Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H791-H823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

general leave

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

[[Page H792]]

may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 14.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 161 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the concurrent
resolution, H. Con. Res. 14.
The Chair appoints the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack) to
preside over the Committee of the Whole.

{time} 1415

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 14) establishing the congressional
budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and
setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026
through 2034, with Mr. Womack in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the concurrent resolution is
considered read the first time.
General debate shall not exceed 3 hours, with 2 hours confined to the
congressional budget, equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget or their
respective designees and 1 hour on the subject of economic goals and
policies equally divided and controlled by the Representative
Schweikert of Arizona and Representative Beyer of Virginia or their
respective designees.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) and the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Boyle) each will control 1 hour of debate on the
congressional budget.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, today, the majority will unlock the policies for making
America safe and prosperous again by advancing the FY 2025 budget
resolution.
Mr. Chairman, this fiscal framework will guide the process for
restoring the fiscal health of our Nation by reining in reckless
spending and reigniting economic growth. In addition, it provides
critical resources to our Commander in Chief to secure our border,
strengthen our military, and provide for the common defense.
For the next 2 hours, Mr. Chairman, my Democratic colleagues are
going to reach way back to the only plays they know how to run: making
false claims and fear-mongering.
Why? Because they are still, even after the recent election,
disconnected from the people's reality because they are more concerned
with protecting unionized government bureaucrats and woke and wasteful
government programs than they are about protecting taxpayers and their
sacred treasure.
Why? Because their commitment isn't to we the people in this fateful
moment. It is to we the government and to derailing the mandate from
the people for commonsense policies and President Trump's America First
agenda.
I am going to take some time to set the record straight, Mr.
Chairman, so that every time the American people hear these false
claims to mislead them into thinking that the tax cuts somehow
benefited the billionaires and corporations and that Republicans are
cutting benefits for seniors and the poorest among us, I want the
American people to know the truth. Here is the truth: The Trump tax
cuts lower tax rates for every American household at every income level
while increasing the amount of taxes paid by the top 1 percent.
According to The Washington Post--which, by the way, gave Democrats
not one, not two, not three, but four Pinocchios every time they made
these misleading claims--$3 of every $4 in the Trump tax cuts didn't go
to corporations but to individuals, cutting taxes for the lowest income
individuals by 10 percent while cutting taxes for the top 1 percent of
income earners by less than one-half of 1 percent.
In addition, we saw a record 25-year wage increase for median
household incomes. Real wages in the bottom 10 percent rose two times
faster than the top 10 percent. Real wealth at the bottom half of
households rose three times faster than that of the top half of our
country.
A record 6 million people were lifted out of poverty. Black,
Hispanic, and Asian-American citizens experienced historic high incomes
and all-time low unemployment.
Here is the reality, Mr. Chairman: Our Democratic colleagues opposed
the American people's tax cuts back in 2017, and they oppose their tax
cuts today.
If they were successful in this endeavor, here is what would happen.
We would have a 22 percent tax hike on every American citizen, on
average, when they just suffered through a 21 percent tax hike from the
inflation tax over the last 4 years and the worst cost-of-living crisis
in modern history. Median-income families would lose $1,700. Twenty-six
million small businesses would pay at the highest marginal rate and
lose the 20 percent deduction, putting them on a comparable level to
corporate tax rates. Forty million families would have the child tax
credits for their children cut in half. Ninety-one percent of the
American people who get the standard deduction would have that cut in
half.
Those are the results of the Democrats standing in the way of what
would be, if they were successful, the highest tax hike in American
history.
Here is the other false claim. To pay for these tax cuts, the
Democrats are going to say that Republicans are cutting benefits for
seniors and for, again, our poorest and most vulnerable among us. Here
is the truth, Mr. Chairman: Republicans are fighting to rightsize a
woke, weaponized, and bloated bureaucracy; to root out the trillions of
dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse; and to rein in the reckless
spending of the Biden administration and our Democratic colleagues from
over the last 4 years.

Prior to 2019, before President Biden took office and he and the
Democrats jammed $2 trillion through in the so-called COVID relief,
even though maybe 10, 20 percent of that money actually went for the
purposes of COVID relief, our budget back then was $4.5 trillion.
Today, it is $7 trillion.
With the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, they gave away $700
billion in tax credits to green energy corporations. They expanded
ObamaCare subsidies to people making more than half a million dollars,
many of whom already had employer-sponsored healthcare. They expanded
the IRS to 80,000 new IRS agents tasked with shaking down mostly
middle-class people and small businesses.
With the stroke of a pen, President Biden wasted $2 trillion
unilaterally of taxpayer money by opening up our taxpayer-funded
welfare services to people in this country illegally; waived work
requirements for means-tested welfare programs, from SNAP to Medicaid
and beyond, trapping people in poverty and dependence on the Federal
Government; mandated expensive and unreliable electric vehicles for all
Americans; and a whole lot more.
In fact, we are spending $9,000 per illegal immigrant in this country
for the millions of people who violated our sovereignty and came to
this country in violation of our immigration laws. Mr. Chairman, $9,000
is what taxpayers pay for people who are here illegally for taxpayer-
funded social services. That is more than we spend on the most
vulnerable Americans for Medicaid. That is more than we spend
collectively for our veterans' military retirement. President Biden
weakened government program integrity, allowing people who aren't
eligible for Medicaid and other programs to receive benefits.
Case in point, we used to review the Medicaid rolls twice a year to
make sure people who were on the rolls were those who were most
vulnerable and those who qualified according to the law. That was
revoked by the Biden administration. They only did it once a year. If
we changed it back, we would eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse and save
$160 billion of taxpayer money.
President Biden implemented unconstitutional and regressive student
loan bailouts, forcing working Americans to subsidize the upper-middle
class, law

[[Page H793]]

students, and medical students. These are folks who deferred their
education. These are hardworking people who didn't think they could
afford college.
We have an unprecedented opportunity, Mr. Chairman. My fellow
Republicans and I have a sacred obligation at this moment to meet this
moment with the urgency it demands.
Now more than ever is the time for Republicans in Congress to
demonstrate the courage of their convictions and take bold action in
this historic moment. Let's save this country, save our children's
future, and save us from wrecking the greatest economy in the world and
jeopardizing our national security and our leadership in the world.
The world is counting on a safe, strong, and free America, and I
believe that this bill encapsulates the policies that are going to
restore America's greatness.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I should be quite clear about what this is really
about. This budget represents a Republican betrayal of the middle
class, and I am proud to rise to oppose it.
Here is what is at stake. My friends on the other side of the aisle
want to deliver $4.5 trillion of tax cuts, almost all of which go to
the richest 1 percent of Americans. How do they pay for it? How do they
pay for that $4.5 trillion in tax cuts?
First, at least $880 billion is from Medicaid and the Affordable Care
Act. Those cuts from Medicaid, by the way, represent the largest cuts
to Medicaid in American history. Seventy-two million Americans get
their healthcare from Medicaid. I am mostly talking about seniors,
children, and those with disabilities. Another 20 million Americans get
their healthcare from the ACA. Combined, I am talking about 92 million
Americans whose healthcare is at risk. Why? All to deliver tax cuts to
billionaires.
Now, we have a math problem because even with the largest cuts to
Medicaid in history, we don't get anywhere close to $4.5 trillion. How
do they finance the rest of it? We have more cuts, hundreds of billions
more in cuts to education programs like school lunches, Head Start, and
student loan repayment. There are also $230 billion in cuts to
nutrition assistance at a time when grocery prices are at record highs.
All told, that gets you to at least $1.5 trillion. Remember, the size
of the tax cuts is $4.5 trillion, and they want to add some more
spending on top of that. What do they do to make up the difference?
Increase the national debt by $4 trillion, a massive increase to our
national debt from the same crowd that for the last 4 years has done
nothing but shed crocodile tears about the size of our national debt.
Mr. Chair, you can always tell when there is a Democrat in the White
House because that is when the other side cares about the size of the
national debt, but when there is a Republican President, a Republican
House, a Republican Senate, the top priority is always tax cuts for the
top 1 percent.
A budget isn't just numbers on a spreadsheet. It is a reflection of
our values. It is a reflection of what kind of country we are and want
to be.

{time} 1430

This past November, there was a lot of campaigning going on around
this country, and especially in my State, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. After all, we are the biggest battleground State in the
Nation. A lot of promises were made on both sides. A lot of it was
about reducing costs for ordinary Americans.
Not once, ever, in that campaign did I ever hear the other side say:
We are going to cut Medicaid to the tune of $880 billion, the biggest
cuts to Medicaid in American history. In fact, we have a President who
said: I will love and cherish Medicaid. Then a few hours later, he
endorsed the House Republican plan that slashes Medicaid to the tune of
$880 billion. When this President promises to love and cherish
something, watch your wallets.
I think the American people are going to figure out what this is
about. It is right there in black and white. The $880 billion I talked
about, it is right there in their 58-page resolution. The $4 trillion
increase in debt is right there in black and white in their resolution.
No amount of spinning will get you away from that simple reality. This
is cutting healthcare and all sorts of programs for the American people
in order to deliver tax cuts for billionaires who don't need it.
I urge every Member in this House to oppose this reckless and unfair
plan.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
What you won't hear from my Democratic colleagues is any mention of
the half a trillion dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid
program that jeopardizes that program for the most vulnerable Americans
and does a disservice to every taxpayer in this great country of ours.
By the way, when I hear the words ``betrayal of the middle class,''
what comes to mind is the unbridled spending and the failed economic
policies that gave us the worst cost-of-living crisis in modern
history. A whole lot of people suffered under that 21 percent inflation
tax, and a whole lot more people would suffer under a 22 percent tax
increase if they were successful in killing the American people's tax
cuts.
Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Smucker), my friend, the vice chair of the Budget Committee, and a key
architect, I would say, of this budget blueprint.
Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Chair, we have heard how this budget resolution will
deliver tax relief to working and middle-class families. It will put a
stop to crime and drugs flooding over our southern border, and it will
jump-start the American economy. This is exactly what the American
people are looking for today.
Unfortunately, we have also heard a lot of falsehoods from my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and so I would like to set
the record straight.
The House Republican budget resolution will stop a 22 percent tax
hike for the average taxpayer. It will put $1,700 back into the pockets
of a median family of four and will prevent the child tax credit from
being cut in half for 40 million families. This bill doesn't take from
the working class. It puts money in their pockets.
While my colleagues on the other side try to drown out these facts
with tired talking points and fear-mongering, let's ask the American
people directly: How does a 22 percent tax hike help them pay their
bills? How does taking $1,700 out of the pockets of families and
cutting the child tax credit help them raise their kids?
The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Chair, it doesn't. Republicans are working to stop
those tax hikes by passing this budget resolution.
President Trump was elected by the working class, and this budget
will deliver on the promises he made to them. I am very proud to
support this budget resolution and urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I would remind my fellow
Pennsylvanian that this bill would put 3.1 million people in
Pennsylvania at risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pallone), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this
Republican budget resolution.
Make no mistake about it, this budget will lead to millions of
Americans losing their healthcare coverage, all so Republicans can give
giant tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. The only group
that wants these tax breaks is Wall Street, not the average American.
Mr. Chair, if Republicans pass this resolution today, we will be
forced to cut a minimum of nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, our
Nation's largest healthcare program.
For those who are saying that somehow the Medicaid program has a lot
of waste, let me remind us that Medicaid is the leanest Federal
healthcare program. Every independent study says

[[Page H794]]

that Medicaid is financially sound, the most financially sound Federal
healthcare program.
The consequences of these cuts will be devastating. Medicaid provides
healthcare to one in three Americans, nearly half of the children in
the United States, and it is the largest source of funding for nursing
homes for seniors and people living with disabilities.
This is a lifesaving program for 80 million Americans. They count on
it every day. Yet, today, House Republicans are unnecessarily rushing
forward with a budget resolution that will impose the largest
healthcare cuts in our Nation's history.
Millions of people will lose their healthcare, but that is just the
beginning. Healthcare prices will sharply rise. Hospitals, particularly
those in underserved and rural communities, will be forced to close--
so, too, will nursing homes. Seniors will lose the care that they rely
on, and doctors and nurses will be laid off. Emergency rooms will once
again be overflowing, as people are forced to delay care until
absolutely necessary. States will be bankrupted and forced to make
painful cuts to important healthcare services. This is the reality, not
what the Republicans are telling you.

Mr. Chair, it doesn't have to be this way. If just a few of my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle take a stand today, we can
stop this from happening.
I implore my Republican colleagues to think about the harm, the
devastating harm that will be done to their communities if this budget
resolution is adopted. Stand up. I urge my colleagues to think twice
and vote ``no.''
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Moore), former speaker of the house of the Tar Heel
State and a Budget Committee member.
Mr. MOORE of North Carolina. Mr. Chair, last November the American
people said enough is enough. They are tired of government waste. They
are tired of rising prices, and they are tired of the policies of the
last administration.
This budget is a critical step forward toward reining in out-of-
control Federal spending. To be clear, this resolution has no
provisions that make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I would tell those folks watching at home to read the bill.
It is not in there.
When Democrats vote against this today, they are voting to raise the
average family of four's taxes by nearly $1,700. They are voting to
raise taxes on small businesses. They are voting for open borders. They
are voting for higher energy costs.
I am proud to have worked with my fellow House Budget Committee
members on this bill as well as the chairman, who has done an amazing
job on this. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this
important measure.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman
that this bill would put 2.8 million people in North Carolina at risk
of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Neal), the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. NEAL. Mr. Chair, well, the looting is underway. Our colleagues
are running the same failed playbook of trickle-down handouts. My
friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker) said the family
of four is going to get $1,700. Look at the tax distribution tables and
see what billionaires are going to get in this. That is the real issue
that is in front of us on this occasion. Let me go to another point
that I think is fascinating. DOGE is rummaging through your private
records even as we speak.
How about the following? Imagine what the Republican reaction would
have been if Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden said, we are
going to borrow $4 trillion more for these tax cuts for the wealthiest
amongst us?
Don't kid yourself. Medicaid--71 million Americans--Medicare, Social
Security, the American people depend upon these programs.
I am stunned that Republicans would borrow $4 billion to justify tax
cuts for the wealthiest amongst us. By the way, these people aren't
even asking for those tax cuts. The cuts will affect every part of
American life, including those who need basic sustenance every day. We
have the $4 trillion, but look at the alignment: $1.23 trillion here
for cuts, but $1.2 trillion for tax cuts. Oh, let me figure that one
out. They are going to cut Medicaid to justify what it is that they
want to do.
There is no reason why billionaires should be getting a massive tax
cut. It is totally unnecessary. In the end, that is what this
legislation is about, despite their protestations. It provides $1,700
for a family of four, but tens of millions of dollars for billionaires.
That is where these tax cuts are going.
I want you also to understand this: The people are watching. We are
going to defend Medicare and Medicaid, and we are going to defend all
of these entities that have made a difference in American life for
average people every single day.
Let me close on this note: My father had a great saying. He used to
say: Jesse James at least had the respect to wear a mask. They should
be wearing masks for what they are doing today.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Kansas (Mr. Estes), another Budget Committee member who had a hand in
developing this fiscal framework.
Mr. ESTES. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support for starting the
process to pass one big, beautiful bill for America.
For 4 years, Americans suffered from an open border, crippling
inflation, massive Federal spending, and burdensome regulations. On top
of that, we are on the verge of increased taxes for families, workers,
and small businesses if we fail to act. Our mandate is to restore and
secure our Nation, both physically and financially.
It is critical that we pass a bill that enables us to address all of
these priorities, including an extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
In my home State, Kansans will see an average of a $2,200 increase in
their taxes if we don't act now and we allow the Trump tax cuts to
expire.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made false claims
that this budget resolution will cut Social Security. As chairman of
the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, I emphasize with the
strongest terms possible that this budget resolution does not do a
single thing to cut Social Security. In fact, Social Security cannot be
amended in the budget reconciliation process. The Byrd rule prevents
the consideration of any reconciliation measure in the Senate that
changes the Social Security program.
Mr. Chair, I support today's budget resolution as a next step in
advancing America First policies.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, the gentleman from Kansas is
right, it is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires. I would also
remind the gentleman that this bill would put 410,000 people in his
State of Kansas at risk of losing Medicaid.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia
(Mr. Scott), the ranking member of the Education and Workforce
Committee, also a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this
resolution. It is, frankly, hard to take my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle seriously when they come up here and give speech
after speech complaining about the deficit, and then support this
resolution that, what, increases the deficit.
Let's start with some facts. Every single Democratic President since
Kennedy has left for their Republican successors a better deficit
situation than they inherited, and every Republican President since
Nixon has left a worse deficit situation than the one they inherited,
all without exception.
Here we are again. A Republican President following a Democratic
President, and the Republicans are set to increase the deficit and
national debt, just like clockwork. Democrats have been finding
solutions and cleaning up Republican messes for six decades, and thanks
to Republican tax cuts for corporations and the top 1 percent, they
added over $7 trillion to the national debt during Trump's first term,
and here we go again. Help billionaires run up the debt and make
everybody else pay.
As ranking member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, I am
particularly outraged that Republicans want to fund these tax cuts for

[[Page H795]]

corporations and billionaires by making cuts to educational and
nutritional programs. This could end up cutting things like Meals on
Wheels, children's feeding programs, and could jeopardize Head Start,
making it harder for students to receive K-12 education and higher
education, and it will certainly rip away healthcare for millions of
Americans.
There is nothing economically responsible about this budget because
it increases the deficit. It helps billionaires, but working families
and the middle class will pay the price.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.

{time} 1445

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Hern), my good friend and our Conference Policy Committee
chair.
Mr. HERN of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the
opportunity to speak.
One of America's most famous sons, Will Rogers, once said: ``It costs
ten times more to govern us than it used to and we are not governed
one-tenth as good.''
That was in 1932. I can only imagine what he would say today. That is
why this vote is so important. It moves us closer to delivering on the
mandate the American people overwhelmingly demanded in November.
We are on an unsustainable path, and every Member of this body knows
it. This budget resolution commits us to investing in strong border
security and strengthening our national defense. It directs committees
to find ways to make the President's tax agenda permanent. It paves the
way to unleash American energy production.
The budget resolution calls for historic spending cuts as Congress
works with the President to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse,
something that every single one of us, regardless of party, should
applaud, all in one, big, beautiful bill.
Failure to unite on this vote may very well result in breaking up the
President's agenda. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' Together we
can build a stronger, more prosperous America before it is too late.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that
this bill would put 990,000 people in Oklahoma at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms.
Craig), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.
Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this resolution that
prioritizes tax cuts for billionaires over the well-being of
hardworking American families and the livelihood of our Nation's
farmers.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is our Nation's most
effective antipoverty tool and a key part of the farm bill which
Republicans want to cut by $230 billion. This would cause millions of
hardworking Americans to suffer, including some of the most vulnerable
in our communities: children, seniors, and the disabled.
Decimating SNAP in this way would break up the coalition that is
critical to passing a bipartisan farm bill and hurts the entire food
supply chain when times are tough in farm country and in many
communities, especially rural communities across this country.
Right now, as people across our Nation are struggling with the high
cost of groceries, SNAP helps American families keep food on the table.
Let's be clear about what we are talking about. It is $6 a day for
people in need. It is six bucks to those who qualify. SNAP reduces
childhood poverty, improves health outcomes, and generates hundreds of
thousands of jobs throughout the food supply chain.
When we spend $1 on food, we aren't just paying for the food in
carts. We are helping to pay for the salary of the grocery store clerk
who stocked the shelves, the trucker who delivered the food to the
store, the manufacturer who produced the packaging, and the farmer who
grew it.
The future of a bipartisan farm bill, which our farmers desperately
need, is in Republican hands today. If they cut SNAP to pay for tax
cuts or the wealthy donors, it is on them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Cline), my good friend and a member of the Budget
Committee.
Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, back in November the American people issued a
resounding rejection of the profligate policies of the Biden-Harris
administration that existed over the past 4 years by electing President
Donald Trump.
In the first month of his new administration, President Trump has
answered this election mandate, signing executive orders aimed at
securing our Nation's borders, unleashing domestic energy production,
and rooting out the waste, fraud, and abuse that was left over as the
final remnants of Biden's failed legacy.
However, the President cannot achieve all of these policy objectives
alone. He needs Congress. It will take those of us in the House and
Senate, concerned about addressing our fiscal irresponsibility the last
4 years and working together in a unified fashion, to pass a
reconciliation package that is set in motion by today's budget
resolution. It will give this administration the tools they need to
succeed in fulfilling their election mandate.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this budget as
we work to deliver real savings for the American people.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman
this bill would put 1.8 million people in the Commonwealth of Virginia
at risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett), my distinguished colleague on the Budget Committee.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, this is the Republican wreckonciliation
because it makes a wreck of our Nation's finances and it makes a wreck
of the lives of so many of our fellow Americans.
Republicans are so very troubled about our Nation's debt that they
want to add trillions more to it. In fact, according to the bipartisan
Citizens for a Responsible Federal Budget, they want to make it bigger
by about $4 trillion deeper in debt.
Elon Musk's DOGE--it is dodge also--is a sideshow for a multi-ring
circus of deception and lies designed to create the illusion that
billions are being saved from waste, fraud, and abuse when DOGE itself
is the abuse.
Even with these fake savings, the insatiable demand of these
Republicans for additional billionaire tax breaks requires denying
opportunities to middle-class families; denying access to a family
physician, first by slashing hundreds of millions from Medicaid for
which Trump professes to love and cherish; wrecking Medicaid which pays
for half the babies born at Seton hospital in Austin and half the
children that go to the Children's Hospital there.
Millions of Americans will lose health protection, and millions more
will lose educational opportunity. For those who are facing a dreaded
disease like cancer, Republicans are cutting innovative medical
research in the hope for a cure. With the looming threat of a flu
pandemic, there would be a 40 percent cut of staff at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. All of this represents more
Republican broken promises.
Remember last month when Trump was going to drastically bring down
grocery prices? The only thing that is drastic is the pain of this
Republican budget. Now Trump tells us we will have a golden age in
America. With this budget imposing so many burdens on our finances, the
sick, the hungry, and students, we see who gets the gold. It is those
billionaires that were on the front seat of his inauguration as working
families are betrayed.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I wonder when my Democrat colleagues will
direct their indignation and outrage to the fact that DOGE and our
friend, Elon Musk, has exposed tremendous, outrageous, and utterly
offensive waste like transgender operas in Colombia, DEI musicals in
Ireland, transgender comic books, and $20 million on ``Sesame Street.''
I would only have to assume my Democrat colleagues think that is the
way to find peace in the Middle East. It is insane, and it is offensive
to the taxpayers. You will never hear a single word about that in this
debate today.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Bergman).

