- 7/2/2025
House Democrats held a press briefing on Wednesday on the Big Beautiful Bill.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning. We are here today united as House Democrats to make clear to the
00:10American people that every single House Democrat will stand up for your health
00:16care, stand up for your Medicaid, stand up for your Medicare, stand up for the
00:23Affordable Care Act, stand up for nutritional assistance for our children,
00:28our seniors, and our veterans, stand up for our hospitals, stand up for our
00:34nursing homes, stand up for our community-based health centers, and stand
00:40up against massive tax breaks for GOP billionaire donors. And that is why
00:52every single House Democrat will vote hell no against this one big ugly bill.
01:06And all we need are four House Republicans to join us in defense of their constituents who
01:19will suffer mightily from this bill. Children will be hurt. Families will be hurt. People
01:28with disabilities will be hurt. Women will be hurt by what is an all-out assault on
01:36the health care of the American people. An unprecedented assault ripping health
01:42care away from more than 17 million Americans. Premiums, co-pays, and
01:48deductibles for other people on private insurance will go up all across the
01:54country. Hospitals will close. Nursing homes will shut down. Community-based clinics
02:01won't have the ability to operate. And as a result, people are going to die connected
02:11to this one big ugly bill. Tens of thousands of unnecessary American deaths per year. Shame on
02:22Republicans for even bringing this bill to the House floor. So all we need are four
02:30Republicans to join us in support of their constituents to have John McCain-level
02:37courage and stand up in defense of the health care of the American people. What type of party would
02:48bring a bill to the House floor that rips away Medicaid from those in need? What kind of party would bring
02:58a bill to the House floor that literally robs food from the mouths of children, veterans, and seniors?
03:07And all of this is being done to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. It's unconscionable.
03:18It's unacceptable. It's un-American. And House Democrats are committing to you that we're going to do
03:25everything in our power to stop it. And all we need are four Republicans. Just four to show John McCain-level
03:37courage. Just four. There are 220 of them. All we need are four.
03:43And so all we have to do as a Congress is act in a manner consistent with the better angels of this
03:57country. Stand up for everyday Americans. Not the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. That's
04:03what Republicans are doing in bringing this one big ugly bill to the House floor. Why would anyone vote for
04:12this dangerous and extreme bill? Why would Rob Bresnahan vote for this bill? More than 30,000 people
04:22would lose access to their health care in his community in Pennsylvania. Almost 60,000 households
04:32could lose access to food assistance in his community at risk of going hungry. Why would Rob
04:41Bresnahan vote for this bill? Why would Rob Bresnahan vote for this bill?
04:48Why would Scott Perry vote for this bill?
04:52Almost 25,000 people in his community
04:59will lose access to health care.
05:04In his community in Pennsylvania, almost 40,000 households
05:09would lose access to nutritional assistance. They're at risk of going hungry. Why would Scott Perry
05:17vote for this bill?
05:18Why?
05:22You see?
05:23The difference between them and us? They work for the special interests,
05:29for the rich and the shameless, for the wealthy, the well-off,
05:32and the well-connected. House Democrats work for the people. And that's why
05:39we will continue to do everything in our power
05:44to stop this bill in its tracks. Every single one of us will stand up for the health care of the
05:54American people, for the nutritional assistance of the American people, for efforts that actually should
06:00be designed to improve their quality of life, not hurt it, to lower the high cost of living, not raise it,
06:11to bring people together, not tear us apart. John Lewis, who we all had the opportunity to serve with
06:20and continue to draw inspiration from, would always remind us that even in the face of what appears to
06:28be insurmountable odds, that we have a moral responsibility, and that certainly is the case right now,
06:35to show up and stand up and speak up for what we know is right. With every single fiber in our body,
06:44that's what we are going to do. Show up today, show up tomorrow, show up this week, show up next week,
06:51show up this year, show up next year, show up until we end this national nightmare in the United
06:56States of America and continue our march toward a more perfect union. Now my honor, to yield to our
07:06distinguished whip, Catherine Clark. Thank you, Mr. Leader, and good morning. This week, we will
07:19celebrate our nation's independence. We will celebrate our freedom, the fact that we are not ruled by a king,
07:28but that the power belongs to the people. We will celebrate the fundamental promise of the American
07:37dream, the idea that if we work hard, we can provide for our families. We can have a life of dignity, a fair shot.
