- 5/23/2025
In House floor remarks on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) tore into the Big Beautiful Bill.
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00:00The gentleman from New York, the minority leader, is recognized for one minute.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
00:06Let me also thank the distinguished gentleman from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who
00:10has done a tremendous job leading the Ways and Means Committee on our side, Congressman
00:15Richie Neal.
00:16I also want to thank Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, Ranking Member Jim McGovern, all of
00:22the members of the Ways and Means Committee, the Budget Committee, the Rules Committee,
00:28every single member of the House Democratic Caucus who has stood on this floor, stood
00:32before the Rules Committee, participated in markups on behalf of the American people in
00:38defense of the American people.
00:40Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this reckless, regressive, and reprehensible
00:48GOP tax scam.
00:50This is one big, ugly bill that House Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the
00:59American people under the cover of darkness.
01:05This legislation will not make life better for the American people.
01:11The GOP tax scam represents an assault on the economy, an assault on health care, an
01:18assault on nutritional assistance, an assault on tax fairness, and an assault on fiscal
01:25responsibility.
01:26There are more than a hundred other reasons to vote against this one big, ugly bill that
01:34can be found by reading this more than 1,000-page document.
01:44Those reasons are too numerous to mention, but this legislation also undermines reproductive
01:50freedom, undermines the progress that we have made in combating the climate crisis, undermines
01:58gun safety, undermines the rule of law and the independence of the federal judiciary.
02:05It even undermines the ability of hardworking and law-abiding immigrant families to provide
02:12remittances to their loved ones who may just happen to live abroad.
02:18There are more than a hundred different reasons to vote against the GOP tax scam.
02:27And in the days, in the weeks, in the months to come, all of those reasons will be exposed
02:33for the American people in each and every one of your districts.
02:39But this bill represents a failed promise.
02:45Last year, Donald Trump and House Republicans spent all of their time talking about their
02:53promise to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America.
02:59In fact, Donald Trump and Republicans promised that costs would go down on day one, when
03:07now more than 120 days past the inauguration.
03:13Costs aren't going down, they're going up.
03:17Inflation is out of control.
03:19Insurance rates remain stubbornly high.
03:23Our Moody's rating, our credit rating, has been downgraded.
03:29And you've got people losing confidence in this economy.
03:36Republicans are crashing this economy in real time and driving us toward a recession.
03:44But beyond that, costs are actually going up.
03:50The trade war that Donald Trump has recklessly launched, his tariff scheme, will raise the
03:59cost of goods and groceries and gas for everyday Americans.
04:05The Americans that you claimed you were going to help, but the Americans that you are clearly
04:10hurting.
04:13You've destabilized the business environment.
04:16Small businesses are at risk of closing, farmers, small family farmers are in distress.
04:24Businesses can't invest.
04:26People are not hiring.
04:30You are actively crashing the economy, driving America toward a recession.
04:37You promised to lower costs on day one.
04:40Costs aren't going down, they are going up.
04:44Now as House Democrats, we believe that we have to build an affordable economy for hardworking
04:51American taxpayers.
04:53We're committed to lowering housing costs and grocery costs and insurance costs and
04:59child care costs and utility costs.
05:03America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, there are far too many people
05:08living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet.
05:16Here in this country, no American should find themselves in that situation.
05:25And you promised that you would do something about it.
05:29But things are not getting better, they are getting worse.
05:35We could have partnered together to try to find a bipartisan path toward building an
05:42affordable economy for hardworking American taxpayers.
05:45But you chose to go it alone.
05:50To try to drive your extreme right-wing policies down the throats of the American people.
05:59And that's what this one big ugly bill represents.
06:05Not simply a broken promise as it relates to your failures on the economy, and despite
06:13the gentleman from Louisiana trying to articulate all of the so-called successes that have taken
06:20place, we know that this presidency has already been a failure.
06:27Filled with crisis and chaos, cruelty and corruption.
06:35And the American people know it, which is why Donald Trump, at the 100-day mark, was
06:40the most unpopular president in American history.
06:45The American people understand.