[[Page H796]]

Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, it is crucial we are clear about the focus of today's
debate. Our aim is not to remove vulnerable Americans from the
government assistance programs they and their families depends on. On
the contrary, we are focused on strengthening the integrity of these
programs to ensure that taxpayer dollars are directed to those who
genuinely need them.
In the past decade, Medicaid has accounted for over $550 billion,
with a b, in improper payments, making it one of the government's
largest sources of payment errors. It would be irresponsible and a
betrayal of our fiduciary duty to American taxpayers not to make a
focused effort to recover these misused funds and redirect them to
those who need them the most.
With that said, it is essential these efforts are made with a careful
approach that avoids unintended consequences for vulnerable Americans
and providers.
As my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee begin their
critical efforts, I urge them to keep this top of mind. I urge all my
colleagues to support this good resolution.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman
that this bill would put 2.4 million people in Michigan at risk of
losing Medicaid.
Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. That is what this debate is about. The
other side is great at trying to distract you, holding up the shiny
object of a few outlandish stories about tens of thousands of dollars
to distract you from the trillions of dollars that are at stake. One in
three Americans get their healthcare from Medicaid. That is at risk
because of this proposal, and don't forget it. We can't allow ourselves
to get distracted.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Peters), my colleague and friend on the Budget Committee.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, our national debt is more than $36 trillion.
We borrow nearly $2 trillion every year just to pay our expenses. We
spend more in interest payments now than we do on Medicaid, schools,
childcare, and the national defense.
Republicans have raised the alarm about this deficit, but this budget
actually makes the debt and deficit much worse. They say we have a
spending problem. Then cut annual spending to a level that is covered
by our revenues and stop the deficits. That is not what they are doing
here.
They will make big cuts to healthcare, air traffic controllers,
cybersecurity, and the people who fight wildfires. They will not use
those savings to cut deficits. They will use those savings to pay for
tax cuts for people who don't need them.
America doesn't have a spending problem. We have a borrowing problem.
This budget would lead to more borrowing we can't afford. It would
limit our ability to borrow money when we do need it and when there is
a future urgent need.

Today, the economy has low unemployment and high interest rates. This
is the exact wrong time to blow up the debt. This bill will add between
$4 trillion and $11 trillion to the debt, which will increase interest
rates, raise prices, and keep inflation high. Our kids are going to
pick up the bill. Don't vote for this self-inflicted harm.
Mr. Speaker, I work with many of my Republican colleagues as co-chair
of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum on controlling the debt and deficit. I
know some are sitting here, quietly agreeing with me. I know personally
how hard it is to buck your party. When Democrats held the House, the
Senate, and the White House, I voted ``no'' on our reconciliation
budget to get a better product. It was very unpopular, but I held my
ground. People at home knew I was standing up for them. We got a better
product, and they sent me back.
We work with Presidents. We don't report to them. We report to our
constituents as independently elected Members of Congress who were
elected on the exact same day as Donald Trump.
Mr. Speaker, our colleagues should do their job. They know better,
and I ask them to vote ``no.''
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gill), my friend and also a member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Arrington for his
leadership throughout this process.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump delivered historic results. He is
securing our border, restoring common sense, lowering costs, and
reestablishing America's strength in the world. He is stopping our tax
dollars from funding woke, perverted projects that the other side of
the aisle seeks to push.
Today, 60 percent of American taxpayers are facing rising taxes and
uncertainty. To address these challenges, this resolution provides for
the extension of the Trump tax cuts, funds the largest mass deportation
operation in U.S. history, and cuts at least $1.5 trillion in waste,
fraud, and abuse from our Federal budget.
This is something that should receive bipartisan support. Our
commitment to fiscal discipline is clear. Conservatives on the Budget
Committee added a provision that incentivizes a total of $2 trillion in
reductions.
Mr. Speaker, the American people are begging for Washington to unlock
the Trump agenda, which this bill does. They gave us a mandate to save
this country, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman
this bill would put 4.2 million people in Texas at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur), a distinguished member and friend from the Budget Committee.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for the
opportunity to speak. I thank him for his great work.
Mr. Speaker, budgets are about choices for the American people. If we
look at what is happening with this current budget, it is a bonanza for
billionaires. We live in a moment in our country when 1 percent of our
population, the very top, hold as much wealth as the bottom half of our
country. One percent of the top, the billionaires and millionaires,
hold more wealth than the bottom half of our people. It is an
astounding moment in which we are living.
The very top are not paying their fair share, and everybody in
America knows it, including them. How many more mansions do we need to
see that take up acres and acres? How many yachts do these people
actually need? Some of the old movies about ``Goldfinger'' and all come
to mind. Some people seem to like gold a whole lot in this country.

{time} 1500

If the tax cuts that are proposed in this bill offer a few hundred
dollars to people who live in the bottom half of our country, which is
most of the people that I represent, the bottom half of incomes, the
people at the top are going to get hundreds and hundreds of thousands
of dollars back. I say to myself: Do they have any conscience about
what is happening in their country? To take away the healthcare,
Medicare, Medicaid, the cuts that Republicans are proposing, you will
cause death in this country.
To me, what is happening here is shameless. Here is the chart. If we
look back at who caused the debt in our country, wow. It is pretty
obvious. If we go back to the Reagan Presidency, all you are doing is
just repeating what happened. They added $2 trillion. Then the Bush II
tax cuts added $8 trillion. The Trump tax cuts are already over $2.5
trillion.
The CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15
seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. The Afghan and Iraq wars declared by Republican
Presidents added $8 trillion. If you look at this, two-thirds of what
we owe were caused by the Republican side of the aisle. I represent a
lot of Republicans, and I will tell you they are honest people and they
will pay their taxes, but they don't like this excess. It is hurting
America. The Republican budget is just a bonanza for billionaires.
Shame on you.
The CHAIR. Members are reminded to direct their comments to the
Chair.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Clyde), my friend and another Budget Committee member.

[[Page H797]]

Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of the House
Budget Committee's FY25 budget resolution which advances President
Trump's America First agenda by unlocking the budget reconciliation
process to achieve the President's priorities and restore fiscal sanity
in Washington.
This budget resolution paves the way to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act signed into law by President Trump in 2017, which fueled historic
economic growth and raised real wages. This resolution also provides
instructions to reverse Biden's assault on domestic energy, rein in
reckless spending, and deliver critical resources to the Trump
administration so we can secure our border and strengthen our national
security.
Finally, I want to address the fear-mongering among our Democrat
colleagues. This budget resolution does not cut benefits for any
legitimate recipient of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. I
challenge anyone to find a single provision in this 45-page resolution
that cuts benefits because they can't. This resolution simply sets a
budget framework so we can deal with the incredible fraud, waste, and
abuse in Medicaid to stabilize and preserve it for those who really
need it.
GAO alone estimates that the fraud--
The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the
gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. CLYDE: Mr. Chair, GAO alone estimates that the fraud in Medicaid
is at least $50 billion a year.
Mr. Chair, I include in the Record this report from the GAO, which
states $50 billion a year of improper payments.

[From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Mar. 26, 2024]

Improper Payments: Information on Agencies' Fiscal Year 2023 Estimates

(Q&A Report to the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, Committee on
Appropriations, House of Representatives)

Why This Matters

Improper payments--those that should not have been made or
were made in the incorrect amount--have consistently been a
government-wide issue. Since fiscal year 2003, cumulative
improper payment estimates by executive branch agencies have
totaled about $2.7 trillion. Reducing improper payments is
critical to safeguarding federal funds.
We have reported on improper payments in our audit reports
on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements
since fiscal year 1997. We have found that these payments
represent a material deficiency or weakness in internal
controls. Specifically, we have noted that the federal
government is unable to determine the full extent of its
improper payments or to reasonably assure that appropriate
actions are taken to reduce them.
House Report 117-389, which accompanied the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Act, 2023, includes a provision for GAO
to provide quarterly reports on improper payments. This is
our fifth such report, and it provides an overview of federal
agencies' improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2023.
Additionally, we discuss agencies' compliance with legal
requirements for reporting and managing improper payments.

Key Takeaways

In fiscal year 2023, federal agencies estimated a total of
$236 billion in improper payments, a decrease of about $11
billion from the prior fiscal year. About $175 billion (or 74
percent) of these improper payments were overpayments.
The total fiscal year 2023 improper payment estimate does
not include some programs that agencies have determined are
susceptible to significant improper payments, such as the
Department of Health and Humans Services' (HHS) Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
In fiscal year 2022, 14 of the 24 agencies covered by the
Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) fully complied
with applicable improper payment criteria, as reported by
their agency inspectors general.

What are the federal agencies' estimates for fiscal year 2023 improper
payments?

Agencies reported about $236 billion in improper payment
estimates for fiscal year 2023. This amount represents a
decrease of about $11 billion from the fiscal year 2022
estimate (see fig. 1).
Our analysis of agency data shows that 14 agencies reported
improper payment estimates across 71 programs. As shown in
figure 2, about 79 percent ($186 billion) of the government-
wide total of estimated improper payments that agencies
reported for fiscal year 2023 is concentrated in five program
areas:
HHS's Medicare, comprising three programs ($51 billion);
HHS's Medicaid ($50 billion);
the Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance--Federal
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ($44 billion);
the Department of the Treasury's Earned Income Tax Credit
($22 billion); and
the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck
Protection Program Loan Forgiveness ($19 billion).
As seen in figure 3, most of the total $236 billion in
government-wide improper payment estimates for fiscal year
2023 consisted of overpayments. The remaining improper
payments consisted of underpayments, unknown payments, and
technically improper payments.
It should be noted that the fiscal year 2023 improper
payment estimates do not include certain programs that
agencies have determined are susceptible to significant
improper payments. As a result, the government-wide total
potentially does not represent the full extent of improper
payments. For example, the $236 billion total does not
include HHS's TANF program. HHS reported that it does not
have the authority to obtain the information it needs to
estimate or report improper payment amounts for this program.
In April 2022, we recommended that Congress consider
providing HHS the authority to require states to report the
data the agency needs to estimate and report on improper
payments for TANF. As of February 2024, Congress has not
acted on this recommendation.

How many programs reported substantial declines in improper payments?

Our analysis of PaymentAccuracy.gov data found that eight
programs experienced substantial declines in reported
estimated improper payments for fiscal year 2023 (see table
3). Agencies attributed these declines to factors such as
terminating certain programs and implementing mitigation
strategies. In addition, variability arising from the
improper payment estimation process could potentially explain
a portion of the reported declines.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Since the gentleman asked the question, I am happy to answer it.
Right there in the bill, $880 billion directed to the Energy and
Commerce Committee as a floor to find savings. In other words, for
cuts. There is only one place that can come from. Literally, if they
cut 100 percent of everything else Energy and Commerce has purview
over, it would still leave them hundreds of billions of dollars short.
It has to come from Medicaid. It has to come from the ACA premiums
because much like when Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he
replied: Because that is where the money is.
Likewise, in terms of the Energy and Commerce cuts, the $880 billion
has to come from Medicaid because that is the only place you can find
$880 billion. Don't be fooled by their rhetorical tricks.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs.
Watson Coleman), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Chair, I am standing in opposition. During
their campaigns, Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues promised to
get to work to lowering prices for the American people. This budget is
a betrayal of that promise. It is a betrayal of millions of our
children, our parents, and our seniors. It is a betrayal of the one-
third of New Jersey children who rely on Medicaid. It is a betrayal of
the one-third of new mothers who count on Medicaid for their prenatal
care. It is a betrayal of 6 in 10 New Jersey seniors living in nursing
homes. It is a rip-off of New Jersey taxpayers as Republicans have
prioritized tax cuts for their billionaire donors over the lives of
everyday citizens who will suffer under this new budget.
My neighbor, Tom Kean, has over 70,000 Medicaid recipients, including
over 27,000 children. Does Congressman Van Drew from New Jersey know a
vote for this budget means abandoning 177,000 of his residents for the
billionaire class? Does Congressman Chris Smith know that there are
178,000 Medicaid recipients in his district, including nearly 100,000
children who will be cut and will lose their coverage simply to enrich
Trump's billionaire friends?
A few weeks ago, I offered an amendment in the Budget Committee to
eliminate these disastrous cuts. Not a single Republican gave me a vote
on this issue. Last night, I offered the same amendment to the Rules
Committee, and we had the same outcome. There was not one Republican
vote. I only hope that there are at least a few of my Republican
colleagues today who have the courage and the humanity to stand up for
their most vulnerable constituents and to vote ``no.'' I urge a ``no''
vote here.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from

[[Page H798]]

Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), our Agriculture Committee chair and my
friend.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, this budget resolution
begins the process of delivering on President Trump's agenda, and that
agenda is clear. It is securing the border. It is unleashing economic
growth. It is providing efficiency and accountability in government. It
is reining in reckless spending that spurred record inflation.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to talk about
the harmful provisions within this resolution. In reality, this is the
beginning of the process. It is the beginning of a course correction as
desperately needed following 4 years of policy that placed America in a
position of excess and decline.
Speaking of excess, since President Trump's first term, increased
enrollment and exploitation of the 2018 farm bill by the Biden
administration ballooned the annual spending on the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program by 66 percent at a total cost of $256
billion, leaving workers on the sidelines while small businesses paying
record wages struggle to find help.
This egregious executive overreach not only violated the
Congressional Review Act but likely reduced the fraction of people
participating in the workforce and contributed to inflation.
Mr. Chair, we must meet the vital supplemental food needs of
Americans that Congress committed to fulfill through SNAP, and we will.
We cannot allow excess or lack of accountability within the
bureaucracy, though, to compromise fulfilling that obligation.
Thoughtful policies that recognize the value of work, hold states
accountable, promote program integrity, and in the long run protect the
safety net for those Americans who truly need it should be our
priority.
At the same time, we must use this process to advance the needs of
the farm economy. We cannot leave our most ardent supporters in rural
America without new resources and empty-handed for a third year.
House Republicans have a mandate to restore America's faith in
government and we will protect hardworking taxpayers, preventing the
largest tax increase in American history. We will provide for the
neediest among us while simultaneously delivering a foundation for
economic growth and prosperity.
Mr. Chair, let us ensure America is once again the land of
opportunity and thriving communities. Passage of this resolution is one
step in that process.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind my friend and fellow
Pennsylvanian who just spoke, this resolution would put 3.1 million
people in our beloved Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands (Ms. Plaskett), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this budget. We know
that a budget is a statement of values. In simple terms, you put your
money where your mouth is. The money my Republican colleagues are
getting right now is going to the class that they are beholden to, the
uberwealthy.
The bulk of those cost savings come from slashing Medicaid funding,
which ensures that 70 million Americans, and funds from the Children's
Health Insurance Program, CHIP, where another 10 million American
children are helped. Those savings they are getting are being created
so that they can then give that money, give those savings, to the
ultrarich.

Twenty percent of the population in the Virgin Islands are at risk of
losing their healthcare under this budget. Veterans, children, working
families who are barely making it, rely on this.
Mr. Chair, right here, right now, Republicans are trying to steal
healthcare from 80 million people, and they are heading to the bank as
millions of Americans are left helpless. What is happening? What is
going on?
Republicans are intentionally targeting grandmothers, targeting
children, and targeting veterans that live in your neighborhood. Mr.
Chair, they are going to throw some peanuts, a couple of hundred bucks,
at each one of us and tell us that you are getting some taxes back.
That is the amount of money that the very wealthy are getting. An
average of $314,000 is going to them at the expense of the American
people.
Speaking of fraud, waste, and abuse, they are going to tell you they
are using that money to get rid of illegals. They are going to tell you
that they are going to try and dramatically change the landscape. No.
They are only changing the landscape for those individuals that they
are beholden to--$2 trillion of cuts for $4 trillion of money that is
going into the pockets of individuals that they are beholden to. That
is what is happening. I am disappointed, but I am not surprised that
the Republicans have used this process to satisfy the people that they
are most beholden to. Americans must stand up.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chair, I want to thank Mr. Arrington for
yielding.
Mr. Chair, 4 years ago, President Trump left Joe Biden a blueprint
for success, and then Democrats proceeded to open our borders,
undermine American energy, and spend trillions of dollars on handouts
to the wealthy.
They created the highest inflation in 40 years that made it
impossible for working families to survive. That is why the American
people sent Donald Trump back to the White House with a mandate. Now it
is up to Congress to deliver on that mandate, to make our economy work
again for working families.
The economy isn't just numbers on a chart. It is the farmer who wakes
up at 4 a.m., the mom or dad working two jobs just to get by, the shop
owner figuring out how to keep the store lights on, and the truck
driver working overtime.
Mr. Chair, let me be clear, a vote against this budget is a vote to
raise taxes on low-income Americans. Mr. Chair, $2.6 trillion of the
tax cuts in this resolution are people making less than $400,000 a
year. Democrats campaigned on not allowing taxes to increase on people
making less than $400,000 a year. Let us see if their voting cards show
up. Extending the Trump tax cuts will give the lowest income families a
tax cut of 15 percent, the highest of any income group.
On the other hand, failing to extend these tax cuts means the average
taxpayer will see a 22 percent tax hike.

{time} 1515

The average family of four making $80,000 a year will see their taxes
go up almost $1,700. That is 2 months' worth of groceries.
Americans need certainty that relief is on the way. Workers need
certainty that their taxes won't go up.
Mr. Chair, 26 million small businesses need certainty that their tax
rates won't rise to 43 percent in a few short months so that they can
focus on investing and hiring more workers.
Mr. Chair, 2 million family-owned farms need certainty that they
won't be forced to sell their farm to pay an increased death tax. They
need to know right now if they should be contacting an estate planner
for the massive tax hike that is coming.
Parents need certainty that their guaranteed deduction of $30,000
won't be cut in half and that their child tax credit won't be slashed
from $2,000 to $1,000.
Following passage of the Trump tax cuts, wages increased by 4.9
percent, the fastest 2-year growth in real wages in 20 years. Mr.
Chair, 5 million new jobs were created. More than 6 million people were
lifted out of poverty. Real median household income rose by $5,000. The
economy grew a full percentage point higher than CBO's initial
forecast, and revenues have remained steady at 17 percent of GDP.
Building on President Trump's tax cuts will deliver a new golden age
of prosperity: over 1 million new small business jobs each year, $284
billion in economic growth for more manufacturing, and billions in new
investments to revitalize our poorest neighborhoods.
We will reignite our economy with a return of policies like 100
percent immediate expensing and incentives to make sure R&D is
happening here and not being outsourced around the globe.
We will deliver on President Trump's commitment to tax relief for
tipped workers, help for seniors struggling

[[Page H799]]

with inflation, and tax relief for overtime workers.
President Trump's policies will spark an economic recovery, and that
recovery starts by passing this budget so we can send one big,
beautiful bill to President Trump's desk.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman
that this bill would put 1.3 million people in Missouri at risk of
losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Escobar), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for yielding me
time.
Let's talk about what is really happening here today. Housing costs
are up. Groceries are up. Inflation is up. Donald Trump is threatening
more tariffs, which means our costs will continue to go up. It is no
wonder that the bond market is flashing a warning sign about slowing
economic growth under Donald Trump.
My Republican colleagues, instead of working with us to lower costs,
what are they doing? They are working to give billionaires massive tax
breaks, and they will do that by making life costlier for everyone
else.
In fact, this budget bill that will be on the floor today will have
enormous consequences. It will make America poorer, sicker, and
hungrier. It will close hospitals and clinics. It will kick seniors out
of nursing homes. It ends support for Americans with disabilities. It
will double healthcare costs and more.
That is just the Medicaid portion of it. In Texas, in my State, over
4 million Texans stand to lose with the cuts that my Republican
colleagues will implement that this bill would unlock with cuts to
Medicaid.
It is not just that. It gets worse. This budget bill would explode
the national debt. Why? So that billionaires can have another yacht,
another luxury home, another jet?
It doesn't have to be this way. We just need some of our Republican
colleagues to stand with us and vote to protect the American people,
reject these billionaire tax breaks, reject the harm that it will do to
their constituents and ours, and protect the American people.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), the chairman of the Natural Resources
Committee.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 2025 budget
resolution.
My constituents know firsthand how the failed policies of the left
resulted in increased grocery and energy bills, opened our borders,
imperiled our national security, accelerated our debt, and made it next
to impossible to build and use our natural resources here at home,
making us dependent on our adversaries.
This budget creates a blueprint to deliver on the promises we made to
the American people: righting the wrongs of the past, unleashing
America's energy potential, and implementing the full America First
agenda.
Advancing the budget resolution opens the door for the budget
reconciliation process. It will allow committees to begin our work on
the nuts and bolts of budget reconciliation, implementing savings
across government and harnessing our biggest revenue generators, such
as domestic energy production.
By unlocking access to our energy and mineral reserves, actively
managing our forests, streamlining burdensome permitting processes, and
repealing wasteful IRA spending, we will deliver a responsible
reconciliation bill that builds the wealth of our Nation.
As a former member of the House Budget Committee, I appreciate the
budget process and have great respect for Chairman Arrington and his
staff in getting this budget resolution to the House floor.
Mr. Chair, while our colleagues across the aisle are using made-up
numbers that have no basis or substance as a scare tactic on the
American people, I can say, as a former State legislator, and I am
happy to remind my colleagues across the aisle that Medicaid is a State
and Federal program. Not a single person will lose Medicaid coverage
unless their State makes that choice.

