[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 74 (Monday, May 5, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1843-H1849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms.
Kamlager-Dove of California was recognized for 60 minutes as the
designee of the minority leader.)
General Leave
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this
Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise
today to coanchor this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour,
along with the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown), my distinguished
colleague.
For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to
speak directly to the American people on the harmful policies of Donald
Trump's first 100 days in his second term, an issue of great importance
to the Congressional Black Caucus, to the Congress in general, to
constituents that we represent across this country, and really to any
living, breathing person on this planet.
The first 100 days of this administration have been about policies
that are delusional, diabolical, destructive, and dangerous. These have
been doozy policies and politics that are doing nothing but hurting
America, and especially Black Americans.
We are also going to be talking about so many of these policies that
seem uniquely targeted to focus on the place and the progress of Black
Americans. Make no mistake, if you are trying to hurt Black Americans,
you are inadvertently also going to hurt all other Americans because so
many folks are dependent on Section 8 vouchers, on Social Security, on
Medicaid, on Medicare, on an economy that is working, on not being
tariffed up the wazoo so that we can be able to purchase goods and
services that we need to keep this economy growing.
The American people need a moment of peace and structure coming from
this administration, not the chaos and the ringing of alarms every
single moment.
This is not hyperbole, even though it might sound like it. This is
not partisan spin. We have seen this when we have gone into our
districts, when we have hosted townhalls, when we have talked to the
American people. Everyone is saying the same thing. How can we protect
our Constitution, protect our economy, protect our way of life, our
freedoms, our liberties; not deport us? What is this administration
doing to help us rather than to hurt and harm and divide us?
The power of this country is in the people. For the next 60 minutes,
the Congressional Black Caucus is going to be speaking to the people in
crystal clear ways, using crystal clear words about how we are on the
brink, if not through the door, of a constitutional crisis, of an
economic, of a political, of a moral crisis, and a crisis of the very
identity of this country.
It is often said that when America has a cold, Black America has
pneumonia. Let me tell you something. We are all up in urgent care and
in the community clinics and in the hospitals because we are all sick
right now.
We cannot afford another 100 days of the 100 days that we have just
seen.
I have so much more that I want and that I will say, but I yield to
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown) to share some words before we
allow members of the Congressional Black Caucus to also speak to the
American people.
Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, (Ms.
Kamlager-Dove), my dear friend and colleague for leading our CBC
Special Order hour this evening.
Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate Ms. Kamlager-Dove's voice in
Congress, from the way she fights for her constituents in Los Angeles,
to her work on the Judiciary Committee. She is such a strong advocate.
On the Oversight Committee, we are doing similar work, trying to
provide the American people with some amount of transparency and
accountability because we have a President who doesn't think that the
rules apply to him.
Here we are tonight to talk about Trump's first 100 days.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage people watching--shout out to my mom and
dad. I know we have at least two viewers tonight. For the others, I
encourage them to check out Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove's social media
series titled ``Is This Stuff Legal?''
She is doing a great job breaking down how this has been a lawless
White House from day one, and the truth is time and time again what
this administration has been doing has not been legal.
In fact, in Trump's first 100 days, more than 220 lawsuits were filed
directly challenging his agenda. Federal judges have issued over 130
court orders blocking or pausing those actions. If we do the math,
Trump is being sued more than twice a day, and he is losing in court
more than once a day.
[[Page H1844]]
They have tried to fire Federal workers without cause, detain and
deport people without due process, freeze and deny congressionally
appropriated funds, and seize sensitive taxpayer information through
the Treasury and Social Security.
This is why Trump's White House is now ignoring Federal courts and
openly ignoring the Constitution. He doesn't have a mandate. He doesn't
have the votes in Congress, and he doesn't have a legal agenda, so he
wants to ignore the law.
We should not be surprised by this. Trump said he was going to be a
dictator on day one. He told us this is what he was going to do. I
personally don't know of any dictators who stop being a dictator on
their own.
We have got to fight back, and we have got to fight back in Congress,
in the courts, and in the community.
My constituents in Cleveland and people across the country are
counting on us to stand up, fight back, and use every tool we have to
oppose this agenda because this has been 100 days of chaos, cruelty,
and cuts.
The Trump administration has broken the economy, broken the law, and
broken our alliances.
In just 100 days, this White House has shrunk the economy, raised
prices, and put us on track for a recession.
Now, President Biden handed him the strongest economy in the world,
and Trump is running it into the ground, which really isn't surprising
because this is a man who could not make money running a casino; not to
mention the fact that he filed bankruptcy six times.
{time} 1930
The disastrous policies of this White House are hurting the entire
country, absent a few of his billionaire buddies, of course, but it is
the people that many of us represent that are the most at risk.
