[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE COMPLICIT IN PRIVACY VIOLATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Barragan) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm for the 
American people about the abuse of power that House Republicans are 
allowing and that puts the American people in danger.
  House Republicans have allowed billionaire Elon Musk and his gang of 
thieves to enter the U.S. Treasury Department, fire the people 
entrusted with secret, private information about Americans, and give 
them that access.
  Madam Speaker, this billionaire, his interns, and his young workers 
have complete access to your Social Security number, your bank account 
number, your name, your address, your Medicare payments, your tax 
refunds, and your veterans benefits.
  This privacy violation endangers the personal information of the 
American people. Yet, where are House Republicans? They are totally 
silent, doing nothing, and saying nothing. They are just allowing it to 
happen because they are okay with it.
  What is the worst that could happen? Madam Speaker, your data could 
be accessed in a way that makes it vulnerable to hackers or identity 
theft. SNAP benefits could be cut, Head Start shut down, and your 
Medicare payments delayed or frozen, all without a paper trail. Elon 
Musk and his DOGE friends have the ability to choose what government 
bills to pay and what not to pay.
  I have heard from the American people. They do not want a Federal 
contractor who receives billions of dollars in government payments to 
decide which contracts to pay or to punish Americans who disagree.
  These individuals with no government accountability are now inside 
the very heart of our Federal systems, and Republicans are nowhere to 
be found. Elon Musk has bragged on social media that he has been able 
to cancel contracts and programs he doesn't like. This is reckless and 
illegal.
  Why would he want access to the information? It is to look for 
programs to cut, programs the American families and people rely on 
every day. It is to have more money to make sure House Republicans can 
give to their billionaire friends, and tax cuts.
  This is the Republican rip-off. Just last week we saw the 
consequences of this Republican rip-off in action. The administration 
issued an illegal shutdown order, a freeze that threw nonprofits, 
schools, health clinics, and entire communities into chaos. Critical 
grants and programs were frozen without warning. Just yesterday, we 
learned that some community health centers in rural America are 
shutting down because of it.

  Where are House Republicans? They are certainly not speaking out, and 
they are not standing up for our community health centers.
  Madam Speaker, imagine going to your doctor and you are told you 
cannot be seen because Elon Musk has cut off Medicaid payments to your 
State. Imagine your child's school closing because the money to fund it 
was frozen.
  That was the fear that went through our communities last week. 
Domestic violence shelters and health clinics worried about whether 
they would have to shut their doors. Meals on Wheels and the seniors 
who rely on it didn't know where their next meal would come from.
  While a judge has temporarily blocked the government-wide freeze, 
many grant recipients still cannot access funding. The administration 
has said that they are still going to implement the funding shutdown.
  The administration is also targeting programs such as the EPA's clean 
ports program which affects millions of dollars going to ports across 
the country to help clean up air pollution. In my district alone, that 
is over $400 million in funding to reduce pollution at the Port of Los 
Angeles.
  Madam Speaker, what could be next? How will it affect your family? 
There are reports that the Department of Education and our public 
schools' funding is next on their target list.
  Let me be clear. This is unconstitutional. Congress controls the 
purse strings, not the President and not Elon Musk. This money was 
legally appropriated by the people's Representatives. Elon Musk and 
House Republicans want to steal it from the American people to give tax 
breaks to billionaires and to get investments in our communities.
  House Republicans continue to remain silent. Their silence makes them 
complicit. Americans will pay the price. Democrats will stand up, speak 
out, and fight back. Just one of those things Democrats are doing to 
fight back is we are demanding that Republicans quickly bring up 
legislation to protect your private information. Let's all support 
that.

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