speaker are trying to jam all of you, but you don't have to be complicit. And remember, a conference has a big advantage. It forces an actual agreement. So, you don't have to trust the Senate anymore. Even Chairman Arrington seemed to want to go to conference when I asked him earlier. That's your budget, Chairman. He's supposed to be in charge of this process. I urge a yes vote on my amendment, and I yield back.
▶ 10:41:33Is there any further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion of chair, the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Ask for roll call. Madam chair. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchin. Mrs. Hchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott, no. Mr.
▶ 10:42:03Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, hi. Mr. McGovern, I Miss Scallan. Hi. Miss Gallen, I Mr. Negus. Mr. Negus. I, Miss Ledger Fernandez. I led Fernandez. I, Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine A. The NOS have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, um, I have another amendment.
▶ 10:42:28Um this I'm offering this along with um Representative Mlan Delaney and Representative Hulahan. U my this is the amendment I offered during the first go round. Um that would restore already appropriated and awarded NIH grant funding. As of June 4th, 2025, 2,282 NIH grants awarded to institutions in the US have been terminated and not reinstated, totaling over $3.8 billion in funding.
▶ 10:42:56and over 1,000 NIH employees have been fired. This is disastrous and completely unacceptable. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We can't just stop research and expect that we can pick pick it back up again in a few years. Patients rely on this research and the grants that fund it. There are people whose only hope for treatment is an NIH supported clinical trial. It is truly a matter of life or death. I don't know if my Republican colleagues are really understanding what this means for everyday people. So, let me share a couple of stories.
▶ 10:43:25A few weeks ago, Austin and Julia uh Schlleeter reached out to my office to share a story from the front page of the Washington Post. It was about their dad, Richard Schlleer. In June, as as a part of an NIH clinical trial, Richard was supposed to receive a custommade treatment for a cancer that has spread to his bones. Due to NIH staffing cuts, his treatment has been delayed at least a month. The researcher running his trial estimates that some patients may have to wait uh until as long as September.
▶ 10:43:54Uh people with metastat metastatic cancer do not have a few months to hang tight. We are talking about revolutionary treatments that can save people's lives. There is no time to waste. This past weekend, CBS Sunday morning aired a segment on the potential impacts of staffing and budget cuts to NIH. They interviewed a man named Kevin Callahan who is a participant in a clinical trial for a vaccine that would prevent pancreatic cancer from reoccurring.
▶ 10:44:21Pancreatic cancer is an incredibly aggressive form of cancer that has an 80% reoccurrence rate and a 20% survival rate within five years. And the vaccine seems to be working for Kevin. It's been five years and so far his cancer has not come back. Nothing short of a miracle. That that's what the the business of the NIH has been for the last 137 years, delivering miracles.
▶ 10:44:45Now, people in this administration and my colleagues here will try to tell you that all of these cuts have have no impact on everyday people, that they're just getting rid of the fraud, waste, and abuse. I'm here to tell you that's just not the case. That's not the truth. Um, the NIH is getting us closer to cures for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and every can and every kind of cancer, and it's turning hope into reality. Kevin and Richard's stories are just two of hundreds of thousands.
▶ 10:45:11They are just a few of the many adults, children and families who would have no other option with without NIH. So denying the funding that researchers have earned and the patients are relying on is just cruel. So approving this amendment won't fix this horrible ugly bill, but it will certainly save lives. And I urge a yes Any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none. Any questions on the amendment?
▶ 10:45:40All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. Any opinion? Chair of the nose have it. The amendments and agree for roll call. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchin. Mrs. Hchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scallan. Hi M. Scallan. I Mr. Nagus.
▶ 10:46:11Hi Mr. Negus. I M Ledger Fernandez. Hi. Mr. Ledger Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total four yays. Nine. The u the in the opinion chair the that nos have it. Um the amendments not agreed to. Is there any other amendment?
▶ 10:46:32Madam Chair, when I have an amendment to the rule, I move the committee make an order amendment number 156 offered by Democratic leader Jeff, which strikes all provisions that would cause millions of Americans to lose health care and food assistance. Leader Jeff testified passionately before this committee in May about the devastating effect that this bill would have on American families.
▶ 10:46:51And out of respect for his position as the leader of the Democratic caucus and for the millions of Americans who will be hurt by this bill, Republicans should allow Leader Jeff to offer his amendment on the floor for an up or down vote and I urge a yes vote on my amendment. I yield back. Is there further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed say no. No. In the opinion chair, the nos have it. The amendments not agree. for a roll call.
▶ 10:47:21Mr. McGovern, request a roll call. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hopton. Mrs. Hton. No. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Lworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I. Miss. Scallan. Hi. Mr. Scallan. I. Mr. Noose. Hi. Mr. Noose. I. M. Leer. Fernandez. Hi. Mr. Le Fernandez. I. Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No.
▶ 10:47:50Clerk will report the total. Four yays. Nine nays. The nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam chairwoman, I have an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number one offered by Representative Gillan which strikes the limitation on the state local tax Is there any further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. Those opposed, no. No. In the opinion here, the nos have it. The amendments not approve.