07:48So it's especially shocking that the Republicans are rushing to sign this cruel bill by the 4th of
07:57July. The largest cut to health care in our history, the largest transfer of wealth from working families
08:06to the billionaire class, a bill that makes Americans sicker and poorer, a bill that takes food from the
08:14hungry. There is no freedom in this bill. Unimaginably, this bill is worse than when it left the House.
08:26It cuts Medicaid by $1 trillion. It kicks 17 million Americans off of their health care. It threatens
08:38hundreds of hospitals with closure, along with a quarter of all nursing homes. It hikes the cost of
08:47electricity. It hands a 3% pay cut to hardworking people of this country and hands their children $5
08:58trillion in debt. Does that sound like freedom to you? Or does that sound like a government of by and for the
09:10rich? So who would vote for this bill? Why would David Valadea vote for this bill?
09:22Over 65,000 people in his district will lose access to health care if this passes. 60,000
09:32households will lose access to their food assistance and over 3,600 energy jobs will be lost just in
09:43California 22. But why would young Kim and California 40 vote for this bill either?
09:50Over 31,000 people in her communities will lose their health care and 15,000 households could lose access
10:02to food assistance. Why indeed? But we've been told exactly where we stand. The vice president said
10:12these cuts are immaterial. Mitch McConnell says people will get over it. Joni Ernst reminded us we're all
10:22gonna die anyway. So at a time when most households are struggling to afford the basics, Republicans have
10:32a clear message for American families. You don't matter. The people that power America
10:41are nurses, our first responders, our small business owners, our veterans. Under this bill, the Republican
10:51Party views you as expendable and that opportunity is reserved for the elite. Freedom isn't something
11:00abstract. It's something you do. It's something you empower people to do. You cannot shackle opportunity
11:09for the American people. You cannot restrain their ability to be free and then drape yourself in the American
11:17flag on Independence Day.
11:21So this 4th of July, House Democrats are going to stand in unity with millions of people across this country.
11:30We are going to do what Americans have done for 250 proud years. We are going to defend our freedom,
11:39we will defeat its enemies, and we will put the power with the people.
11:49And now it is my great pleasure to welcome ranking member of Energy and Commerce, Frank Pallone.
11:56Thank you, Catherine. I just want everyone to understand why we as Democrats are so mad about
12:06this bill. Because it's cruel. Some people have called it beautiful. Some have called it ugly. I
12:12call it cruel. It is the cruelest bill that I've ever seen since my tenure in the House of Representatives.
12:17Now, why is that the case? Because so many people will lose their health insurance. And because of the
12:23lack of affordability, that's going to increase costs in so many ways for the average American.
12:28Look, the bottom line is every time this bill moves forward in Energy and Commerce, 13 and a half
12:33million people lose Medicaid. And then it goes to the House floor, 15 million people. Now, the CBO says,
12:41the Senate bill, 17 million Americans lose their health insurance. And what happens when they lose their
12:48health insurance? The hospitals have uncompensated care, the nursing homes have uncompensated care,
12:54and they have to push those costs on to everyone else. And so premiums go up, co-pays go up,
13:00and people do not, cannot afford their health insurance. The same thing is true with the ACA.
13:04You know, we as Democrats started years ago trying to make sure that so many Americans that didn't have
13:10health insurance did. That was what Obamacare was all about. And then we enhanced the tax credits and
13:16the subsidies. So we got up to something like 95% of Americans had health insurance because of what
13:22we did. But this is reversing that completely. It is reversing that completely. Because the average
13:28person now without enhanced Medicare, without without without the ACA enhanced subsidies, which they did
13:35not include in this bill, they could easily go from paying $100 a month for their ACA coverage,
13:42$1,200 a year to something like $5,200 because they lose that $4,000 subsidy. So I just want to say
13:49one more thing. I know the Republicans are saying constantly that nobody's going to lose their health
13:54insurance if they work. That is a complete lie. That is a complete lie. If you look at this bill,
14:01whether you're disabled, whether you're caring for an elderly, whether you're caring for your children,
14:06you are not going to qualify for the exemptions, and you are going to lose your health insurance.
14:11And the same thing is true with regard to affordability for the energy provisions.
14:15We worked very hard to move towards clean energy because we knew it would be cheaper,
14:19and they're getting rid of it. We worked very hard to have environmental protections in place
14:23because we're worried about people's health and safety, and they get rid of all the major
14:28environmental protections. That is what the Republicans are about. Cruelty. This is unacceptable.