06:49It's unfolding right before their eyes, no matter what kind of MAGA spin you try to put
06:55on the situation.
06:57And things are going to get worse.
07:00Why?
07:02Because of this big ugly bill.
07:06Not simply an assault on the economy, a broken promise, it's an assault on the health care
07:15of the American people.
07:16You see, as Democrats, we believe in this country, health care is not simply a privilege,
07:23health care is a right.
07:30From Medicare to Medicaid to the passage of the Affordable Care Act and subsequently enhancing
07:37it, we've begun to move America to a place where every single person in this land could
07:45have access to the health care that they need to live a life of dignity and respect.
07:52At this moment in America, we have the lowest rate of uninsured people in our nation's history.
07:59But this GOP tax scam will reverse that with this assault on health care, the largest cut
08:09to Medicaid in American history.
08:12And here's what it will mean for the American people.
08:16Children will get hurt.
08:18Women will get hurt.
08:21Older Americans who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care and for home care will get hurt.
08:29People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive will get hurt.
08:38Hospitals in your districts will close.
08:42Nursing homes will shut down.
08:44And people will die.
08:48That's not hype, that's not hyperbole, that's not a hypothetical.
08:52The people that you all represent have been writing to us to make that clear.
09:00Thousands of people who've written to us, everyday Americans, have made that clear.
09:08And let me just present a few of those stories into the record.
09:14I have type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed when I was 7 years old.
09:21I've had jobs with private insurance in the past, but I lost my job during the pandemic.
09:29With child care becoming a major challenge, it made more sense for me to stay home with
09:34the kids, but that also meant losing my health benefits.
09:40Right now, we're all on Medicaid.
09:44It's crucial for me to stay alive and healthy.
09:49I need insulin and supplies to manage my diabetes every single day.
09:58Without it, I could die.
10:03That's Shauna, who lives in Arizona's 6th congressional district.
10:12My youngest son has leukemia.
10:14He was a self-employed handyman, and therefore he didn't have sufficient insurance.
10:22When the cancer became more debilitating, he could no longer work.
10:28He has undergone radiation, stem cell transplant, and then more radiation.
10:38He is still fighting the cancer, and without Medicaid and the fine physicians, he would
10:46surely die.
10:50That's Greg, who lives in the 8th congressional district of Colorado.
11:00As a cancer survivor with chronic illnesses, I rely heavily on Medicaid and food stamps
11:10to get by.
11:12Without these essential programs, people like me would suffer.
11:17I'm currently taking expensive medication to stay in remission, but my condition and
11:23the side effects of my treatment make it impossible for me to work.
11:29Unfortunately, my work history also disqualifies me from receiving Social Security benefits.
11:35I'm not alone in my dependence on these Medicaid and food stamps benefits.
11:45Children, elders, and many others who are sick or struggling also rely on them to survive.
11:54I urge you to do the right thing for the people you represent.
11:59Without food stamps and Medicaid, the consequences would be painful and even deadly.
12:08That's Julissa, who had a message for her representative in Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district.
12:18We're here to say, as House Democrats, to Shauna, to Greg, and to Julissa, that if your
12:29representatives won't fight for you, we will.
12:33We will.
12:36We will.
12:38If they won't fight for you, we will fight for you.
12:44For your health care, for your decency, for your well-being, for your grace, and for your dignity.
13:01Now in addition to visiting the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, that's
13:09not enough for the MAGA extremists.
13:14CBO has independently confirmed that this one big ugly bill will also set in motion
13:26a $490 billion cut to Medicare in this country.
13:37Now unfortunately that should come as no surprise because we know that our Republican colleagues
13:44for decades have been trying to attack Social Security as they're doing right now, not necessarily
13:55in this bill.
13:56Why?
13:57Because the 1974 Budget Control Act prevents you from doing it.
14:05But you've been going after Social Security for a long time, going after Medicare for
14:12a long time, and Elon Musk, who seems to function as your puppet master, has made clear his
14:20intentions, which you just follow.
14:26As if you work for him, Elon Musk wants to take a chainsaw to Social Security.