Mr. Chair, this resolution has my full support, and I encourage my
colleagues to vote for it.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman
that this big, beautiful bill for billionaires would put 820,000 people
in Arkansas at risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Jeffries), the Democratic leader of the House and my friend.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to the
reckless Republican budget, which is a betrayal of working-class
Americans, middle-class Americans, children, seniors, and everyday
Americans all across the country.
I thank the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Boyle),
the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, for his leadership, all the
members of the Budget Committee, and all the members of the House
Democratic Caucus, who are standing up for the American people by
opposing this reckless Republican budget that will devastate people all
across the land.
It is not consistent with promises that were made to the American
people. It is the exact opposite. Here is the promise that was made to
the American people over and over again: Republicans were going to
drive down the high cost of living in the United States of America and
combat inflation. That was the promise that Republicans made to the
American people.
As House Democrats, we are working hard to lower housing costs, lower
grocery costs, lower insurance costs, lower utility costs, and lower
childcare costs because we know America is too expensive. We want to
drive down the high cost of living.
On the other side of the aisle, we haven't seen a single bill
introduced by Republicans to drive down the high cost of living and
address the affordability crisis in the United States. Not a single
executive order issued by President Trump has anything to do with
driving down the high cost of living. Not a single administrative
action taken this year by the Trump administration has anything to do
with driving down the high cost of living.
In fact, costs aren't going down in the United States of America.
Costs are going up. Grocery prices are going up. Inflation is going up.
Republicans are crashing the economy in real time.
Republicans have betrayed the American middle-class, working
families, everyday Americans, children, and seniors with this $4.5
trillion budget scheme.
Don't come to the House floor and act like this is being done in the
name of fiscal responsibility. Enough with that narrative. There is
nothing in the Republican track record to suggest to the American
people that you are the party of fiscal responsibility, absolutely
nothing.
President Reagan comes into office. His signature legislative
accomplishment is a massive unpaid-for tax cut for the wealthy, the
well-off, and the well-connected. What does it do? It increases the
debt by $2 trillion. That is not fiscal responsibility. That is
recklessness. That is your record.
Those kinds of fiscal policies continued for 8 years and carried over
into the Presidency of George H.W. Bush. Then, we saw a massive debt
handed over to President Bill Clinton. What do Democrats do with that
massive debt? We turned that debt into a surplus over an 8-year period
of time, and the economy exploded.
That is what fiscal responsibility looks like. That happened under
President Bill Clinton. Stop saying to the American people that you are
the party of fiscal responsibility. The facts say exactly the opposite.
A budget surplus was handed over to President George W. Bush, who
proceeded, in 2001 and then again in 2003, to pass massive tax cuts--
same playbook; here we go again--massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the
well-off, and the well-connected. That explodes the debt by $8
trillion, and at the same time, we have a failed war in Iraq and a
failed war in Afghanistan, over time adding another $8 trillion to our
Nation's debt.
That burden is handed over to President Barack Obama, but during the
period of his time in office, when he had a $1.5 trillion deficit, he
cut it by $1

[[Page H800]]

trillion, despite the fact that he also inherited from Republicans the
Great Recession and had to turn things around. He cut the deficit by $1
trillion, from $1.5 trillion to $500 billion. You asked about numbers.
Here are the numbers.
Then, that gets handed over to President Trump in his first term. He
proceeded, of course, to follow the same Republican playbook, which has
nothing to do with fiscal responsibility and everything to do with
massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected.
Republicans passed the GOP tax scam with 83 percent of the benefits
set aside for the wealthiest 1 percent and, in connection with the GOP
tax scam, exploded the debt by another $2 trillion that they force
working families, middle-class folks, and everyday Americans to pay
for.
Republicans are not the party of fiscal responsibility. Stop trying
to convince the American people otherwise. It is the same playbook.
In fact, during the administration of Donald Trump during his first 4
years, the debt exploded to such a degree that 25 percent or so of our
Nation's debt came from just the first term of President Donald Trump,
25 percent. We have been around for over 248 years. The party of fiscal
responsibility?

{time} 1530

Then, of course, President Biden inherits a significant deficit and
overwhelming debt in his 2 years. The first 2 years he gets a lot done
and cuts the deficit by $1.7 trillion.
There is still a lot of work for all of us to do, but do not pretend
that this budget resolution has anything to do with fiscal
responsibility or keeping their promises to the American people. The
Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living and have done
nothing about it.
So here we are again, and there they go again with this GOP tax scam,
the same exact playbook, $4.5 trillion worth of cuts for the wealthy,
the well-off, and the well-connected disproportionately to benefit
billionaire donors and well-connected corporations.
To make matters worse, the Republicans would actually cut programs,
cut the social safety net, and cut the things that matter to working-
class Americans, middle-class Americans, young people, seniors, and
others, including up to, if not more, $880 billion of cuts to Medicaid.
That is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
It doesn't help working-class Americans. It doesn't help middle-class
Americans. It doesn't help children, and it doesn't help older
Americans. It will devastate them. It will devastate children,
devastate people with disabilities, devastate seniors, devastate
pregnant women all across the country, devastate nursing homes, and
shut down nursing homes. It will shut down hospitals, including in
rural America, urban America, small-town America, and the heartland of
America. That is what the Republican budget betrayal is all about.
It will devastate supplemental nutritional assistance programs for
our children, for our veterans, and for our families. That is what the
Republican budget is all about. It has nothing to do with making life
better for everyday Americans. It will hurt everyday Americans.
So Democrats are not going to provide this reckless Republican
scheme, this out-of-control budget, a single vote, not a single vote,
because we are standing on the side of the American people.
We will fight this reckless Republican budget today, we will fight
this reckless Republican budget tomorrow, and we will fight this
reckless Republican budget until it is buried deep in the ground never
to rise again. We will stand on the side of the American people at all
times.
Mr. Chair, vote ``no''.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Rogers), who is the chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I
commend the Chair, the leader, and Chairman Arrington on their
tremendous work.
We have heard about all the ways the House budget resolution will
deliver on President Trump's America First agenda. That includes making
a generational investment in our national defense.
The $100 billion in defense spending this resolution unlocks will
enable us to begin restoring American deterrence, prioritizing
lethality, and ensuring peace through strength.
It will help defend the DOD's mission at the border because border
security is national security.
It will help improve the quality of life for our servicemembers and
their families.
It will help us start to revitalize our defense industrial base and
restore readiness accounts to ensure we can fight tonight. It will also
help us start to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity and enhance our
missile defense. It will also help begin restocking our Nation's
arsenal of critical munitions. It will help us position our military to
out-compete and out-innovate China.
Achieving the President's goal of peace through strength will
ultimately require us to get defense spending back above 4 percent of
GDP. However, none of that can happen unless we pass this budget
resolution today.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
resolution.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman that
this bill would put 950,000 people in Alabama at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota
(Ms. Omar), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Ms. OMAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this
Republican budget resolution because it is not a budget. It is a
blueprint for American decline.
Let's be clear. They want to exploit your labor and your tax dollars
and gut your earned benefits all to bankroll tax cuts for their wealthy
friends and donors.
They want to increase your healthcare costs while Elon Musk and his
friends hoard even more wealth, and they have the audacity to call it
fiscal responsibility.
This proposal will only deepen the constitutional crisis we are
already in: a President trying to rule like a dictator and an unelected
billionaire using hate and fear to expand his control over our country.
Congressional Republicans are pretending this chaos is normal, even
as their own constituents call them out for their cowardice.
Our government is being hollowed out, our institutions are falling
apart, and today House Republicans are slashing programs that people
rely on to enact a massive $4.6 trillion tax giveaway to the rich.
So I ask my Republican colleagues: Whom will you serve, the people
who sent you here or the billionaires trying to buy our democracy?
The CHAIR. Members are advised to not only direct their comments to
the Chair but to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the
President.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, the minority leader regurgitated a
talking point from the Democratic Party we have heard now for years. We
heard it prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
The gentleman said that 83 percent of the tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act benefits would accrue to the top 1 percent of income earners.
The Washington Post, which is no bastion of conservative journalism,
gave him two Pinocchios for that one and called it a zombie claim. They
called it galling. PolitiFact agreed with them and said that it was
flat-out misleading.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr.
McClintock), who is also a member of the House Budget Committee.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Chairman, this resolution not only saves an
average family about $16,000 over the next 10 years through reduced
spending, it also prevents a crushing $1,500 annual tax hike on a
struggling family earning just $75,000 a year. I have news for the
minority leader: That ain't rich. They can't afford it, and they don't
deserve it.
The details will come in the reconciliation bill which can't be
drafted until this resolution passes, so our Democratic colleagues
ought to wait to see what the committees actually propose before
setting their hair on fire.
The people didn't save our country last November. They gave us the
tools

[[Page H801]]

to save it. It is now up to us to use them. This resolution unlocks a
powerful tool, and it is a critical step to stop the reckless theft of
the earnings, the productivity, the prosperity, and the dreams of the
American people.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman this
bill would put 13.4 million people in California at risk of losing
Medicaid.
I further remind my friend, the chair of the Budget Committee, that
it was not the Democratic leader's statistic that he was quoting about
83 percent. It was the Congressional Budget Office that found that 83
percent of the 2017 Trump tax cuts go to the richest 1 percent of
Americans.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Tonko), who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Chair, it was quite remarkable to go back home to New
York's 20th District last week after spending 12 hours moving this
monstrosity through the Budget Committee. Everywhere I went folks were
imploring me, begging and pleading, to stand up to this cruelty.
Moreover, that is after weeks of receiving nonstop calls from
thousands of activated and engaged constituents, many of whom are
reaching out to me for the very first time.
I held a townhall at Albany High School and, like many of my
colleagues' in recent weeks, it was packed. The energy in the room was
palpable: fear, helplessness, and anger.
Why, Mr. Chairman, are we forcing through legislation that will hurt
the very people we represent?
My constituents should never have to stand up and tell me they will
interrupt their lives to stand up and fight with me in D.C. against the
Republican agenda, but they did.
Our job is to serve the American people, not rip access to basic
necessities away from them at the behest of a President who declared
himself king. Frankly, it is insulting to me, to this institution, to
the working families of New York's 20th District, and to every American
who is still struggling just to get by.
Nevertheless, here we are, blowing a $3 trillion hole in our national
debt to serve billionaire oligarchs instead, billionaire oligarchs and
donors who will never have to wonder whether they can afford to go to
the doctor, retire with dignity, or even put food on the table to feed
their children at night.
It is outrageous, it is a rip-off, and it is a heartless betrayal of
the American people, the middle class, working families, and future
generations.
My district has asked me: Where is the solution to this?
It rests right in this Chamber. Let us assume the responsibilities,
the duties, the authority, and the power we have by the Constitution
with the power of the purse placed in our hands here in the House of
Representatives. Let's act accordingly.
They didn't want a President to circumvent Congress, they didn't want
an agent who never had a background check and who was never confirmed
by the U.S. Senate and who is wielding a chain saw at our programs and
not showing sensitivity, compassion, and intellect in academics that
will make the true difference.
The CHAIR. Once again, the Chair would remind and implore all Members
to not engage in personalities toward the President and direct your
remarks to the Chair.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from the State of Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).
Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this
resolution because it delivers on the promise that we made to the
American people by extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and fulfilling
President Trump's agenda.
This is direly needed. For the past 4 years, the American people have
lived through the longest sustained period of debt and deficit in our
Nation's history. During that same time, Americans have also had to
grapple with hyperinflation and record-high energy costs and grocery
costs at the grocery store.
This budget will usher in a new golden era that the American people
are yearning for and where free enterprise can flourish, energy
production is unleashed, and our fiscal health is restored.
This budget does so by extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which
delivered wage increases of 4.9 percent and the lowest poverty and
unemployment rates in 50 years. This budget also achieves a deficit
reduction of $1 billion over 10 years and achieves massive savings in
our spending.
Washington doesn't have a revenue problem. Washington has a spending
problem.
Mr. Chair, the American people sent us here to fulfill a mission,
putting our Nation back on a trajectory toward success and prosperity.
Passing this resolution is the first step in that process. This budget
doesn't betray the middle class. It saves the middle class, and it
empowers the middle class for a prosperous future.

Mr. Chairman, I support this resolution, and I encourage my
colleagues to do the same. This is the first time that I remember where
we are actually being fiscally responsible.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman that
this bill would put 1.8 million Hoosiers at risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Waters), who is the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose the Republican budget
rip-off. I hear from constituents every day about the high cost of
living. Under the Trump administration, healthcare costs are rising,
and putting food on the table is getting harder as egg prices skyrocket
and housing remains unaffordable.
Unfortunately, the Republican rip-off is a slap in the face to
working families.
Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans are asking us to support
axing Medicaid by $180 billion, even though food stamps reduce rural
poverty. Republicans will cut this program too by $230 billion.
Republicans are defunding the police by stripping funding from the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the CFPB is the only Federal
cop on the block to hold Wall Street banks and Big Tech payment apps
accountable when they cheat Americans.
It is shameful that while families suffer from high prices, Musk is
firing thousands of Federal workers and stealing sensitive data from
his competitors.
Although this rip-off cuts $2 trillion in vital programs, what do
Republicans plan to do with this money?

{time} 1545

Mr. Chairman, they are going to give $4.5 trillion in tax cuts to the
billionaires in this country. That is $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. If
that math doesn't compute, it is because Republicans expect Americans
to buy the next megayacht for Jeff Bezos.
Mr. Chairman, we are not going to do that, and Democrats are voting
``no'' on this budget. It is outrageous that Republicans have the
audacity to come here with this budget that harms so many Americans and
ask us to support billionaires and think we are going to buy it? The
majority thinks we are going to support it? My colleagues on the other
side of the aisle have another thought coming. We ain't doing it.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I can't believe my ears of Democrats
criticizing the audacity of Republicans here in Washington, our
Nation's Capital, giving the hard-earned money back to the people,
letting them keep more of their money as they have suffered 4 years
under record inflation, record interest rate hikes, and record consumer
debt. How dare Republicans give money back to small businesses and
working families so that they can pay the bills and provide for their
families?
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Graves), the ``Show-Me'' State, our House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure chairman.
Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the House's fiscal year 2025
budget resolution, which is a critical step needed to unlock a
reconciliation bill that is going to help secure our border and
revitalize our military. It is going to unleash American energy
independence and extend tax cuts for American families and small
businesses.
Simply put, this budget delivers on all of President Trump's America
First

[[Page H802]]

agenda by prioritizing the economic and national security of
hardworking Americans. Failure to act on this budget resolution, our
House Republican budget, risks trillions in tax increases on Missouri
farmers, small businesses, and families.
Mr. Chairman, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am
pleased to see that the budget directs an investment of $100 billion
for our national defense after years of underinvestment.
As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, we
are ready to do our part to produce a bill that fulfills President
Trump's border security agenda by providing funding for the United
States Coast Guard for drug and migrant interdiction.
The Coast Guard has been underfunded for years. However, this
administration recognizes that the Coast Guard is the workhorse when it
comes to securing our maritime border. I am grateful for the
President's focus on providing robust resources to the service to do
even more, and I know that the men and women in the Coast Guard are
very much up to the task.
Despite delivering these robust investments, this budget still
requires the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to generate at
least $10 billion in savings overall. Committee Republicans have been
hard at work to make sure that we are prepared to support the Coast
Guard while also being good stewards of taxpayer dollars by responsibly
offsetting our investments.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this budget resolution.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, the chair of the Budget Committee said something
moments ago to the effect of: This is about giving the people their
money back.
That is not so. This is about the one in three Americans on Medicaid
who are at risk of losing it because what is in this budget plan in
black and white are the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history
and cuts to other programs like SNAP, school lunches, and Head Start.
Why is that? It is to deliver tax cuts, 83 percent of which go to the
richest 1 percent of Americans. That is what this plan is about.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut
(Ms. DeLauro), my friend and ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, as ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee, I am responsible for funding programs and services that the
American people rely on.
I also see the importance of programs like Medicaid, which help tens
of millions of people afford health insurance. After all of their talk
of lowering the cost of living, Republicans wasted no time in making
their real priorities clear. For this majority, billionaires and the
biggest corporations always come first.
Elon Musk and President Trump are hard at work trying to gut Medicaid
and the Affordable Care Act, which helps nearly 100 million Americans
afford health insurance, medications, and lifesaving care.
Nationwide, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program
provide medical coverage to nearly 4 in 10 children. Almost 40 percent
of the children in the United States get their healthcare through
Medicaid.
These programs were designed, improved, and expanded over decades by
both parties to help people deal with the high costs of healthcare, and
they have delivered for so many families. In my district alone, there
are 229,000 people on Medicaid, including 79,000 children and 33,000
seniors. Medicaid paid for 3,000 births last year, providing
comprehensive prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care to newborns and
mothers. These are programs that help families and children. Medicaid
works.
Elon Musk is only interested in helping the richest among us. His
dream is to fully extend more than $4.5 trillion worth of tax breaks to
his billionaire friends and the wealthiest corporations in the world.
How will they pay for these tax cuts and pay for this massive
giveaway? Republicans want to pay for this with cuts to Medicaid, $880
billion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, putting coverage at
risk for millions of Americans and raising their premiums.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Williams of Texas). The time of the gentlewoman
has expired.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15
seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, who bears the brunt of these cuts:
seniors, children, low-income families, people with disabilities, those
struggling. The most high healthcare costs impact the first ones left
behind.
Republicans are coming for SNAP next, threatening 40 million
Americans who are just trying to put food on the table. Democrats will
stand where we always do, on the side of the middle class, against yet
another reckless Republican budget that steals even more wealth for the
billionaire class.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, the budget resolution will allow us to cut taxes,
reduce spending, help our national defense, and secure the border,
which is exactly what we told the voters we were going to do in the
election.
I always say that we make this job way too complicated. It is pretty
darned simple. What did Members tell the voters they were going to do
when they put their name on the ballot? If they get elected, go do what
they said.
The American people elected us, a majority in the House and a
majority in the Senate. There were 77 million people who voted for
President Trump. We told them what we were going to do. It is now time
to do it, and this is step one of that process.
The ranking member referenced the American people. We are remembering
the American people, exactly what we told them, and why they elected
us. To do all of that, it takes resources, particularly the one that
focuses in our committee on securing the border.
It takes resources, and the reason we need so many resources to
secure the border is because the previous administration screwed
everything up so badly. Day one of the Biden administration, they made
three decisions: no more building the wall, no more remain in Mexico,
and when migrants get here, they will not be detained but will be
released.
When that is done and it is advertised to the entire planet that
those are the new policies, everybody comes. There were 10 million
people who came, almost the equivalent of the entire population of the
State I get the privilege of representing.
Mr. Chairman, to fix that, my colleagues have to find resources, find
savings, and do what we are doing in this legislation because it takes
personnel. It takes equipment. It takes space. It takes detention beds.
It takes judges. It takes lawyers to secure that border and handle what
needs to be done to fix what Democrats caused and created.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for the good work he has done and
the Republican members of the Budget Committee for putting this
together.
The gentleman is right. If we don't do this, taxes are going to go up
on the families across this great country. I don't want the taxes to go
up on the families who I represent in the Fourth District of Ohio. I
don't want that to happen.
I want the borders secured. I want to reduce spending because I know
we are running deficits in the trillions, and we have piled up $36
trillion in debt. I want to help our national defense because it is
still a dangerous world.
I just got back from Israel last week. We know how dangerous it is.
They know how dangerous this world is.
This bill is common sense, and it is step one of a three-part process
to get us to what we told the American people we were going to do and
what they elected us to do. That is why I hope we can pass this.
Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I thank the chairman again
for his good work and his committee's work.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Ohio is
actually right: It is a dangerous world.
Mr. Chairman, do my colleagues know what makes it more dangerous? It
is when, under this administration, the United States is voting with
Russia and North Korea and Hungary and voting against every single one
of our democratic allies. That makes a dangerous world infinitely more
dangerous.

[[Page H803]]

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Huffman), my good friend and the ranking member of
the Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
In just 4 weeks, Donald Trump has sown chaos all over this country.
His administration is defying court orders, firing Federal workers,
freezing vital funding that our constituents depend on, impacting
everything from wildfire preparations to water security, health and
housing programs, and a lot more. All of this is under the guise of
cost savings, but the reality is there are no meaningful savings or
other benefits for average taxpayers.
Real people's lives are being turned upside down: our National Park
Service and workers at a number of Federal agencies, farmers, and
firefighters. Everyone who depends on Federal services is feeling the
squeeze of this reckless agenda. Meanwhile, Republicans are preparing
their budget reconciliation bill, which is going to cost at least $4
trillion.
Mr. Chairman, our Republican colleagues are being coy about the
specifics, but Americans can connect the dots. There can't be a tax cut
for billionaires of that magnitude without either dramatically slashing
Medicaid and maybe Social Security and Medicare while you are at it, or
dramatically exploding the deficit.
Just like every other action before us, the Republicans' budget is a
betrayal of the American people. The majority is choosing billionaires
over programs that everyday people depend on.
In my district alone, hundreds of thousands of people will lose
Medicaid. Tens of thousands will lose SNAP benefits that help put food
on the table. The Natural Resources Committee is tasked with finding at
least $1 billion of these savings, $1 billion for their billionaire
joyride. Their plan is to sell off public lands and do more favors for
Big Oil.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15
seconds to the gentleman from California.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, Republicans plan to do more favors for Big
Oil even though they are rolling in record profits and even though we
are already producing and exporting record amounts of oil and gas. Of
course, their old favorite is to open up the Arctic Refuge for drilling
and pretend that that will bring in money, as well. Last time, it
brought in zero dollars when they did that in 2017.
Mr. Chairman, I am going to vote ``no.'' I urge my colleagues to vote
``no.''
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Walberg), my friend and the chair of the House Education
and Workforce. Committee.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, in November, the American people delivered a clear and
resolute mandate to this Congress: Rein in out-of-control spending.
For too long, bureaucrats in Washington recklessly spent Americans'
hard-earned tax dollars and drove up our national debt to nearly
catastrophic levels, hurting all Americans, especially the most
vulnerable.
For example, the Biden-Harris administration attempted to spend as
much as $1 trillion through his illegal and irresponsible student loan
bailouts. Virtually nothing was done to control the cost of Federal
student loan programs, meaning students will be able to take on even
more in student loan debt and drive up the burden on all Americans,
even those who never went to college or received a degree.
Why should we continue to spend Americans' tax dollars on a system
that is clearly not working?
Something must change, and Americans are sick and tired of this
wasteful spending.
With Republicans in control of the House, Senate, and White House, we
have a real opportunity to cut through the waste, fraud, abuse, and
falsehoods in Washington.