14:33No one should vote for it. It's the cruelest bill that I've ever seen. And now I'd like to introduce
14:39the chairman or the ranking member of our Ways and Means Committee to talk to you about the tax
14:44issues. Richie Neal from Massachusetts. Thanks, Frank. So this is the worst tax bill that I've
14:51seen in all my years in Congress, and that says something. So let's look at the numbers. After the
14:56rejection of expertise, Joint Committee on Taxation has scored it. The Congressional Budget Office has
15:03scored it. And now the attack turns to the Federal Reserve Board. Do you know what that's about?
15:08That's about the idea that they are going to borrow, by raising the debt ceiling, an additional
15:14five trillion dollars to pay for a tax cut, as they did in 2017 when they borrowed 2.3 trillion dollars.
15:21The reality here is this. If you made a million bucks last year, you're getting about 81,000 dollars.
15:26If you made under 50,000 dollars, you're getting 68 cents a day. A day. The attack on the Federal
15:35Reserve Board is clear. They want to raise the debt ceiling to borrow money, but they want the Federal
15:41Reserve Board to cut interest rates so they can say that this is about deficit reduction with lower
15:48borrowing costs. Rural hospitals that we all have, they're going to close. They're up against it.
15:53Many of the hospitals I have, 68 percent in some cases, 75 percent in others dependent on Medicare
16:00and Medicaid, the disproportionate share hospitals. This is where middle class people get health care
16:06as well as the working poor. Understand that this idea that they have today, they haven't thought through
16:14because they're all in subservience to getting it signed on July 4th. They have no idea what they
16:20did in the Senate. They have no idea what they're about to do here in the day because they haven't
16:24seen the particulars of this bill. When you look at this as earlier noted, 17 million people lose
16:33health care to provide a tax cut to the billionaire class. Stand with all of us today and reject not
16:40only the health care policy here, but the economic policy as well. He might be the ranking member on the
16:51Budget Committee, but we know him as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Brendan Boyle.
16:58Thank you. Well, this is it. Today is the day.
17:04If Republicans and Donald Trump succeed today, it will produce the largest loss of health care
17:17in American history. 17 million Americans will lose their health care. The biggest cut to Medicaid
17:26in American history. Millions taken off the Affordable Care Act. And that's not all.
17:34We have discovered half a trillion dollars worth of cuts to Medicare as well. Again, all told,
17:42the largest loss of health care in American history. And for the rest of us who maybe aren't on Medicaid,
17:49not on Medicare, not on the ACA, the quality of our care will go down while the costs go up.
17:55So everyone will pay. And why? Why are they doing this?
18:01To provide billions in tax cuts to billionaires. That is not just bad economics. It is immoral.
18:10That alone will be bad enough. But you heard others speaking before me about some of the other cuts
18:24that are in this bill. Cuts to energy. Cuts as they relate to construction. More than one million
18:31jobs will be lost as a result of this bill. So it's also a job killer. And again, why? So the top one
18:39tenth, one hundredth, one thousandth of one percent can get more money. Congratulations, Jeff Bezos.
18:46This crowd is about to give you a great big wedding gift you don't need. And it's going to be paid for
18:53by taking away health care from millions of Americans and making costs for the rest of us
18:59even more expensive. So we asked, we asked the official scorekeepers, the Congressional Budget Office,
19:07okay, all told, with all the provisions in this bill, how do people do? And what the Congressional
19:16Budget Office found was this. If you're in the bottom third of households, that's everybody who makes
19:22under $55,000 a year, you will be poorer as a result of this bill. If you're middle class, you get
19:30nothing. And if you're in the top one percent, you get the biggest benefit of all. So under the
19:36Republicans bill, the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, and the middle class is left behind.
19:42We say hell no. It is now my honor to introduce a great ranking member from Minnesota, Angie Craig.
20:04Thank you so much. This legislation is nothing short than a betrayal of the
20:12American people, plain and simple. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, helps Americans
20:19meet their basic needs by making food just a little bit more affordable for families. It's a program that
20:27provides $6 a day in help to those who need just a little bit of assistance. The majority of people who
20:36need this food assistance in this country are children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
20:43Cutting $200 billion from the SNAP program not only takes away food from our nation's children,
20:50but it also decreases revenue for our nation's family farmers. All of this is to pay for tax breaks
20:59for the wealthiest among us. It is a betrayal that will have long-term consequences on the health
21:07of this nation. And why would Republicans vote for this national betrayal? Why would Marionette
21:15Miller-Meeks of Iowa's first congressional district vote for this bill? 25,000 people would lose access to
21:26their health care in Iowa 1. Almost 29,000 households would lose access to their food assistance in Iowa 1.
