'Stop Pretending This Move Is About The Debt': Murray Shreds GOP's Proposed Rescission Package

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke about the Republicans' proposed rescission package.

Transcript

00:00Senator from Washington.

00:03Thank you, Mr. President.

00:05Mr. President, two weeks ago,

00:08Republicans passed the most expensive bill

00:10in the history of the Senate.

00:13Why?

00:13To cut taxes for billionaires

00:15and at the same time cutting Medicaid

00:17and SNAP for needy families.

00:19But now, Republicans are pretending

00:22they are concerned about the debt.

00:25So concerned that they need to shut down

00:27local radio stations.

00:29So concerned they're going to cut off Sesame Street.

00:33They're so concerned they want to whack away

00:34at our global credibility

00:36and slash humanitarian aid in the process.

00:40The idea that this is about balancing the debt

00:44is laughable.

00:46You could cut every dollar ever spent

00:49on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

00:52since it was created

00:53and it would not cover the cost of the bill

00:56that the Republicans just jammed through.

00:59You could cut every dollar

01:01we have spent on foreign aid

01:02since World War II

01:03and that total would still fall short

01:06compared to the cost of Republican tax cuts.

01:10Or how about this?

01:12If Republicans cut the amount

01:13in this rescissions bill

01:15every single day for a year,

01:18it still would not equal their tax cuts

01:21to help rich donors.

01:23So I hope I made the point.

01:25Let's stop pretending this move is about the debt.

01:29And let's stop pretending there's no alternative

01:31to passing a partisan rescissions package

01:34that cuts bipartisan funding.

01:37Because I have been clear over and over,

01:39there is an alternative,

01:42which is to do what we always do

01:44and discuss rescissions as part of our annual funding bills

01:49instead of doing Trump's bidding.

01:53Mr. President, let's talk about what's at stake here.

01:56Starting with the damage that these cuts would do

01:58to our communities

01:59by cutting rural areas off

02:03from local news and emergency alerts

02:05and ending high-quality kids programming.

02:09If Republicans pass this package they're offering,

02:12they're going to slash funding

02:14for over 1,500 local news stations nationwide.

02:20These are stations that provide

02:23an enormous community service,

02:25especially in rural areas

02:27and in our tribal communities.

02:29They cover stories that matter to families,

02:32but that often get overlooked by national news.

02:36These stations and this funding

02:38reaches 98% of all Americans.

02:42And let's not forget,

02:44they also deliver local emergency alerts.

02:48Some of these local radio stations

02:50are a genuine lifeline

02:52for communities when disaster strikes.

02:55Who among us thinks our communities

02:57should have less warning

02:59when there's an emergency?

03:01Because that is what voting for this package means.

03:05It also means cutting off funding

03:07for high-quality kids programming.

03:09There's a reason shows like Sesame Street

03:12are beloved by kids and parents.

03:15It's not just entertaining.

03:17It gets our kids thinking.

03:19It teaches them about math

03:21and spelling and caring and kindness.

03:26And if Republicans let shows like this get canceled,

03:29they're going to open up the floodgates

03:31to a wave of what I call brain rot TV

03:34that is engineered to keep our kids watching.

03:37To my colleagues who think they have short-term temporary fixes

03:41to reduce cuts to one or two public radio stations

03:45or television states in their states,

03:47that will not solve the problem.

03:49And what do you say to those 120 rural stations

03:53that will lose 25% or more of their funding?

03:57What do you say to the dozens of rural stations

04:00that will shut down because of this bill

04:02and cut off local news, educational programming,

04:07and life-saving services

04:09to the rural communities that we serve?

04:11And let's not forget,

04:13the other cuts in this bill

04:14would seriously undercut our credibility

04:18on the world stage.

04:20I thought American leadership was worth investing in.

04:25And when we voted for those funds,

04:27so did Republicans.

04:29Did Republicans forget why we thought

04:32that was important when we voted for them?

04:34Did Republicans forget that outbreaks spread

04:37if we do not stop, help stop them?

04:41Did they forget that humanitarian assistance

04:44doesn't just prevent death,

04:46but it prevents chaos and conflict,

04:50keeps our American troops out of harm's way?

04:53Did they forget that these investments

04:54bring business to our American companies

04:57and they help feed the world?

05:00Or that building alliances

05:01and playing a leading role

05:03at international organizations

05:04that allows us to advance our interests

05:07and counter our adversaries?

05:10And set aside the global strategy for the moment.

05:13We should not be voting

05:14to let children starve or die

05:16from preventable diseases.

05:18We should be voting to go,

05:20shouldn't be voting to go back

05:22on our word to the world.

05:26Saving a couple pennies

05:27is not worth losing our credibility

05:30or causing millions of deaths across the globe.

05:33It's not even close.

05:35If Republicans really care about the debt,

05:39they can start by revisiting

05:40the $4 trillion in tax breaks

05:43they just showered on billionaires.

05:46Now, Mr. President,

05:47there's a lot more to say

05:48about how damaging these cuts

05:50would be for our country.

05:51But you don't have to take my word for it

05:53because even several of my Republican colleagues

05:56have said it themselves.

05:58They don't like this package.

06:00They're already trying to dial it back

06:02the tiniest bit.

06:04But I do know they have concerns.

06:06Here's a tip.

06:07If you don't like it,

06:08don't vote for it.

