'The Biggest Giveaway To Billionaires Ever': Chuck Schumer Decries Passage Of Big, Beautiful Bill

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about the passage of the Republican budget last week.

Transcript

00:00This July 4th, Donald Trump and Republicans wreaked havoc on our country.

00:05On a day when Americans are supposed to celebrate our independence and our blessings as citizens

00:09of this great nation, Donald Trump signed one of the most destructive pieces of legislation

00:16in modern history.

00:18The biggest giveaway to billionaires ever, the biggest cuts to Medicaid, devastation

00:23to our healthcare economy and America's clean energy economy, with millions of projected

00:29job losses.

00:30So many job losses that it could well cause us to fall into recession.

00:35When it's harder to find jobs, when more people get fired, prices go up.

00:41This vote will haunt our Republican colleagues.

00:44It will haunt them every time a rural hospital closes.

00:48It will haunt them every time seniors are unable to get home care.

00:53It will haunt them as premiums go up, as the uninsured rate spikes, as kids go hungry, as

00:58jobs disappear, as our adversaries grow stronger while America grows weaker.

01:03Frankly, many Republicans knew perfectly well their own bill would hurt people back home.

01:10Yet, they voted yes anyway.

01:12Why?

01:13Simply because, it's simple to answer that.

01:17Why did they vote yes anyway when they knew it was wrong?

01:21Because they're afraid of Donald Trump.

01:24Now we return to session at the start of a new work period.

01:27Very soon, Senate Republicans are expected to bring to the floor, at Donald Trump's behest,

01:35a so-called rescissions package that will gut critical investments in public broadcasting

01:40and weaken America's standing abroad on a simple majority vote.

01:45Not the 60 votes required traditionally as appropriation bills move forward.

01:50Will Senate Republicans bow down to Donald Trump yet again?

01:54Will they actually show backbone and stand up for their constituents?

02:00These investments were negotiated on a bipartisan basis between Democrats and Republicans as part

02:06of the government funding process.

02:08And with a simple majority vote, Republicans could take away the investments they all voted

02:15for, or many of them voted for, and renege on their word and spoil, spoil the bipartisan appropriations

02:22process.

02:24That is the road Senate Republicans would be wise not to go down.

02:28If Republicans caved to Donald Trump and gut these investments agreed to by both parties,

02:33that would be an affront, a huge affront, to the bipartisan appropriations process.

02:39It's absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are

02:44just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement by concocting rescission packages behind closed

02:51doors that can pass with only their votes, not the customary 60 votes required in the appropriations

02:58process.

02:59The 60-vote process almost always ensures bipartisanship.

03:03Worse, there are alarming reports that Donald Trump plans to bring additional rescission packages

03:10down the line to codify the doge.

03:13These rescissions may be small compared to the later rescissions that they'll put on the

03:18floor later.

03:19Look at the new budget that Trump has proposed.

03:21There have also been reports that OMB director Russell Vogt, and perhaps the president himself, promised

03:28hard-right Republicans in the House additional cuts on programs they detest as a way to secure

03:35the votes for their big, ugly bill.

03:37These cuts may be unlawful if the reports prove true.

03:43This is not a bait and switch.

03:45It's a bait and poison to kill.

03:48Not a bait and switch.

03:50It's a bait to poison and kill.

03:55This is deeply troubling and will threaten to further poison bipartisanship, a crucial ingredient

04:03for this institution to function.

04:09I urge Senate Republicans to press pause on their partisan rescission package and instead

04:14work with Democrats on a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government.

04:21That bipartisan process has begun in the Appropriations Committee, and I'm hopeful more progress

04:26will be made later this week as the committee begins their markups of the first three bills.

04:31So again, Senate Republicans have a choice to make.

04:36They can keep bowing to Donald Trump.

04:38They can continue walking on eggshells, trying not to upset him, giving him what he wants,

04:42even at the cost of breaking the law, hurting the people back home.

04:47Or they can do their jobs.

04:49They can stand up to Donald Trump and reject this rescission package that would gut funding

04:54for critical programs at a simple majority vote.

05:00And they can work with Democrats on a bipartisan, good faith negotiation to fund the government

05:05later this year.

05:08This is not just about one rescission package.

05:10This is not just about one appropriations process, as important as those are.

05:15This is about the role of Congress as a co-equal branch with the executive, as the Founding

05:20Fathers proposed.

05:23Most importantly, this is about protecting the well-being of Americans back home.

05:28the ability to fund the well-being of Americans back home.

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