▶ 10:48:20As for roll call, clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Houchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. I. Mr. McGovern. I scan. I. Scan. I. Mr. Nagus. I. Mr. Nus. I. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I. M. Ledger Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total.
▶ 10:48:50Four yays, nine nays. The nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Are there other amendments? I have an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 13 offered by Representative Sykes, which strikes the Medicaid cuts uh that are contained in the bill.
▶ 10:49:05President Trump has uh repeatedly stated that he would not cut Medicaid benefits, including when this bill came before the House, and he reportedly told congressional Republicans to not quote to quote not f with Medicaid end quote, but roughly 17 million Americans will be kicked off of Medicaid because of this bill. So, this amendment would align the bill text with the president's stated desire not to cut Medicaid. I urge a yes Is there further discussion on the amendment? Madam Chair, Miss Ledger Fernandez.
▶ 10:49:34So, Madam Chair, I think it is really important to point out the policy choices that are before us and their impact on Americans morbidity like how many Americans could die from these policy choices and I pointed that out earlier that the study has shown it is 52,000 people.
▶ 10:49:55But I think another really important fact of what happens when you have these Medicaid restrictions combined with the restrictions, the expiration of the Affordable Care Act uh tax credits is that you're also going to have uh hypertension. 230 343,000 cases. That's heart attack, stroke, kidney failure.
▶ 10:50:20These are people who are going to get very, very sick and not be able to be productive members of our society. You're going to have uncontrolled high cholesterol, untreated mental illness. 296,000, 300,000 people will not get assistance, health care for their mental illness, untreated substance use disorder, excess cases of uncontrolled diabetes, 288,000 people.
▶ 10:50:48These are diseases that you know everybody around this dis knows somebody who has suffered from those. My brother just died from a heart attack. And these are the kinds of things that when you don't have health insurance, you do not get care for and people die or they are severely disabled from it. And so it is not an attack on impuging anybody's integrity.
▶ 10:51:14It is the fact that people will get sick and people will die because they don't have access to health care and for that I support the Is there any further discussion on the Hearing none the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. No. In the opinion of chair the nos have it. Amendments not agree to Mr.
▶ 10:51:43McGovern request a roll call. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hen. Mrs. Hen. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I scan. Hi. Scanlin. I. Mr. Negus. Hi. Mr. Negus. I. M. Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I. Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total.
▶ 10:52:13Four yays, nine a have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam chair, I have an amendment to the rule. I move I move the committee make an order amendment number 124 offered by representative Hayes which strikes harmful provisions that would slash food assistance for children, seniors, and vet veterans. This bill is a disaster. Uh it's a disaster for the 16 million children, 8 million seniors, and 4 million people with disabilities and over 1 million veterans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.
▶ 10:52:41It will cut the modest food benefits of about two two bucks per meal for millions of people in this country who need a little help to to get by. Uh the SNAP cuts contained in this bill also threaten access to school meals because if kids get kicked off a SNAP uh they are no longer directly certified to receive school meals. So u you know I again you heard the case why this is important. I hope my colleagues will vote to make this in order. Yield back. Is there further discussion on the amendment?
▶ 10:53:12Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. No. In the opinion chair, the nose have it. As for roll call. Mr. McGovern requests a roll call. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hton. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. No. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, hi. Mr.
▶ 10:53:41McGovern, I Miss Scan, hi. Scanlin, I Mr. Negus, hi. Mr. Noose, I miss. Ledger Fernandez, I Fernandez, I Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no. The clerk will report the total. Four, nine. The nos have it. The amendments not agreed to. Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule. Um, I move the committee make an order amendment number two offered by Representative Brown, which strikes the ineffective snap time limits.
▶ 10:54:07This big ugly bill strips food assistance from veterans, young people just aging out of foster care, homeless individuals struggling to get back on their feet, families and older adults. It takes food away from families with kids and older adults who face incredible barriers to work. New time limits and SNAP don't force people to work, they make people hungrier. What this bill does is especially cruel.
▶ 10:54:32Um, it eliminates the time limit exemption that was put into place to protect uh the modest nutritional assistance for veterans, former foster youth up to age 25 and homeless um individuals. Uh, as I mentioned before, and the chairman seemed to have forgotten this, but chairman chairman of the ad committee actually celebrated the these exemptions at our committee's markup on this ugly bill. And now, um, he's done a complete boat face, which I don't quite understand.
▶ 10:54:59Um, if you want to protect veterans, former foster youth, homeless individuals, families, and older adults from losing access to SNAP, you should support this amendment. And again, if you lose access to SNAP, you lose it for three years. I Yes. vote. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Madam Chair, we did not speak enough about the impact of these restrictions I think on we talked about veterans and everybody can relate but on foster kids who are aging out.
▶ 10:55:30Think about it. These are kids they don't have and once they age out they are all on their own. There's nobody who can catch And so to allow them to be able to have to $616 a day worth of nutritional assistance as they go through job core some way to get to where they can be and should be I think is really important.
▶ 10:56:00And so for that reason I'm very glad that this amendment has been proposed and I urge uh its adoption. Is there any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none. The questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion chair of the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. For roll call. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchin. Mrs. Hchin.