This is a White House that constantly diminishes and dismisses Black
achievement; a White House that blames anything and everything on
diversity, equity, and inclusion; a White House that is trying to
defund our public safety programs and our police; a White House that is
trying to defund our schools, and a White House that has rolled back
Federal antidiscrimination policies that have been on the books since
1965--that is right--since 1965.
In his first week, President Trump revoked the ``Equal Employment
Opportunity'' executive order that prohibited racial discrimination for
Federal contractors.
Let's be clear: They aren't hiding this agenda to make discrimination
legal again.
That is why I filed legislation to restore those policies, and I am
proud to have had over 60 cosponsors in the House, including many of my
colleagues here this evening.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a disastrous 100 days, but I feel the worst
is yet to come.
This week, the Republican-led committees are working on Trump's
Republican rip-off, a plan to take from our constituents so that they
can give to the ultrawealthy and the very well-connected. We are
talking about healthcare and taking away Medicaid coverage. We are
talking about nutrition and taking away SNAP benefits from families and
so much more, because the budget they voted for called for $880 billion
in cuts to Medicaid and $230 billion in cuts to SNAP.
Here is the reality: 21 percent of my district is living below the
poverty line and 30 percent of children are in poverty. I represent
280,000 people on Medicaid, 160,000 people on SNAP. These aren't just
numbers; these are real people. Sadly, this White House isn't listening
to them, so it is up to us to amplify their voices tonight, today, and
every day.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove, for
leading this Special Order hour.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Brown from Ohio
for her remarks.
As you can see, Congresswoman Brown was breaking it down, she was
keeping it real, and she was bringing the receipts. That is what the
Congressional Black Caucus does each and every day. We break it down
for the American people, we keep it real for the American people, and
we bring the receipts for the American people. The problem is there are
so many receipts to share right now in just 100 days, we don't have
enough tote bags for all the receipts.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia, Congresswoman
Lucy McBath, to share remarks.
Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank so much my esteemed colleagues,
Representative Kamlager-Dove and Representative Brown, for their
leadership in tonight's CBC Special Order hour. It is the most
opportune time for us to be able to talk directly to the American
people about the truth of this White House and its administration.
Mr. Speaker, last week marked the first 100 days of the second Trump
administration, and on behalf of my constituents in Georgia and an
ever-growing number of American people, I am here tonight to continue
speaking out against the chaos, the division, and the indefensible
hatred that is being sown by this President and this administration.
Just over 100 days in and the American people are exceedingly worried
and exhausted. They are exhausted by the uncertainty that has defined
this Presidency. They are fatigued by the endless cascade of bad news
from every corner of our Federal Government. They are bone weary by the
fear of the impact these reckless actions continue to have on our
working families.
For Black Americans, in particular, the Trump administration has made
direct attacks on our communities and emboldened extreme hatred and
bigotry. The symbolism of using the Presidency to eliminate
foundational programs cannot be understated. He has used the most
powerful office to dismantle foundational policies and scapegoat the
American citizens.
These attacks have material consequences: The uncertainty surrounding
the future of longstanding Federal programs harms the most vulnerable
populations that we serve.
Just last week, I toured a Head Start site in my home State of
Georgia and heard directly from parents and educators about the vital
role these childcare programs play in supporting the economic success
of families with young children. Head Start affords working families
the peace of mind that their children will be cared for and educated
during the workday.
Recent White House budget documents show that the administration has
backed down, for now, in some of their attacks on Head Start and the
resources that are helping our families, but we can't stop our advocacy
until these programs are absolutely protected.
The continued actions of the so-called Department of Government
Efficiency, DOGE, to dismantle the Federal workforce also have a
devastatingly outsized impact on Black Americans. Federal Government
work has long been a path to upward mobility for those seeking a career
in public service and the elimination of tens of thousands of positions
across our Federal workforce will continue to hurt families in our
communities.
I grew up in the heart of the civil rights movement. As a child, I
saw my father and my mother take a stand against those who legislated
against our freedoms and our rights as Americans. Mr. Speaker, 60 years
later, those same forces are animating the actions of this
administration. We cannot afford to go back in time. Though I know so
many across the country are dealing with the feelings of exhaustion and
hopelessness, we cannot grow complacent. We cannot succumb to the
forces of fear, hatred, and bigotry.
The work the Congressional Black Caucus and House Democrats are
taking up just reinforces our resistance to the division that we are
living and seeing at this very moment. Together, we are using every
legislative tool at our disposal to fight back against these reckless
actions.