14:35A chainsaw to Medicare, as you're doing in this bill.
14:40A chainsaw to Medicaid, as you're doing in this bill.
14:45Here's our message to you and the American people, no matter how long it takes, House
14:52Democrats are going to take a chainsaw to Project 2025.
14:59Because it's not in the best interests of the American people.
15:06And what this bill represents is your effort to try to put into law Project 2025.
15:13You acted like you didn't know anything about it.
15:16This is why you have no credibility right now.
15:19You spent all of last year lying to the American people, saying to them that you were going
15:27to lower the high cost of living.
15:29In fact, you're doing the exact opposite.
15:32At the same period of time, you acted like you knew nothing about Project 2025, and this
15:40bill is an effort to try to implement it into law.
15:48So you mentioned credibility issues.
15:52I think it exists on the right side of this chamber.
15:58Now not only have you gone after Medicaid, not only have you gone after Medicare, in
16:07this you are to direct your comments to the chair.
16:17Mr. Speaker, you know what's interesting?
16:19Is that every time I've come on this floor, I can use sharp language, he can use sharp
16:24language, you choose to admonish me.
16:28I don't work for you, sir.
16:29I work for the American people.
16:31I understand.
16:33I understand.
16:51House will be in order.
16:58As I said, Mr. Leader, we've been very patient.
17:02Just listen to the majority leader of the other side, who directed all of his comments
17:08to the chair.
17:10It is important for the decorum of the institution for you to do the same.
17:16You may proceed.
17:17We can continue this.
17:19You may proceed.
17:20And every time I'm interrupted, that's going to add another 15 minutes to my remarks.
17:24Fair enough.
17:28Mr. Speaker, so what we've seen is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, an effort
17:44to devastate Medicare, and of course what this bill also does is strip away some of
17:54the coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act.
18:00Millions of people will lose their coverage as a result of this GOP tax scam.
18:08And so when you aggregate the assault on healthcare that's taking place, what we're likely to
18:15see is at least 13.7 million people are going to lose their healthcare in the United States
18:26of America.
18:27That's what we're fighting for.
18:29That's why we're a no amongst several other reasons on this bill.
18:36It's an assault on the economy.
18:40An assault on healthcare.
18:44It's also an assault on nutritional assistance.
18:50Now in the 1960s, the American people were shaken up and disturbed by images that they
19:01saw after some investigations exposed the conditions of some people in America who were
19:11dealing with intense hunger in rural America, in under-resourced communities, in communities
19:22of color.
19:24Images of children with distended bellies, families rummaging through garbage in order
19:35to find food so they wouldn't starve.
19:39That's what eventually led to the creation of what is now the Supplemental Nutritional
19:46Assistance Program.
19:49Because the American people concluded that in this great country, not a single child
19:55should ever go hungry.
20:00That's our position.
20:01Apparently, it's not the position of my Republican colleagues.
20:09Because in this bill, in this bill, snap, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program
20:23will experience more than $300 billion in cuts.
20:30The largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history.
20:38Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Republicans are taking food out of the mouths of children,
20:49disabled Americans, veterans, and older Americans.
20:56That is another reason why we are strongly opposed to this bill.
21:01This is the United States of America.
21:05The wealthiest country in the history of the world.
21:09It is indecent to rip food out of the mouths of children and everyday Americans.
21:18It is indecent.
21:27And to make matters worse.
21:30We know that as a result of this bill, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute, there
21:40are 18 million children in this country who are at risk of losing school meals.
21:50Decade after decade after decade in America, we've made great progress.
21:55And that progress, as it relates to alleviating hunger and food insecurity, is now at risk
22:05of being rolled back.
22:07And one of the excuses that I'm sure we'll hear from the speaker of this institution
22:17is that this one big ugly bill is all about waste, fraud, and abuse.
22:23It's interesting because month after month after month, we continue to hear that phrase.
22:29And let's be clear, as Democrats, we believe in trying to make sure that federal taxpayer
22:36dollars are spent in an efficient and an effective way.
22:42We're all for that.
22:44But that's not what's being done in this bill.