▶ 10:56:30No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Miss Gallon. Hi. M scan I Mr. Negus I Mr. Ngus I Mr. Sledger Fernandez. Sledge Fernandez. I madam chair. No. Madam chair. No. Clerk will report the total or yes. Nine. The nos have it. The amendments not agreed to. Madam chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 10:56:55I move the committee make an order amendment number 279 offered by representative um but ordered by ranking member Scott and myself which prohibits the bill from going into effect unless cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would not result in fewer families being eligible for um free school meals. Again, it's this awful bill becomes law. Millions of kids could lose access to free school meals because of the way SNAP interacts with school meals.
▶ 10:57:21Children who lose SNAP benefits also lose direct eligibility for free and reduced meals at school. And so, um, again, I I I urge you a yes vote on this amendment, especially if you want to protect school meals for kids. Is there further discussion on the Yes, Madam Chair. Yeah, this this um this provision has been a particular concern in my district.
▶ 10:57:48Um we have several schools that have the community um feeding waivers so that they can provide free school uh lunches to everyone in the district. And um if the SNAP cuts cut too many kids off this then they won't be able to provide the schoolwide lunches and that means more kids will go hungry which means they will not learn as well in school. So I think this is a really important amendment and I'd urge everyone to support it.
▶ 10:58:18Is there further discussion? Hearing? None. The questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion of the chair, the nos have it. The amendments not agreed to. Ask for roll call vote. Please. Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hin. Mrs. Hench. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No, Mr. Jack. No, Mr. McGovern.
▶ 10:58:48Hi, Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scallan. Hi, Miss Gallen. I Mr. Negus. Hi, Mr. Noose. I Mr. Ledger Fernandez. Fernandez, I Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total. Four, nine. The nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 10:59:08I move the committee make an order amendment number 59 offered by Representative Del Benny which makes the child tax credit fully refundable uh and increase the credit amount from $2,000 per child to 6360 for newborns, 4320 for children ages 1 through six and 3,600 for children aged 6 through 17. The Democrats passed an historic change to the child tax credit in 2021 cutting child poverty in half.
▶ 10:59:34Under the Republican bill today, families making $400,000 a year get the full child tax credit, but lower income families may get nothing or just a fraction of that due to how Republicans structure the credit. The official nonpartisan joint committee on taxation estimated that next year, if we if the Republican bill were to pass, 17 million children who are American citizens would be blocked from getting the full value of the child tax credit. I urge a yes vote on my amendment and I yield back. Is there further discussion on the amendment?
▶ 11:00:04Yes, please. Miss Ganlin, thank you. I I mean, we've heard a lot of testimony today about the fact that this bill is going to result in a wealth transfer from our poorest Americans to the wealthiest. It the bill does not provide meaningful tax relief for working families in the middle class. It slashes benefits that millions rely upon to make ends meet.
▶ 11:00:26So, one thing that we can do and that we know to be a really effective policy to reduce poverty and help families with the cost of living is to reinstate the expanded child tax credit that was issued in as part of the American Rescue Plan. That expansion nearly eradicated child poverty in the US. We had historic lows as a result.
▶ 11:00:49So instead of giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires who don't need it, let's give families a real tax cut that will actually benefit kids by reinstating the expanded child tax credit. I yield back. Thank you, Miss Kalin. Is there further Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion share, the nos have it. The amendments not agreed. Ask for roll call. Madam chair.
▶ 11:01:19Clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hton. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scanland. Hi. Mr. Scandlin. I. Mr. Nagus. Hi. Mr. Nagus. I. M. Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I. Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total. Four yays, nine.
▶ 11:01:49No have it. The amendments not agreed to. Madam chair, I have an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 146 offered by Representative Mike Thompson, which strikes section 70436 of the bill, which eliminates the transfer and manufacturing tax on silencers, short barrel rifles, and shortbarrel shotguns. This bill is full of handouts to special interests. I mean, as we talked about, the bill gets rid of an excise tax on gun silencers.
▶ 11:02:16Tax has been in place for nearly a hundred years, and it's a vital public safety measure. And the Senate went even further and also got rid of the tax on sought out shotguns and rifles, which are more easily concealed under clothing. Over 400 silencers were found on or traced to violent crime scenes in 2023 alone. this this will cost the American taxpayer nearly $2 billion uh and is a brazen attempt to make it easier to commit violent crimes and get away with it.
▶ 11:02:43I mean, we're talking about cost savings uh and you're adding $2 billion uh to the deficit and the debt by eliminating this tax and you're cutting food, you know, from SNAP for families. I mean, anyway, I I I don't I urge a yes vote on this and uh and uh and I, you know, hopefully we'll make it an order. there.
▶ 11:03:06Further discussion on the Hearing none, the question, I would just tell you if there if there were that many suppressors found, they were probably homemade suppressors and not those that were actually manufactured from uh somebody that is actually licensed manufactured suppressor. Thank you, Mr. Scott. The uh the question is on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No.
▶ 11:03:35In the opinion chair, the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Roll call. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Sin. Mr. Sin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scan. Hi. Mr. Scan. I Mr. Noose. Hi. Mr. Negus. I Mr. Ledger Fernandez. Ledger Fernandez. I madam chair. No.
