[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 21, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2204-H2205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BUDGET CUTS WILL HARM FAMILIES

  (Ms. Tlaib of Michigan was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)

[[Page H2205]]

  

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to talk about what is 
happening here in Congress in regard to the budget proposal. I can't 
believe that many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have larger 
numbers of folks on Medicaid, are proposing the largest cut to food 
assistance in the history of our country and the largest cut to 
Medicaid in the history of our country.
  Many are actually denying that they are even cutting them. That is a 
slap in the face of so many people who depend on it.
  Don't take it from me, Mr. Speaker, but take it from the 
Congressional Budget Office and many others who continue to say that 
nearly 14 million Americans will lose their healthcare, and thousands 
of people will be impacted by the proposal, the so-called 
reconciliation, that is going through this Chamber. We know that 
children and families will go hungry with this proposal.
  Our residents can't simply stop being hungry or stop being sick, Mr. 
Speaker. For me, being on the front lines of a community that continues 
to get left behind with policies here in this Chamber, I know they feel 
very much that this budget is a betrayal to our families. If it wasn't 
bad enough, this all is being done to give trillions of dollars--not 
billions or millions, but trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the 
billionaire class and the largest corporations--corporations that do 
not need these tax breaks.

  Don't worry, Mr. Speaker, there is a budget that got increased, which 
is the Pentagon and the defense budget. The war machine of the Pentagon 
budget can't pass an audit; seven audits in a row.
  I read somewhere that in the most recent audit failure, the Pentagon 
could not account for one-half of its assets. One-half is hundreds of 
billions of dollars that are unaccounted for.
  Many of my colleagues continue to talk about the deficit. I know this 
is a misnomer, but the Congressional Budget Office says that the 
deficit is being increased by $3.8 trillion.
  Why isn't there this outcry regarding that number?
  It only seems to be an outcry when we are trying to, again, feed 
children who are hungry or to help make sure that people, again, 
through no fault of their own getting sick, get covered by Medicaid.
  The budget would cut crucial programs for the poor and working 
families. That is a fact. It is not being made up. It is right there. 
It is going to take food away from hungry children. It will let people 
die from the lack of healthcare coverage. They are even cutting, again, 
trillions of dollars so that we can continue to fund a budget that 
can't pass an audit.
  One of the amendments that I am offering this morning, Mr. Speaker, 
is one of the ones that says: If the Pentagon can't pass an audit, then 
we shouldn't be able to fund them.
  I really believe no money for Pentagon waste. The amendment would 
prevent any funds, again, being allocated to this.
  Mr. Speaker, when you talk about waste and when you talk about fraud, 
you look at the Pentagon budget.
  However, instead, what did we do? We went to the most vulnerable. We 
went to the hungry, and we went to the sick. Why?
  It is because many of my colleagues in this Chamber own stock in war 
manufacturing, Mr. Speaker. That is a direct conflict of interest. So 
every time they increase the budget for defense, many of them are 
benefiting personally from that increase.
  There are no increases to helping the poor or helping the hungry, 
many of whom are in both Republican and Democratic districts.
  Again, many of my colleagues have a lot more people on Medicaid than 
my district does. Yet, here we are gaslighting and misleading the 
public and saying: We are not cutting it. We are not doing this or 
that.
  How is that possible in the Congressional Budget Office, a 
nonpartisan agency that many of my colleagues on the other side have 
quoted themselves, many of the people who are the so-called ``I am 
concerned about the deficit'' are increasing the deficit by $3.8 
trillion. Put that aside, the cruelty of it. I have an amendment in 
there that talks about the fact that we need to focus on reducing the 
rate of infant mortality.
  Why can't we work on that? Infant mortality is a national crisis 
right now. We can do that by ensuring that Medicaid covers all prenatal 
and postnatal care.
  Why can't we support that? Why can't we make sure prenatal and 
postnatal care are covered?
  I know over 40 percent of births in our country are covered by 
Medicaid, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am trying to propose these amendments 
to highlight the fact that these are very critical programs no matter 
where an individual lives in our country.
  We can also be ending child poverty and ensure that every child has 
the resources they need to reach their full potential. We should be 
talking about these critical issues, of funding these programs. It is 
our tax dollars going back to our neighbors who need it most.
  Instead of voting to make life easier, they are supporting polluters, 
corporations, and billionaires who do not need it.
  Please, I say to all my colleagues, they won't ask Speaker Johnson or 
the President why they voted this way.
  They are going to ask you when you go back to your district. Please 
do the right thing.

                          ____________________