[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING

  (Ms. FRIEDMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FRIEDMAN. Mr. Speaker, the power of the purse belongs to 
Congress, not to the President, and this has nothing to do with our 
current President Donald Trump. This is in the Constitution, and it is 
clear as day, and it has been affirmed over and over again by the 
Supreme Court.
  Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to 
have it both ways. They want to let Elon Musk, an unelected 
billionaire, wreck our government with illegal cuts, but they seem to 
lack the courage of their convictions to actually vote on these cuts. 
They lack that courage because they know how toxic these cuts are, deep 
cuts to healthcare, cuts to childcare, cuts that help the most 
vulnerable among us.
  They won't even allow a vote on my amendment when all it would do is 
force the President to follow the Constitution. I am here with a simple 
request for my Republican colleagues.
  Abide by your oath. Stand up for the Constitution. Allow a vote on 
this amendment. Stand up for your own constituents. Stand up for your 
own constitutional authority. That is what we are elected to do. That 
is why we are here. It is one of the main reasons we are here. Do not 
give our authority as Congress away to an unelected bureaucrat.

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