[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 101 (Thursday, June 12, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H2661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RESCISSIONS PACKAGE IS FIRST STEP

  (Mr. Stutzman of Indiana was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Congress has a 
spending problem. We continue to spend taxpayer funds despite our $36 
trillion debt. This level of debt is massive, equaling over $323,000 
per taxpayer when split up among the taxpayers of this country.
  If that wasn't bad enough, when we look at this spending, billions of 
taxpayer dollars are wasted on frivolous efforts to support programs 
that have no benefit to taxpayers themselves.
  I was excited to see President Trump taking an unprecedented approach 
to curb excessive spending by our Federal agencies by establishing the 
Department of Government Efficiency. Since established, DOGE has 
illuminated the billions of dollars being drained on pointless projects 
that do nothing to help the American people.
  For example, DOGE has exposed million-dollar contracts, including $3 
million to support ``Sesame Street'' in Iraq and $6 million for net-
zero cities in Mexico. Funding for USAID programs is also frequently 
going to NGOs that work to promote their liberal agenda in the most 
conservative parts of the world.

  Just imagine $1 million going to one of the cities in our 
congressional districts and the impact that it could have there. It is 
a disgrace that Americans' hard-earned tax dollars are being used to 
support these programs and organizations under the guise of necessary 
foreign aid.
  In addition to this, Congress continues to prop up the Corporation 
for Public Broadcasting to promote public media stations like PBS and 
NPR. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to promote a narrative that 
demonizes one side of the aisle or another. Yet, that is exactly what 
these media stations continue to do. NPR and PBS have continued to have 
an ideological bias, promoting things like critical race theory and the 
LGBTQ agenda.
  From foreign aid to NPR, massive amounts of taxpayer dollars are 
wasted every day with little to no government oversight. Congress 
cannot continue to let blank checks go out the door without revisiting 
the way that these funds are used to help the American people.
  This is why I am proud to support the rescissions package sent to 
Congress by President Trump. This package will claw back $9.4 billion 
of wasteful government spending, including $8.3 billion allocated to 
dozens of wasteful programs at USAID and $1.1 billion to prop up the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
  This rescissions package is the first step in ensuring that taxpayer 
dollars are used to promote everyday Americans in very real ways.
  I look forward to passing this first rescission package and look 
forward to continuing to support the work of President Trump and the 
DOGE team to identify and eliminate wasteful government spending.


                    End Misuse of Emergency Spending

  Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, speaking of spending, outside of wasteful 
spending on international aid and public media, Congress has another 
problem contributing to the national debt: emergency spending.
  Over one-third of our current national debt, about $12 trillion, can 
be attributed to emergency spending. This is an addiction that needs to 
be remedied. Shockingly, money used on emergency spending is rarely 
paid back and most is never used for actual emergencies.
  For example, emergency spending during the COVID-19 pandemic spent 
$70 million on tourism marketing campaigns in Puerto Rico and another 
$6 million to replace irrigation systems at two golf courses. Other 
emergency spending bills have dished out $140 million for 
infrastructure improvements for Gulf Coast shipyards and $9.7 million 
for an assistance program to compensate eligible orchard tree losses.
  We cannot continue to use emergency spending to fill gaps in funding 
that weren't properly appropriated to begin with. This spending not 
only contributes to the national debt but furthers a spiral of spending 
for the next fiscal year.
  I am proud to have introduced my bill, the Emergency Spending 
Accountability Act, to correct this gross misuse of emergency spending.
  My bill will ensure that every taxpayer dollar spent on emergency 
spending is fully paid back and accounted for over the following 5 
years once the bill passes. Additionally, my bill would restore 
integrity to the term ``emergency spending'' by requiring committees to 
justify why these funds qualify as necessary, sudden, urgent, and 
unforeseen and are not permanent.
  These provisions will help to put Congress back on track toward 
fiscal responsibility and prevent further abuses of this funding 
mechanism.
  I thank all Members who support this legislation, and I am looking 
forward to seeing its progress through this body.

                          ____________________