▶ 11:04:05Madam chair. No. Clerk will report the total. Four yays. Nine. Nos have it. The amendments not agreed to. Madam Chair, I have a amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 102 offered by Representative Chu which prevents federal contributions to Trump accounts for children of taxpayers who earn at least $1 million. I mean, this is uh her amendment would place a very modest guard rail around the Trump accounts proposed in this bill.
▶ 11:04:32Uh and um again, I think this is the right thing to do and I would urge you guys vote. Sir, further discussion on the hearing none. The question is on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. All those opposed say no. In the opinion, share the nose have it. The amendments not agreed. for roll call. Clerk will call the roll. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchen. Mrs. Houch.
▶ 11:05:03No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I miss Gallen. Hi. Miss Gallen. I. Mr. Noose. Hi. Mr. Noose. I. Miss. Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger Fernandez.
▶ 11:05:22I madam chair no madam chair no clerk will report the tug four yes nine nays the nose have it the amendments not agreed to madam chair I have an amendment to the rule I move the committee make an order amendment number 42 offered by representative dogget which reduces the cost of the bill by about half by ensuring only the 98% of taxpayers earning $400,000 or less each year receive a tax break and the 2% of taxpayers earning over400 $100,000
▶ 11:05:52do not receive any new tax breaks. Um and again, if Republicans want to put their money where their mouth is and provide tax relief for working families, not millionaires and billionaires, they should support this amendment. And um you know, again, this this uh this this alone would save the American taxpayers trillions of dollars. And I urge a yes vote on my amendment. Is there any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no.
▶ 11:06:23No. No. In the opinion, chair, the nose have it. The amendments not agreed to. Madam chair, I have an I I have uh an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 83 offered by Representative Chu, which ensures that no one earning more than $10 million per year receives a tax cut. So, Republicans just voted down a motion to protect tax relief for families making under $400,000 a year. Uh, this new amendment would ensure that those making over 10 million per year would not get a tax cut.
▶ 11:06:52Under this bill, people making over a million dollars a year would get an average of $96,000 tax cut compared to those making less than $50,000 who will get less than $1 per day. And so the question is, do you want to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on tax giveaways to those making over $10 million a year? That's what this vote is about. I urge a yes vote on my amendment. Is there any further discussion on the amendment hearing? None. The questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I.
▶ 11:07:22Those opposed? No. No. In the opinion, chair of the nose have it. The amendments not agreed to. Call. Mr. McGovern asked for a roll call. The clerk call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mrs. Hen. Mrs. Howchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scallan. Hi. Miss Gallen. I Mr. Negus.
▶ 11:07:53Hi. Mr. Negus. I miss Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Eight. Nays. Madam chair. I nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. I have an amendment to the rule. So, I move the committee make an order amendment number 304 offered by Representative Gomez, which establishes a 39.6% tax bracket for income over $1 billion. Okay.
▶ 11:08:20So, for those following along at home, Republicans have voted down our amendment to limit tax cuts to those making under $400,000 per year. And they blocked another amendment to ensure people making over $10 million a year won't get a tax cut. So, we'll see how this goes. This amendment would block Republicans from giving another tax cut to Americans making over a billion dollar per year in income. That's a billion with a B.
▶ 11:08:44Republicans are kicking millions of Americans off their healthcare and SNAP benefits in order to finance tax cuts for uh uh in order to uh finance tax cuts uh that basically are giveaways to to billionaires. I'm giving my friends one last chance to redeem themselves by voting in favor of this amendment. Again, this would prevent uh tax cuts for people earning over a billion dollar a year.
▶ 11:09:12Is there any further discussion on the Miss Leure Fernandic Madam Chair. Thank you. I would point out that there are only 813 billionaires in this country.
▶ 11:09:36So basically when you are voting against this amendment, you're saying these 813 billionaires are more important than all the other people in my district or that's how it could be seen by some. And so I would urge people to consider the hundreds of thousands of people who will be losing Medicaid that we have pointed out in your district and think about them.
▶ 11:10:00Uh, think about the middle class and the working class who they need the tax cuts and the extension of the tax breaks, but the 813 billionaires, they're just doing fine. In fact, they have $50 million readings as they float in on their $500 million yacht. I don't think they need another tax break. So, that's why I'll be supporting the amendment. Is there any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I.
▶ 11:10:30Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion of chair of the nose have it. The amendments. Roll call. Mr. McGovern request a roll call. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach? No. Mrs. Fishbach? No. Mr. Norman? No. Mr. Norman? No. Mr. Roy? No. Mr. Roy? No. Mrs. Hton? Mrs. How? No. Mr. Langworthy? Mr. Langworthy? No. Mr. Scott? No. Mr. Scott? No. Mr. Griffith? Mr. Griffith? No. Mr. Jack? No. Mr. Jack? No. Mr. McGovern? Yes. Mr. McGovern? I. Miss Gallon. Hi. Miss Gallon. I Mr.
