Jim McGovern Explodes On Republicans As Big Beautiful Bill Hits The House Floor

Forbes Breaking News

On the House floor, debate kicked off for the Big Beautiful Bill.

Transcript

00:0020 p.m. that the Senate passed with an amendment, H.R. 1. Signed sincerely, Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk.

00:11For what purpose does the gentlewoman from North Carolina seek recognition?

00:15Thank you, Mr. Speaker. By direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution

00:20566 and ask for its immediate consideration. Clerk will report the resolution.

00:25House Calendar No. 35, House Resolution 566, resolved that upon adoption of this resolution

00:32it shall be in order to take from the Speaker's Table the Bill, H.R. 1, to provide for reconciliation

00:37pursuant to Title II of House Concurrent Resolution 14 with the Senate Amendment thereto, and to

00:43consider in the House, without intervention of any point of order, a motion offered by

00:48the Chair of the Committee on the Budget or his designee that the House concur in the Senate

00:53Amendment. The Senate Amendment and the motion shall be considered as read. The motion shall

00:58be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Minority

01:03Member of the Committee on the Budget or their respective designees, and the Chair and Ranking

01:07Minority Member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees.

01:11For what purpose does the gentleman from Massachusetts seek recognition?

01:15Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Section 426 of the Congressional Budget and Empoundment Control Act of 1974,

01:21I make a point of order against consideration of the rule, House Resolution 566. Section 426

01:28of the Budget Act specifically states that the Rules Committee may not waive the point

01:33of order prescribed by Section 425 of that same Act. House Resolution 566 states that it

01:41is in order to consider a motion that the House concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1,

01:46quote, without intervention of any point of order, end quote. Therefore, I make a point

01:50of order pursuant to Section 426 that this rule may not be considered.

01:55The gentleman from Massachusetts makes a point of order that the resolution violates Section

02:00426A of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The gentleman has met the threshold burden under

02:08the rule, and the gentleman from Massachusetts and a member opposed each will control ten minutes

02:12of debate on the question of consideration. Following debate, the Chair will put the question

02:17of consideration as the statutory means of disposing of the point of order. The Chair recognizes

02:22the gentleman from Massachusetts.

02:23Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

02:26The gentleman is recognized.

02:27Mr. Speaker, let me say this once again. We will not stand by and watch Trump and his billionaire

02:33friends destroy this country without putting up one hell of a fight. And because this rule

02:39waives the point of order against unfunded mandates, it is not in order to consider it

02:44on the floor. The bill Republicans are attempting to jam through the House today cuts nutritional

02:49assistance for moms and dads, kids, people with disabilities, veterans and senior citizens.

02:56It goes after the most important people in our lives, our families, to fund massive tax breaks

03:02for the richest people in the world. I think that that's wrong and I think it's immoral.

03:07But more than just a massive betrayal of the American people, this bill is also a massive

03:12new unfunded mandate on states. Don't just take my word for it. The nonpartisan experts

03:18at the Congressional Budget Office said Title I of the bill, the Agriculture Committee's

03:23portion of this awful bill, would impose intergovernmental mandates by requiring states for the first

03:29time ever to provide state funding for food assistance benefits, increasing the share of food assistance

03:35administration, administrative costs paid by states, and requiring state agencies to perform

03:40additional administrative duties. This massive new unfunded mandate would cost states a whopping

03:47$19 billion each year. Mr. Speaker, where the hell are states going to come up with this

03:53kind of money? They can't. And so what will happen is people will get kicked off of food assistance,

04:00and they will go hungry. State after state has written to Congress begging us not to pass

04:05this awful bill. They have made it very clear that if this bill goes through, states will

04:10be forced to cut benefits, kick eligible people off of food assistance entirely, or raise taxes

04:17to pay for this massive new bureaucracy that Republicans are creating in every state in this country.

