James McGovern Flays Republicans For Pushing 'Bulls--- Resolution On Epstein That Does Nothing!'

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On the House floor, Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) tore into Republicans.

Transcript

00:00Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for

00:05yielding me the customary 30 minutes and I yield myself such time as I may

00:09consume. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Speaker this process sucks. None of what

00:15we are doing here today is about governing. We aren't here to improve

00:19health care access or to put money back in hard-working people's pockets or to

00:23make life better for Americans or for that matter anybody in any way. We're

00:29here because Republicans want to protect powerful people. They want to protect

00:33billionaires, protect those at the top. It's about doing Donald Trump's bidding.

00:38Shame on them. Earlier this week I offered a simple amendment to release the Epstein

00:43files that Donald Trump, his AG, his FBI director and his supporters tell us

00:49contain a list of clients of Jeffrey Epstein. Let the American people make up

00:54their own mind. But Republicans, they voted it down. Every single one of them. Why?

01:01Because Donald Trump, for whatever reason, doesn't want these records to get out

01:05anymore. After years of promising America that his administration would release the

01:11Epstein files and tapes, Trump is now calling it a hoax. He's calling his own

01:16supporters stupid for believing the things he told them. And you're deeming

01:23adoption of a bullshit resolution on Epstein that does nothing. Let me be clear. This

01:30resolution does not have the force of law. This does not have the force of law. It's

01:37political theater. It's a smoke screen for Republicans to hide from doing something that

01:43would demand Trump's DOJ release of these files. This is a glorified press release. A

01:50talking point to save face. Something they can wave around and say, see, we care, so they

01:56can walk free of shame while doing absolutely nothing. This non-binding resolution does nothing

02:03to get these files released. And get this, when we ask them, when is this non-binding, useless

02:09resolution coming to the House floor? The answer was, well, it's up to the majority leader.

02:15Look, either Republicans want to actually release the files or they don't. There's no middle

02:19ground here. You guys don't get credit for pretending to care. You don't get points

02:24for playing PR games while the people who enabled Epstein's abuse go unnamed and unpunished.

02:31This is why people hate Congress. This is why they don't trust government. Republicans

02:35talk about supporting the victims. They talk about holding powerful people accountable. But

02:40it's lip service. When the time comes to do something, they come up with a phony fake vote

02:46to give themselves political cover. Which brings me to this rescission package, Mr. Speaker.

02:51Another disaster. Fiscal irresponsibility masquerading as cuts. The other side just added $4 trillion

03:01to the debt with their big, ugly billionaire tax break bill. The big, ugly bill costs 450 times

03:09what these rescissions will save. It doesn't even come close. Now, I should mention that

03:15these rescissions are also deeply harmful. It cuts funding for international aid that provides

03:20life-saving health care. People are going to die because of these cuts. It undermines Ukraine

03:26and our allies. It slashes public broadcasting that delivers essential news to communities nationwide.

03:33Republicans call it tightening the belt. But it's the same old story. Republicans blow up the

03:38budget for billionaires. And then they nickel and dime everyone else to pretend they care

03:42about the debt and the deficit. It's nuts. And if we were all being honest here, nobody

03:49even truly knows exactly what the hell is in this bill. As Senator Tillis, a Republican, said,

03:56and I quote, I suspect we're going to find out that there are some things that we're going

04:00to regret, end quote. Susan Collins, another Republican, said, and I quote, the rescissions

04:07package has a big problem. Nobody really knows what program reductions are in it, end quote.

04:13You can't make this stuff up. And finally, let's not forget the Trump administration, as

04:18we speak, is illegally withholding over 425 billion dollars in congressionally approved funding

04:25while Republicans in Congress rush to get these rescissions done, covering for the president

04:30once again, afraid to raise an eyebrow to question what he's doing. This is not how this place

04:38should work. None of what we've experienced with this majority is normal. This is government

04:44by chaos, run by a party that can't count its own votes, can't pass its own rules, and can't

04:50stand up to the White House after all their broken promises. This week has been shameful.

04:59People are watching. They see what's happening, and they're tired of being sold out, spun, and

05:04left behind. I reserve my time.

05:06A gentleman from Massachusetts Reserves. Members are reminded.

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