06:10Think about who you take orders from.

06:12President Trump, press vote,

06:14or your own constituents

06:16and your own communities.

06:18And let's be honest.

06:20For all of his bluster,

06:21President Trump will forget about this in a week.

06:24He doesn't care about rescissions.

06:25He probably doesn't even know what it means.

06:27And if you don't like this package,

06:29but you think you should do more targeted rescissions,

06:33you know what?

06:33We can discuss that in a bipartisan way,

06:36completely separate from this partisan package.

06:40I've been clear,

06:41and I will say it again right now.

06:43I stand ready to discuss rescissions

06:46as part of the bipartisan spending bills,

06:49just as we have always done.

06:52That is the right way to go about this.

06:55How many times, Mr. President,

06:57have Republicans called for regular order?

07:00Well, at no point in our country's history,

07:03no point,

07:04have partisan rescissions been regular order.

07:08Anytime we've done this in the past,

07:10it has been bipartisan.

07:13Republicans should join us

07:15to make sure this does not become

07:17a bad new first.

07:19and to ensure that our time on the floor

07:22is spent considering important legislation,

07:25including our funding bills,

07:27rather than one rescission's request after another.

07:30We are working right now

07:32to advance FY26 bills,

07:35right now, at this very moment,

07:37and hopefully in a bipartisan way.

07:39We passed the first two out of committee last week.

07:42I want us to continue that work.

07:45But I really worry

07:46the passage of these bills

07:47is going to complicate the road ahead

07:49even more.

07:50Because if Republicans decide

07:53it's fine to undo

07:54the last bipartisan spending deal

07:56with Trump's partisan cuts,

07:58then getting these bills

08:00across the finish line

08:01is going to get really hard.

08:03And if they keep this kind of thing up,

08:06one of these days,

08:07Republicans are going to find

08:08they broke the process.

08:11Let me spell out what that looks like.

08:13Because I think there's a misconception here

08:15that wrongly convinces some members

08:18it's okay.

08:18This is the straw

08:20that won't break the camel's back.

08:22The reality is,

08:23bipartisanship doesn't end

08:25with any one line being crossed.

08:28It erodes.

08:30It breaks down bit by bit

08:31until the day there's nothing left.

08:34Don't get me wrong.

08:35The negotiating table is always there.

08:38And in my experience,

08:39there are usually a few members

08:41willing to stick it out

08:42and work as hard as they can

08:44to get a result.

08:45But here's the thing.

08:47The Senate doesn't work

08:48off of a few members.

08:50It works off of consensus,

08:52building, and bipartisanship.

08:54And the more bridges you burn,

08:56the fewer paths you leave

08:57to get things done.

08:59You can't just keep pushing people away

09:01and breaking that basic trust

09:04that keeps this place working.

09:08Not to mention,

09:09if Republicans pass this package of cuts,

09:12Russ's vote has made it abundantly clear

09:16he will send more.

09:18If Republicans pass this package now,

09:21we're going to be back here in a month

09:23debating whether to rip away funding

09:25for, say, after-school programs.

09:27Instead of spending our time

09:30doing the hard work,

09:32passing laws,

09:33instead of considering

09:34the bipartisan spending bills

09:36we are working on right now,

09:38is this floor just going to be drowned

09:40in package after package

09:42of partisan cuts,

09:43fighting over how much

09:44of the last deal

09:45that we are now going to unravel,

09:47fighting over whose projects

09:48get canceled,

09:49whose communities get robbed?

09:51Mr. President, I hope not.

09:54I am going to end now

09:55with something I talked about

09:56during our committee hearing

09:57that we held on this package.

09:59When I first came to this Congress,

10:01one of the hottest button issues,

10:03hot button issues,

10:05was the line item veto.

10:07President Clinton of my party

10:10was asking to have it.

10:13Chairman Byrd of my party

10:14was organizing against it

10:17with Republicans.

10:18I was asked,

10:19should a Democratic Senate

10:21help a Democratic president

10:23rip up the bills

10:25that we all work together to pass?

10:28I said, no.

10:30I said, no.

10:31That is not how this should work.

10:32I came here to help my state

10:35and my constituents

10:37not to weaken

10:38or surrender those responsibilities

10:40to any president.

10:43That is as true for me today

10:45as it was then.

10:46And if my colleagues agree,

10:47which I believe many of them do,

10:49then the course we have to take here

10:51is clear.

10:52We need to reject

10:53this package outright.

10:55That doesn't mean we can't have

10:56a bipartisan conversation

10:58about the rescissions

10:59as we now write our funding bills.

11:02That is the way

11:03that we need to do that.

11:04That is the way

11:05it's always been done.

11:06But we have to reject

11:08this new precedent

11:09of partisan,

11:10standalone rescissions

11:12if this place is going to work,

11:14if we're going to work together

11:15to serve the folks

11:16we represent back home.

11:18We have to make choices

11:19that help us move closer together

11:21and bring more people

11:22to the table,

11:23not choices that push us apart

11:26and chip away bit by bit

11:28at the trust

11:29that makes this place work.

11:32Otherwise, one day,

11:33we will find

11:34we have none of that trust left.

11:36So I urge my colleagues,

11:38protect that trust.

11:40Join me in voting no.

11:42Thank you, Mr. President.

11:43I yield the floor.

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