Chuck Schumer Outlines How Senate Democrats Will Fight GOP Budget 'With Every Fiber Of Our Being'

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about Democratic opposition to the Republican budget that narrowly passed the House in May.

Transcript

00:00Now on reconciliation. What Senate Republicans will try to do this month is a travesty.

00:08They're picking up right where House Republicans left off, trying to ram through this chamber

00:13Donald Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill. As the Senate returns to session, we do not yet

00:22have a text for the Republicans' mega bill, but make no mistake, the fight against this bill

00:27is ramping up today. It starts with Senate Democrats showing the American people what

00:36the bill actually is. One ugly bill. One of the most reckless, odious, and self-serving pieces of

00:43legislation we've seen in a long time. Today I want to share broadly how Senate Democrats will

00:50fight this bill with every fiber of our being. It's going to be a long and drawn-out fight,

00:55but the American people deserve to see precisely how cruel, how vindictive, how ugly this big

01:04bill truly is. Case in point, House Republicans tucked into their bill a nasty provision that

01:12will restrict the power of judges to hold government officials in contempt. It's very

01:17clear what's going on here. Republicans want to codify into law Donald Trump's attack against our

01:27judicial system. They want to make our courts toothless by nullifying their contempt powers

01:33and make it easier for the Trump administration to ignore the courts. This is nothing less than a

01:39naked attack against the separation of powers. If Senate Republicans include this authoritarian

01:45provision in their bill, Democrats will fight it tooth and nail. We'll not stand by while Republicans

01:52try to sabotage our courts, and I fervently believe their effort will not win the day.

02:00Now, yesterday I also spoke with Leader Jeffries about how both chambers can work together to fight

02:05back against this bill. This Wednesday, Senator Klobuchar and I have also invited House Democratic

02:11Ranking Members to meet with our caucus and share firsthand insight from their fight in the House,

02:18including key Republican fault lines. In all likelihood, this bill will continue to undergo changes

02:25and get sent back to the House. For that reason, Democratic unity will be our strongest weapon

02:30as we defend the American people from harms contained in the bill.

02:34Our fight in the coming weeks, of course, is not just procedural. It's going to happen on every front,

02:41in committees, in public hearings, in the birdbath, online, in public, and here on this floor.

02:47The Republican plan is very simple. Sell out working and middle-class Americans

02:52to line the pockets of the ultra, ultra wealthy and well-connected. And let's talk about the deficit.

03:00For years, Republicans screamed about fiscal responsibility. But now, Republicans are backing

03:08a bill that could add over $50 trillion to the national debt over 30 years. Even Elon Musk said

03:16this bill is a bad idea. That should tell you something. And most cravenly of all, Republicans

03:27are cooking the books so they can pretend their tax breaks won't impact the debt.

03:32Republicans are planning to use the budget chair's Section 312 authority under the Congressional Budget

03:38Act in an unprecedented and illegitimate manner to run roughshod over the Byrd rule.

03:44The bottom line is this. Republicans' one ugly bill is a farce. It's betraying our values.

03:51It's a threat to working families. And it's a giveaway to the very few at the expense of

03:56the many. Senate Democrats will fight this bill in committee, on the floor, and in the

04:01court of public opinion every step, every day, and every possible way.

04:06I believe to my core that the American people, when they truly know what this bill is all

04:14about, if they see how shamelessly it enriches the wealthy and everyone else, the American

04:20people will reject it outright.

Category

Transcript

Recommended