▶ 11:11:00Negus Mr. Goose. I Merch Fernandez. Hi, Mr. Ledger. Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total. Four yays. Nine. The nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Miss Scan, you're recognized. Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 11:11:17I move the committee make in order amendment number 213 offered by ranking member Rascin which lifts the ban on burn jag and cops funding for state and local police to ensure that they can receive funding for community violence intervention and prevention initiative Strong, effective community violence intervention and prevention efforts are key to ending gun violence all across the country. I've seen these problems work in my region.
▶ 11:11:46Over the past few years, Philadelphia has seen a significant drop in gun violence year over year using datadriven strategies to the point where the city is now only suffering from its lowest levels of gun violence in over a decade. We've seen similar results in the city of Chester, also in my district, which has seen a 72% decrease in shootings. lives have been saved and I know my district's not the only one where this work is happening.
▶ 11:12:16People have been coming from around the country to study the techniques that have been used with our gun violence intervention programs. So right now we should be building on this progress, not going backwards. This bill is actually defunding the police at a time when people across the country continue to live with the fear and grief caused by senseless gun violence. And this administration is kneecapping critical gun safety efforts. Efforts that keep guns out of dangerous criminal hands.
▶ 11:12:46Republicans are seemingly using this bill to prevent key funding for state and local law enforcement that can be used on violence prevention programs, programs that help law enforcement protect their communities, and programs that work. Restricting this funding just shows a an effort by congressional Republicans to prioritize the NRA over American people. So I would ask for support for this amendment and I yield back.
▶ 11:13:16Is there further discussion on the Hearing none the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opend have it. the amendment. Miss Scandlin requests a roll call vote. The co clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchen. Mrs. Hchen. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott.
▶ 11:13:46No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Gallon. Hi. M. Scallan. I. Mr. Negus. Hi. Mr. Nagus. I. Miss. Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger Fernand.
▶ 11:14:00I madam chair no madam chair no the clerk will report the total four yes nine nays the nos have it the amendment is not agreed to miss scandlin you're recognized madam chair I have an amendment to the rule I move the committee make an order amendment number 79 offered by representative gyipal which prohibits the use of funds in subtitle a of title 7 from being used by Immigration and customs enforcement to detain or deport US citizens.
▶ 11:14:30This amendment is straightforward. It should be uncontroversial. It would ensure that none of the funds in this bill are used to detain US citizens for immigration enforcement. US citizens should not be detained by ICE or any agency conducting immigration enforcement. Republicans told the American people that immigration enforcement would target dangerous individuals, but that has not been the case. The administration's obsession with quotas and mass deportation is wrecking havoc.
▶ 11:14:59across our country and violating the rights of US citizens, among others. Reports of US citizens being wrongfully arrested and detained during immigration enforcement started coming out just days after Donald Trump was sworn in. Some have been detained for merely speaking Spanish. Others were held for 10 days despite consistently telling Department of Homeland Security officials that they were citizens.
▶ 11:15:24ICE detention of US citizens because of reckless and indiscriminate immigration enforcement is both unconstitutional and dangerous. Even ICE acknowledges that it has no authority to arrest and detain US citizens. Their internal guidance says as a matter of law, ICE cannot assert its civil immigration enforcement authority to arrest and/or detain a US citizen.
▶ 11:15:49Alarmingly, ICE has already deported three US citizen children, ages 2, 4, and seven, to Honduras. In another case, they did this despite the father petitioning in federal court to have his 2-year-old US citizen child released to him. According to an attorney for the family, ICE did not allow the mother and father to communicate after she was detained. I should never have been detaining that US citizen child to begin with who they unlawfully detained for three days, let alone deporting her.
▶ 11:16:18Congress has a duty to act. We must ensure that government funding does not support illegal or unconstitutional actions. This amendment is a necessary safeguard against this administration's reckless approach to immigration enforcement. I urge a yes vote on my amendment and yield back. Is there any further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. All those opposed say no. No.
▶ 11:16:49In the opinion chair, the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hen. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No, Mr. Jack. No, Mr. Jack. No, Mr. McGovern. Hi, Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scallan. Hi, Miss Gallen. I Mr. Nagus. Hi, Mr. Nagus. I M Ledger Fernandez. Mr. Ledger Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair, no.
▶ 11:17:19Clerk reports a total four, nine. The nose have it. The amendments not agreed to. Miss Ganlin, you're recognized. Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 201 offered by myself which directs the secretary of agriculture to reinstate the local food purchase assistance cooperative agreement program and the local food for schools cooperative agreement program.
▶ 11:17:43We've heard a lot today about the impact that SNAP cuts are going to have on children and particularly school lunches. I want to point out yet another slap in the face to both working families and local farmers. The Trump administration canled a billion dollars in funding for two critical programs that do exactly what Republicans like to claim they're in favor of, supporting our communities, our farmers, and our kids.
▶ 11:18:10First, the White House gutted $470 million from the local food purchase assistance program, which helps states, tribes, and territories buy fresh local food from nearby farmers and get it to food banks and hunger relief programs. This isn't a case of waste, fraud, and abuse. It's real food from real farmers going to real people in need.
▶ 11:18:32Then the administration went after the local food for schools program, which helps schools buy healthy local food for school meals from small and underserved producers. Cutting this program hurts both kids and farmers. Let's be clear, this wasn't about saving money. It was about pushing an agenda that leaves families hungry and small farmers behind.