Mr. Speaker, I, once again, want America to know that the Democrats
and the Congressional Black Caucus and all of the other tri-caucuses
are fighting every single day for you. We are using our voices to speak
up and sound the alarm on the harm this administration is causing
communities all across this country and we are doing so with
unflappable energy and determination.
As Democrats, we know that our light shines in the darkness and the
darkness shall not overcome it. Just as I sang as a little girl during
the civil
[[Page H1845]]
rights movement: ``Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall
overcome someday.''
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Lucy McBath
from the great State of Georgia for her remarks, and I am grateful that
she talked about DOGE because the reality is that DOGE has not found
any substantive evidentiary fraud in all of their work these past 100
days.
If they had, they would be blasting it across every social media
platform and every network. They probably would be making stamps and
stamping your head with all of the fraud that they have found, but that
is not the case.
What they have been doing, however, is harassing and intimidating and
disrespecting our workers, creating a hostile environment for our
Federal workers, intimidating them to resign or to leave, mostly
because of ideology, not because of the work they are doing.
We have to continue to tell the truth, which is that government is
people. Government works because of people. When you have a healthcare
claim, when you are trying to get your insurance, when you are trying
to apply for FEMA, when you are trying to get your Social Security
payment, when you are trying to get access to your Medicaid or your
Medicare benefits, when you are trying to find a nursing home facility,
when you are trying to get a passport, when you are trying to call in
to the government to get the help that you deserve from the government
that we have all pledged to provide for you, there ain't going to be
nobody to answer the phone when you call because DOGE and this
administration are actually working overtime to make sure that you
don't have access to government.
The policies of this administration are working overtime to try to
make sure that there will be no government and they are painting it all
under the auspices of Black folks because somehow they think that Black
America is responsible for so many of the ills that they are trying to
cure.
Once again, as Representative Brown shared, the diversity, the
equity, and the inclusion, and when last I checked, this country was
founded on all of those things. It has been made great because of all
of those things.
When we talk about DOGE, I know one thing for sure is that these
folks working for DOGE are actually squatting in the departments where
they have worked to terminate Federal workers, and they are bringing in
washers and dryers and mattresses and all their kids, living rent-free
in departments that are actually designed and structured to answer the
call and to take care of the needs that you have as a citizen, as a
constituent, as an American. We have to talk about that. That is the
fraud.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas, the Honorable
Jasmine Crockett, and you know that she is going to bring receipts. I
know she has a trunk full of them.
Ms. CROCKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank so much my amazing colleague from
the great State of California for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a simple but clear message. First of
all, I just have to clear up a few things. Instead of the President
cosplaying as the next Pope, he may want to try to cosplay as an actual
President of these United States. That means that he may have to do a
little bit of research and decide that he wants to understand that he
swore an oath, and this oath was to protect and defend the
Constitution. That is the oath that he was supposedly taking on January
20.
We may want as well that the President look into what the Declaration
of Independence was about. We may want him to understand that there was
a foundational document as relates to self-determination of those who
had recently gained their independence from Great Britain.
I hoped that he would maybe spend a few of these days in his first
100 days doing that. It is sad to say it is his second term, and he
doesn't understand that the Declaration of Independence is about this
idea that we are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness, and that is for all of us that are here.
Let's go through some of the things that he did manage to do and some
of the havoc that he has managed to wreak.
In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, we have had to,
unfortunately, endure a lot of pain. This administration clearly is not
ready to lead. They are only here to tear down.
{time} 1945
In just 100 days, we have witnessed an administration hell-bent on
dismantling the very systems designed to protect the most vulnerable
amongst us. For Black Americans, those of us who have always carried
the weight of a broken system and bad policies, the danger is real, it
is tangible, and it is urgent.
Let me be clear: The last 100 days have not been an accident or a
fluke. He has done exactly what he said he was going to do. He gave us
the blueprint in Project 2025. Some tried to warn us of the dangers
and, well, here we are.
Let's talk about education. Within weeks of taking office, the
Department of Education quietly rescinded guidance encouraging schools
to teach honest, inclusive Black history. Instead, they are attempting
to whitewash history and have begun promoting so-called patriotic
education, a sanitized version of history that skips over slavery, Jim
Crow, redlining, and systemic racism.
He signed an executive order reinstating ``commonsense discipline
practices in school,'' rolling back previous administrations' attempts
to address racial disparities in school discipline practices. Make no
mistake: These decisions have a direct impact on Black children,
children who deserve a fair shot to learn in safe and supportive
environments.
Let's talk about housing. HUD announced plans to gut fair housing
rules meant to fight discrimination. Those are the same ones that he
violated back when he was a landlord so many years ago. Yeah, those
same rules that were supposed to fight discrimination in lending and
zoning. This means there will be even more roadblocks for Black
families trying to buy a home and yet another generation locked out of
building wealth.