{time} 1600

Reconciliation provides us with a chance to address Washington's
spending problem.
Under the new Trump administration, we can cut spending, deliver on
the mandate given to us by the American people, and put more money back
in Americans' pockets.
As I begin to yield back, I will await the false report on Medicaid
in Michigan.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I wouldn't want to disappoint
the gentleman from Michigan, so I am happy to inform him of the
accurate number. This bill would put 2.4 million people in Michigan at
risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms.
Jayapal), a distinguished former member of the Budget Committee.
Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chair, this bill is a Republican betrayal of the
middle class and working families across the country.
If you are at home watching this, I want you to think about what
Republicans want to slash from your life so that they can lower taxes
for the biggest corporations and wealthiest billionaires like Elon
Musk. They want to cut a minimum, the floor, of $880 billion from
Medicaid, which covers healthcare for 72 million Americans.
Medicaid pays for nursing homes for five out of eight seniors across
the country. It pays for healthcare for 38 million kids, including over
3 million kids in Texas and 1.2 million kids in Ohio. In fact, it pays
for 64 percent of childbirths in Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority
Leader Steve Scalise's home State of Louisiana.
Any Republican who votes for this resolution is voting for those cuts
as well as devastating cuts to nutrition and Medicare.
Don't listen to Republicans who try to say that Medicaid won't be
touched. I introduced an amendment to protect Medicaid, which they
blocked during our budget markup because they intend to cut Medicaid.
Remember when Donald Trump said that he would tackle inflation and
lower costs on day one? Well, here we are, a month in, and prices are
rising. Musk has taken a literal chain saw to tens of thousands of
jobs, putting families and local economies at risk.
This budget resolution makes it clear that the only people who
Republicans are willing to fight for in this country are the wealthiest
billionaires, who apparently now rule the country.
This is unbridled greed and corruption. Vote ``no'' on this
disastrous budget resolution.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Smith), my good friend from the Cornhusker State who is
also chair of the Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Chair, the American people want us to have
a thoughtful exchange here. I will hopefully contribute to that,
especially when I hear some of the accusations made that are just off
base, misleading, and false.
Warren Buffett has paid a record amount in taxes. I think that is
worth noting. That has been in the press very widely in the last few
days.
This budget framework delivers on House Republicans' and the
President's promise to minimize tax burdens for Americans across the
income spectrum, promote security in our communities, and unleash
economic growth.
The resolution would allow us to extend the historic tax relief from
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has been enormously successful, and we
know this, in allowing families to keep more of their paychecks and
supercharging growth for small businesses.
If these tax cuts are allowed to expire, as we have heard, the
average American would suffer. Make no mistake, small businesses,
family farms, and so many other folks would suffer.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the
gentleman from Nebraska.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Chair, the American people want us to have
a thoughtful exchange on this. Let's elevate the debate and stick to
the facts, realizing we can do well for the American people by doing
so.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I will remind the gentleman
that this bill would put 340,000 people in Nebraska at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Chu), a member of the Budget Committee.

[[Page H804]]

Ms. CHU. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Republican rip-off.
Budgets tell priorities, and as inflation goes up and Americans
continue struggling to pay their rent, purchase groceries, and afford
going to the doctor, Republicans stand united to sell out the working
class by ripping away healthcare coverage and food from children to pay
for tax cuts for the rich.
This is the unbelievable but real cruelty of their budget. Make
devastating cuts to Medicaid for 135,000 mostly seniors and children in
my district alone, slash SNAP benefits for thousands of hungry children
and families, and end ACA premium tax cuts that currently save families
over $6,000 annually, and for what? To give $5 trillion in handouts to
those who need it the least, the ultrarich and big corporations.
Let's be clear: My Republican colleagues will declare that this
resolution is necessary to extending the 2017 Trump tax scam to
purportedly help the middle class. This is a lie. The majority of the
tax cuts that they aim to extend will only benefit the rich, and the
middle class will lose so many of the benefits they rely on.
In their 2017 Trump tax scam, Republicans slashed the corporate tax
rate and watched 100 percent of those benefits flow to shareholders,
billionaires, and high-paid executives. What did workers get? A big fat
zero.
Even still, President Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate by
even more. What is more, Republicans' apparent concern for fiscal
responsibility is nowhere to be found. Their budget will actually
balloon our national debt in a reverse Robin Hood scheme that betrays
the working Americans we all represent.

The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15
seconds to the gentlewoman from California.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Chair, my constituents deserve better. All of our
constituents deserve better.
I, once again, voice my opposition to the Republican rip-off that
would do nothing to address the needs of the everyday American people.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill), my good friend and the chair of the House
Financial Services Committee.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Arrington for yielding
this time.
Mr. Chair, what is irresponsible, to those watching this debate, is
the truth about the Biden-Harris policies, that when you combine
irresponsible fiscal policy in this Nation over the past 4 years and an
irresponsible monetary policy--what is irresponsible, Mr. Chair, is the
fact that our families are suffering from inflation, the highest in 40
years. It takes $1.21 for what cost $1 just 4 years ago.
The resolution before us changes the direction. It delivers on
President Trump's agenda to put the American people first. This
resolution does protect the American people from the largest tax
increase in American history.
Let's set the record straight: The top 1 percent are paying more in
taxes than they have ever paid in the history of the country. They pay
45 percent of all the taxes in this country, and 50 percent of us are
paying the least amount of tax they have ever paid in American history.
This bill goes on to support border security and national defense,
which President Trump campaigned on and Republicans campaigned on, and
it reins in wasteful spending. It reduces our long-term debt to GDP.
In the Financial Services Committee, we are pleased to follow the
direction of the House Budget Committee and deliver on spending reforms
by cutting back one of the most wasteful agencies that we have, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, upon hearing that the
richest 1 percent of Americans pay 45 percent in taxes, my heart is
breaking. I will be sure that at church this Sunday we take up an extra
collection, but God knows that the billions of dollars they are about
to get in this budget resolution will certainly help line their
pockets.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr.
McGarvey), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Republican
budget resolution and urge my colleagues to reject it for what it is: a
total scam and betrayal of the middle class.
A budget isn't just a policy document. It is a moral document. In
their budget, the Republicans make their moral code clear: The rich get
richer, and the rest of us pay for it.
There is no reason a teacher in Louisville, Kentucky, should pay more
in taxes than Tesla did last year.
Mr. Chair, let's talk about how this budget will hurt Kentuckians.
This budget mandates at least $880 billion of cuts to Medicaid; $230
billion of cuts to take meals away from seniors, veterans, and kids;
and at least $330 billion of cuts to our public schools.
Let me make this clear for those of you watching from Kentucky.
If you are one of the 1.4 million people in the Commonwealth who gets
health insurance through kynect, Republicans are coming for your
healthcare.
If you have a kid in JCPS, Republicans are coming after their
education--fewer teachers, fewer opportunities, and no more free school
lunches.
If you are one of our veterans, our seniors, or the one in five
Kentucky kids going hungry as we speak, Republicans want to take away
your next meal.
It is wrong. I met with over a thousand of my constituents this
weekend. They are angry. I am angry, too, because this budget hurts
people, and for what? So Elon Musk can get even richer. It is a scam.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Edwards), also a Budget Committee member who helped
us draft this budget framework.
Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I acknowledge the great work
that our Budget Committee chairman has done to bring us to this point
today. It has taken him hundreds of hours and tested his blood pressure
quite seriously to get us to this point.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in firm support of this resolution.
In November last year, 77 million Americans demanded changes in how
our Federal Government is working for them, particularly changes in the
disastrous policies from the last 4 years. I plan to help deliver on
those demands by fixing how Washington works and implementing President
Trump's agenda to make America first.
This resolution gives us the framework that we need to meet the
demands of those 77 million Americans. Those demands include fixing our
border crisis once and for all. This resolution does that. Those
demands include unleashing American energy. This resolution does that.
Mr. Chair, I urge strong support for this resolution.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time
remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 15\1/4\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman who just
spoke that this bill would put 2.8 million people in North Carolina at
risk of losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Amo), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. AMO. Mr. Chair, I ask myself two questions on every vote: Who
does this benefit? Who does this hurt?
Today, the answers are clear. This Republican budget resolution would
benefit the richest 1 percent. Who would it hurt? Working-class
families struggling to make ends meet.
It threatens third graders in my hometown of Pawtucket who rely on
the community eligibility provision to eat school breakfast and lunch.
It threatens a new mom on Aquidneck Island who needs Medicaid to afford
postpartum care. It threatens seniors in East Providence who depend on
Medicaid's home- and community-based services to stay connected to
their loved ones as they age at home.
All of these ordinary Americans would get hurt. For what? To pay for
tax cuts for the rich. Don't believe me? Look at the numbers.
The Republican plan could slash $230 billion from SNAP and $880
billion from Medicaid, two proposals which

[[Page H805]]

allow them to turn around and shovel $1.1 trillion in tax giveaways to
the richest 1 percent.

{time} 1615

Mr. Chair, when I first read through this resolution, I thought
surely it must be a mistake, there is no way that Republicans would
intentionally hurt working Americans, right?
Wrong. Democrats tried to stop the madness over and over, but
Republicans refused to listen.
Just yesterday, Republicans refused to consider my amendment to block
cuts to SNAP and programs that provide free and reduced-price lunches
for students. You heard that right. Republicans want to make it harder
for hungry children to eat.
Republicans also refused to join me in supporting Medicaid. It
provides health coverage to 72 million Americans, including over
300,000 Rhode Islanders. That is not a typo. Republicans are putting
the needs of billionaires above the needs of ordinary Americans. If
that isn't a betrayal, I don't know what is.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. McDowell), a Budget Committee member and good
friend.
Mr. McDOWELL. Mr. Chair, while we may not agree on whose State has
better barbecue, one thing we do agree on is that today is a momentous
day; not for one party, but for all Americans. Today, we take a giant
step toward fulfilling the mandate given by millions of Americans.
For too long, the people's interests have been drowned out by an
agenda pursued by elite, leftwing politicians. The elite, leftwing
politicians don't feel the impact of their reckless policies. Whether
it be pursuing open border policies or policies that fuel inflation, it
is normal citizens who feel the impact.
Today, we start the process of restoring America's strength. Rather
than pursue a reckless, ideological joyride agenda, this resolution
paves the way for historic investment in our country's border security,
permanent tax relief for the middle class, getting rid of the inflation
tax that has hit the working class, and rooting out waste, fraud, and
abuse throughout our government.
Mr. Chair, Americans demand better. This resolution does that. I urge
a ``yes'' vote.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I remind the gentleman this
bill would put 2.8 million people in North Carolina at risk of losing
Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Moskowitz), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Mr. Chair, Representative Thomas Massie is a budget
hawk who walks around with the debt clock--which, by the way, I bought.
It is $99 on the website. Today, he talked about that if the Republican
budget passes, the budget deficit doesn't get better. It gets worse.
Then Elon Musk commented, and he said: That sounds bad.
Boy, that is awkward. I mean, you know how much we hate it when you
guys fight amongst each other.
That wasn't enough, right? Then Representative Massie went to the
Republican meeting where the budget was being discussed, and he came
out, and he said: You know what, they convinced me.
They convinced me that he is a ``no.'' The reason he is a ``no,'' he
said, over the next 3 years, it is going to add almost a trillion
dollars to the debt, and that is in the best case, the most rosy
scenario. Then he said: That is a lie.
This clock that we have that has the debt, it is still going up. DOGE
has not yet reversed it. I say that as a member of the DOGE Caucus who
wants to shrink the size of government and cut spending. This 36,
instead of your budget making it a 35, it is going to make it a 37. We
are going to go to $37 trillion in debt.
If you pass this today, this idea about DOGE or the Republicans being
fiscal hawks or wanting to cut spending is no longer a reality.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Crawford). Members are reminded to address
their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I remind the gentleman that the last 4 years, President
Biden and my Democratic colleagues set a record of $8 trillion added to
the national debt. If you add the $5 trillion in interest expense,
well, I don't know that anybody is going to ever accomplish that feat.
That is $6 billion borrowed a day, and during that reign of reckless
spending, they added $116,000 to the debt burden that our children will
bear into the future.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte),
also a Budget Committee member.
Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman of the Budget
Committee and my friend from Texas for yielding.
Mr. Chair, this year we will borrow almost $2 trillion, which
represents almost a third of all Federal spending.
For the first time in the history of our country, this year we will
spend more on interest paying the national debt that we have already
borrowed, and in several years three-quarters of all Federal spending,
borrowing, will be just to pay interest on the money that we have
already borrowed.
Several years after that, we won't even have enough money to pay the
interest on the national debt, which will signal a devastating default
for our country.
Mr. Chair, we cannot allow that to happen. Yet, Mr. Chair, we have a
spending problem. We do not have a revenue problem. Last year, we
collected more dollars in Federal tax revenue than ever in the history
of our country.
That is why this budget resolution is so important. It starts us,
finally, down the path of reducing Federal spending rather than
increasing Federal spending, and it does it without increasing taxes on
hardworking Americans. That is why I am proud to urge a ``yes'' vote.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman that
this resolution would put 13.4 million people in California at risk of
losing Medicaid.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms.
Balint), a great member of the Budget Committee.

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican
budget.
Here is the deal: Republicans have the House, the Senate, and the
White House. They could be passing legislation to actually make our
lives better, to lower costs on groceries, on prescription drugs. They
could be lowering the cost of housing. Instead they are attacking the
very programs that working- and middle-class families rely on in this
country. It is a betrayal.
All of us were sent here to work on behalf of the people back home.
We were sent here to lower costs for people, to alleviate suffering. I
know that my colleagues were as well. Therefore, I ask, why are they
letting Trump do this? Why?
This Republican budget doesn't do anything to address the costs that
working people are facing. They have proposed a budget that gives
massive, massive tax cuts to the wealthiest and corporations in this
country. How will they pay for it? They will pay for it by making deep
cuts to Medicare, to the tune of $880 billion, and deep cuts to SNAP
benefits. That is right, taking food away from families who need it.
They will be increasing the deficit. It is long past time for them to
stop lecturing us about the debt when they know full well that their
math is not mathing. They are adding to the deficit with this program,
and they are literally giving the money away to the wealthiest who do
not need it.
When I vote on this Republican budget, I will be thinking of all the
working families back home in Vermont, people who sent me here to work
on their behalf, not against them. I am thinking of families who worry
that they won't have Head Start.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15
seconds to the gentlewoman from Vermont.
Ms. BALINT. Mr. Chair, I am thinking of the small businesses in
Vermont that have reached out to me to say that Trump's proposed tariff
war with Canada is going to crush them. I am thinking about the 150,000
Vermonters who are dependent on Medicaid.

[[Page H806]]

I urge my colleagues to reject this unfair budget.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman), also my colleague on the House Budget
Committee.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chair, I think I have to address some of the things
that I think are out of line or misspoke with regard to the other party
today.
First of all, I want to point out there are not a lot of details in
this budget. The budget has a lot of top-line numbers in which we try
to keep tax cuts that went into effect 8 years ago in effect because we
had a strong economy with high employment. There are no specific cuts
in here.
The frustrating thing I hear from the other side is that they are
talking about that any cut or any reduction in spending is a problem.
Let me remind people, 26 percent of the current level of spending for
the current year is borrowed. That should be of huge concern to
everybody. The average American has about $100,000 as their share of
debt. Think of that, a family of four has $400,000 in their share of
the debt. The average person or the average American in the budget
coming up this year will be spending about $20,000.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the
gentleman from Wisconsin.
Mr. GROTHMAN. One more time, remember, America has to know that 26
percent of every Social Security dollar, 26 percent of every new tank,
20 percent of every new education dollar is borrowed, at a time where
interest costs are going up.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman,
this bill would put 1.2 million people in the Badger State at risk of
losing Medicaid.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms.
Pressley), a distinguished member of the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee.
Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Chair, I rise on behalf of the Massachusetts
Seventh Congressional District.
As the House prepares to vote on a truly horrifying Republican budget
resolution, one void of empathy or common sense, I am thinking of the
people in my district who stand to be harmed the most: families in
Mattapan who receive their healthcare through MassHealth, the Medicaid
program for Massachusetts; mothers in Chelsea, who rely on SNAP to feed
their babies; disabled veterans in Randolph who receive lifesaving care
and benefits through the VA; families in Roxbury who rely on Head Start
for childcare.
This Republican majority said they would spend the next 2 years
cutting costs for the middle class, but the only thing they are cutting
is trillions of dollars from lifesaving programs our communities depend
on to make ends meet.

Mr. Chair, this has never been about efficiency. Tell me how it is
efficient to make people across this country sicker, hungrier, poorer,
and more vulnerable. Tell me how it is efficient to buy more toy
rockets for Donald Trump's billionaire friends while parents can't
afford groceries. The cruelty is the point. What a callous shame and a
sham.
I urge my colleagues to stand with the people. Protect families and
reject this shameful budget resolution. In the words of a righteous
faith leader whose place of worship Donald Trump recently attended:
Have mercy.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I think God has had mercy on this country, and he is giving us a shot
now to turn this country around and to give it back to the American
people; to return to commonsense policies, to put the American people
first, and to clean up the mess in Washington, D.C.
We have seen the exposure of the waste and the woke and the bloat,
and it is immoral to hand our country like this to the next generation.
We are long overdue to get our fiscal house in order, Mr. Chairman.
The American people deserve to keep more of their money. The American
people deserve fiduciaries in Congress who will take care to steward
their tax dollars. The people who need these programs that we created
for the most vulnerable deserve to have the programs without having
folks siphon off moneys or people that are ineligible draining those
programs.
We have got a lot of work to do. We won't be intimidated by the
rhetoric. We won't be scared into paralysis anymore as a Republican
Party. We are standing up with our President and fearless leader, Mr.
Donald J. Trump. We know the American people are behind us 100 percent.
We are leaning in, and we are going to save this country.
We are going to give our children a fighting chance at the blessings
of liberty and the land of opportunity.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman),
a member of the Budget Committee, my good friend who is a fighter for
our freedom and fiscal sanity.

{time} 1630

Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in full support of the House budget
resolution. I thank Mr. Arrington for the yeoman's work he has done. He
stood tall and he stood strong.
For those who are watching on TV and for those listening, we have
gotten a steady diet of the same old, worn-out tactics: rich, poor,
divinity politics, taking food from hungry children. They haven't used
granny is going over the cliff yet, but I assume that is coming.
My question to my good friends on the other side is: Where were they
the last 4 years? Where were they? We have got a steady diet of high
inflation. We have got a steady diet of 15 million illegals coming into
this country, using every public school, every hospital, not being a
citizen, draining the payroll, and draining the economy of America.
What about the empathy for the poor, unaccompanied children who came
over here and are in sex trades, if they are still living, many of
them, well over 400,000 children? What about the inflation at every
level? Where were you the last 4 years?
With house prices, where were you? Interest rates, you were nowhere
to be found. Where were your solutions? You didn't have any because we
have got two worldviews. You think taxes paid by Americans is your
money to spend like you want.
What Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing is identifying the waste.
Let the American people judge. Seventy-seven million Americans judged
on who they thought could lead this country, and it wasn't an inept
President who couldn't give a press conference if he had to or read a
thank-you card. That is who you put up with for 4 years.
The past is the judge of the future. I would love to have $5 trillion
in cuts on this bill.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from South Carolina.
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair, we have got more to go. This is the first
step. The journey starts with the first step. We are going to fight,
and we are going to stop the policies that have bankrupted this
country, that you have put up with for the past 4 years. Time is up. It
is time for a new day.
The Acting CHAIR. Members are reminded to direct their comments to
the Chair.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I remind the gentleman that
this bill would put 1 million people in South Carolina at risk of
losing Medicaid.
I appreciate the previous speaker's candor. He is saying he wants $5
trillion worth of cuts. To quote him, this is only the beginning. I
hope that every middle-class American hears that and knows what is
coming. By his own words, this is just the beginning. This is bad
enough.
What are we talking about? We are talking about $880 billion worth of
cuts to Medicaid and the ACA, $230 billion worth of cuts to nutrition
programs, $330 billion worth of cuts to student loan programs, Pell
grants, Head Start, school lunches, and more. Why? It is all so tax
cuts worth $4.5 trillion can go to the richest 1 percent of Americans.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms.
Pou), a wonderful new Member of this body and a distinguished member of
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Ms. POU. Mr. Chair, I rise for the first speech on the floor of this
body to

[[Page H807]]

reject the Republicans' so-called budget.
I came to Congress to help my constituents. I came here to provide
direct relief to struggling Americans and lift people up. This
Republican budget does none of those things. It is nothing more than a
blueprint for cruelty. This GOP budget will destroy Medicaid and take
healthcare away from millions of Americans.
In my district alone, this could strip healthcare from the 215,000
people on Medicaid, blow up hospital budgets, raise insurance premiums,
all to give trillions in tax cuts to the millionaires. This is another
cash giveaway to the superrich at the expense of ruining American
lives.
Mr. Chair, I reject it, and I intend to vote ``no'' to this cruel
Republican budget.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chair, my good friend and ranking member made a comment about Mr.
Ralph Norman from South Carolina. Listen closely to what he said. He
would like to cut $5 trillion from the budget.
Add my name to that list because the GAO says there is $5 trillion of
fraud throughout the four corners of this Federal Government. That is
the people's money. We ought to spend every waking hour together,
across the aisle, and in a bipartisan way to go and root out that waste
and fraud that is fleecing the taxpayers.
Count me in the camp of Mr. Ralph Norman when the Government
Accountability Office says that there is $5 trillion of defrauding the
people's government and the people's money. We will not hear anybody on
the other side of the aisle, and there are some good and well-intended
people. In this debate we will not hear them talking about illegals
being on welfare rolls or the fact their President, President Joe
Biden, with the stroke of a pen, welcomed illegals onto welfare and
healthcare rolls.
We can't even afford Social Security benefits because the fund will
be insolvent within the next 10 years. Instead, we are bringing people
who aren't even citizens onto the social safety nets that are paid for
by taxpayers. We are not spending that money, that precious treasure of
taxpayers, to shore up Medicare and Social Security.
It makes no sense to me. Do you know what? It made no sense to the
American people. That is why they gave this President a mandate and
gave this country unified Republican leadership. They are apparently
still in denial. They are disconnected from the reality of the last 4
years.

