John Kennedy Lists Example After Example Of Tax-Funded Programs He Wants Cut

Forbes Breaking News

In Senate floor remarks, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) listed several tax-funded programs he wants to see cut.

Transcript

00:00Let me change the subject slightly, Mr. President.

00:05As you know, we're working hard on reconciliation.

00:09I suspect we're going to have a bill before us here in a few days.

00:14It's very important. It does a lot.

00:16And I know reasonable people have disagreed over it.

00:19But first and foremost, if we pass the bill,

00:23it will represent the largest tax increase in the history of our country.

00:27Let me say that again, because sometimes we tend to lose sight

00:32of the main purpose of the bill, of the forest,

00:35as we start battling about the trees.

00:39If we pass this bill, it will be the largest tax cut in the history of America.

00:46But the converse is also true.

00:50If we don't pass this bill,

00:52it will be the largest tax increase on the American people

00:57in the history of America.

01:00So there are two doors here.

01:02Door number one, pass it.

01:04Largest tax cut in the history of America.

01:08Door number two, don't pass it.

01:09Largest tax increase.

01:11$4.3 trillion.

01:14That's how much taxes will go up on ordinary Americans.

01:18Not just the rich.

01:19I know they're going to tell you that.

01:22It's just the rich.

01:23No, it's not.

01:25It's ordinary Americans.

01:27It's every American.

01:30We don't pass this bill.

01:33You raise taxes $4.3 trillion

01:35on 300 plus million Americans.

01:40And you watch this economy go down

01:42like a fat guy on a seesaw.

01:47We don't have a choice.

01:48But as we're discussing reconciliation,

01:53there's another issue

01:54that I don't want us to forget about.

01:56Put up that first chart for me.

02:00Reconciliation is about cutting and spending.

02:04But what we call rescission is about cutting.

02:09As you know, Mr. President,

02:10the United States Congress

02:11is responsible under our Constitution

02:13for passing a budget.

02:15And when we pass a budget

02:17and send it to the President,

02:19any President,

02:21the President can either veto it or sign it.

02:24What he can't do,

02:25or she can't do,

02:26is go through it and say,

02:27I like this.

02:29I want to keep it.

02:30I don't like that.

02:32I'm going to cut it.

02:32It's called a line item veto.

02:35President Clinton tried it,

02:36and the United States Supreme Court said,

02:39can't do it.

02:41So,

02:41the President,

02:42once we pass a budget,

02:43has to swallow it whole

02:45or has to spit it out.

02:49But one of the tools

02:50that the President does have,

02:52the Executive Branch has,

02:54every President has,

02:55is the power of rescission.

02:59You're going to hear that word a lot,

03:00rescission.

03:02What does rescission mean?

03:04It just means the President

03:06looks at the budget,

03:07and he says,

03:08you know,

03:10I know I can't change it

03:12on my own,

03:13unilaterally,

03:14but I, the President,

03:16can ask Congress to change it.

03:18I know you just passed this budget,

03:20but I think you made a mistake here.

03:22I think you shouldn't have spent this money.

03:23You spent this money.

03:25Or I think you spent too much money

03:26and we've got to cut back.

03:29So the President can send us

03:31what's called a rescission bill.

03:34And we've got to take it up.

03:37We don't have a choice.

03:39And in that rescission bill,

03:42the President said,

03:42just what I just implied,

03:44I don't agree with this spending,

03:46and I want you, Congress,

03:47who put it in there,

03:48to take it out.

03:50We can't afford it.

03:52Or it's wasteful spending.

03:53What I call spending porn.

03:58And we have to take up

03:59the President's request,

04:01and we can vote yes,

04:02or we can vote no,

04:03but we cannot dodge it.

04:08And it only takes a majority vote

04:10to pass the President's request.

04:13The President has sent to us

04:17a rescission package.

04:22It's $9.4 billion,

04:25as you know, Mr. President.