▶ 11:18:55That's why I've introduced this amendment to reinstate these critical programs because the health of our children and the strength of our local food systems should not be up for grabs. I yield Is there further discussion on the Hearing none, the question is on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. In the opinion, chair the nose have it. Miss Gandlin requests a recorded vote.
▶ 11:19:25The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy, Mr. Roy, no. Mrs. Hchin, Mrs. Hchin, no. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, hi. Mr. McGovern, I miss Scallan. I, M. Scan, I, Mr. Noose. Hi, Mr. Nagus. I missed Fernandez. Mr. Ledger Fernandez.
▶ 11:19:49I madam chair no madam chair no clerk will report the total for yes nine ns the nose have it the amendment is not agreed to miss gam madam chair I have an amendment to the rule I move the committee make an order amendment number 210 offered by myself which prohibits funds from title 10 subtitle a from being used to implement or defend executive order 14160 entitled protecting the meaning and value of American citizenship.
▶ 11:20:20Thus far, four district courts and three courts of appeal have all found President Trump's executive order trying to end birthright citizenship to be a clear violation of the 14th Amendment. Because for more than a century, there have been few legal questions as open and shut as whether being born in the United States makes someone a US citizen. And to suggest otherwise is nothing but an unamerican attempt to rewrite both our history and our Constitution.
▶ 11:20:48Now, this president and some of his allies are claiming victory because Trump's Supreme Court refused to confront the merits of this attempt to undo birthright citizenship. But the legal challenges are not over and the blatant unconstitutionality of this executive order remains exactly the same. So, my amendment would make clear that no funds in this bill can be used to enact or defend the Trump administration's unconstitutional effort to end birthright citizenship.
▶ 11:21:17I yield Is there any further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. All those opposed say no. No. No. In the opinion chair, the nose have it. Miss Kandlin requests a recorded vote. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchen. Mrs. Hchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr.
▶ 11:21:47Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scan. I scan. I Mr. Negus. Hi. Mr. Negus. I Mr. Ledger Fernandez. Mr. Ledger Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. The clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine. N. The nose have it. The amendments not agreed to. M. Gamlin. Madam Chair, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 11:22:14I move the committee make in order amendment number 187 offered by myself which strikes the section of the bill that repeals the authorization and res re rescends funding for addressing air pollution at schools. This amendment would strike a provision that cuts funding to help communities address air pollution in and near schools. It's sickening that this program is on the chopping block.
▶ 11:22:38A program that for a minor sum helps schools address air pollution that worsens asthma, harms brain development, and leads to more sick days. It's particularly important when so many of our public schools are decades old, sometimes centuries old, and really have serious air quality issues. In the region that I represent, one in four kids suffers from childhood asthma. So, it's even more important. Our children spend nearly a thousand hours a year at school.
▶ 11:23:08If their error isn't safe, their learning suffers and their health is at risk. This program is just common sense. I would hope we could agree that nothing is more important than the health of our children. So, please support this amendment, protect our kids, and keep our air clean. I yield back. Thank you. Is there any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion chair of the nose have it.
▶ 11:23:38The amendments not agreed to. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Houchin. Mrs. Houch. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I. Miss Gallon. I. Miss Gallon. I. Mr. Nagus. Hi. Mr. Mr.
▶ 11:24:04Nagus I miss ledger Fernandez I led Fernandez I Madam Chair no Madam Chair no clerk will report the total for yes nays the nose have it the amendments not agreed to Madam Chair Miss Ledger Fernandez you're recognized I have an amendment to the rule I move the committee make an order amendment number 474 offered by myself which uh would uh strike section 70101 as presently written and replace
▶ 11:24:34it with section 70101. Maintain middle class tax rates and increase rates on the rich. We had discussion earlier today about how Democrats stand with the importance that we will support uh the extension of the middle class tax cuts.
▶ 11:24:54Uh but we are not in favor of providing additional tax cuts and tax breaks to the wealthiest people and richest corporations who funded many Republican campaigns. They say a budget reflects your values and a budget reflects who you prioritize. With this bill, Republicans are prioritizing those wealthiest corporations and people. But they're not just prioritizing billionaires. They are also throwing working and middle class families under the bus.
▶ 11:25:25The top 01% will receive $39,000 in tax breaks under this bill. That's more than $847 a day. My amendment makes clear that Democrats support taxes for working and middle class Americans, but it just asks the richest Americans to pay their fair share. Very straightforward, the amendment.
▶ 11:25:49If you are in favor of tax cuts and tax breaks for middle Americans, support this amendment. If you out there, anybody listening, if you make less than $600,000 a year, your tax gates rates would not go up under my amendment or under this bill.
▶ 11:26:08If you make more than that, your tax rate is just going to go back to what it was in So with that, madame chair, I urge a yes vote on my amendment and for the middle class. Is there any further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion, the share of the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to.
▶ 11:26:36On behalf of the clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No, Mr. Mr. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hton. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I Miss Scallan. Hi. M. Scallan. I. Mr. Negus. Hi. Mr. Nus. I. M. Ledger. Fernandez. Hi. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I. Madam Chair. No.