22:49No evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse has been presented in a compelling way.
22:58In fact, you know what's interesting?
23:01You're talking about taking away nutritional benefits that amount to $2 per meal, $6 per day.
23:15At the same time, when Elon Musk and his federal contracts are worth $8 million a day.
23:25If you're trying to find waste, fraud, and abuse, I have a suggestion.
23:30Start right there.
23:32Start right there.
23:34Don't take food from the mouths of our children.
23:40Start right there.
23:44And so it's one big ugly bill, it's a GOP tax scam, it's a reckless Republican budget.
23:52It's an assault on the economy.
23:56It's an assault on health care.
23:59It's an assault on nutritional benefits.
24:04It's also an assault on tax fairness.
24:09I mean, here's the thing.
24:11That it's the largest cut to health care in American history,
24:18coupled by the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history,
24:25in order to enact the largest tax breaks for billionaires in American history.
24:32That's unacceptable, that's unconscionable, and that's un-American.
24:38That's un-American.
24:42Because my Republican colleagues promised that they would actually focus their efforts
24:49on trying to make life better for everyday Americans.
24:55But disproportionately, the benefits of this bill, as confirmed by independent observers,
25:04don't go to those who may be at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
25:13They actually go disproportionately to those at the highest end of the economic spectrum.
25:21CBO analysis, requested by Congressman Boyle and myself, just confirmed that.
25:30Not hype, not hyperbole, not a hypothetical.
25:36It's what will happen if this one big, ugly bill became law.
25:44And so it's an assault on tax fairness.
25:50And of course, that's coupled with the assault on fiscal responsibility.
25:58It's ironic to me that many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim
26:03to be the party of fiscal responsibility.
26:07But as Richie Neal has often eloquently articulated, that's not what the record shows.
26:14The record shows something very different.
26:18And this fiscal irresponsibility that comes from the other side of the aisle
26:22is actually connected to the obsession with massive tax cuts
26:28for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected.
26:32We've seen this rinse and repeat scenario play itself out over and over and over again.
26:42President Reagan comes into office.
26:45And what is his signature domestic priority?
26:48His signature domestic priority, massive tax cuts for the super wealthy.
26:56And as a result, he escalates the debt and the deficit.
27:03Those policies, of course, are continued by his successor, President George H.W. Bush.
27:11But then President Clinton takes office.
27:15And in his eight years, turns a deficit into a budget surplus.
27:22That's fiscal responsibility.
27:26And then after eight years in office, President Clinton is replaced by President George W. Bush,
27:36who proceeds to follow the same playbook.
27:41You used to call it trickle-down economics.
27:43The American people aren't buying it because they figured out what trickle-down economics means.
27:50We may get a trickle, but we're guaranteed to stay down.
27:55And that's what's happened over and over and over again.
27:59So President Bush comes into office.
28:03And what does he do?
28:04Massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected.
28:10The 2001 tax cuts, the 2003 tax cuts, turned a budget surplus into a massive deficit.
28:23And then further exacerbated the problem with a failed war in Iraq and a failed war in Afghanistan,
28:30a sleep at the switch as it related to the economy, which resulted in the Great Recession.
28:41So President Obama takes office to once again demonstrate what fiscal responsibility is all about.
28:52And in eight years, takes the deficit that he inherited of $1.5 trillion and cuts it by a trillion dollars,
29:06notwithstanding the economic mess that he inherited, having to dig the country out of the Great Recession.
29:18And then, of course, after eight years of President Obama, which brings us to the current administration in its first term,
29:29as my colleague from Louisiana talked about, what's your signature legislative accomplishment?
29:37The 2017 version of the GOP tax scam, where by some estimates,
29:4483 percent of the benefits were set in motion for the wealthiest 1 percent.
29:50And you borrowed more than $2 trillion to do it.
29:59Once again, exploding the debt and the deficit in the United States of America.
30:08President Biden comes into office in his first two years.
30:12Notwithstanding all of the signature accomplishments, many of which did have some bipartisan support, particularly in the Senate.
30:21Significant accomplishments led by President Biden.