Let's talk about public safety. While they are cutting afterschool
programs and community violence prevention, they are pouring millions
of dollars into militarizing police departments. They are criminalizing
our communities while stripping away the very resources that keep us
safe.
Finally, money talks, so let's talk money. This administration
slashed funding of seven government agencies that provide Black
communities with educational materials and economic opportunities,
including the Minority Business Development Agency, the only Federal
agency dedicated to uplifting minority businesses. This agency helped
entrepreneurs all across the country, including in my own district,
keep their doors open and their workers employed. Now, it is under
attack.
While all of this is happening, they are dismantling environmental
protections in environmental justice, slashing funding for HBCUs, and
rolling back civil rights enforcement across Federal agencies. Let me
repeat what that means. To roll back civil rights enforcement across
Federal agencies, this is the so-called DEI attacks that we continue to
endure in this country. This is their way of trying to roll back the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 that so many died and bled for.
Mr. Speaker, this is not just about policy disagreement. This is
about direct attacks on Black futures, Black prosperity, and Black
freedom. This is about right versus wrong, point blank. But here is
what they don't understand. We have seen this playbook, and every time
they have attempted to silence us, erase us, and hold us down, we have
resisted and we have pushed this country closer to the ideals it claims
to hold.
They are trying to bury us, but what they don't realize is that we
are seeds and still we rise. I stand here a proud Black woman and a
proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I refuse to stand
by while this administration tries to turn back the hands of time. We
will resist. We will continue speaking truth to power, and we will keep
organizing until everybody is free because, in the words of Fannie Lou
Hamer, nobody is free until everybody is free.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Jasmine
Crockett for her remarks and for always keeping it real. I will
reiterate
[[Page H1846]]
some of the things that she said, which is that this administration has
been targeting Black Americans, possibly because they are so afraid of
our shine. This administration and its policies have certainly been
laser focused on trying to tear down Black women. You don't have to
connect too many dots to understand why that is.
I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) to break it down
for us and share some of his receipts.
Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, my
colleague from Ohio, and the previous speakers. It is an honor to be
here, not just as a Member of Congress, but to be here as a member of
the Congressional Black Caucus, especially at a time like this.
I rise today not just with concern, but with alarm. In his first 100
days back in the White House, Donald Trump has unleashed a full-blown
assault on America, on our institutions, on our workers, on the rule of
law, and on democracy itself. This is not leadership. This is a broken
promise.
I will talk a little bit as we go forward about the promises that now
President Trump made during the campaign, especially with respect to
the economy. He said he was going to put money back in people's
pockets, but as we have seen dramatically in the first 100 days, it has
been quite the opposite.
I had one friend tell me that his 401(k) had turned into a 101(K)
after Trump put his destructive tariffs in place. It has been damaging
not just for people who own stocks, not just for people who are small
business owners, but for every American across the country.
Unfortunately, it looks like it is going to get worse in short order.
I will start first with government workers. The President promised to
tackle government waste, but it has been anything but that, as we have
seen his administration systematically targeted the Federal workforce,
gutting critical agencies, sidelining career professionals, and pushing
out civil servants not for failing to do their jobs, but for doing them
too well.
I will talk about the waste piece for just a moment here, too. I know
they said he is out here trying to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, but we
know that is not right because one of the first things he did was fire
the investigators who were in charge of ferreting out waste, fraud, and
abuse. They are called inspectors general. He fired 18 of them all at
once almost on his first day in office, so you know he is not trying to
cut back on waste, fraud, and abuse.
What he is trying to do actually is eliminate nonpolitical Federal
workers, people who have gotten their positions based on merit, people
who are distinguished in their careers, have outstanding experience,
great credentials, but he is trying to force them out so he can replace
them with people who are politically loyal to him.
I just want to chat a little bit about the firing of these people
because I know a lot of folks across the country are not in love with
government workers. They think maybe it is a good thing to get rid of
government workers, but I am asking people to keep in mind the dire
consequences of these terminations.
For example, he terminated people who were running clinical trials at
NIH, clinical trials on things like Alzheimer's, cancer, and measles.
Take the measles one, for example. I ran into a woman at a church I was
attending a few weeks ago. She had a Ph.D., and she was working on a
clinical trial in measles. The idea was to figure out how to address
the measles outbreak that has just been happening.
On that front, think about this: Basically, measles had been
eradicated in the United States. At this point, though, last I heard a
few days ago, we have 2,000 people in the United States who are now
suffering from measles, and we have actually had two people die--one of
them a child--from measles, something that has been eradicated, and we
have been addressing for decades now, but it is catching its steam
again and starting to kill more people.