04:29$9.4 billion.

04:31The President is asking us

04:35to remove spending

04:37that Congress appropriated

04:39for areas in foreign aid

04:44and for public broadcasting.

04:46I want to talk about the foreign aid part.

04:51We're going to have plenty of time

04:52to debate whether we ought to agree

04:54with the President.

04:56But I want the American people

04:58to understand

05:00the type of spending porn

05:03that President Trump is asking

05:06to take out

05:07of Congress's budget.

05:10The Honorable Jody Arrington,

05:13who is a Congressman,

05:16a damn good one, too.

05:18He's Chairman of the House Budget Committee.

05:20The Congressman put together

05:23just a few items

05:26in the foreign aid spending provisions

05:29that the President's asking us to remove.

05:32This list is illustrative.

05:37It's not exhaustive.

05:40And I just wanted to point

05:42a couple of these programs out.

05:46Again, this is spending

05:47the President is asking us to revoke.

05:50You be the judge, folks.

05:51It's your money.

05:53American people can decide

05:54whether we ought to spend

05:55their money on this

05:56or take it out

05:57as the President has requested.

06:01Four, here's my chart,

06:03but I don't know if you can read it.

06:06Put up the...

06:06In fact, it's the wrong chart, Henson.

06:08Put up the other one, mate.

06:13I'll just mention

06:14a couple of the programs.

06:16Congress appropriated

06:18$4 million

06:18for sedentary migrants

06:21in Colombia.

06:23The President wants us

06:24to take it out.

06:26Congress appropriated

06:28and the...

06:29And let me say,

06:30in many of these cases,

06:32we didn't appropriate

06:33the money

06:33for the specific things

06:35it was spent on.

06:37The bureaucrats did that.

06:39We might have sent

06:40the executive branch,

06:43let's say,

06:44$3 million

06:45for foreign aid

06:46and the executive branch,

06:48the bureaucrats there

06:49decided,

06:50under President Biden,

06:51decided how the money

06:52would be spent.

06:53So I know

06:55Congress is not blameless,

06:57believe me,

06:58but we did not approve

07:01these specific items

07:02of expenditures.

07:04We approve the amounts

07:06and the general subject area

07:08like foreign aid.

07:09The bureaucrats

07:10did the rest.

07:12The bureaucrats

07:13decided to spend

07:14$3 million

07:16for circumcision,

07:18vasectomies,

07:19and condoms

07:20in Zambia.

07:22You decide

07:23whether that's a priority.

07:24$3 million

07:26for sexual

07:28reproductive health

07:29in Venezuela.

07:31$2.5 million

07:33for teaching

07:34young children

07:35how to make

07:36environmentally friendly

07:38reproductive

07:39health decisions.

07:43I didn't know

07:44there was any such thing

07:45as an environmentally

07:47unfriendly

07:49reproductive health decision.

07:51$167,000

07:55the bureaucracy

07:58has spent

07:59or is proposing

08:00to spend

08:01on free education

08:02and health care

08:03to migrants

08:04in Ecuador

08:05and Venezuela.

08:06$67,000

08:08to provide

08:10insect powder

08:12to children

08:13in Madagascar.

08:14Mr. President,

08:15have you ever had

08:16insect powder?

08:18Don't answer that.

08:19I don't think

08:19I'm even supposed

08:20to be asking you

08:20under the Senate

08:21rule,

08:21but I haven't

08:22had it.

08:25In the area

08:26of

08:27LGBTQIA

08:31and gender

08:32programs,

08:36and again,

08:37you be the judge

08:38whether this

08:39is something

08:40we ought to be

08:41spending your money

08:41on when we've

08:42got $36 trillion

08:43of debt.

08:48LGBTQIA

08:49stands for

08:50lesbian,

08:50gay,

08:52bisexual,

08:53transgender,

08:55intersex,

08:57and asexual.

08:59The one I had

09:00to look up

09:01was intersex.