30:28Speaker Pelosi, Democrats in the House, partnering with our colleagues in the Senate.
30:33Notwithstanding all of those accomplishments, reduces the deficit in his first two years by $1.7 trillion.
30:43That's what fiscal responsibility looks like.
30:46So we're not going to be lectured on this issue.
30:50And then my colleagues have the nerve to talk about fiscal responsibility,
30:58to try to pass a bill that disproportionately benefits their billionaire donors like Elon Musk.
31:07And borrows will add to the debt more than $5 trillion.
31:16That's an assault on fiscal responsibility.
31:20That is forcing our children and our grandchildren, all of them, to shoulder an unnecessary burden that will limit their ability to fully experience the American dream.
31:37And so that's why we oppose this bill.
31:45An assault on the economy, an assault on health care, an assault on nutritional assistance, including on our veterans.
31:58An assault on tax fairness.
32:01And an assault on fiscal responsibility.
32:06As I close, let me make one other observation.
32:11I do believe that there are people of faith on both sides of this chamber.
32:21Authentically, people of faith on both sides of this chamber.
32:25I'm not one to question anyone's faith.
32:28But I do think we have to ask the question.
32:32Particularly when you study the gospel, and the gospel in particular of Matthew 25 and 35, 35 through 40,
32:46where Jesus talks about the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless,
32:59the people who are confined, strangers in a foreign land.
33:09That when you know the gospel, when you are charged with trying to live the gospel, it cannot be the case that one goes to synagogue, or one goes to the mosque,
33:23or one goes to church, as I do, but one goes to church to pray on Sunday.
33:32And then comes to Washington, D.C. to pray on the American people the rest of the week.
33:40P-R-E-Y.
33:43Can't pray on the poor, pray on the sick, pray on the afflicted, pray on our children,
33:52pray on people with disabilities, pray on our veterans who served this country.
34:00And project that that is consistent with the faith that I at least know, anchored in Matthew 25 and 35.
34:13So, Mr. Speaker, I think this, in some ways, is a sad day here for this institution.
34:24James Madison, one of our great thinkers, I believe it was in Federalist 51, talks about Congress, at its best,
34:36should function as a rival to the executive branch.
34:43Serve as a check and balance on the out-of-control impulses of an executive that may emerge from time to time.
34:53Congress, according to James Madison, at its best, would serve as a rival to the executive branch.
35:04But unfortunately, our House Republican colleagues haven't followed the vision of this Madisonian version of democracy
35:16because you have consistently proven to be nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.
35:25And the American people are paying attention.
35:30The American people are paying attention.
35:31So I think that when the story is told of the 119th Congress, when the votes are ultimately cast on that first Tuesday in November next year,
35:49that this day may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives.
36:00Because the American people are paying attention.
36:07They are smarter than you think.
36:09And they know when they are being hurt.
36:12They know when their interests are not being served.
36:15And they know when they have been lied to and deceived.
36:21You see, they know that Congress was meant to be a separate and co-equal branch of government.
36:30We don't work for President Trump.
36:32We don't work for J.D. Vance.
36:34We don't work for Elon Musk.
36:37We work for the American people.
36:39That's what House Democrats are all about.
36:43And because we work for the American people, we will continue to stand up for an economy that's affordable and makes life better for hardworking American taxpayers.
36:57We'll stand up for Social Security.
36:59Stand up for Medicare.
37:01Stand up for Medicaid.
37:02Stand up for nutritional assistance.
37:04Stand up for our children.
37:06Stand up for our veterans.
37:08Stand up for our seniors.
37:10Stand up for our families.
37:12Stand up for the American way of life.
37:16That's what House Democrats will continue to do.
37:19We will stand up today.
37:20Stand up tomorrow.
37:22Stand up this week.
37:23Stand up next week.
37:25Stand up this month.
37:26Stand up next month.
37:28Stand up this year.
37:30Stand up next year.
37:32Stand up at all times until we end this national nightmare and restore the American dream for every single person in this great land from sea to shining sea.
37:46Vote no or yield back.