    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
    [House]
    [Pages H839-H840]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                       AMERICANS DESERVE FACTS, NOT FEAR

      The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Norman). The Chair recognizes the
    gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) for 5 minutes.
      Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, let's be very clear about something. Last
    night, the House budget resolution passed, unfortunately on a very
    partisan, party-line vote, but indeed it did pass.
      One thing it does not do is cut Medicaid. It is right here in this
    document. There is no mention of cutting Medicaid or even the words
    ``Medicaid,''

    [[Page H840]]

    ``Medicare,'' ``SNAP,'' or ``Social Security'' in this document that
    passed last night.
      Any claim to the contrary is actually fear-mongering, plain and
    simple, or I guess in my neighborhood it would be known as a lie that
    is being perpetuated to put fear in people and to drive anger at the
    majority party and have unruly townhalls because people are being fed
    lies.
      It needs to come to a stop. We need to have an honest debate, an
    honest conversation, around here about how we are going to get our
    government back on a track that doesn't lead us to endless, massive
    deficits in our budget each year. We are still on track for $2
    trillion, upside down, following COVID spending.

      COVID is over with. We need to get back to at least pre-COVID levels
    of spending with an opportunity to actually balance our budget, where
    it might be only $700 billion, $800 billion, or $900 billion upside
    down.
      The only way we are going to take a bite out of the national debt is
    to actually bring the lines together and have our budget balanced. We
    can do that with limited spending and a strong economy. My
    understanding from years ago is that if the growth of spending was only
    1 percent, these two lines would meet.
      We need to have a little bit of discipline around here. That is what
    was being sought in the budget resolution.
      This budget resolution is not the final say. It actually is a roadmap
    for moving forward on the fiscal year `25 budget. It does not make
    final spending decisions. Those are still to be debated and heard in
    committee on TV in front of the people on C-SPAN and in the committee
    process that folks can attend.
      It includes instructions for committees to review and adjust spending
    and revenue priorities, but it does not dictate specific program cuts,
    unlike the lies that are being spread all over in this Chamber, in
    committees, and in the media.
      Reconciliation is indeed a standard budget process that will be taken
    up. The resolution instructs 11 committees to find ways to either
    reduce wasteful spending or invest in key priorities.
      These committees have until March 27 to develop their proposals, so
    nothing is set in stone yet. No lies are needed. This is how budgeting
    has always worked. Democrats know that. Republicans know it.
    Unfortunately, on the other side of the aisle, they would rather scare
    people than be honest about this process, and indeed, honesty is very
    much needed in order to get a harness back on the profligate spending
    that has happened in this place over the last few years.
      We need to have honest conversations about these programs. My good
    colleague, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), speaks about
    this frequently. Social Security will be on the rocks by 2031, 2032,
    2033, when that trust fund actually goes empty. Are we going to do
    something about it, or are we going to have lies and distortions about
    what is actually happening with that? Do we want to fix it as much as
    we can ahead of time while we still have some runway to do so, or do we
    want to just have lies about this and not try to do anything about it?
      I think we were instructed by the voters to do something about it and
    try to have these programs be salvaged so they aren't on the rocks in
    just 5, 6, or 7 years.
      We need to have the allocations of taxpayer dollars that come from
    the hardworking taxpayers. Frequently these are called
    ``contributions.'' These are not contributions. They are compelled.
    Otherwise, people come take your stuff, and maybe you go to jail.
      These tax dollars need to be respected as the work of the people.
    When we make these allocations, whether it is for national defense,
    border security, or tax relief for hardworking Americans, let's be
    honest about it and get it done.
      This legislation is indeed focused on that and is an ongoing effort
    with budget reconciliation and the work of DOGE. We are hearing all
    this bad stuff about DOGE. It has had a few fits and starts, but
    doggone it, it is getting to the bottom of a lot of wasteful spending.
      Each time they flip over the rocks, more cockroaches run out, and we
    find more things with bad contracts or spending that is not even a
    priority that any normal American can even think up.
      In my home State of California, they are still seeking more money for
    that high-speed rail system that started out in 2008 for a price of $33
    billion. The price has quadrupled now to $130 billion. Is that a
    bargain for Americans? Is that a bargain for Californians?
      They have already tapped all the money they can at the local level,
    $9 billion of State money and about $3.5 billion of that ARRA money.
    Remember that shovel-ready so-called stimulus money back in 2009? They
    already tapped that.
      They have what is called the cap-and-trade tax in California, which
    raises about a billion dollars per year. It is like a new currency now.
    It taps into the producers of carbon dioxide in the State and makes
    them pay a ransom to continue to produce whatever manufacturing they
    do.
      This budget resolution is a good start, but it is not the final
    document. We will be working on that in the light of day in front of
    the people.

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