They may have had all the best intentions, but the pain and the
suffering that the American people endured because of the reckless,
record trillions of dollars in spending and the failed economic
policies of the last administration is real. They didn't forget it.
They voted with that acid test and that fundamental question: Is my
life better today?
I don't think there has ever been in American history a clearer
contrast between the two parties back to back with Republican total
control in '17 and '18, Democrat unified leadership on the heels of
that, and the philosophies, the values, the worldviews, the policies,
and the consequences borne by the American people.
Mr. Chair, they have chosen a very different path, and they have
asked us to reverse course and to reverse the curse that looms not only
over this country but our children's future.
I am surprised that I haven't heard one sentence about the waste,
fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government at $5 trillion. I am
surprised that I haven't heard any criticisms of the millions of people
who have come to this country illegally and drained Medicaid, according
to CBO, by billions of dollars. That was a letter in response to an
inquiry that we sent.
How much of the tax dollars and Medicaid are being siphoned off for
people who are here illegally? I can't believe there is not more
indignation on account of the fact that $9,000 is what we are spending
on people who broke the law, violated our sovereignty, and are here in
this country illegally.
Taxpayers are spending $9,000 per illegal immigrant for social
services that were intended for the United States citizens. That $9,000
represents more money than we spend on our own vulnerable American
citizens on Medicaid, but we won't hear any of that today.
The American people know better. They have always had better
judgment, and they made the right call. We aim to deliver for them.
Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas has 7 minutes remaining.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much
time is remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 4\1/4\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Mr. Chair, let me first say before my closing that my good friend and
chair of the Budget Committee and I have worked closely together in
opposition a lot of the time but actually in agreement some of the time
with some real achievements, though not today.
He said something that really interests me. There is this GAO report
showing $5 trillion of fraud. I certainly would be interested in seeing
that report. The size of the entire budget every year is only $6.5
trillion. How in the world is $5 trillion out of $6.5 trillion really
fraud? I find it a little hard to believe.
Mr. Chair, we are at a pivotal moment. I said at the beginning of
this debate some 2\1/2\ hours ago that this budget resolution
represents the Republican betrayal of the middle class. For the last
2\1/2\ hours, we have heard speaker after speaker on my side expose
exactly why that is so.
First and foremost, and I think most crucially, the $880 billion in
cuts to Medicaid, the largest cuts in American history to Medicaid, why
is that important? It is important because 72 million Americans rely on
Medicaid. Another 20 million rely and get their healthcare through the
Affordable Care Act. They are also at risk.
We have heard further that, while those are the biggest cuts, there
are even more. There are hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to
nutrition assistance, school lunch programs, Pell grants, and Head
Start. The list goes on and on. Why is that? It is all to deliver $4.5
trillion of tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of Americans.
Let's not forget the fact that in order to cover the rest of the
costs of those tax cuts, they are increasing the debt limit by $4
trillion. They like to talk about debt and how horrible it is, but this
piece of legislation will make our debt situation far worse.
This is the Republican betrayal of the middle class. Day after day,
in my home State of Pennsylvania, candidates from both sides talk about
how the number one priority should be to lower costs for Americans. The
President made that promise. He said he would do it on day one.
Here we are more than a month in, and there is not one executive
order or one bill to lower the costs for the American people. Instead,
we have this bill to take money from the middle class and give it to
those who need it the least.

Mr. Chair, I am proud to lead the opposition to this Republican
betrayal of the middle class. I urge every Member of this House to vote
``no,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Chair, let me also pay respects to my ranking member. He is a
great guy. He has been a really good partner. We have done some really
important things together on a bipartisan basis. In fact, we passed
more bipartisan legislation to fix the broken budget process which
doesn't serve either party in this institution well.
Mr. Chair, I give him equal credit, if not more credit. When you are
the minority, there is tremendous pressure not to work with the
majority. He is an American first. We may disagree, but I know where
his heart is.
Let me answer the question to the ranking member. The $5 trillion is
a CBO score. That is a 10-year budget window score just like the $2
trillion that we have as a goal to reduce reckless, wasteful, and
fraudulent spending.
Mr. Chair, the reconciliation process is generally to reconcile the
House and

[[Page H808]]

Senate budgets but more than a process for matching up revenues and
outlays. This exercise, more importantly, is reconciling the difference
between the American people's interest, expectations, and values in a
Federal Government that has totally lost its way, forgotten who it
serves, and too often has failed to faithfully, fairly, and efficiently
execute the laws of the land.

{time} 1645

Mr. Chair, if we learned anything from the November election, it is
that the American people want a strong country. They want a competent
leader and commonsense policies, and they want all of us to put America
first. That is what this budget resolution does.
I like to think of this budget resolution as a promissory note to our
children to preserve the land of liberty and opportunity by
safeguarding it from an unwieldy government with unbridled spending,
taxing, and regulating that threatens to destroy it.
Mr. Chairman, I said this in the Budget Committee, and I am going to
say it now to close: The era of wasteful, woke, and weaponized
government is over, and this budget resolution will be its tombstone.
Here lies one of the darkest chapters in American history: open
borders, record crime, lawlessness, feckless foreign policies, cost-of-
living crises. Enough. It is time to reverse the curse. It is time to
reverse the reckless spending and failed policies and do the first and
most important job of the Federal Government: Keep the American people
safe.
That is exactly what we intend to do, and that is exactly what we
deliver with this framework.
Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record three statements from
organizations supporting this legislation.

NFIB,

Washington, DC, February 24, 2025.
Dear Representative: On behalf of NFIB, the nation's
leading small business advocacy organization, I write in
support of the H. Con. Res 14, Establishing the congressional
budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025
and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2026 through 2034. A vote in favor of H. Con. Res. 14
will be considered an NFIB Key Vote for the 119th Congress.
When enacted, this budget resolution will allow Congress to
use the budget reconciliation process to make the 20 percent
small business deduction permanent.
In less than a year, taxes will increase on over 30 million
small businesses if Congress fails to act. The budget
reconciliation process presents the best opportunity for
Congress to prevent a tax increase on small employers and
make the 20 percent small business tax deduction permanent.
The 20 percent small business deduction was claimed by nearly
26 million small businesses in 2021. If made permanent the
deduction will grow the economy by $750 billion over the next
ten years, while adding 1.2 million jobs each year. Over 91
percent of NFIB Members support making expiring small
business Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions permanent.
Making the 20 percent small business tax deduction
permanent is the most important action Congress can take to
help small businesses this year. Passing H. Con. Res. 14 is
the first step in achieving this outcome. NFIB strongly
supports H. Con. Res. 14 and will be considered an NFIB Key
Vote for the 119th Congress.
Sincerely,
Adam Temple,
Senior Vice President for Advocacy, NFIB.
____

Main St. Employers,

February 24, 2025.
Hon. Mike Johnson,
Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington,
DC.
Hon. Hakeem Jeffries,
House Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington,
DC.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries: The
undersigned business groups urge Congress to act quickly to
prevent a massive tax hike on Main Street businesses,
beginning with the speedy adoption of the House budget
resolution.
Absent action, millions of Main Street businesses organized
as S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships
will see their taxes go up sharply next year. Taxes on these
pass-through businesses will go up when they earn profits,
when they invest, and when they pass their businesses on to
the next generation.
Pass-through businesses are the backbone of the American
economy. They account for 95 percent of all businesses and
employ 63 percent of all private sector workers. They also
form the economic foundation for thousands of communities
nationwide. Without them, those communities would face a
future of lower growth, fewer jobs, and more boarded-up
buildings.
Provisions to make permanent the Section 199A deduction,
maintain rates on individuals and pass-through businesses,
provide estate tax relief, and increase deductions for
business investment in equipment and R&D are critical to the
continued success of our members.
The House budget is the first step in improving the tax
treatment of all these areas and providing pass-through
businesses with the certainty they need to survive and grow.
The more quickly Congress acts, the sooner Main Street can
get back to investing in our communities and creating jobs
for your constituents. We appreciate your work on this
important legislation and look forward to seeing this
resolution enacted soon.
Sincerely,
Agricultural Retailers Association, AICC, The Independent
Packaging Association, Air Conditioning Contractors of
America, American Building Materials Alliance, American
Council of Engineering Companies, American Council of
Independent Laboratories (ACIL), American Farm Bureau
Federation, American International Automobile Dealers
Association, American Lighting Association, American Rental
Association, American Staffing Association, American
Subcontractors Association.
American Supply Association, American Veterinary Medical
Association, AmericanHort, Associated Equipment Distributors,
Associated General Contractors of America, Brick Industry
Association, Chicago Roofing Contractors Association,
Coalition of Franchisee Associations, Construction Industry
Round Table, Distribution Contractors Association, Door and
Hardware Institute, Energy Marketers of America.
Family Business Association of California, Family Business
Coalition, FCA International, Foodservice Equipment
Distributors Association, Forest Resources Association,
Franchise Business Services, GAWDA, Glass Packaging
Institute, Global Cold Chain Alliance, Hardwood Federation,
Health & Fitness Association.
Heating, Air-conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors
International, Independent Bakers Association, Independent
Electrical Contractors, Independent Insurance Agents &
Brokers of America (Big ``I''), Industrial Fasteners
Institute, International Foodservice Distributors
Association, International Housewares Association,
International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants
(IIBEC), International Sign Association, ISSA, the Worldwide
Cleaning Industry Association.
Job Creators Network, Leading Builders of America, Main
Street Employers Coalition, Manufactured Housing Institute,
Meat Institute, Metal Construction Association, Metals
Service Center Institute, Michigan Farm Bureau, Mortgage
Bankers Association, Nareit, National Apartment Association,
National Association of Convenience Stores.
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED),
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors,
National Association of Professional Insurance Agents,
National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National
Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), National
Confectioners Association, National Cotton Council, National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Electrical
Contractors Association.
National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives
Association (NEMRA), National Energy & Fuels Institute
(NEFI), National Fastener Distributors Association, National
Federation of Independent Business, National Franchisee
Association, National Lumber & Building Material Dealers
Association, National Marine Distributors Association,
National Multifamily Housing Council, National Peach Council.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, National
Restaurant Association, National Roofing Contractors
Association, National RV Dealers Assoc. (RVDA), National
Small Business Association (NSBA), National Stone, Sand and
Gravel Association, National Wooden Pallet & Container
Association, NATSO, Representing America's Travel Centers and
Truck Stops, North American Association of Food Equipment
Manufacturers (NAFEM).
Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association,
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, PRINTING United Alliance,
Professional Beauty Association, S Corporation Association,
Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades, SIGMA:
America's Leading Fuel Marketers, Small Business &
Entrepreneurship Council, Small Business Legislative Council
(SBLC), Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS),
Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Specialty
Equipment Market Association (SEMA), Spray Polyurethane Foam
Alliance, Subchapter S Bank Association.
Textile Care Allied Trades Association, The Association for
Hose and Accessories Distribution, The Fertilizer Institute,
The Real Estate Roundtable, The Transportation Alliance, Tile
Roofing Industry Alliance, Tire Industry Association, US
Sweet Potato Council, Virginia Association of Roofing
Professionals, WASDA--Water and Sewer Distributors of
America, Wholesale Florist & Floral Supplier Association,
Workplace Solutions Association, Wyoming Stock Growers
Association.
____

NAW Urges Congress to Support House Budget Resolution, Prevent
Detrimental Tax Increases on American Workers

NAW applauds the House and Senate for moving forward with
their respective budget resolutions and urges Members of
Congress to support and vote for the House Budget Resolution
to unlock comprehensive legislation necessary to prevent a
massive tax increase on millions of America's businesses and
workers.

[[Page H809]]

If tax provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of
2017 (TCJA) such as the 199A small business deduction are
allowed to expire this year, as projected, the net result
will be an unfathomable tax increase on 30 million small
businesses, impacting 2.6 million workers supported by the
provision. Workers across the country will face additional
tax increases due to the expiration of lower individual tax
rates, the doubled standard deduction, and the doubled child
tax credit.
NAW members such as First Supply, a multigenerational,
family-owned plumbing business, have made their voices clear.
Wholesaler-distributors are predominantly high-tax, low
margin businesses and have relied on TCJA provisions to offer
well-paying, skilled jobs with extensive benefits and career
development programs. If lawmakers fail to act, pass-through
businesses could face a top tax rate of 39.6 percent, which
will threaten the ability of our industry to continue re-
investing in their workers and communities. The TCJA
provisions have worked and should be permanently extended,
giving certainty to pro-growth, pro-family, small business
owners nationwide.

Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on
H. Con. Res. 14, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert) and the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) each will control 30 minutes on the
subject of economic goals and policies.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert).
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
To the chairman and the minority, I first want to apologize to
everyone. I have one of my crappy lung infections, so at some point, I
am going to start coughing and doing an inhaler. Just ignore me.
Somehow, I thought that would be funnier.
Mr. Chairman and my good friend, Mr. Beyer, I think this is somewhat
of a unique opportunity. Those of us from the Joint Economic Committee
actually take math seriously. We don't always see things alike, but the
fact of the matter is the Joint Economic Committee I think started in
1956. It has this remarkable history of some of the world's greatest
economists coming and speaking before walking us through it. That is
why, at this moment, we are going to try to do something that is
special. Instead of just sort of sharing feelings, I am going to ask us
to share math. Within that, we are going to walk through what is
actually in the budget resolution.
This is a reconciliation budget. It is not a regular budget. This is
a budget that opens up the ability, because of the insanity we go
through, of moving something through the Senate and its 60 votes. With
the 1974 Budget Control Act, this is the dance we go through.
The other thing I am going to try to walk through is where the actual
math lays in the box that has been given to us by the Budget Committee,
and then the part I am going to do, the Schweikert little bit of hope,
is: Is this the moment? Is this the moment of policy that actually
forces us, both the left and the right, that if there are cuts,
modernization, changes, updates in methodology on how we deliver
services, is this the stressor that makes us do something that is hard
but also do something that is truthful.
I am also going to try repeatedly to make the point, Mr. Chairman,
and show why we are primarily doing this. We have a bunch of provisions
of the 2017 tax reform that begin to expire. Most of those provisions
actually are to the benefit of small businesses and the working class.
I will show that over and over and the distributional effects.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this budget resolution.
This budget is disastrous for the American economy. It will balloon
our deficits, lead to higher interest rates, and make the things
Americans buy every day more expensive. It will slash critical
investments in the things that make us healthier, safer, and more
productive, things like cancer research, aviation security, and our
National Park System. It will decimate critical programs that support
the people we represent, stripping healthcare for millions and making
it harder for families to put food on the table and make ends meet. All
of this is for billionaires and corporations to get tax cuts they do
not need and that our country cannot afford.
I am pleased to do this with my friend, Chairman Schweikert. I also
believe in math, and I rarely brag, but I am good at math.
Americans have been clear. They want lower prices and an economy that
works for them. Yet, instead of focusing on making life easier for
American families, at every turn, this administration and my Republican
colleagues have engaged in a scorched-earth policy, a policy that
creates chaos across the country as the richest person on the planet
eliminates services that our Nation depends upon.
My friend from South Carolina earlier said that the policies would
bankrupt our country. What does he mean? Healthcare for our families?
Food for the working poor who overwhelmingly live in Republican
districts?
Sure, get rid of any identified bloat, as every President does, but
this is a budget about billionaires, not about every American, the
women, men, and children who we represent. Yes, I want to move toward a
much smaller deficit budget.
I listen to David Schweikert every closing afternoon during his
Special Order hours. I hate the higher interest costs, but who pays?
Our families or the 1,000 billionaires, that small percentage, 1
percent or less, of the American population that has way more wealth
than they could ever spend in lifetimes to come?
Republicans have long sung from the altar of fiscal responsibility,
yet the plan they put in front of us today is a fiscal sacrilege. It
depends on fantasy math and ignores that their deficit-busting tax
breaks will add at least $4.6 trillion to our Nation's credit card and
even more interest that our families must pay.
This interest has real costs. It slows economic growth. It depresses
the standard of living. It leads to higher inflation and higher
interest rates. It makes it even harder for families already faced with
high prices and borrowing costs to make ends meet.
Wasteful, woke, and weaponized policies, my friend from Texas said.
That is a very small percentage of the Federal budget. You can never
achieve what is in this budget resolution on wasteful, woke, and
weaponized policies.
With this Republican plan, how do they address it? They double down
on the policies that will widen the growing wealth gap of this Nation
by giving billionaires trillions in handouts and providing pennies to
the middle class.
According to the Treasury Department, the top 1 percent of Americans,
those making over $750,000 a year, can expect to get an annual tax cut
of over $32,000. Working families will see a tiny fraction of that.

Of course, the other main beneficiaries will be the wealthiest
executives of the wealthiest corporations at a time when corporate
profits are at an all-time high. Americans who rely on government
services will be told they need to make sacrifices to pad their profit
margins even further. How does that make any sense?
To pay for these tax cuts for the ultrawealthy, the Republican budget
proposes to cut programs Americans rely on to afford healthcare and to
put food on the table.
Almost 100 million Americans, including seniors, children, families,
and those from every corner of this country, depend on Medicaid and the
Affordable Care Act to afford medical care. Yet, this budget would
slash almost $900 billion from these critical programs, ripping away
lifesaving coverage and raising healthcare costs for those who rely on
them.
At a time when prices at grocery stores continue to climb, this
budget would make it even harder for the 40 million Americans who rely
on SNAP to put food on the table.
The budget we are considering today will do nothing to support the
economic growth of this Nation. It will benefit the wealthiest at the
expense of those who make this country work.
Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to reject it, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I have to figure out, do I sit here and just spend my time correcting
things that are mathematically not true or not in the design of what is
actually here or just over and over say how much I like working with
Mr. Beyer

[[Page H810]]

because one day he will be the chair, and I will be in his position.
Let's actually walk through some basic math together. What will our
spending be this year? It will be $7 trillion. What is actually in the
cuts--remember the horrible draconian cuts--is $120 billion in a year.
So, $7 trillion--a trillion is a thousand billion, for those of you who
are math dysfunctional--let's walk through it, and $120 billion is the
Armageddon.
I am probably going to end up using these a couple of times here
because I think they make a point.
The way a reconciliation budget is laid out is it creates a series of
boxes. Here are all of these authorizing committees. We need you to
find savings. We need you to find those savings through modernization
and waste and fraud.
We are going to spend a little time actually talking about some great
documents even the Biden administration produced on waste and fraud,
and I am sure every Member here has actually read them. We have some
other articles from The Wall Street Journal on Medicare Advantage and
all these others. Many of them, when all added up, are a trillion-plus
dollars. Are we capable of actually being intellectually honest and
walking through?
One of the charts--we are going to come back to this again--you have
been hearing the Armageddon being said, that it is Medicaid.
I used to do my State's Medicaid budgets. Arizona has a somewhat
unique system. We actually buy managed care capitated policies for our
indigent population. It is remarkably effective, and we deliver
remarkably effective healthcare cheaper than almost every other State
in the country, demonstrating that planned design, managed design, can
both be much healthier for our society and save money. You don't start
to have those revolutionary conversations in Congress until you have
moments of stress like this.
Once again, I want to add, in the document, 96 percent of the budget
authority within Energy and Commerce is not touched. We are talking 4
percent of their budget authority, and that is spread over a decade. If
we can't find 4 percent of modernization in these programs, we are
actually in much more trouble than even just the brain trust here as we
tell our stories.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, while we are doing math, when I divide $2
trillion in savings and cuts over 10 years, I get $200 billion a year.
Madam Chair, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the whip of the House Democratic
Caucus.

{time} 1700

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, despite all the promises on
the campaign trail, House Republicans have chosen to do three things
with their majority: raise the cost of putting food on the table, raise
the cost of getting healthcare, and use that money, deserving
taxpayers' money, to cut billionaires' taxes. That is it. That is the
agenda.
Let's look at the scale of what Republicans are sacrificing: funding
that feeds 15 million children, a program that pays for half of all the
births in America, and a service that keeps nursing homes and health
centers' doors open. This is all to cut Elon's taxes.
If that sounds outrageous to you, Madam Chair, and I sure hope it
does, you are not alone.
Let's be clear about the kind of money we are talking about. Do you
know what it costs to keep a kid on Medicaid? It costs $10 a day. How
about how much it costs to keep that child fed with SNAP benefits? It
costs $6 a day.
What do Republicans want to give away to the already rich? They want
to give $6 million per billionaire. Think about that. For a
billionaire, $6 million is not even a rounding error. For a hungry
child, it is enough to eat every single day for 34 lifetimes.
Inflicting hunger on children to give billionaires money they don't
need and won't even notice, there is no moral code under which that is
acceptable. There is no public demand for it. There is no logical
reason for it other than total fealty to billionaire donors,
billionaires who will never feel they have enough.
I will close with a family that has been on my mind, a mom-to-be who
is 5 months pregnant. She and her husband are happy. They are in love,
and they are excited for their daughter to arrive. Every month, their
budget is tight. They get a little bit of help from food pantries, but
sometimes, even if they arrive by 6 a.m., the food is already gone.
Without the SNAP program, the mom said: I honestly don't know what we
would do. I honestly don't know what we would do.
Every Republican has a choice to make with this vote. Will they vote
to keep that mom and her daughter fed, or will they keep padding the
pockets of those who will not even notice?
The American people can forgive a lot, but they will not forgive this
betrayal.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I love public policy by storytelling, but this being the Joint
Economic Committee, let's actually go back to math.
Madam Chair, I would say to Mr. Beyer that I want to make sure I am
communicating right, but at least we are down to, instead of the
Armageddon, his number was, well, if you cut $2 trillion over 10 years,
that is $200 billion. He is right, but that is actually not what is in
the document here. It is functionally 1.2 with a shock absorber. Once
again, I will give you the shock absorber, depending on what Ways and
Means ultimately does. I thank the gentleman again. It shows we
actually are fairly close on math.
Another thing, and this is just someone who actually had worked on
the tax reform in 2017 and the storytelling that has existed,
particularly with my brothers and sisters on the left--Madam Chair, how
would you feel if I could document to you that the post-2017 tax reform
was more progressive? They were lower rates, but the top portion of
income earners actually were paying a higher percentage of Federal
income tax.
When you start looking at this, remember, this is the distributional
problem that I was going to try to walk through. I believe when you do
the math here, 5 percent of the population are people making stunning
amounts of money. If we want to have a discussion about whether they
should pay more--guess what?--this opens up that discussion because
there are no rates locked in to this. It just creates the capacity to
now have the discussion.
The fact of the matter is that the top 5 percent pay 38 percent of
all Federal income taxes. Functionally, half of the workers in the
United States pay less than 1 percent. I will take a correction if
someone knows the actual number, but I think the bottom 25 percent
receives more because of the earned income tax credit, which is the old
negative income tax model. Look, we have a distributional problem.
If you want to have a discussion of wealth and income equality, I
have some great charts to show you what inflation did, what the
previous functionally 3\1/2\ years of inflation did to wealth and the
working class. When you inflate up people who have assets and crush
those who are trying to survive, congratulations. Remember, before the
pandemic under the TCJA, the tax reforms of 2017, it was the fastest
closure of income inequality in American history.
What is being discussed here is whether you allow those very tax
benefits for small businesses, for individuals, to expire. We don't get
a huge economic pop from continuing them. You maintain consumption. We
know if you don't do them, that loss of consumption in those
populations actually really hurts us economically.
I am going to reserve in a moment, and then, we are going to come
back and talk about some of the other provisions that are just, once
again, Madam Chair, trying to create the capacity so we can actually
have the more elegant debate of what should the distributional effects
be and where do we get the most economic growth from?
The next time I come back, let's actually do a bit of where the
economic growth can come from, and we will walk through the model of
expensing and those things.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H811]]

Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, to add to the distributional impacts, the top
5 percent pay 38 percent of the taxes, but they have more than 60
percent of the wealth. The bottom 10 percent pay very little but live
hand-to-mouth, including more than 12 percent of our children.
Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Aguilar), the distinguished chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in
opposition to this Republican budget.
House Democrats came to Congress ready to work with our Republican
colleagues to lower the cost of eggs, take on price gouging, expand the
child tax credit, build more housing, and put the pocketbooks of
working families first. This is what the American people told us was
their top priority, and these are the issues that drive our Caucus.
Instead, Madam Chair, they have turned their attention to the only
policy priority that they really care about: ensuring billionaires pay
less.
My constituents can't afford eggs at the local grocery store while my
Republican colleagues are fighting amongst themselves about who to hand
out tax breaks to, corporations or individuals.
Tesla pays $0 in Federal taxes while teachers and firefighters in San
Bernardino are paying more than their fair share.
Here is the reality, Madam Chair: My Republican colleagues are going
to take away healthcare for more than 10 million Californians to pay
for tax cuts for billionaires.
This is not going to make the cost of eggs cheaper or housing less
expensive, but it is going to put children and seniors who need
healthcare at risk.
House Democrats believe that the people who work for a living ought
to get a little breathing room, and the wealthy and well connected
shouldn't get special treatment.
The Republican budget is not good for the economy. It is not good for
the country. It is a betrayal of the middle class. I urge a ``no''
vote.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I actually made a board for what the gentleman's point was, showing,
within this reconciliation budget document, how much additional tax
cuts are there for C corporations. There is your board. I am being a
little sarcastic, but that is sort of a personality trait.
The fact of the matter is, once again, the talking points don't match
up with the reality here.
Everyone in this room, your taxes go up at the end of this year. If
you run a small business, a passthrough, not a C corporation, a
passthrough, your taxes go up. If you are part of an employee-owned
company, so you have come together and you are managing yourselves
almost like an employee co-op, your taxes go up.
Also, I hope but don't know if the capacity that this creates will
allow us to do it, but I sure hope so. We have some great data, and I
won't make you live through my charts that show expensing, research and
development expensing and expensing. It has a cost in the 10-year
window.
Hopefully, everyone has listened to my dozens and dozens of speeches
walking through what expensing is. Expensing is nothing more than
depreciation. Do you take the expense in 1 year or, let's pretend, 7
years? You still get the exact same amount of reduction on your taxes.
It is a timing effect. The difference is if you can't take it in the
first year and you do it over 7 years, you have to finance it.
We have great economic modeling that shows when you do expense
research and development, when you do expensing, you get a virtuous
cycle of: We bought the piece of equipment, so we do it better, faster,
and cheaper. Our competitors just did it, so the next year, we have to
do it again.
That was one of the reasons, particularly prepandemic, we had that
sudden spike of capital expenditures and productivity. The punch line
on that is that does not exist now. It is our fading out for those C
corporations, which had their rates already locked in, but also for all
those other small businesses to make those capital expenditures.
Why is this really important? Well, there is a lot of data that shows
that part of the tax code actually does, from an economic growth
standpoint, create incredible vitality. It is a timing effect. It is
the tyranny of living within a 10-year window in our models. I just
hope that starts to elevate a little bit of the economics discussion
instead of the storytelling.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means
Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Chair, Republicans pretend to care
about the Nation's debt and annual deficits, but they have instructed
Ways and Means to add $4.5 trillion to the debt to provide tax cuts to
the wealthiest.
What we have heard from our Republican opponents here today is that
if we don't pass this resolution, everybody's taxes are going to be
raised.

I will tell you what, there will be crumbs from the master's table
for the average American earning under $200,000 a year versus tax cuts
for the wealthiest corporations and individuals.
That is the math. I know how fond you are of math. That is the
arithmetic.
Let me tell you, the handouts to the wealthiest will come on the
backs of the least of us, from affordable healthcare through the ACA
and Medicaid, veterans healthcare, nursing home coverage, food
assistance, student loan repayment options, energy tax credits,
national security, and cancer research.
You all contend that 78 million people voted for this. No, they did
not.
The Acting CHAIR (Ms. Foxx). The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield the gentlewoman from Wisconsin an
additional 15 seconds.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Chair, no, 78 million people did not
vote for this. Who do you think you are fooling?
They are not fooled by your notion that somehow these tax cuts are
going to pay for themselves, that they are backed up by all kinds of
economists, the CBO, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Members are reminded to address their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, the average family would save $2,853.
That is your crumbs.
I would argue, for the average family that has been crushed by the
previous 3 or 4 years in inflation, if you don't make 27 percent more
money in my district, you are poorer today than you were 4 years ago.
They were having their taxes go up $2,853, and that is the average.

{time} 1715

I promise you, Madam Chair, I think in my district it was closer to
3,300. I am blessed to have a more prosperous district. That is not
crumbs, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Casten), who is a distinguished member of the Joint
Economic Committee and our preeminent environmental economist.
Mr. CASTEN. Madam Chair, I want you to imagine that a friend came
over to you and said: Donald Trump taught me how to save 50 percent on
my shoe purchases. All you have to do is cut off one leg.
It is just math, as the gentleman from Arizona says. So let's get out
the saw and head to Foot Locker.
Now, Madam Chair, if you were a good friend, you would tell them: You
are crazy, and you need to stop thinking that Donald Trump likes you.
Nonetheless, here we are today talking about the idea that we are
going to save money by gutting Medicaid; slashing food assistance;
defunding white-collar law enforcement, the police; and exploding
budget deficits so that we can do what Donald Trump told you he wants:
Give a $4\1/2\-trillion tax cut to the wealthiest Americans.
So I would say to my Republican colleagues as a friend: Donald Trump
doesn't like you. He doesn't really like anybody. He just assumes that
you will

[[Page H812]]

never find the courage to stand up to him so he is going to keep asking
you for more until you finally do.
If you are sick of being bullied and if you are ready to act like the
leaders you claim to be and make sure that we leave this country in a
little better shape than we found it, then grow a spine and vote hell
no on this budget resolution.
The Acting CHAIR. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in
personalities toward the President.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to how much time
remains.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Arizona has 16\1/2\ minutes
remaining. The gentleman from Virginia has 18 minutes remaining.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), who is the distinguished ranking member
of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United
States and the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Chair, I rise today as the ranking member
of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United
States and the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, to express serious
concerns about the proposed cuts in the Republicans' budget resolution.
First, the resolution includes $880 billion in cuts to programs that
risk stalling the advancement of technologies crucial to our
competition with the CCP.
Second, these cuts will likely jeopardize our ability to enforce
critical export controls with the Chinese as well as gutting programs
that help us reshore manufacturing from China.
While we have got to restore our fiscal house, these cuts to critical
programs amount to the GOP's perverted version of DEI, devastating,
extreme, and irresponsible.
The CCP is cheering for the GOP budget resolution tonight, and I
object.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chairwoman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Chairwoman, can you believe this? We broke our printer.
However, thank heaven we didn't break the markers.
So I thought actually just because we are trying to do fact-based,
the average family's taxes are going up at the end of this year $2,853,
and 62 percent of taxpayers will see hikes.
I am sorry, we just didn't have time to make a much prettier chart
for everyone.
Remember that after 2017 we actually moved up, some of that were some
of the deductions and things that were added, we moved up the
threshold, so almost one-half of our taxpaying population actually
didn't pay income tax. They still had payroll taxes and FICA and those
things.
A bunch of that population that has not paid taxes in years and years
and years will be getting tax bills with the opposition to this.
Madam Chair, we are going to come back and go over more.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Morelle), who is a distinguished member of the House
Administration Committee.
Mr. MORELLE. Madam Chair, I thank my friend, the gentleman from
Virginia, for yielding me time.
I rise today in strong opposition to this budget resolution. As an
Appropriations Committee member, thoughtful consideration of government
spending is a responsibility I don't take lightly. I believe every
hard-earned taxpayer dollar must work for all Americans, not fuel
wildly irresponsible economic theory.
I would like to think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
believe the same thing, given the rhetoric we have all heard over the
last several years.
So I encourage the American people to watch what House Republicans
do, not what they say.
Remarkably, instead of lowering costs, this reckless budget
resolution bestows tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans
while jeopardizing essential healthcare and nutrition programs. For
this reason, I strongly oppose the budget resolution authored by House
Republicans.
Shockingly, gutting programs our communities rely on isn't harmful
enough because this resolution will also require taxpayers to borrow
another $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years.
Our Nation's Founders vested in the House of Representatives the
unique set of powers to make it responsive to the will of the people.
The father of our Constitution, James Madison, said that ``the House
should have an immediate dependence on, and intimate sympathy with, the
people.''

House Republicans demonstrate no dependence on nor sympathy with the
American people.
Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to reject this handout to
millionaires and billionaires and work on a budget that instead
advances the interests of American families.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Chair, once again, here is the budget document. Here are
spreadsheets. I keep hearing: You are giving away to billionaires.
Where is that?
Where is it?
Madam Chair, it doesn't exist because this is a box that allows us--
and understand, Madam Chair, I am passionately concerned about debt and
deficits, but this may be, for an idiot like myself, the first
opportunity where members of leadership and those are ready to allow
people like me to come in and walk through how we can improve and
change the costs of how we deliver services, and we need this type of
document to do it.
Madam Chair, you deal with the reality of what we are allowed to
touch. You do realize the majority of mandatory spending we are not
even allowed to touch in a budget reconciliation because it is interest
and Medicare is the majority. Every day we wait to modernize, we are in
that much more trouble.
The last thing before I do a yield here. We are going to spend $86
trillion, and I am partially doing this off the top of my head, over
the next decade.
This budget reconciliation we are hoping to get, let's say we are
blessed and we get $2 trillion in offsets, so that creates a couple
trillion dollars in additional borrowing, we are talking a fraction, a
couple percent of the spending, Madam Chair.
I would argue this is the moment for us where it is not about cuts.
If any of us has ever just even bothered to look at the MedPAC reports,
and this was done by the Biden administration, we have potentially over
a decade hundreds of billions of dollars in here that aren't going to
services. They aren't going to make our brothers and sisters healthier.
Help us. Help us engage the morality of doing this better, faster,
and cheaper.
Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Valadao).
Mr. VALADAO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for
yielding. I also thank Leader Scalise for his time today.
We have a historic opportunity to advance the key priorities of this
administration with a one-bill solution, and I fully agree we need to
move forward in a way that reflects the needs of the American people.
This budget resolution unlocks the next step in the reconciliation
process to deliver on our priorities. That includes extending key
provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, like doubling the standard
deduction, expanding the child tax credit, and maintaining the death
tax exemption. These policies make a real difference for working
families, farmers, and small business owners, and allow them to keep
more of their hard-earned money.
We also need to fulfill our commitment of securing our border,
strengthening our economy, and rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
It is my understanding that after this resolution passes, House
leadership will be working with the Senate to come to an agreement on
reconciliation language so that the committees can begin drafting
specific policies to achieve the administration's agenda.
There has been a lot of political rhetoric about what this upcoming
budget resolution does and does not do, and I want to be clear about
where I stand.
As a Representative of one of the most agriculturally rich districts
in

[[Page H813]]

the country, it is my constituents who are responsible for putting food
on everyone's table. My district also has one of the highest Medicaid
populations in the Nation.
I have heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way
they can afford healthcare is through programs like Medicaid, and I
will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them
behind.
Medicaid cuts are deeply unpopular with the American families who
sent us here to deliver on President Trump's agenda. I understand
Medicaid is not explicitly named in this bill, but achieving $880
billion in budget cuts within E&C's jurisdiction is not an easy task.
I also ask that leadership remain committed to working with my
colleagues and me to produce a final product that strengthens critical
programs like Medicaid and SNAP and ensures our constituents are not
left behind.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
Mr. SCALISE. Madam Chair, I thank Mr. Schweikert for yielding and I
thank the gentleman from California's Central Valley for his passion.
He has been a vocal advocate for the things that are necessary to keep
these programs like Medicaid strengthened. As we know, some of these
programs are weakened right now. As we move this through the process,
he surely has my commitment and that of all of leadership that we will
continue to not only listen to him, but his district is going to have a
very loud voice as this process moves forward to protect and make sure
that people who are on these programs, who are deserving, and who need
these programs are going to--frankly, we all ought to be focused on
getting better services to these people and rooting out the waste,
fraud, and abuse. That is what we are focused on, protecting those
people who are on these programs who need them so desperately as Mr.
Valadao has fought for years to deliver. He will continue to do that,
and we absolutely commit to that for him and others.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chairwoman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New
York (Ms. Velazquez), who is the distinguished ranking member of the
Small Business Committee.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to this Republican
rip-off. This budget slashes $880 billion from Medicaid, putting
286,000 people in my district, including nearly 100,000 children, at
risk of losing healthcare.
Madam Chair, cruelty is the point.
It also targets food assistance, leaving over 147,000 New Yorkers in
my district struggling to afford meals.
Cruelty is the point.
Why?
All this to hand out trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 1
percent. Republicans tried this trick before in 2017. They promised it
would raise wages, pay for itself, and boost the economy. It didn't.
Instead, it made the rich richer while working people fell further
behind.
Now they are doubling down, making America sicker, poorer, and
hungrier just to funnel more money to their billionaire donors.
This isn't fiscal responsibility. It is economic cruelty. Vote
``no.''

{time} 1730

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chairwoman, economic literature and, actually,
I think even the board here demonstrated that, if we go back to the
original TCJA, over 70 percent of those corporate tax cuts show up in
wages. That is one of the reasons there was such remarkable wage growth
without inflation. If workers are cared for, tax policy becomes
correct.
Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr.
Scalise).
Mr. SCALISE. Madam Chairwoman, I thank my friend from Arizona for
yielding to me for 1 minute.
Madam Chair, I rise in strong support, first of all, of this budget
resolution. It is a critically important piece of legislation. Frankly,
it might be one of the most important resolutions that this Chamber has
taken up in years to start the process of delivering on the mandate
that President Trump and this House and Senate Republican majority got
from the voters of America in November.
I understand that my friends on the other side of the aisle are upset
with the voters of America that the minority lost the election. My
Democratic colleagues are upset with the results. If everybody here
listened to what the American people said in November, frankly, first
of all, they would vote for this resolution because the resolution
delivers on those commitments, the things that were talked about, the
things that sent people to the polls that say: Let's finally get
America back on track.
How do we do it? Number one, we start by staving off a $4.5 trillion
tax increase. That is $4.5 trillion.
We have heard a lot of hyperbole over the last few days. Just here on
this House floor, we have heard from the other side of the aisle, Madam
Chair, about millionaires and billionaires. For some reason, it seems
like, if somebody is successful in America, the other side of the aisle
wants to demonize them, as if that is wrong.
Clearly, if Members read this resolution, this resolution is not
about millionaires and billionaires. This resolution is about whether
or not Congress is going to stand up for the middle class of America,
who will be devastated if this resolution fails.
A lot of times, when we come to the House floor, Madam Chair, my
colleagues can vote for or against a bill, and maybe the bill does good
things. Maybe Members think the bill does bad things and nothing
happens if they vote against the bill. Some days, nothing happening is
a good day.
Today, if nothing happens, it is not nothing that happens. Let's be
clear: Members have options, Madam Chair. They can vote ``yes'' to pass
this resolution and get this process of budget reconciliation started,
or they can vote ``no,'' like all of my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle brag that they are going to do.
If that is the case, Madam Chair, maybe I can persuade a few. Maybe
Democrats don't know this because clearly my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle haven't read the resolution. We hear Democrats
talking about Medicaid over and over again: Cuts to Medicaid. Cuts to
Medicaid.
Clearly, my colleagues haven't read the resolution because, if they
read the resolution, the word ``Medicaid'' is mentioned a total of zero
times in the resolution. That is all my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle want to talk about.
If Democrats read the resolution, the minority would talk about what
this does to engage 11 different committees in this Congress to start a
process called budget reconciliation, where they will go into open
hearings, on C-SPAN. Everybody in America can watch the deliberations,
where there will be a discussion about how to get this country back on
track. The people of this Nation are hungering for that.
They are not hungering for people yelling and screaming and telling
lies and trying to scare people with false information. We are here to
talk about facts, and the facts are that a ``no'' vote imposes $4.5
trillion in taxes that primarily hit middle- and low-income families,
not the millionaires and billionaires that my colleagues seem to want
to demonize.
For example, President Trump was heard talking at every rally about
no tax on tips. Clearly, the other side of the aisle was against that.
They wanted everybody's taxes to go up. They said they were against
renewing the Trump tax cuts, let alone adding things like no tax on
tips. We know they were against making sure that those people who work
for tips don't have to pay taxes on it.
Well, who are those people who work for tips? Madam Chair, last time
I checked, Elon Musk does not work for tips. The billionaires aren't
the ones working for tips. In fact, we went back and checked. There are
over 6 million Americans in this country who actually do work for tips.
Madam Chair, what is their average salary? Is it $1 million? Is it
tens of millions? Is it $1 billion? No. In fact, the average salary of
tip workers is $32,000 a year. That is who we are helping in this
resolution.
Those tip workers who are struggling, some of them may be working

[[Page H814]]

two or three jobs. They are not the millionaires and the billionaires.
They might actually be able to take a family vacation for the first
time if they don't have to pay a tax on tips and if the 87,000 new IRS
agents who Democrats created in the last administration are not
unleashed on them to go audit them, to try to make them pay more money
on their tip money, which is what is happening. Madam Chair, we say:
No, they shouldn't have to pay taxes on those tips.
The other side of the aisle says ``no'' to that. My colleagues hide
behind Elon Musk and hide behind billionaires and millionaires, except
it is not the millionaires and billionaires who we are trying to help.
Democratic Members want to confuse the voters of this country so
that, when the minority votes ``no,'' the middle class of America
doesn't realize and revolt that Democrats just voted with their ``no''
vote to impose a $4.5 trillion tax hike on the middle class of this
country.
Look at the big number. Taxes on every income level go up. Madam
Chair, for those who pay income taxes in America, if the other side of
the aisle votes ``no,'' everybody's income tax rate goes up.

Who are those folks? It is 145 million families. It is not 145
million people. I am talking about 145 million families in America who
make less than $1 million will see their taxes go up. It is a tax
increase not on the millionaires and billionaires if my colleagues vote
``no,'' but it is a tax increase primarily on middle- and lower-income
families.
Why aren't Democrats telling us that? Why haven't Members said that
on this House floor? It is because my Democratic colleagues don't want
the American people to know the truth. The minority wants to create
class warfare and try to divide the country against itself.
Shame on people who want to divide this country even more. It is time
we unite this country and grow this country, grow the middle class,
actually create more jobs and wealth and opportunity.
Madam Chair, as Mr. Schweikert pointed out earlier, and he has the
charts to prove it, wealth and opportunity for lower and middle-income
families is what happened in 2017 and beyond when we started with the
Trump tax cuts.
Just because minority Members don't like the person whose name is
behind those tax cuts, Democrats want to try to demonize him, but the
facts still remain.
Who benefited the most? We were losing our middle class in America in
the decade before we passed those tax cuts. Why? Go look at the record,
the facts. We were losing great American company after great American
company. They were moving out of America. They were leaving the
country. Why is that? It is because we had the highest corporate tax
rate in the world.
Madam Chair, the other side would say: Stick it to them even more.
Raise tax rates even more.
Madam Chair, there are laboratories of democracy where that has been
tried. It is called New York and California, and every time they keep
raising rates, what happens? People move in droves. A million-plus
people have left those States to go to other States, such as Texas,
Florida, and Tennessee, where there is no income tax.
Sure, we are seeing it happen in America, but what happens if
Democrats destroy America's system? Where do people go? Well, some of
those people left America.
Madam Chair, we don't want that to happen. We actually brought
companies back. The logos of all of them would be recognized if we put
them up. There is too many to mention that left America over years and
years, and nobody did anything about it. Everybody knew why it was
happening. We made our country competitive again. How? It was by
lowering tax rates.
Madam Chair, everybody should have been for that. Unfortunately, the
Democratic Party back then said: We are going to vote ``no'' on that.
Every single Democrat voted ``no.'' Why did my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle make it a partisan issue? I don't know, but I
know this: We lowered those tax rates to make America competitive.
We are a globally competing economy. Our companies in America don't
just compete against the person down the street. They are competing
against companies all over the globe, and we should applaud that. We
shouldn't just applaud it, by the way; we should make sure they remain
the most competitive businesses in the world and that America remains
the most competitive country in the world, but we weren't. We were not.
That is why we were losing people. Imagine people saying: I am going
to leave the United States of America, the greatest country in the
history of the world. It is because our country stopped being
competitive, and we finally did something about it.
In 2017, this Republican majority did something about it and finally
brought those jobs back and brought wages up. Wages grew for everybody.
Companies were giving out bonuses and pay raises. Our unemployment rate
went to virtually zero. Those are the facts.
Democrats want those tax rates to go up. Not all of them expire. The
corporate rate remains, by the way, competitively low at 21 percent.
The corporate rate stays at 21 percent. Do my colleagues know what
doesn't stay low if Democrats vote ``no''? I am a ``yes'' vote because
I want our country to be competitive. I want our small businesses to be
able to be competitive with big businesses.
My Democratic colleagues love beating up on the big guy, but guess
what the minority is going to do, and let's look at the facts.
Madam Chair, every small business in America is under a provisional
tax code called 199A. If companies are not a small business, they
probably have never heard of 199A. If they are a small business, a 20-
person mom-and-pop shop on Main Street America, anywhere in this
country, 199A is their lifeblood because that is what allows a small
business, a 10-, 15-, 20-person American Dream story who started their
own business, to now compete and pay the same tax rate as the big,
global, multinational corporation who is at 21 percent.
Madam Chair, what happens if Democratic Members vote ``no''? Again,
the ``no'' vote does not mean nothing happens. If Members vote ``no,''
they are saying they want the small business now to go from a 21
percent effective rate to as high as 43 percent in taxes.
Think about this: The mom-and-pop small business is barely hanging
on. They have beaten all the internet competitors, and they are still
able to hold onto those jobs, show up at work every day, and employ the
20 people or the 15 people that they are creating jobs for.
If the other side gets their way, that small business jacks up to a
43 percent tax rate when their competitor, the big, global, billionaire
corporation, is still at 21 percent. That is what happens if Democrats
vote ``no.''
Why haven't my colleagues said that during the debate? I haven't
heard it yet. Again, all we hear about is the billionaires and the
millionaires are the ones getting all the breaks, except it is not
true, Madam Chair. It is just not true.
Every small business in America gets kicked in the gut if this fails.
It will be every small business in America. Look at the numbers. This
is over 20 million small businesses. Think of how many workers that is.

