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