04:23The chairman of the Agriculture Committee's home state of Pennsylvania would have to come up with over

04:27$1 billion dollars to cover the state's share of benefit costs. There is no state in this country

04:35who is able to take on this kind of massive unfunded mandate. And we're talking about basic needs for

04:41people. A food assistance benefit of $2 per meal so people don't go hungry. And by the way, that money not only

04:49lifts people out of poverty, it improves health, and it uplifts local economies too. Hunger costs this

04:55country, and food assistance programs save us money. People who have enough food to eat are more

05:01productive at work. Kids who are not hungry are able to learn better in school. And seniors who take

05:06their medication on a full stomach are less likely to go to emergency rooms. No American should go without

05:12food. This is a human rights issue. We live in the richest country on earth, for God's sake. And not a

05:17single kid in this country should go to bed hungry. Not a single damn one. And especially not when

05:23Republicans are giving millionaires and billionaires a big fat tax break. So I said to my Republican

05:29colleagues, what's wrong with you people? In this bill, you provide a $2 billion dollar tax break for

05:35gun silencers, but you cut SNAP benefits for vulnerable families, which, by the way, is on average

05:43$2 per person per meal. Jesus Christ, what are you people thinking? I reserve my time.

05:51Gentleman reserves this time for what purposes? Gentlewoman from North Carolina seek recognition.

05:55Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to claim time in favor of consideration of the resolution.

06:02Gentle ladies, recognize for 10 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question before the House is,

06:09should the House now consider House Resolution 566? Though the resolution waives all points of order

06:18against consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to HR 1, the Committee on Rules

06:27is not aware of any violation of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, nor has the Congressional Budget

06:35Office identified any violation of the Act. The reason for this motion is plain and obvious. It is not a

06:44legitimate attempt to question consideration, but simply a dilatory tactic to further delay consideration

06:52of this historic legislation and to give the Democrats more time to mislead Americans. We must dispense

07:02with this question of consideration so we can move the process forward and enact the agenda President Trump

07:11and the American people have demanded. I reserve my time.

07:15Gentle lady reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts.

07:19Mr. Speaker, I just want to say we have a letter from the Congressional Budget Office confirming that

07:25there are unfunded mandates in this bill. And at this time, I yield two minutes to the gentleman from

07:30Ohio. Ms. Brown.

07:32Gentleman's recognized. Gentlewoman's recognized for two minutes.

07:35Thank you, Ranking Member McGovern for yielding. I rise in strong opposition to this rule and the

07:41underlying bill. For the first time in history, this bill would force states to pay to pay for part of

07:48SNAP benefits, and it would require states to increase their share of administrative costs.

07:53This is an unfunded mandate, plain and simple. And let's be clear, the costs are staggering,

08:00the consequences devastating, and the cruelty deeply disturbing. This policy punishes those who can

08:08least afford it. Seniors on fixed income, veterans and families already forced to choose between gas and

08:15groceries. States will be stuck in a corner. Cut benefits, cut eligibility, or cut public safety,

08:22education, housing, and mental health programs just to stay afloat. This isn't just a budgeting decision.

08:30It's a values decision. And for what? To take from the hungry and give it to the wealthy. To slash

08:39SNAP benefits, just six dollars per day, and hand a quarter, a quarter million dollar tax break to the

08:46top 0.1 percent. 0.1 percent. That's not policy, that's plunder. The math doesn't lie. In North

08:54Carolina, it's 400 million dollars, more than the entire state budget for child development and early

09:00education. In Georgia, it's 500 million, double what the state spends on child welfare. And in my state of

09:08Ohio, it's 300 million dollars, four times the transportation budget. My colleagues are writing

09:14checks that the government can't cash. And when the money runs out, the food runs out. Children go

09:20hungry. Seniors skip meals. Veterans, working moms and dads will be turned down and turned away. All

09:27because of a vote taken here today. This mandate isn't just unfunded, it's unfathomable. So I urge my

09:37colleagues, reject this provision, reject this rule, reject this betrayal. Don't reward the rich on the

09:46backs of hungry Americans. And with that, I yield back.

09:49The gentleman from North Carolina. I reserve, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from Massachusetts.