09:02Apparently,

09:03intersex is

09:04when someone

09:04identifies as both

09:06a man

09:06and a woman.

09:07the bureaucracy

09:11wants to spend

09:13$5.1 million

09:14to strengthen

09:16the, quote,

09:17resilience

09:17of lesbian,

09:19gay,

09:19bisexual,

09:20transgender,

09:20intersex,

09:21and queer

09:22global movements.

09:24The president

09:24has asked us

09:25to take it out.

09:27$833,000

09:29for services

09:30for, quote,

09:31transgender people,

09:32sex workers,

09:33and their clients

09:34and sexual networks

09:35in Nepal.

09:40$643,000

09:41for LGBTQIA

09:44programs

09:45in the Western

09:46Balkans.

09:49$567,000

09:50for LGBTQIA

09:53programs

09:54in Uganda.

09:56$33,000

09:57for being

09:59LGBTI

10:00in the Caribbean.

10:04In the area

10:05of the climate,

10:06Mr. President,

10:08the bureaucrats

10:09want to spend,

10:10and President Trump

10:11wants us

10:11to take it out,

10:13$6 million

10:14appropriated

10:15for net

10:16zero cities

10:17in Mexico.

10:19$2.1 million

10:21for climate

10:22resilience

10:23in Southeast Asia,

10:25Latin America,

10:26and East Africa.

10:28$614,000

10:29and $7,700

10:30for climate

10:32adaptation,

10:34including growing

10:35coral reefs

10:36in the Caribbean.

10:37$500,000

10:38to Rwanda

10:39to buy electric

10:40buses.

10:42Your money.

10:44$8,000

10:45to promote

10:47vegan food

10:48in Zambia.

10:52In terms of

10:53electoral assistance,

10:54the bureaucracy

10:55has some ideas

10:56about how we

10:57ought to spend

10:58the money

10:58appropriated

10:59to the executive

11:00branch

11:00to help people

11:01in their elections.

11:03The bureaucracy

11:04wants to spend

11:05$1 million

11:05on voter ID

11:07programs

11:08in Haiti.

11:09If you know

11:11anything about Haiti,

11:13it's a mess.

11:15They're not about

11:16to have elections

11:16anytime soon.

11:17$889,000

11:21for electoral

11:22reforms

11:23and voter

11:24education

11:25in Kenya.

11:26In the area

11:28of media,

11:29arts,

11:29and culture,

11:31the bureaucracy

11:32proposes

11:33to spend

11:33$6 million

11:34to support

11:36media organizations

11:38and civic life

11:39in Palestine,

11:40Palestine rather,

11:41and $3 million

11:44for a rocky

11:47Sesame Street.

11:50This is just

11:51a taste,

11:51Mr. President.

11:53This list

11:54is illustrative.

11:55It's not exhaustive.

11:57So when you see

11:59us debating

12:00whether we should

12:02reduce the federal budget

12:04by $9.3 billion,

12:07which the House

12:08has already decided

12:09to do,

12:10and now it's

12:11our turn,

12:13and I say

12:14what the President,

12:15which I have

12:16repeatedly said

12:17and will continue

12:18to say,

12:19is that all

12:20the President

12:20is asking us

12:21to do

12:21is cut the

12:22spending porn

12:23from the budget.

12:26You can make

12:27up your own mind.

12:28It's your money.

12:30If you think

12:31the President

12:31would be spending

12:32the money on this,

12:34encourage us

12:35to vote no.

12:37But if you think

12:38you could spend

12:39this money

12:40of yours better

12:41than the bureaucracy

12:42could,

12:43or we could

12:43spend it

12:44on our kids

12:46or our roads

12:47or our health care,

12:50then encourage us

12:51to vote yes.

12:52Thank you,

12:53Mr. President.

12:54I see my colleague

12:54Senator Warren

12:55is here,

12:56so I will yield

12:58the floor.

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