[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 21, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2201-H2202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         BIG, BAD BILL IS CRUEL

  (Ms. Bonamici of Oregon was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, the news today is about a bill. It is a 
big bill. The Republicans' big, bad bill is cruel, coldhearted, and 
completely unnecessary. It is not even fiscally responsible. It is 
actually going to add to the deficit.
  This massive bill, which is more than a thousand pages, was and is 
being negotiated behind closed doors. The debate started at 1 o'clock 
in the morning, in the darkness of night. This bill is going to strip 
healthcare and food assistance from millions of Americans so 
billionaires can get trillions of dollars in tax breaks.
  Mr. Speaker, who is afraid of the big, bad bill? A lot of people are, 
and for good reason. Make no mistake, if you rip healthcare away from 
millions of Americans, people will die.
  Right now, this is the largest Medicaid cut in American history. In 
fact, a headline today summarizing the Congressional Budget Office 
score on this bill said: ``Wealthy gain, low-income people lose from 
GOP megabill.'' They are right.
  There are about 1.4 million Oregonians on Medicaid, including one in 
three children. I challenge my colleagues to go to a pediatric cancer 
wing and tell a child with leukemia and their parents that they can no 
longer afford lifesaving treatment. If my colleagues don't have the 
courage to tell them to their face, then don't support this bill.
  This bill takes food from hungry children. SNAP helps more than 
775,000 Oregonians, 50 percent of whom are children, put food on the 
table. This bill would lead to a significant reduction in food benefits 
for families.
  I guess billionaires can eat caviar in their mansions or on their 
yachts while launching celebrities in rockets on vanity tours of space, 
but everyday Americans will be left unsure about whether they will have 
enough to feed their families.
  The top 20 percent of income earners are going to get at least 68 
percent of the benefits in the bill, while Oregonians and Americans who 
benefit from Medicaid and SNAP will be left to suffer.
  Student loan borrowers could be in debt until they die because of 
this big, bad bill. Many students who get Pell grants will be harmed. 
The bill will raise monthly student loan payments for working- and 
middle-class borrowers, affecting 15 million people across the country. 
That includes more than 50,000 Oregonian students and families who, 
with this bill, will have limited options for repayment relief. No 
question, unless you are from a wealthy family, this bill will close 
the doors of opportunity for the next generation to access affordable 
college.
  Families will pay more for groceries, gas, insurance, and utilities, 
but oil companies and corporate executives will get tax breaks. This 
bill will hike the average household electricity bill by about 10 
percent, forcing families to pay more while corporate polluters are 
getting a windfall. Nationwide, families would pay an extra $6 billion.
  Republicans are going to make it easier for corporate polluters to 
poison our water and air. We will see an increase in the number of 
wildfires and floods that devastate communities, and that will lead to 
continued skyrocketing insurance premiums and property damage.
  Farmers and ranchers are collateral damage. This bill green-lights 
more drilling and mining that will spoil water supplies used for 
irrigation and livestock, poisoning the land while fossil fuel CEOs 
profit.
  Public lands belong to all Americans, not billionaire donors, but 
Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are going to privatize, 
drill, and destroy them for profit. That will eviscerate the very 
spaces that make us America the beautiful.
  Finally, tucked into this bill is a 10-year block on State regulation 
of artificial intelligence, which might make sense if we had policies 
at the Federal level for safety, security, and bias. We don't, so the 
public will face uncharted and unchecked harm.
  For all these reasons and more, I oppose this misguided legislation, 
and I urge every one of my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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