10:00Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut, a member of the Agriculture Committee,

10:05Ms. Hayes. The gentleman is recognized for two minutes.

10:10Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I rise today against the Republican Reconciliation Bill,

10:15which would put 42 million Americans at risk of losing their SNAP benefits.

10:19These policies are untested, they are dangerous, and they are arbitrary. Congress did not engage in a

10:25thoughtful process to make these changes to SNAP. The majority has not held a single hearing on the

10:30nutrition subcommittee on the cost-sharing provisions or the impact of this legislation.

10:37They have not solicited feedback from stakeholders or experts on what these changes would mean to

10:42states and hungry families who rely on SNAP. The Republicans did not examine these policies closely

10:48because they knew it would take food away from hungry families, and they didn't care. They have

10:54chosen to provide tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals. They know these changes will devastate

11:00state budgets. In my home state of Connecticut, we could have to pay up to an additional $221 million

11:07per year for SNAP benefits and an additional $39 million for administrative costs. Connecticut,

11:13like most states, will have to come up with these funds or deny basic services that they need for

11:18other things like education, public safety, health care, and just providing for our roads and bridges

11:25in our states. Notably, not every state will be subject to this change. Late into the night,

11:31the Republican majority jumped through hoops to exempt non-contiguous states from these policies to pass

11:36cruel legislation. That is why we're up here, writing legislation on the fly to protect some Americans

11:42while going after others. No one should go hungry, whether they live in Connecticut,

11:48Alaska, Hawaii, or anywhere. It should not matter where you live or what kind of deal your senator

11:55made. Everybody deserves to eat. I urge my colleagues to reject this irresponsible legislation, and I yield back.

12:02The gentleman from North Carolina. I reserve Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from Massachusetts.

12:10Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have left?

12:14There's two and a quarter minutes remaining. Two and a quarter minutes?

12:17Yes. I yield myself to balance the time. Mr. Speaker, I don't think any of my Republican

12:25colleagues have read this provision in the reconciliation bill. In fact, the Agriculture

12:32Committee never even did a hearing on it. And yet, billions and billions of dollars in new costs are

12:38going to be thrust upon states. And states are going to have to decide whether to cut other programs in

12:44order to make sure that no one loses their nutrition benefits or they're going to have to cut people

12:49off of their nutrition benefits. The SNAP benefit on average is about $2 per person per meal. That's it.

12:55You can't buy a damn cup of coffee in the capital with that. And my Republican friends are obsessed

13:03with trying to throw people off of this benefit. I have no idea why.

13:06You know, most of the people on the benefit are children, are senior citizens. They include veterans.

13:13Many of them are working full-time and can't afford to put food on the table. And this benefit

13:20helps them provide for their families. And my Republican friends, you know, have basically gone

13:27an attack on this most basic, effective program that is about food. You can live without a lot of

13:36things, but you can't live without food. So, Mr. Speaker, for those Republicans who think that it's okay

13:41to give Jeff Bezos a tax cut and at the same time cut food benefits for struggling families, let me say

13:49clearly, we don't share the same values. We don't share the same values. Unloading billions of dollars in

13:55new costs on states, money they do not have, will force them to cut benefits and throw needy people

14:01off of SNAP. It is a rotten thing to do. And I believe there's a special place in hell for

14:07people who take food away from veterans, from seniors, from children, from former foster youth,

14:14and from hungry families. This is sick. This is disgusting. I yield back.

14:18The gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from North Carolina.

14:22Thank you. Pardon me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time and urge all

14:29members to vote yes on the question of consideration of the resolution. The gentleman yields back the

14:34balance of her time. All the time for debate has expired. The question is, will the House now

14:38consider the resolution? Those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the Chair,

14:45the ayes have it. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the yeas and nays.

14:47The ayes and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the ayes and nays will rise. Sufficient

14:52number having arisen, the ayes and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes by

14:56electronic device. This will be a 15-minute vote.

15:17...

15:26...

Category

Transcript

Recommended