▶ 11:27:06Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine. A. The N have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, Miss Leisure Fernandez, I have an amendment to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 167 offered by Representative Chu, which strikes the provisions that make Affordable Care Act coverage more expensive.
▶ 11:27:29This bill doubles down on cruel and dangerous cuts to Medicaid coverage by closing off the ACA marketplace coverage for eligible individuals. You're going to stick people in the middle. You're going to kick them out of Medicaid and then not let them get on the Affordable Care Act. It is insanity. And this is what leads to when you go visit your rural hospitals and they worry about this.
▶ 11:27:53They say, "Oh, these are the private pay, which means no pay." And when you don't get any pay at your rural hospitals, that's what leads to having them go under. It's a purgatory of no healthc care insurance. This bill also removes yearround enrollment for lowincome families. This means a family of three making less than $39,970 a year would be disqualified from reduced premiums.
▶ 11:28:23Now, that's not a lot of money for a family of three. In 2025, enrolles with an income um of less than 150% of the federal poverty, which is at 39,000, made up the largest share of all marketplace enrolles, 47%. So you are basically harming almost half of the people on the Affordable Care Act.
▶ 11:28:50Now my suggestion is actually very popular among Republicans. Trump pollster John Mclofflin found that even most Trump voters oppose shortening the open enrollment period. In fact, 56% of Trump voters oppose it.
▶ 11:29:08So, if you're listening to your Republican voters, and I listen to mine in my district, I urge you vote for this amendment to make sure that the Affordable Care Act is Is there any further discussion on the amendment hearing? None. The question is on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion chair, the nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Recorded vote. Madam chair.
▶ 11:29:39The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hchen. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott, no. Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, yes. Mr. McGovern, I miss Scallan. Hi. Mr. Scallan, I Mr. Noose. I Mr. Negus. I M Ledger Fernandez. I Ledger Fernandez I. Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no.
▶ 11:30:08Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine. Nays. The nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, I h I have an amendment uh to the rule. I move the committee make an order amendment number 192 offered by Representative Underwood, which makes the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits permanent.
▶ 11:30:30Now, this is one of those tax credits that we should be making permanent, not just the tax cuts that go to the wealthy because these premium tax credits are critical in making health coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable and they're going to expire at the end of 2025.
▶ 11:30:49About 22 million people, including five million small business owners and self-employed workers, will see their coverage costs skyrocket or they'll lose coverage altogether because they can't afford it. They'll make the decision that when their health insurance goes up, if you are a 60 year old couple and you're making $82,000 a year, your health insurance is going to go up from $581 to $2,364.
▶ 11:31:21And that's if you live in Wisconsin, our Wisconsin uh uh Congress people might be worried about this. They have Pennsylvania, Arizona. These are serious numbers. And if you're a 40y old, it's also very scary. It triples. So, it's really bad if you're a 60-y old. It's really bad if you're a 40-year-old.
▶ 11:31:43Um, so without this, the extension of this valuable credit, an estimated 4.2 million people will be uninsured in 4.2 million. These are the kind of people we're talking about that we need to make sure we get covered. I want to inform my colleagues that the exploration of these healthc care subsidies are widely unpopular once again even among Republican voters.
▶ 11:32:11In fact, Trump pollster John Mccclaclin found that 77 77% including 73% of Trump voters would likely vote for a candidate who voted to preserve those premium tax credits which help low and middle inome Americans pay for the Affordable Care Act plans.
▶ 11:32:32Most Americans and Trump voters are also less likely to vote for congressional candidates whose vote causes more than 17 million people to lose their health insurance. Once again, what you guys are doing is wildly unpopular even among Republicans. But here is an opportunity to help 4.3 million people continue to get their health covered. I urge a yes amendment, a yes vote on my amendment. Is there any further discussion on the amendment?
▶ 11:33:01Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. Any opinion? Chair. The nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. The clerk uh of a vote and clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchen. Mrs. Howchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Mr.
▶ 11:33:30Griffith, no. Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, Mr. McGovern, I Miss Scallan. Hi, Mr. Gallon. I Mr. Nagus. Hi, Mr. Nagus. I Mr. Ledger Fernandez. I s Fernandez. I Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total. Four, nine. The nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, Miss Leisure Fernandez, I have an amendment to the rule.
▶ 11:33:56I move the committee make an order amendment number 125 offered by representative Morrison uh which will restore funding for Planned Parenthood. This bill will force the closure of onethird of Planned Parenthood clinics that cuts access to not just essential reproductive health care but prenatal care.
▶ 11:34:18So, if you care about making sure that women who are pregnant get the kind of prenatal care they need so they can have healthy babies, you want to support the Planned Parenthood centers that often operate in deserts. The Yale School of Public Health today they have provided us with the information that says that these closures will lead to about 100 additional maternal deaths every year.
▶ 11:34:48100 women who would not have to die um except for this bill. Um I'd also point out that they they noted that there were going to be 42,952 uninsured births. Now, when you have an uninsured birth, it means that likely that woman hasn't gotten the kind of prenatal care that will lead to a healthy baby. Um, and let's think about uh where these planned parent centers are at worst.