The Alzheimer's piece is especially of concern to me. My father died
from Alzheimer's, and watching that happen is like ripping your heart
out. They had clinical trials going on Alzheimer's which were shut down
based on the terminations of the Trump administration.
The thing about clinical trials that you need to remember is it is
not like a light switch. You don't just switch it right back on again.
When you shut down a clinical trial, some of which have been running
for years and have cost thousands, potentially even millions of
dollars, you can't just start it right back up again. You have to start
over with those. The decision he made to shut down these clinical
trials will push back the ability to have cures for some of the most
debilitating and dangerous diseases facing humanity today.
Cuts to hospitals is another one. Now, closures of rural and urban
hospitals in many instances are going to be a result of the Medicaid
cuts that they are talking about making right now, and that is not just
President Trump, that is some of my House Republican colleagues here,
too.
Make no mistake: That is going to lead to hospitals closing in the
places where they are needed most. I just read an op-ed over the
weekend about a doctor who was working in a rural area, and his
hospital was dead center between hospitals that are 200 miles apart, so
if his hospital has to shut down, you would have to drive 100 miles
each way to get to another hospital. He talked about the emergency
surgery that they had performed once when there was an accident near
where his hospital was located. If they hadn't had the hospital there
and been able to provide the emergency treatment that they provided,
those people would have died. He is talking about closing these
hospitals down.
Make sure you understand, too, for many areas, this is the only
access to medical care that those communities have. Not only that,
those hospitals are economic engines for those communities because for
many of them, those are the jobs in those communities that the people
turn to and need the most.
Schools. Terminating title I funding or cutting it back to the extent
they have talked about I have been told could lead to the shutdown of a
number of schools, not just in urban areas, but in rural areas, as well
because the title I funding goes to teachers who are teaching at low-
income schools, based on the formulas that they use to make those
determinations.
You are going to have teachers being lost, teachers who were
terminated in the schools and districts where they are the most needed.
In many of these areas, those are the schools that are still trying to
catch up from the losses that were caused during the COVID outbreak. We
shouldn't be shutting these down. We should be expanding the resources
that they have, but those title I schools are at risk.
Firing veterans. When they fire these government workers, one thing
they don't seem to remember is that 30 percent of all government
workers across the country are veterans. Keep in mind, too, these
aren't just people in the D.C. metropolitan area. Eighty percent of
government workers live outside of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan
area. There are jurisdictions and States and communities across the
country, providing services that those communities need. They won't
miss the water until the well runs dry.
Mr. Speaker, I will stop with this one, just on the government cuts
piece. There have been cuts for victims of crime. There are VOCA cuts
and VAWA cuts. VOCA stands for Victims of Crime Act, VAWA stands for
Violence Against Women Act. These are the type of funds, grants that
have been making a difference in law enforcement across the country and
in fights against things like domestic violence and sexual abuse, and
he is making the cuts there, too.
It is not just there. I will chat a little bit about the rule of law
issue here, too. The President promised to uphold the law, as he must
do. All of us take an oath when we are sworn in--the President, all of
us in Congress, I even took one when I was elevated to become a Federal
prosecutor. He is not following that oath, though.
As a matter of fact, we have seen this administration illegally deny
due process rights despite a Supreme Court order to return my
constituent, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, back to the United States.
Just a moment on that. Kilmar was deported from the United States
even though a judge had given an order saying that he could not be sent
to El Salvador until another determination was
[[Page H1847]]
made. Not only did they send him to El Salvador in violation of that
order, they sent him to one of the worst jails in the world, which
houses MS-13, which is the exact group that that judge said he was
supposed to be kept away from. That is where they sent him.
The Supreme Court said: You need to facilitate his return. The Trump
administration has made no efforts whatsoever to do that. As a matter
of fact, President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office with President
Bukele, the President of El Salvador, and they were joking about it.
Last week, when President Trump did an interview, he said, yeah, he
could just pick up the phone and have him brought back, but he is not
going to do it, despite the Supreme Court order. There have been other
orders, too, that they are ignoring and not following.
This isn't just a problem for Mr. Garcia. Think about that 4-year-old
child who was deported last week, the one with stage IV cancer who was
sent out of the United States with no medicine, no chance to talk to
his doctor. Is that what America has become? Apparently that is what
Donald Trump thinks the people want.
I have to tell you, that is absolutely the wrong path for this Nation
to be taking. I know we want to deal with the immigration issue, but we
can't do it at the expense of children, and we can't do it at the
expense of violating basic due process rights.