21:361,300 energy jobs could be lost, and at least one rural hospital. This is a betrayal of the American
21:45people. It's a betrayal of the middle class, and it's a betrayal to the most vulnerable people in our nation.
21:53The Senate's version of this bill, which House Republicans are now all too eager to pass,
22:00goes a step further by targeting our nation's veterans, our nation's former foster youth,
22:08and people experiencing homeless in this nation as well. Veterans like Yolanda Gordon of South Carolina.
22:17Yolanda served our nation proudly in the Army. When she transitioned back to civilian life, there was
22:24no daycare in Yolanda's rural house home care community. Nothing that was equipped to meet her
22:31child's special needs so that she could only work part-time while caring for that child. SNAP helped Yolanda
22:40keep her child safe, healthy, and fed. Yolanda served our nation selflessly, and then she returned to serve
22:49the needs of her child. And now Republicans in the Senate version take away all of the hard negotiated
22:58exclusions for our nation's veterans to have those work requirements. Now they want to take the dignity and
23:05respect away from Yolanda and veterans like her across this country. You know, higher costs are
23:12already squeezing American families in Minnesota and across the country. Too many Americans are just
23:18one paycheck away from disaster. Instead of taking food away from tens of millions of Americans,
23:25we should protect and strengthen basic needs programs like SNAP so that food assistance is always there
23:34when we need it. You know, we just need four patriots in the Republican Party. Four patriots in the
23:42Republican Party. Do we have four patriots left in this Republican Party in the United States House of
23:51Representatives? We have four Republicans who represent my home state of Minnesota. Our delegation
23:59is evenly divided. Four Democrats, four Republicans. I challenge my Republicans from the state of Minnesota
24:07to be the patriots we are looking for in our nation. The families I represent in Minnesota, the elderly
24:17neighbors living on fixed incomes, the children whose parent is working two low wage jobs, cannot afford
24:25this terrible bill. I urge my colleagues to vote no. And with that, I would like to introduce the closer,
24:38Chairman Aguilar to close. Thank you, Angie. Donald Trump promised the American people that he would cut costs
24:50on day one. Republicans in Congress swore up and down that their policies would fight inflation and make
24:58life easier for everyday Americans. More lies. But we've all seen under this president and this Republican
25:04majority, the prices continue to rise and the American dream slipping further from reach. Today marks the
25:12culmination of Donald Trump's betrayal of working people across this country. Because of this bill,
25:19your health care is going to go up. Your electric bill is going to be more expensive.
25:26The clothes and groceries that you buy are already rising due to his reckless tariffs.
25:32The only people who make out in this bill are people who can already afford to pay a little bit
25:40more at the checkout line. But that's not the reality for most people in this country.
25:46This bill isn't for the American people. It's a reward to the mega rich campaign donors that bankroll Republican
25:54campaign. Why would Gabe Evans in Colorado vote for this bill?
26:0129,000 people will lose access to health care in his district. 30,000 households will lose access
26:10to food nutrition programs. And almost a thousand energy jobs will be lost. No one asked 17 million people
26:20to lose their health insurance. No one asked for hospitals to close or nursing homes to be shuttered
26:28because billionaires want more tax breaks. Where I'm from, that's not big or beautiful. That's small and ugly.
26:39No one asked for food assistance to be taken away from children to give handouts to the same corporations
26:45gouging the American people. House Democrats believe that this bill fundamentally is un-American.
26:53We're going to fight to make sure billionaires and wealthy corporations pay their fair share
26:58so that we can build an economy that works for everyone. We're going to fight to make America less
27:04expensive. And we're going to fight to give working class people more breathing room
27:09and opportunities to get ahead. I want to thank my house colleagues for standing with us in this time
27:17against this bill. I want to thank the community members who have joined us as well.
27:26And members and members of the faith-based community. We're not here in a partisan exercise.
27:32We're here because the American people don't deserve this suffering. Now we did take a little bit of
27:40liberties when we say hell no. We didn't ask them, members of the clergy. But we stand in unison against
27:47this dangerous bill. And today, however long it takes, we will continue to vote against this bill. We
27:55will do it together and we will do it with the American people in mind. Thank you so much.