Do Democrats just want to kick all of those workers out to the street
and to the unemployment rolls? If businesses are paying 43 percent and
their competitor is paying 21 percent, one doesn't need a math degree
to figure out how quickly they are not going to be able to compete.
We made them competitive in 2017. Why does the other side want to
vote ``no'' and all of a sudden make every small business in America
uncompetitive with the big billionaires? Madam Chair, Democratic
Members are defending the billionaires. This is insanity, but that is
the reality of what happens if Members vote ``no.''
Again, maybe by me going through the actual details, we might
convince a couple of Members that maybe somebody duped them. Someone
gave Members some talking points. Someone mentions the words
``millionaire'' and ``billionaire'' and, next thing we know, we have a
parade of 200 people who will just line up and bash the resolution,
except it is not in the resolution.
Do my colleagues want to stand up for the middle-class families of
this country? Vote ``yes'' on the resolution because that is who we are
defending.

[[Page H815]]

Republicans are going to defend the ability for the next billionaire
company maybe, but right now it is a dream in somebody's basement. This
is what is great about America. If my Democratic colleagues haven't,
they should go look at their favorite company. Go look at the biggest
companies. Most of them started with a dream in somebody's garage in
Silicon Valley.
I know a lot of entrepreneurs who started with great ideas and risked
it all over and over again, and then ultimately they might have hit it
big, but the only way they were able to hit it big is because they had
the ability in the United States of America to turn that dream into a
reality where now, all of a sudden, they might hire 300 people.
We ought to applaud that. We ought to celebrate that. We ought to
make sure that remains in place. The day we take away that ability in
the United States, God help us as a country because the few people who
still want that dream but don't have America to go to pursue it, they
might go to other places, but there just aren't that many other places
in the world to pursue it.
We cannot crush the American Dream of America. It starts with
strengthening the middle class and the lower income families' ability
to compete with the big guys so that maybe one day they can be, and
then they, too, will be demonized by the other side.

{time} 1745

In the meantime, give them that ability to compete fairly, and you
take that away if you vote ``no'' on this bill. Those are the facts.
Whose rates go up and whose rates don't if this bill fails? That is
where we are.
I do think it is important to, one more time, go through the facts of
the 2017 bill because so many lies have been told about that.
The poverty rate dropped to the lowest level in history. This isn't
the millionaires and billionaires. When we passed the bill in 2017 that
every Democrat voted no on, the poverty rate in America dropped to its
lowest rate in history. Unemployment hit a 50-year low, and lower-
income workers--not the millionaires and billionaires, lower-income
workers--saw their wages grow substantially faster than the highest 10
percent of income earners.
Whose side are you going to be on today? We are going to give
everybody an opportunity to stand up for those hardworking people who
want their shot at the American Dream. Stand up for that waiter or
waitress who is working their tail off tonight and who is going to come
home and go: Wait a minute. I might not have to pay taxes on my tips. I
can save that money and, for the first time, start a college fund for
my kid.
It is not the millionaires and billionaires that benefit from that.
It is the average income worker. There are millions of them, by the
way. The average income is $32,000 a year. That is who House
Republicans are fighting for, and we are going to deliver for them
because that was the mandate that the people of this country gave us.
Whether you agree or not, whether you like Donald Trump or not,
Donald Trump ran on very specific things, and he is delivering on those
things. I applaud President Trump for actually following through on the
promises that were made. Promises made and promises kept actually
matter in this town, and they are rare. When it happens, we ought to
applaud it.
When this majority actually delivers, we are going to see on that
board real soon who actually stands with the 77 million people of this
country who said we want this change, that we demand this change, and
that we are going to go to the polls to vote for this change. Let's
preserve the American Dream.
Yes, at the risk of offending a couple of people, I am fine with
saying: Let's make America great again because America deserves to be
great again.
Don't put a $4.5 trillion tax on the middle class of this country.
Let's let this country grow. Let's see opportunity flourish. We will do
it. We need to pass this bill to start that process.
Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), a member of the Education and Workforce
Committee.
Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Chair, last week, I had five townhall meetings
across northwest Oregon in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Not one
person, not one of the thousands who attended, asked me to support a
budget that cuts Medicaid, gives tax breaks to the wealthiest, raises
the cost of living, or undermines safety and security, but that is what
we are voting on today.
The Republicans are stealing the hard-earned tax dollars of
Oregonians and Americans to line the pockets of people like Elon Musk.
This ruthless Republican budget will rip away healthcare from low-
income and working families and children and take us back to the days
when if you got sick, you either went without treatment or went
bankrupt.
It could rip away resources from local schools and prevent children,
especially students with disabilities, from getting a good education.
Republicans say they are eliminating waste. Do you want to talk about
waste? Waste is giving the wealthiest big tax cuts while regular
Americans are struggling to put food on the table.
The cost of groceries is increasing, wages continue to remain
stagnant, and too many families can't afford housing or childcare. The
Republican majority's answer is to rip you off and give tax breaks to
the wealthiest and then hope, unrealistically, that it is going to
trickle down.
We must oppose this Republican billionaire budget. We must focus
instead on the American people so everyone, not just those at the top,
have the opportunity for a better future.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Arizona has 9 minutes remaining.
The gentleman from Virginia has 13\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano), the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs
Committee.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, as the ranking member of the House Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, I rise today in complete opposition to the
Republican rip-off budget resolution.
Let's be clear: This is a tax break for billionaires like Elon Musk
paid for by working people, including millions of our veterans. The
Republican rip-off cuts at least $880 billion from Medicaid, the
program that 80 million Americans, including 9 million veterans, rely
on for health insurance coverage.
This extreme budget also cuts $230 billion from SNAP. Every year,
SNAP helps almost 43 million Americans, including over 1 million
veterans, put food on the table.
Republicans aren't just going to leave American veterans without
healthcare or make them go hungry. They also want to take a chain saw
to VA, attacking the very people who provide care to the veterans who
have served our country with honor.
This is completely unacceptable, and I urge every Member to oppose
this abomination of a resolution that uses veterans as a piggy bank to
pay for a billionaire tax break.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nevada
(Mr. Horsford), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. HORSFORD. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Chair, I rise today not in favor or opposition. I rise in
defense, defense of 811,000 Nevadans and countless people across the
country whose lives are in danger. I rise in defense of my constituents
who will be impacted if Republicans are able to slash their healthcare
services to fund $4.5 trillion to the ultrawealthy and big
corporations.
Madam Chair, Nevada Democrats and Republicans worked together to
implement the Affordable Care Act, including the expansion of Medicaid.
We reduced the uninsured rate by a third, and 563,000 children were
able to receive coverage as a result. The fact that Nevada did the
right thing then means we have more to lose as Republicans do the wrong
thing now.
Our State would be the third hardest hit, including in rural
communities. This isn't a budget. It is the Republican screw America
bill. That is why I

[[Page H816]]

am calling on every Member of this body to vote ``no.'' I will, in
defense of my constituents.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Espaillat), a distinguished member of the Appropriations
Committee.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Chair, very often, we take very serious votes on
this floor, but this vote is a deadly serious vote. This is a vote
about life and death.
I represent just slightly over 780,000 constituents. Out of those
780,000 constituents, 524,000 of them are Medicaid recipients, and over
100,000 of them are Medicare recipients, so over 600,000 of the 780,000
constituents who I represent receive either Medicaid or Medicare. In
addition to that, there are 263,000 households that receive food
stamps.
This bill would put their lives and health in danger, Madam Chair.
This is about life and death.
As the Republican majority proposes to cut Medicaid across this
country to give a massive $4.5 trillion, with a capital T, trillion-
dollar cut in taxes to the very rich, who would that go to? Fifty
percent of that will go to the shareholders. Forty-four percent of that
tax cut will go to high-end executives.
The fat cat executives are going to get this money, and working-class
and even middle-class people are going to get stiffed with the cuts.
This is about life and death. It is not a simple piece of legislation
that we will pass. There are diabetics who will see the price of
insulin go up. There are people with renal problems and cardiovascular
problems.
Madam Chair, this is about life and death. Vote ``no'' on this bill.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, let me have just a couple of moments of
joy here. A reconciliation budget that only touches individuals and
passthrough businesses, so there are no shareholders who are getting--
that is actually already locked in.
That is one of the reasons we are doing this is because you want to
see distortions in the economy, have a world where small businesses,
passthroughs, employee-owned, their taxes shoot up, but the C
corporations are down here. What distortion did you just create in the
world?
I am a C corporation. I am buying everyone else. You want to see the
big get bigger? It is one of the reasons you have to do this. Also, I
beg my brothers and sisters, have a different view but actually just
try to get the most basic facts correct here.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished and unenviable
member of the Rules Committee.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Chair, Republicans are attacking women's
ability to afford life as a mom or a daughter.
Medicaid supports more than 40 percent of all births in the United
States.
Our grandmothers and parents in nursing homes rely on Medicaid to pay
their health bills. Their caregivers, who are mostly women, depend on
Medicaid themselves.
Over 37 million children rely on Medicaid and CHIP. Republicans would
strip this essential healthcare from women across the country. Why? To
give tax breaks to their billionaire bros.
Women need to know how they will be impacted wherever they live.
Earlier today, we heard Representative Valadao acknowledge that his
voters depend on Medicaid and are upset. Indeed, 507,000 of his
constituents receive Medicaid, but he said he will vote ``yes'' on the
bill.
I need women across the country to visit the Democratic Women's
Caucus website to find out how these cuts will impact them and how much
money billionaires and millionaires will make from women's economic
pain.
Republicans should stand with their moms and not the billionaires.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, apparently, the Democratic position is
the $2,000 you get per child, which was the doubling of the child tax
credit in 2017, should go away and go back to the $1,000? Wow. I think
that is what I just heard.
Those of us who have adopted kids, those who have children,
congratulations, your child tax credit is going to get cut in half.
Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

{time} 1800

Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
With respect to my friend from Arizona, that is not what I heard. We
heard that this budget resolution, as put together, promises cuts that
we are desperately afraid of.
When we do the math, in Congressman Schweikert's district, Arizona 1,
people who count on SNAP to put food on the table are 85,000; Medicaid
recipients at risk of losing their healthcare, 127,000; Affordable Care
Act recipients who will see their premium payments go up by varying
amounts, 44,000. We would love to see a budget worked out that somehow
gives a lie to those frightening numbers.
Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Min), a distinguished member of the Joint Economic Committee.
Mr. MIN. Madam Chair, I rise today in opposition to the disastrous
GOP budget resolution.
This bill seeks to cut $3 trillion in spending, supposedly by
targeting waste and fraud, but the entire domestic discretionary budget
is only $917 billion, and that simply doesn't add up. There is only one
way to get to $3 trillion in cuts, and that is to slash lifeline
programs, including nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.
Under the GOP budget, over 136,000 of my constituents would lose
their healthcare, including over 42,000 children. This budget would
also take food away from hungry children and deny healthcare to sick
veterans.
Why are House Republicans pushing such an immoral and cruel agenda?
It is not to reduce our deficits. In fact, their budget adds nearly
$1.6 trillion a year to our debt.
No, it is to pass tax cuts for billionaires and foreign investors. In
fact, over $350 billion of these same tax cuts went to foreign
investors over the last 10 years.
Let's be clear: If this budget passes, kids are going to go to bed
hungry so that we can give more money to Elon Musk and investors from
Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. This is immoral. It is wrong.
Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this horrible budget
measure.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from
New Mexico (Mr. Vasquez), a distinguished member of the Agriculture
Committee and Armed Services Committee.
Mr. VASQUEZ. Madam Chair, I thought Republicans' plans were to make
Americans' lives better. I thought we were supposed to lower the cost
of goods. I thought we were supposed to make healthcare more affordable
for Americans.
Well, let me tell you this: When you strip healthcare away from
290,000 New Mexicans, many of which are in my district, including
132,000 children and 26,000 seniors, can anybody on the other side of
the aisle tell me how is that making life better for my constituents
and for New Mexicans?
Well, it is not going to.
In fact, this Republican budget is going to raise healthcare premiums
by nearly $1,000 a year for 20,000 people in my district. It could
force a 60-year-old couple to pay over $16,000 more annually for
coverage.
Now, in my district and in my State, we have some of the best service
records of veterans in this entire country. In fact, we are home to the
Code Talkers. We are home to folks who have served our country with
pride and with dignity for so many years that when I look at the cuts
that are being made to the VA healthcare system, I am ashamed of what
this body is doing. I am ashamed of what my colleagues across the aisle
are doing.
When I go home and I talk to a working mother, a person who wakes up
at 7 in the morning and works two jobs every day and has to send her
kid to school and relies on the food programs just to keep her family
healthy, just to have something in the stomach of that 7-year-old who
is going to first grade, and to know that their food assistance
programs could get taken away, we are doing the exact opposite of what
Republicans promised that they would do for this country.

[[Page H817]]

This budget is a statement of where we are at as a country, and this
is the wrong statement that we are making.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, I would inquire once again on how much
time is remaining.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Simpson). The gentleman from Arizona has 7\1/2\
minutes remaining.
The gentleman from Virginia has 4\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, just as some of my Democratic colleagues have done, I was
just thumbing through the actual document. I know this is crazy, and
literacy being sort of a lost art, but I am trying to find where this
heresy, these cuts are.
There is a discussion here that basically says we need not to just
purely stick this on the debt and deficit. Okay.
In the Energy and Commerce instruction, I think it is 4 percent of
the area of authorization, you are telling me after the hundreds of
hours idiots like me have come behind this microphone and done
presentations showing the distortions, the waste and fraud, the
misallocations, the lack of use of technology, the duplications, you
can't produce 4 percent?
Why is the left so terrified of the moment where maybe a document
that forces us in some ways to listen to each other, to maybe say: How
do we do this better, faster, cheaper? I am going to say this three or
four more times. Does the left really want to raise taxes on the
average American family by $2,853? Is that the plan here?
This says that 63 percent of those who are tax filers will see their
taxes go up. Is that the plan here?

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me just respond to my good friend from Arizona. No, that is not
what Democrats want. We don't want to see taxes go up for average,
middle-class Americans at all. This is what our budget experts say,
based on the budget resolution before us, as my friend Mr. Schweikert
knows well: To achieve significant cuts, the kind of cuts that you are
talking about, inevitably we have to look at Medicaid, Medicare, and
Social Security.
We look at the fact that in Virginia, just eliminating Medicaid
Advantage is 660,000 Virginians. We see that 46 percent of the children
in America receive their healthcare through Medicaid. When we look at
Medicare, it is beyond belief what that would do.
I am looking forward to somehow seeing how you achieve the massive
budget cuts that are in this resolution without touching those. That is
why you have heard so much concern today about what this will do to the
average American people.
It is not that we don't want to revisit not raising taxes on the
American public. We also just don't want to cut away their healthcare,
their SNAP benefits, their ability to put food on the table, and the
like.
Mr. Chair, I am ready to close when the distinguished chair of the
Joint Economic Committee tells me it is time. I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, just because I want to help out--
because I know this is heresy around here. Truly one of my favorite
Members to work with, even though we are on different sides of the
aisle, he may want to retract the words ``Social Security,'' which he
just said, because he knows Social Security cannot be allowed in any of
this package.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chair, I will be happy to retract. I also notice that
our anxiety about Social Security will not go away.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Oh, no. Who else has been working for a decade now to
save it?
Remember, in 2033, about halfway through the year, the trust fund is
gone. Is that a Republican or a Democratic problem? I would say it is a
morality problem. We will be doubling senior poverty in America in 8
years.
How often are we allowed to come talk about it?
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
In doing so, let me first begin by saying that my good friend, John
Larson, on the Ways and Means Committee has for years promoted Social
Security 2100, which would actually fix it for the rest of this
century.
Mr. Chairman, President Trump and the Republican majority were
elected last November to deliver on a simple promise, to lower costs
for Americans. Unfortunately, this budget does not do that.
My Republican friends have decided that providing billions of dollars
in tax breaks for a few millionaires and billionaires is worth ordinary
Americans bearing, as Elon Musk put it last year, some temporary
hardship. That hardship brought about by this budget will come in many
forms and may not mean much to the richest man in history, but it will
certainly mean a lot to ordinary people.
It will grow our debt by $4.6 trillion. It will lead to higher
interest rates and raising prices on goods that Americans pay for every
day. It will cut crucial government services that keep us safe,
healthy, and productive. It will strip healthcare and food assistance
from tens of millions of Americans who are already struggling to make
ends meet.
What are Americans getting in exchange for this hardship? Tax cuts
for billionaires and corporations that they do not need and that our
country cannot afford.
Mr. Chair, this is a bad deal. I urge all of my colleagues to reject
this proposal. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to close, but I would
like to inquire on how much time is remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Arizona has 5 minutes remaining.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time
to close. I know it is painful to listen to an idiot like me for 5
minutes, but let's have some fun here.
First, I want to say to everyone who has spoken, I love the passion
and I love the caring. I just, once again, have to come back. This is a
reconciliation budget. It basically builds boxes. This box here is for
your authorization. You can go more, but you can't go less. Okay.
I am on the other side. I actually believe there should be more cuts
in spending because I think we can achieve that by modernization,
changing processes, and the adoption of technology.
Last week, I believe I was behind this very microphone, and we were
showing charts of, hey, this is Medicare, how many billions and
billions do we spend every year on duplicative MRIs, ultrasounds, x-
rays? Does that make someone healthier? Does that make them better? No.
It is basically waste and fraud.
We have the ability to use technology to get rid of that. If we all
agreed to do something like that, then we are going to get rid of these
duplicative services. We are going to get rid of some of the--we like
to say waste and fraud, but the fact of the matter is there are design
problems in the model. You didn't cut a single service. You didn't take
anything away from someone, but what you gave is my kids a chance to
survive.
Look, part of this I don't like. I am going to be brutally honest. I
wish there were more cuts. I don't like the amount of borrowing here,
but if this is the moment that opens up a chance for someone like
myself, who has spent a decade here passionately trying to say it
doesn't have to be cuts. It is actually the adoption of technology.
I am going to go slightly off track, then I want to get back into the
distribution. If I turn to my brothers and sisters and anyone willing
to listen right now, what is the single biggest cost in our society?
This is where Schweikert soaks himself in kerosene and plays with
matches, Mr. Chair.

It turns out it is obesity. For our brothers and sisters, we
calculate there will be over $9 trillion in additional healthcare costs
over the next decade. What would happen if the left and the right
actually said we are going to fixate on the way we deliver healthcare,
the way we deliver nutrition support, the way we do agriculture policy,
that we are going to help our brothers and sisters be healthier, and,
by the way, family formation, the use of healthcare, the ability to
have a life.
Maybe it is moments like this where we go to battle in the
committees. We

[[Page H818]]

have really smart people, but armies of lobbyists outside these
hallways look at us and stress out when we start saying it is time to
modernize, time to find a better, faster, more elegant way to deliver
services and slow down the piling of debt because the math still comes
back to 63 percent of our tax-paying brothers and sisters will see
their taxes go up.
Now, for the comments you have heard over and over here about the
distributional effects. Okay. Mr. Beyer and I are both on Ways and
Means and battle in the committee.
Remember, there is no bill coming out of the committee yet. What is
it going to look like? Do we actually have to make elegant changes? Are
there things we can agree on as a body that will maximize economic
growth?
At some point you have got to look--and I am sorry I have beaten up
this chart, but we have been trying to model what happens to the
economy if we allow these tax hikes to come in automatically.
It turns out the economy is also benefited if we maximize how much we
pay for at the end of 10 years. I know changing spending policy is
hard, but if we were to maximize both, at the end of the decade we are
more prosperous.
Mr. Chairman, at some point that is the ultimate question here: Is
prosperity moral? Is there a way we can actually do our work here where
we maximize the prosperity for my 2\1/2\-year-old but also the person
heading to retirement, to our brothers and sisters who are out there
working their hearts out? There is a way.
The hardest part is we are going to have to do things differently
than we have done in the past.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CAREY. Mr. Chair, today's vote marks an essential step towards
fulfilling our promise to the American people--to extend the 2017 Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act, secure funding for border protection, and move
toward American energy independence.
After enduring significant inflation, American families and small
businesses urgently need tax relief to make ends meet.
We must pass our budget resolution today to start the budget
reconciliation process and advance the policies our American families
expect and desperately need.
It includes much-needed deficit reduction, for which our children and
grandchildren will be grateful. It will allow us to extend the
successful tax cuts from 2017 that produced unprecedented job growth
and higher wages for American workers.
This is only the first step in a process where everyone will have a
voice. But it's a significant step toward American success and
security, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired. Pursuant
to the rule, the amendment printed in House Report 119-5 is adopted and
the concurrent resolution, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

H. Con. Res. 14

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),

SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2025.

(a) Declaration.--The Congress determines and declares that
prior concurrent resolutions on the budget are replaced as of
fiscal year 2025 and that this concurrent resolution
establishes the budget for fiscal year 2025 and sets forth
the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026
through 2034.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this
concurrent resolution is as follows:

Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2025.

TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

Sec. 1001. Recommended levels and amounts.
Sec. 1002. Major functional categories.

TITLE II--RECONCILIATION AND RELATED MATTERS

Sec. 2001. Reconciliation in the House of Representatives.

TITLE III--RESERVE FUND AND DEFICIT REDUCTION ADJUSTMENT

Sec. 3001. Reserve fund for reconciliation legislation in the House of
Representatives.
Sec. 3002. Adjustment for spending cuts of at least $2 trillion.

TITLE IV--POLICY STATEMENTS

Sec. 4001. Policy statement on economic growth.
Sec. 4002. Policy statement on mandatory spending reduction.
Sec. 4003. Policy statement on Government deregulation.

TITLE V--OTHER MATTERS

Sec. 5001. Enforcement filing in the House of Representatives.
Sec. 5002. Budgetary treatment of administrative expenses in the House
of Representatives.
Sec. 5003. Application and effect of changes in allocations,
aggregates, and other budgetary levels.
Sec. 5004. Adjustments to reflect changes in concepts and definitions
in the House of Representatives.
Sec. 5005. Adjustment for changes in the baseline.
Sec. 5006. Exercise of rulemaking powers.

TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

SEC. 1001. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS.