{time} 2000
Guess what, Mr. Speaker? The judges who have told him that are not
just the Supreme Court but sometimes conservative Republican judges
like Judge Wilkinson in the Fourth Circuit based in Richmond. He is one
of the most conservative judges in the country and a Reagan appointee.
He chastised the Trump administration for violating basic due process.
Basically, he said it could not be more obvious than this, that a
person should have a chance to have his day in court before something
as drastic as deportation happens to him.
Not only did Trump ignore that but he talked about deporting American
citizens when he was sitting there with the President of El Salvador. I
raised concerns about that. I had Republican friends who got on me
about it. Guess what? The House Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Homeland Security had votes. The Democrats proposed
amendments that said let's make it illegal, let's make a ban on
deporting American citizens. Every Republican on both committees voted
against that ban. That is where we are right now.
Let me talk a little bit about tariffs. The President promised to
make our lives more affordable. He said America was too expensive. Yet,
his tariffs have sent the Nation into a tailspin. Mr. Speaker, I guess
you could say there are times when tariffs might make sense, but he did
it the exact worst way possible that it could be done. He did tariffs
on all countries and on all products at the exact same time.
There is no way that can work, and there is no reason to do it
because sometimes tariffs are placed on things that we don't even make
in the United States. We don't grow bananas. We don't grow coffee. We
don't grow chocolate. Why is he imposing tariffs on those items?
Then, the tariffs he imposed on some of our best allies, like Canada,
disrupted the automobile market. They are still struggling to try to
get their way. He backed off of the giant tariffs that he put in, but
he left 10 percent tariffs in place.
We are still in the middle of one of the worst trade wars we have
ever seen in human history based on--what is it?--140 percent now with
China. At some point, it is going to be zillions, I suppose, with those
sorts of tariffs.
The bottom line is it is going to take the country into a recession,
and we know it.
I hope that we get a sense of how to pull this back together. I saw
the President making comments, and he doubled down on them the other
day. This is the one about maybe kids will have to get just two dolls
instead of 30 dolls or something. Maybe it will cost a little bit more.
I guess that was his best ``bah, humbug'' imitation to sort of make
light of the fact that these tariffs that he has put in place are going
to make things more expensive for the American people.
That is in contrast and the exact opposite of what he promised to do
when he ran for office and was elected. That is not right.
President Trump, Elon Musk, and their billionaire buddies have pushed
a budget that is nothing short of a war on working families. While
Trump and House Republicans push for new handouts for the wealthy, we
have massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. The
same man who claims to champion the forgotten American is cutting
healthcare for the disabled, for children, and for seniors.
This is an administration that rules not with hope but with fear, and
it is using the machinery of government not to serve the people but to
punish the President's perceived enemies, including those who brought
January 6 rioters to justice. I will take just a moment on that.
He actually forced out the Department of Justice prosecutors who did
nothing but handle cases that they were supposed to handle. I guess he
is going to say that they were mishandled in some way. Guess what? The
prosecution of the January 6 rioters resulted in more than 1,000
convictions. My recollection is there might have been two or three
acquittals during that period, but everything else was a conviction.
Let's say even more people have been acquitted. That doesn't mean
these prosecutors did anything wrong. It certainly doesn't mean that
they should be forced out of their positions.
It is the same thing with the FBI agents. They sent over a list of
5,000 FBI agents to the Department of Justice. Guess what the common
denominator was? They had all worked on January 6 investigations.
Instead of our FBI agents focusing on terrorism or organized crime,
they have to look over their shoulders because they know the President
is coming after them.
He has the Department of Justice weaponized not to go after the
criminals but to go after career FBI agents who have done nothing but
serve the public and fight crime for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. As we move past 100 days, I will never
stop fighting for those I represent against the abuses of this
administration. We are not just battling over budgets. We are battling
over the future of the country we wish to have--not a government for
the wealthy and well-connected but a government that works for all
people.
This is not business as usual. House Democrats are standing up and
fighting back.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues for tonight and for pulling this
together and doing such an outstanding job in moving this forward. I am
thankful for the people out there, the people in communities across the
country who have come to rallies. Some are Democrats; some aren't. Some
are Republicans; some aren't. They are coming out to express their
concerns about the direction this Nation is taking.
Mr. Speaker, I thank them for doing that and for making sure they
remember that they have the ultimate power. They are the ones who
determine what happens with this democracy, and now is the time for
them to stand up and for us to stand with them.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Glenn Ivey for
his very sobering remarks.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor). The gentlewoman from California
has 16 minutes remaining.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I again want to add my thanks to
Representative Glenn Ivey for talking about healthcare and the fact
that this administration has been cutting grants to the National
Institutes of Health and cutting clinical trials.