▶ 11:35:16Gley Health Center and Congressman Gabe Evans district in Colorado 8, Flemington Health Center and Congressman Keane's district, New Jersey 7, Allentowns Health Center and Congressman Ryan McKenzie's district in Pennsylvania. And then clinics in Uklair, Lusk Cross and Wisconsin Rapids in Congresswoman Derek Van Orton's district. These clinics are also in places where there are not other facilities close by.
▶ 11:35:44Defending Planned Parenthood really means more women with undiagnosed cancers, more STI going untreated, and fewer options for birth control. This is a backdoor attempt to get abortion. banned, but you are hurting women's health in the process.
▶ 11:36:06Uh so if you care about women's life, about women's health, and you want to make sure there is access in underserved areas, uh I encourage you to vote for my amendment, and I yield back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, the questions on the amendment? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. In the opinion chair, the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to.
▶ 11:36:38Madame chair. Miss Leisure Fernandez. Uh, a recorded vote. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mrs. Fishbach. No. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hen. No. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith. Mr. Mr. Griffith, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. Jack, no. Mr. McGovern, hi. Mr. McGover McGovern, I Miss Scallan, hi. Miss Gallon, I Mr. Negus, Mr.
▶ 11:37:07Negus, I missed Fernandez. I Fernandez I, Madam Chair, no. Madam Chair, no. Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine. Nice. Uh, the nos have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Madam Chair, Miss Ledger Fernandez. So since we will be likely passing this rule in the dead of night in the next morning, we are really relying on this electricity. In fact, we have relied it on all day.
▶ 11:37:35And that's why I have an amendment to the rule to move the committee to make an order amendment number 38 offered by Representative Thompson. Um so to strike section 70501 through 70515 that repeal the clean energy tax credits. Repealing these tax credits is a hike on working families. You're going to have them pay more for their energy costs.
▶ 11:37:59The bill would raise energy bills by an average of $120 a year just from repeilling these electricity credits. In some states, it's worse. It's going to be $43 more in Texas, $310 more in Kentucky, $274 more in Missouri, and $163 more in Pennsylvania. Nationwide, families will pay $25 billion more for their energy per year by 2040.
▶ 11:38:30That's not reducing costs. That's just just a whopper of uh price increase for our Americans. And in the repeal of energy efficiency, home solar, clean vehicle credits, the cost to families are going to skyrocket. But, you know, uh, Republicans don't oppose all energy subsidies. They only like subsidies that go to big oil.
▶ 11:38:56In 2022, fossil fuel companies received $3 billion in direct subsidies each. And we heard earlier today that it is actually higher when you consider all the subsidies. I think the figure was about 22 billion. Clean energy supports lots of jobs, too. 3.5 million jobs. And it's back. Another very popular thing that Americans like, it's backed by 60% of Americans.
▶ 11:39:20And while we debate and Republicans move to kill it, China is leaving us behind in the race to lead uh the $2 trillion global clean energy economy. If you vote against this amendment, don't pretend it's about energy dominance. It's about picking winners. and you're picking billionaires and dirty fossil fuels over working families. And with that, I yield back.
▶ 11:39:48Is there further discussion on the Hearing none, the questions on the amendment. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. No. Independent share the nose have it. The amendment is not agreed to. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mrs. Fishbach, no. Mr. Norman, Mr. Norman, no. No. Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hton. Mrs. Hchin. No. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Langworthy. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Griffith.
▶ 11:40:19No. Mr. Griffith. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. Jack. No. Mr. McGovern. Hi. Mr. McGovern. I. Miss. Gallon. Hi. Miss Gallon. I. Mr. Nagus. Mr. Nagus. I. M. Ledger. Fernandez. M. Ledger. Fernandez. I Madam Chair. No. Madam Chair. No. Clerk will report the total. Four. Yes. Nine. N. The nose have it. The amendments not agreed to. Is there any other amendment or discussion?
▶ 11:40:50Hearing none. Hearing no further discussion. The question is on the motion from the gentleman from Virginia. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. In the opinion, all those all those opposed say no. No. In the opinion of the chair, the eyes have it. The motion is not approved. I ask for a roll call on this. A recorded vote has been requested. The clerk will call the role. Mrs. Fishbach. I. Mrs. Fishbach. I. Mr. Norman. Mr. Norman.
▶ 11:41:20I. Mr. Roy. Mr. Norman. No. Mr. Roy. No. Mr. Roy. No. Mrs. Hchin. Hi. Mrs. Hchin. I. Mr. Langworthy. I. Mr. Langworthy. I Mr. Scott. I Mr. Scott. I Mr. Griffith. I Mr. Griffith. I Mr. Jack. I Mr. Jack. I Mr. McGovern. No. Mr.
▶ 11:41:50McGovern. No. Miss Gallon. No. Miss Gallon. No. Mr. Nagus. No. Mr. Nagus. No. M. Ledger Fernandez. Miss Ledger Fernandez. No. Madam Chair. I. Madam Chair. I. The clerk will the clerk will report the total seven yay six nays. The eyes have it.
▶ 11:42:19The motion to report is agreed to accordingly. I'll be managing this rule for the majority and I'll be doing it for Mr. McGovern will for the minority. Without objection, the committee is