During his questioning in tonight's House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) called out Democrats for not discussing Jeffrey Epstein during former President Biden's administration.
00:04Well, thank both of you for taking time to come out.
00:07Let me just say, you know, the American people are excited about these cuts, the rescissions.
00:13You know, Mr. McGovern, it's up to you to propose your cuts.
00:17I never saw anything during the Biden administration that you proposed at any level other than more government, more and more government.
00:24And the American people are saying that.
00:25Defense cuts.
00:26Nine billion dollars that I wish were far greater.
00:30Hopefully, in the next rescission package, we will double that amount.
00:34And what Elon Musk has done is to reveal to the taxpayers where their money is going.
00:39I can name a list of them, starting with the 135 million to the World Health Organization.
00:45Gone.
00:47158 million to the Lebanese Peacekeeping Mission.
00:50Gone.
00:51Three million for the Iraqi Sesame Street.
00:54Gone.
00:54Six million for net zero cities in Mexico.
00:59Gone.
00:59This is just a list.
01:01You can parse any one of them and object to them, but I've never seen.
01:05You'll spend other people's money, but you won't give the money back to the taxpayers and the economy.
01:12Mr. McGovern, you know, it's so rude for you to interrupt.
01:16This is my time.
01:17Yeah, it's rude.
01:17I don't interrupt.
01:18I don't interrupt you.
01:20And it's not your time.
01:22You know, you and Jerry Nadler, you know, you've never seen anybody that you don't want to interrupt.
01:28It's so, it's not only can you not understand when two people are talking.
01:32I've never interrupted you one time, and you need to get some manners to you.
01:37But all I'll say is that what we're doing, what this president is doing, is making this country over again.
01:44The economy is showing it.
01:46Would you like to say anything?
01:47Thank you, Mr. Norman.
01:49I just, just an observation.
01:50Look, and if it sounds like my colleague appropriator, Democrat appropriator, and I have disagreements, we do.
02:01But yet, we have a great relationship.
02:04We do.
02:04And so, we do have a serious disagreement.
02:06I, however, have zero doubt of her fierce, trying to protect, right, the power of the purse.
02:15And there, we agree.
02:17And so, but, but, Mr. Norman, just, I may be wrong, but, but this rescission, yes, is to spend a little bit less money, which I think is a good thing.
02:27And by the way, this is a process that's in law.
02:34So, so when, when one may complain about, you know, the process, but this is a process that's established in law.
02:41I, I don't know, and I, and I may be wrong, I don't remember the outrage when, for example, a Democratic president decided to spend money, now spend money that was neither authorized nor appropriated.
03:00And then, by the way, when the Supreme Court of the United States said, that's unconstitutional, he kept doing it anyways.
03:10Now, again, I want to be respectful.
03:12I may be wrong, because you all are here all the time, and you all discuss these things.
03:16So, from what I'm hearing, I, I, it must be that all of you agreed during that moment that when a president spent more money that was neither authorized or appropriated by Congress,
03:34and then the Supreme Court said, hey, that's unconstitutional, and he did it anyways, I'm sure that was bipartisan outrage.
03:40Of course, it must have been, right?
03:43But we know it wasn't.
03:46Here, what we're dealing with is $9 billion through a legislative legal process.
03:54You mentioned some of the issues that are cut.
03:56And I just think that this is a responsible, reasonable proposal, which is why I am respectfully supporting it.
04:07And thank you for yielding me some of your time, sir.
04:10Well, I'd say, too, that it's a teardrop in the ocean compared to what we owe,
04:14and where my Democrat friends are just willing to bankrupt this country and spend us into oblivion.
04:19We're not.
04:20And we're making strides, and we're going to make, continue to make strides.
04:23And I would just, what I was going to say earlier, Mr. McGovern keeps mentioning Epstein.
04:28You know, during the four years of the Biden administration, what did we hear from them?
04:31They had information then, crickets, nothing.
04:34What did they hear on the information they buried on January 6th?
04:38Crickets, nothing.
04:39So it's a, this is a day of transparency, and it's a day that we're going to identify a lot of problems.
04:46Overspending is one of them.
04:47I look forward to many more executive, many more rescission cuts, including the pocket rescissions.
04:54Mr. Norman.
04:54Chairman, I yield back.
04:56Thank you, Mr. Norman.
04:58Ms. Scanlon, you're recognized.
05:00Thank you, Chairwoman.
05:02And we do, I think everyone on this side of the aisle wants to thank Mr. Norman for his vote.