Over the weekend, I was at an event. We had doctors and advocates who
talked about cancer, about breast cancer. This country is actually on
the precipice of discovering a vaccination for breast cancer, a cure
for breast cancer. We have amazing scientists in this country who have
been researching this, and they are at the point of clinical trials.
Mr. Speaker, I don't know if you know anyone in your family who is a
[[Page H1848]]
survivor of breast cancer or any other kind of cancer. Oftentimes, when
you go in and the surgeon puts you under to take it out, they don't
know if they have gotten all of it out. They hope that they have, but
for some odd reason, we have not advanced the technology to get all of
it out. We are now on the precipice of being able to do so.
Mr. Speaker, do you know what this administration did? Instead of
accelerating those clinical trials, instead of offering funding for
that research to continue, instead of wanting to be a champion of the
cure for cancer, this administration cut that research, cut that
funding, and cut those clinical trials. They cut funding to educational
institutions, to colleges, and to universities that are doing that kind
of research. They essentially cut off our future scientists,
innovators, and problem-solvers.
Our kids, who are investing their time, their money, our money, and
their sweat to go to school and get an education and learn enough to
help this country move forward and progress, are getting the short end
of the stick. They are actually being beaten on the head with a stick
that is held by this administration.
Representative Ivey talked about what is happening with the
judiciary. In fact, this President actually said he didn't know if he
even had to uphold the Constitution. Then, this administration is going
to sue Justice Roberts. We have moved from three branches of government
to one branch of government.
Republicans are silent tonight, just like they have been silent at
all the markups and all the hearings we have had this month. They are
silent, afraid, and unwilling to stand up for their constituents.
Mr. Speaker, they are only willing to defend this administration.
They are going to be tasked hard when they continue to have to go into
their districts and sell the fertilizer that they have to feed their
constituents, voters, Americans, the fertilizer coming out of this
administration designed to harm everyone that hasn't bent the knee.
Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield to the gentleman from the great State
of Rhode Island (Mr. Amo).
Mr. AMO. Mr. Speaker, as many of my colleagues in the Congressional
Black Caucus have laid out, Donald Trump has failed the American
people. That is why I am grateful to my colleagues, Representatives
Kamlager-Dove and Brown, for leading this Special Order hour.
Let's focus on these failures. In countless ways, Donald Trump has
failed the American people. He has failed to bring down prices for
families. He has failed to keep Americans safe. He has failed to heal
or even attempt or pretend to address the deep divides that plague this
country. In fact, he is making them worse.
Worse still, he has refused any kind of accountability for the
countless mistakes that he, Elon, and the crew have made over the past
100 days. When the stock market is up, that is because of him. When the
stock market tanks, that is Joe Biden's fault. If it doesn't get
better, that is Joe Biden's fault, too.
Mr. Speaker, no parent would accept this behavior from their child,
so why do we accept it from the President? No company would accept this
temperament from an employee, so why do we see this behavior normalized
by Republicans when we see this bad behavior in our Commander in Chief?
Mr. Speaker, surely, we can still tell the difference between right
and wrong. Certainly, we can do that right here in this Chamber.
Surely, when we see cancer research funding eliminated, when 2-year-old
citizens are deported, when the budget resolution calls for the largest
proposed cut to Medicaid ever, surely, we can say these things are
wrong, no?
The American people are calling for leadership. They are calling for
solutions to help them afford basic necessities. They want to be able
to tell their loved ones it is going to be okay, but they are not
getting that right now, especially in the Black community.
Instead, they are getting political theater about renaming the Gulf
of Mexico and military parades. They are getting authoritarian threats
about ignoring the Constitution and running for a third term.
It is unserious. It is unbecoming. It is wrong. Let's call it what it
is. It is dangerous.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, history will judge how all of us
respond to this moment. I think I know what side I want to be on. I
want to be on the side of the Congressional Black Caucus, the side of
the conscience of the Congress.
Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump has been a failure. Where he fails, we are
here. We will fight. We will fight for fairness, justice, and the
promise that has been denied far too many Americans for far too long.
May we continue down this righteous road today to fight and to march
on for all the battles that lie ahead.
{time} 2015
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Rhode
Island for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has 8 minutes remaining.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to be a member of
the Congressional Black Caucus, and I want to just share some of my own
stories coming from my district and also my experience.
I was in that Judiciary Committee where we had the hearing on
immigration, and I was in that Committee when Republicans voted to
deport and detain Americans, where they voted to allow for cavity
searches on children, where they voted to allow ICE to go into domestic
violence shelters, where they voted to allow January 6ers--those who
wreaked havoc on this Capitol, assaulted Capitol Police, and terrorized
everyone in this building--where they voted to allow them to work for
the Federal Government, including the Department of Homeland Security.