The following budgetary levels are appropriate for each of
fiscal years 2025 through 2034:
(1) Federal revenues.--For purposes of the enforcement of
this concurrent resolution:
(A) The recommended levels of Federal revenues are as
follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $3,408,969,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $3,766,668,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $4,066,393,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $4,186,847,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $4,309,831,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $4,508,641,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $4,730,270,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $4,938,712,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $5,172,643,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: $5,410,030,000,000.
(B) The amounts by which the aggregate levels of Federal
revenues should be changed are as follows:
Fiscal year 2025: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: -$450,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: -$450,000,000,000.
(2) New budget authority.--For purposes of the enforcement
of this concurrent resolution, the appropriate levels of
total new budget authority are as follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $5,515,610,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $5,605,352,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $5,744,975,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $5,999,399,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $6,173,475,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $6,494,898,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $6,748,868,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $7,048,096,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $7,438,116,000,000 .
Fiscal year 2034: $7,610,582,000,000.
(3) Budget outlays.--For purposes of the enforcement of
this concurrent resolution, the appropriate levels of total
budget outlays are as follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $5,490,790,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $5,623,085,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $5,821,621,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $6,088,332,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $6,164,293,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $6,484,545,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $6,720,491,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $6,983,637,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $7,401,699,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: $7,529,256,000,000.
(4) Deficits.--For purposes of the enforcement of this
concurrent resolution, the amounts of the deficits are as
follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $2,081,821,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $1,856,417,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $1,755,228,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $1,901,485,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $1,854,462,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $1,975,904,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $1,990,221,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $2,044,925,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $2,229,056,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: $2,119,226,000,000.
(5) Debt subject to limit.--The appropriate levels of debt
subject to limit are as follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $37,660,656,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $39,839,449,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $41,752,932,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $43,721,320,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $45,725,094,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $47,646,893,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $49,490,401,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $51,311,359,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $53,342,100,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: $55,566,372,000,000.
(6) Debt held by the public.--The appropriate levels of
debt held by the public are as follows:
Fiscal year 2025: $30,430,405,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026: $32,469,082,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027: $34,395,037,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028: $36,452,960,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029: $38,403,594,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030: $40,444,544,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031: $42,449,786,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032: $44,476,114,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033: $46,612,129,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034: $48,599,876,000,000.

SEC. 1002. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES.

Congress determines and declares that the appropriate
levels of new budget authority and outlays for fiscal years
2025 through 2034 for each major functional category are:
(1) National Defense (050):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $888,044,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $883,821,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $913,263,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $895,830,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $935,345,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $913,493,000,000.

[[Page H819]]

Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $956,694,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $940,299,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $979,049,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $950,598,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $1,002,337,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $977,233,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $1,026,119,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $996,535,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $1,050,408,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,016,235,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $1,076,299,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,050,728,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $1,101,659,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,067,701,000,000.
(2) International Affairs (150):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $65,962,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $69,206,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $64,270,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $68,458,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $64,856,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $68,013,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $66,169,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $64,433,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $67,655,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $65,177,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $69,175,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $65,601,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $70,699,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $66,643,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $72,220,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $67,916,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $73,809,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $69,332,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $75,431,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $70,768,000,000.
(3) General Science, Space, and Technology (250):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $42,084,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $41,734,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $43,056,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $42,483,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $44,011,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $43,166,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $44,881,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $43,781,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $45,834,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $44,611,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $46,835,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $45,450,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $47,840,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $46,405,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $48,853,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $47,377,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $49,907,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $48,391,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $50,997,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $49,436,000,000.
(4) Energy (270):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $39,842,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,587,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $40,172,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $44,518,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $43,579,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $52,928,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $44,493,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $52,542,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $45,633,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $51,237,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $44,014,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $47,297,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $45,460,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $46,521,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $50,176,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $48,864,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $35,184,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $34,040,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $27,122,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $26,021,000,000.
(5) Natural Resources and Environment (300):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $88,219,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,074,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $89,760,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,428,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $83,830,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,282,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $85,498,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,754,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $87,319,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $92,172,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $88,970,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $92,442,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $91,016,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $92,640,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $92,975,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,686,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $95,254,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $93,640,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $97,211,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $94,831,000,000.
(6) Agriculture (350):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $58,457,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $41,846,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $59,875,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $58,018,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $64,092,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $61,792,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $66,014,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $64,140,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $66,999,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $63,775,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $65,213,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $62,065,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $65,516,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $62,226,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $66,979,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $63,432,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $68,738,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $64,825,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $70,130,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $66,347,000,000.
(7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $12,477,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$18,175,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $33,817,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$207,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $29,807,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $8,387,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, -$55,092,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$64,213,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $27,308,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $17,149,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $27,501,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $14,043,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $27,776,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $9,486,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $28,233,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $6,788,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $22,118,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$2,412,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $31,836,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $4,308,000,000.
(8) Transportation (400):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $173,158,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $144,771,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $176,249,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $154,625,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $178,411,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $162,925,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $180,607,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $171,610,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $182,610,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $175,967,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $179,144,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $174,442,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $181,099,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $178,314,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $189,966,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $187,367,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $192,692,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $191,213,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $195,495,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $194,754,000,000.
(9) Community and Regional Development (450):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $87,762,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $78,752,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $89,366,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $69,845,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $91,267,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $74,426,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $92,897,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $75,604,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $94,812,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $77,850,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $96,811,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $82,903,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $98,774,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $86,364,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:

[[Page H820]]

(A) New budget authority, $100,621,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $88,685,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $102,711,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,723,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $104,818,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $93,005,000,000.
(10) Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services
(500):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $149,303,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $171,916,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $152,714,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $151,605,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $155,153,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $150,979,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $157,971,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $152,819,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $160,952,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $155,502,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $163,865,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $158,383,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $166,854,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $161,312,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $170,223,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $164,486,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $173,784,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $167,792,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $176,834,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $170,876,000,000.
(11) Health (550):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $945,070,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $961,180,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $992,460,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $976,705,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $1,021,428,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,021,884,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $1,056,522,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,053,318,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $1,099,999,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,095,100,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $1,144,066,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,133,456,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $1,177,723,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,176,648,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $1,228,051,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,218,203,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $1,278,134,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,267,299,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $1,311,280,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,300,233,000,000.
(12) Medicare (570):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $950,891,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $950,641,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $1,007,431,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,009,161,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $1,067,229,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,066,832,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $1,210,420,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,208,952,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $1,126,357,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,125,928,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $1,276,602,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,276,291,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $1,358,554,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,358,476,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $1,445,982,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,445,966,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $1,664,590,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,664,595,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $1,667,328,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,667,321,000,000.
(13) Income Security (600):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $712,446,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $709,132,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $702,007,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $699,086,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $703,592,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $698,238,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $722,280,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $721,948,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $724,420,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $710,279,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $743,824,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $735,068,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $757,021,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $747,723,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $775,456,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $765,416,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $796,775,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $793,408,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $805,597,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $795,238,000,000.
(14) Social Security (650):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $67,259,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $67,259,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $81,690,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $81,690,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $89,447,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $89,447,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $94,419,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $94,419,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $100,138,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $100,138,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $106,208,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $106,208,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $112,114,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $112,114,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $118,485,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $118,485,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $125,325,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $125,325,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $132,539,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $132,539,000,000.
(15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $361,349,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $357,760,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $382,625,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $378,862,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $404,665,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $401,379,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $427,402,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $444,309,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $447,832,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $422,387,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $466,693,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $461,795,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $486,796,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $481,715,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $507,269,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $502,734,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $528,816,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $548,814,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $550,747,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $547,878,000,000.
(16) Administration of Justice (750):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $83,111,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $85,235,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $90,002,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $87,682,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $89,047,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $87,256,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $91,066,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $89,499,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $93,553,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,849,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $96,019,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $94,292,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $98,328,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $96,277,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $105,979,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $103,293,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $108,710,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $105,827,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $111,020,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $108,460,000,000.
(17) General Government (800):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $10,089,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,960,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $30,678,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,289,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $32,078,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,267,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $33,007,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,965,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $33,784,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,804,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $34,628,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,998,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $35,261,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,038,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $36,204,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,321,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $36,975,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,772,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $37,697,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,281,000,000.
(18) Net Interest (900):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $1,027,694,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,027,694,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $1,090,880,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,090,880,000,000.

[[Page H821]]

Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $1,160,719,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,160,719,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $1,250,257,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,250,257,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $1,328,362,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,328,362,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $1,399,636,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,399,636,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $1,475,634,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,475,634,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $1,551,786,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,551,786,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $1,619,496,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,619,496,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $1,693,863,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,693,863,000,000.
(19) Allowances (920):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
(20) Government-Wide Savings (930):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$120,000,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$120,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, -$299,849,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$179,763,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, -$375,694,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$231,910,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, -$384,958,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$263,939,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, -$393,736,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$296,185,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, -$407,056,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$330,476,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, -$419,698,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$357,567,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, -$431,652,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$381,290,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, -$445,094,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$402,008,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, -$460,001,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$420,590,000,000.
(21) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$127,603,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$127,603,000,000.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, -$135,110,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$135,110,000,000.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, -$137,883,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$137,883,000,000.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, -$141,145,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$141,165,000,000.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, -$145,400,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$145,407,000,000.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, -$149,582,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$149,581,000,000.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, -$154,014,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$154,013,000,000.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, -$160,114,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$160,113,000,000.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, -$166,102,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$166,101,000,000.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, -$171,015,000,000.
(B) Outlays,-$171,014,000,000.
(22) Across-the-Board Adjustment (990):
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2026:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2027:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2028:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2029:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2030:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2031:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2032:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2033:
(A) New budget authority, -$5,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.
Fiscal year 2034:
(A) New budget authority, -$5,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $0.

TITLE II--RECONCILIATION AND RELATED MATTERS

SEC. 2001. RECONCILIATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(a) Submissions.--Not later than March 27, 2025, the
committees named in subsection (b) and subsection (c) shall
submit their recommendations on changes in laws within their
jurisdictions to the Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives to carry out this section.
(b) Instructions.--
(1) Committee on agriculture.--The Committee on Agriculture
shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction to
reduce the deficit by not less than $230,000,000,000 for the
period of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.
(2) Committee on armed services.--The Committee on Armed
Services shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction
that increase the deficit by not more than $100,000,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.
(3) Committee on education and workforce.--The Committee on
Education and Workforce shall submit changes in laws within
its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than
$330,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(4) Committee on energy and commerce.--The Committee on
Energy and Commerce shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than
$880,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(5) Committee on financial services.--The Committee on
Financial Services shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than
$1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(6) Committee on homeland security.--The Committee on
Homeland Security shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction that increase the deficit by not more than
$90,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(7) Committee on the judiciary.--The Committee on the
Judiciary shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction that increase the deficit by not more than
$110,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(8) Committee on natural resources.--The Committee on
Natural Resources shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than
$1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through
2034.
(9) Committee on oversight and government reform.--The
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform shall submit
changes in laws within its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit
by not less than $50,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2025 through 2034.
(10) Committee on transportation and infrastructure.--The
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure shall submit
changes in laws within its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit
by not less than $10,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2025 through 2034.
(11) Committee on ways and means.--The Committee on Ways
and Means shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction that increase the deficit by not more than
$4,500,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025
through 2034.
(c) Increase in Statutory Debt Limit.--The Committee on
Ways and Means shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction that increase the statutory debt limit by
$4,000,000,000,000.

TITLE III--RESERVE FUND AND DEFICIT REDUCTION ADJUSTMENT

SEC. 3001. RESERVE FUND FOR RECONCILIATION LEGISLATION IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(a) In General.--In the House of Representatives, the chair
of the Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations of
a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill or joint resolution
considered pursuant to section 2001 containing the
recommendations of one or more committees, or for one or more
amendments to, a conference report on, or an amendment
between the Houses in relation to such a bill or joint
resolution, by the amounts necessary to accommodate the
budgetary effects of the legislation, if the budgetary
effects of the legislation comply with the reconciliation
instructions under this concurrent resolution.
(b) Determination of Compliance.--For purposes of this
section, compliance with the reconciliation instructions
under this concurrent resolution shall be determined by the
chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives.

[[Page H822]]

SEC. 3002. ADJUSTMENT FOR SPENDING CUTS OF AT LEAST $2
TRILLION.

(a) Adjustment if Deficit Reduction Target Not Achieved.--
If one or more committees of the House of Representatives
submit reconciliation recommendations pursuant to paragraphs
(1), (3), (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10) of section 2001(b) and
such recommendations do not, in total, achieve at least
$2,000,000,000,000 in net deficit reduction over the period
of fiscal years 2025 through 2034, the chair of the Committee
on the Budget of the House shall reduce--
(1) the $4,500,000,000,000 reconciliation instruction for
the Committee on Ways and Means under section 2001(b)(11);
(2) the allocations to the Committee on Ways and Means
under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(a));
(3) the aggregates of budget authority, outlays, and
revenues; and
(4) any other appropriate level in this concurrent
resolution,
by an amount equal to the difference between
$2,000,000,000,000 and the total dollar amount of such
recommendations.
(b) Adjustment if Deficit Reduction Target Exceeded.--If
one or more committees of the House of Representatives submit
reconciliation recommendations pursuant to paragraphs (1),
(3), (4), (5), (8), (9), or (10) of section 2001(b) and such
recommendations, in total, achieve at least
$2,000,000,000,000 in net deficit reduction over the period
of fiscal years 2025 through 2034, the chair of the Committee
on the Budget of the House shall increase the levels
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) by
an amount equal to the difference between the total dollar
amount of such recommendations and $2,000,000,000,000.
(c) Certification Required for Adjustment.--No adjustment
may be made under subsection (a) or subsection (b) unless the
chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House, using cost
estimates provided by the Congressional Budget Office and the
Joint Committee on Taxation (as appropriate), certifies in
writing that the applicable reconciliation recommendations--
(1) with respect to subsection (a), do not achieve net
deficit reduction of at least $2,000,000,000,000 over the
period of fiscal years 2025 through 2034; or
(2) with respect to subsection (b), achieve net deficit
reduction of at least $2,000,000,000,000 over the period of
such fiscal years.
(d) Reconciliation Instruction for Ways and Means.--The
dollar amount resulting from any adjustment made under this
section to the reconciliation instruction for the Committee
on Ways and Means under paragraph (11) of section 2001(b)
shall be substituted for ``$4,500,000,000,000'' in such
section and shall be deemed the reconciliation instructions
for such Committee under such section. Any recommendations on
changes in law within the jurisdiction of the Committee shall
be consistent with the goals of this concurrent resolution,
including with respect to spending reduction, tax policy
changes, reforms, or other measures deemed appropriate by the
chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House.
(e) Consistency With the Resolution.--Any reconciliation
recommendations receiving an allocation adjustment under this
section shall not be considered in violation of the budgetary
levels established by this concurrent resolution.

TITLE IV--POLICY STATEMENTS

SEC. 4001. POLICY STATEMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH.

(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) The rate of economic growth has a significant impact on
budget deficits. When the rate of gross domestic product
(GDP) increases, projected revenue grows with it and deficits
decline. Conversely, slower GDP growth can lead to lagging
revenues and mounting deficits.
(2) Federal policies affect the economy's potential to grow
and impact economic performance, influencing budgetary
outcomes. Consequently, fiscally responsible policies that
improve the economy's long-term growth prospects help reduce
the size of budget deficits over a given period.
(3) The free market, where individuals pursue their own
self-interests, has been responsible for greater advancements
in quality of life and generation of wealth than any other
form of economic system. Federal policies designed to grow
the economy should thus allow market forces to operate
unhindered rather than pick ``winners'' and ``losers''.
(b) Policy on Economic Growth.--It is the policy of this
concurrent resolution to pursue policies that embrace the
free market and promote economic growth policies that--
(1) reduce Federal spending;
(2) expand American energy production;
(3) lower taxes that discourage work, savings, and
investment;
(4) deregulate the economy and enact reforms to diminish
bureaucratic red tape; and
(5) eliminate barriers to work so more Americans enter (or
reenter) the job market.

SEC. 4002. POLICY STATEMENT ON MANDATORY SPENDING REDUCTION.

(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) The United States faces a significant debt crisis, with
the national debt currently exceeding $36 trillion, or 123
percent of GDP.
(2) Since 2019, mandatory spending has increased by 59
percent.
(3) This debt poses a significant risk to the country's
long-term fiscal sustainability, with implications for future
generations.
(4) Mandatory spending currently accounts for over 70
percent of the entire Federal budget.
(5) The deficit for fiscal year 2025 is projected to be
$1.9 trillion, or 6.2 percent of GDP.
(6) This fiscal year, net interest will total $952 billion,
or 3.2 percent of GDP.
(b) Policy on Mandatory Spending Reduction.--It is the goal
of this concurrent resolution to reduce mandatory spending by
$2 trillion over the budget window. If the combined deficit
reduction provided by authorizing committees is below this
target, it is the policy of the Committee on the Budget of
the House that the instruction provided to the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House should be reduced by a
commensurate amount to offset the difference.

SEC. 4003. POLICY STATEMENT ON GOVERNMENT DEREGULATION.

(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) Regulations throughout the Federal Government have been
a major issue for decades, continuously growing while
negatively impacting the nation's economic and fiscal
standing.
(2) Overregulation has consistently hurt small businesses,
strangled domestic energy production, weakened labor market
conditions, and expanded government overreach and costs on
taxpayers.
(3) Real (inflation-adjusted) spending on regulatory
agencies has increased exponentially since 1960. The total
number of pages in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has
increased from 22,877 pages in 1960 to nearly 200,000 today.
When compared to 1950, the CFR contained only 9,745 pages in
1950, making the size of the CFR today 95% larger than it was
in 1950.
(b) Policy Statement on Government Deregulation.--It is the
policy of this concurrent resolution--
(1) that Congress continues to examine ways to relieve the
burdens of overregulation throughout the Federal Government;
(2) that Congress is ready to promote initiatives that will
reduce government bureaucracy, enhance Federalism, and
increase economic prosperity through deregulation;
(3) to not only reduce burdensome, costly regulations, but
to also reassert the role of Congress; and
(4) to enact legislation through reconciliation that
strengthens Congress, scales back Federal regulations, limits
future bureaucratic red tape, and unleashes economic growth,
such as the Regulations from the Executive in Need of
Scrutiny (REINS) Act.

TITLE V--OTHER MATTERS

SEC. 5001. ENFORCEMENT FILING IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.

In the House of Representatives, if a concurrent resolution
on the budget for fiscal year 2025 is adopted without the
appointment of a committee of conference on the disagreeing
votes of the two Houses with respect to this concurrent
resolution on the budget, for the purpose of enforcing the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) and
applicable rules and requirements set forth in the concurrent
resolution on the budget, the allocations provided for in
this section shall apply in the House of Representatives in
the same manner as if such allocations were in a joint
explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on the
budget for fiscal year 2025. The chair of the Committee on
the Budget of the House of Representatives shall submit a
statement for publication in the Congressional Record
containing--
(1) for the Committee on Appropriations, committee
allocations for fiscal year 2025 consistent with title I for
the purpose of enforcing section 302 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633); and
(2) for all committees other than the Committee on
Appropriations, committee allocations consistent with title I
for fiscal year 2025 and for the period of fiscal years 2025
through 2034 for the purpose of enforcing section 302 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633).

SEC. 5002. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(a) In General.--In the House of Representatives,
notwithstanding section 302(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(a)(1)), section 13301 of the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 632 note), and section
2009a of title 39, United States Code, the report or the
joint explanatory statement accompanying this concurrent
resolution on the budget or the statement filed pursuant to
section 5001, as applicable, shall include in an allocation
under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
(2 U.S.C. 633(a)) to the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives amounts for the discretionary
administrative expenses of the Social Security Administration
and the United States Postal Service.
(b) Special Rule.--In the House of Representatives, for
purposes of enforcing section 302(f) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(f)), estimates of the level
of total new budget authority and total outlays provided by a
measure shall include any discretionary amounts described in
subsection (a).

[[Page H823]]

SEC. 5003. APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF CHANGES IN ALLOCATIONS,
AGGREGATES, AND OTHER BUDGETARY LEVELS.

(a) Application.--Any adjustments of allocations,
aggregates, and other budgetary levels made pursuant to this
concurrent resolution shall--
(1) apply while that measure is under consideration;
(2) take effect upon the enactment of that measure; and
(3) be published in the Congressional Record as soon as
practicable.
(b) Effect of Changed Allocations, Aggregates, and Other
Budgetary Levels.--Revised allocations, aggregates, and other
budgetary levels resulting from these adjustments shall be
considered for the purposes of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) as the allocations,
aggregates, and other budgetary levels contained in this
concurrent resolution.
(c) Budget Committee Determinations.--For purposes of this
concurrent resolution, the levels of new budget authority,
outlays, direct spending, new entitlement authority,
revenues, deficits, and surpluses for a fiscal year or period
of fiscal years shall be determined on the basis of estimates
made by the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the
applicable House of Congress.
(d) Aggregates, Allocations and Application.--In the House
of Representatives, for purposes of this concurrent
resolution and budget enforcement, the consideration of any
bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or conference
report thereon, for which the chair of the Committee on the
Budget makes adjustments or revisions in the allocations,
aggregates, and other budgetary levels of this concurrent
resolution shall not be subject to the point of order set
forth in clause 10 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.

SEC. 5004. ADJUSTMENTS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN CONCEPTS AND
DEFINITIONS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

In the House of Representatives, the chair of the Committee
on the Budget may adjust the appropriate aggregates,
allocations, and other budgetary levels in this concurrent
resolution for any change in budgetary concepts and
definitions consistent with section 251(b)(1) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C.
901(b)(1)).

SEC. 5005. ADJUSTMENT FOR CHANGES IN THE BASELINE.

In the House of Representatives, the chair of the Committee
on the Budget may adjust the allocations, aggregates, and
other appropriate budgetary levels in this concurrent
resolution to reflect changes resulting from the
Congressional Budget Office's updates to its baseline for
fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

SEC. 5006. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.

Congress adopts the provisions of this title--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such
they shall be considered as part of the rules of each House
or of that House to which they specifically apply, and such
rules shall supersede other rules only to the extent that
they are inconsistent with such other rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either the Senate or the House of Representatives to change
those rules (insofar as they relate to that House) at any
time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as is the
case of any other rule of the Senate or House of
Representatives.

The Acting CHAIR. Under the rule, the committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Womack) having assumed the chair, Mr. Simpson, Acting Chair of the
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the concurrent
resolution (H. Con. Res. 14) establishing the congressional budget for
the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the
appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034, and,
pursuant to House Resolution 161, he reported the concurrent
resolution, as amended by that resolution, back to the House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further consideration of H. Con.
Res. 14 is postponed.

____________________