I ask: How can you deport an American? Where are you going to deport
an American to?
I don't understand.
I have yet to see anything from the Republicans or even from this
administration, can we get a poster, can we get a picture of what a
safe American looks like, what a nondeportable American looks like?
That is because I want to know. I want to be able to share that
picture and that photo with my constituents to say: So if you look like
this, if you are maybe this shape, if you have this degree of melanin,
if this is the color of your hair, or this is the color of your eyes,
or this is what you say, or if this is what kind of accent you have or
not, then you might be safe.
I think the American people need to know which one of them will be
deported next. I think the American people deserve to know which of
their Representatives is going to stand up for them. That is because I
know when the question was asked: Will you stand up for Americans and
prevent them from being deported? Raise your hand. Only Democrats
raised their hand.
I also have to ask when our loved ones and when our friends and
family members go overseas and they get snatched, are Republicans going
to pick up the phone and ask to have their constituents brought back?
Are they going to fight for them?
That is because in that Committee, they said that they were not going
to. They have said that they are not going to fight for their
healthcare, for Medicaid, for Medicare, and for Social Security.
I represent Los Angeles. People think it is flossy and glossy, I like
to say. However, I have the third highest Medicaid enrollee district in
the country. Mr. Speaker, 7 of the 10 highest Medicaid enrollee
districts in this country are in California, and some of them are
Republican districts.
I think we all want to know, Black Americans, White Americans, Asian
Americans, and Latino Americans, all Americans want to know: Are you
going to cut their Medicaid? Are you going to cut their Social
Security?
Mr. Speaker, 140,000 children under the age of 19 and 40,000 seniors
over the age of 65 in my district are at risk because of the policies
coming from this administration. Nearly 8 million Americans get
healthcare through Medicaid and through CHIP, which is on the chopping
block.
This President wants to cut $5.6 billion from the Department of
Education. The House Republicans' budget
[[Page H1849]]
includes $330 billion in cuts. Pell grants, school lunches, Head Start,
and everything are on the chopping block.
In my district, we have L.A. Unified School District. For many of the
kids who go to school, their only meal is when they go to school.
I am trying to figure out when folks say that they are Christian,
what kind of Bible are they using? That is because the Bible that I
have, Mr. Speaker, doesn't say that you starve children, that you cut
off their healthcare, and that you cut off the healthcare for their
grandparents.
Mr. Speaker, if your Bible says that, then I submit that maybe you
change your Bible. That is because that is unchristianlike to kill
seniors and children.
Let's talk about rolling back bedrock civil rights-era policies that
are designed to actually allow everyone the opportunity to compete and
participate in this marketplace. It is not about giving handouts. It is
about creating opportunity. It is about creating access to competition.
Mr. Speaker, why would you be afraid of that unless you are mediocre,
less than average, and need extra help because you can't compete?
Well, don't come for Black America. Fix yourself.
Let's talk about the workers who are the backbone of our economy, the
workers who run this government. I am always surprised when folks are
talking about unelected bureaucrats. Elon Musk is an unelected
bureaucrat. Keep it real. All the staff who help us do our jobs and
help our constituents are unelected bureaucrats, and the majority are
actually Republicans. The administration wants to cut the salaries that
allow folks to answer the phones for our constituents.
California has the second highest number of Federal workers.
Why are the Republicans going to cut that?
Mr. Speaker, might I remind you that we have the Olympics coming, we
have the FIFA World Cup coming, we have the All-Star Game, and Super
Bowl coming, and we are still producing movies and TV. We are helping
people with their passports and their visas. If Republicans want all
these games to be successful, then they have to resource the
departments that process the visas and applications that allow people
to come here. So let's keep it real.
Mr. Speaker, if you want to talk about housing, this administration
is proposing to terminate section 8, cutting rental aid and evicting
32,000 families from their homes. This President even refused to come
to Altadena after the urban fires. That is how little this
administration thinks about Black communities.
This administration is not interested in Black America, even though
this administration wanted to thank Black America.
What kind of thanks is that when they cut funding to HBCUs, when they
cut Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, and when they cut Meals on
Wheels and SNAP?
We are going to make America hungry again. We are going to make
America sick again. I have a binder full of actions from this
administration that have come out of this administration in just the
last 100 days. They are terrifying. Not only are they terrifying for
Black America, but they are terrifying for all America.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to happily close out this CBC Special Order
hour and remind America that we will be back again next week with more
information, more receipts, and more truth.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my co-lead, Congresswoman Shontel Brown from the
great State of Ohio, and all the members of the Congressional Black
Caucus who spoke tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
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