[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E580-E581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RESCISSIONS ACT OF 2025

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2025

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4, the 
Recissions Act of 2025, because this bill undermines and outright 
destroys long-held, bipartisan American values at home and abroad.
  I'll start right here at home. This bill makes an unprecedented 
attack on public media that Americans rely on for unfettered access to 
information, educational programming for kids, cultural programming, as 
well as nationwide emergency alerting. Spanning many different 
Administrations, public media has received bipartisan support for the 
past 50 years because Congress has continuously recognized that access 
to public media is in the public's best interest. That's why Congress 
has always forward-funded public media--to ensure the consistent access 
to nonpartisan, unbiased information for Americans in every state, 
regardless of which party controls the White House. These airwaves 
belong to every American--and they're a bargain: public media receives 
less than 0.01 percent of federal spending, and yet it provides 
essential services to every citizen in every part of this country. 
That's roughly $1.60 per taxpayer. Public media is the country's only 
local, no-cost, commercial-free, nonprofit news and information 
service, and passing this bill puts this service at great risk. For 
stations like Minnesota Public Radio, valued services will be eroded. 
For many smaller stations in rural communities across the country, 
these cuts will prove utterly devastating. They will not survive, 
resulting in news deserts for these communities.
  This bill also rescinds billions of dollars in lifesaving and life-
affirming international assistance--another in a long line of cruel 
decisions from this administration to abdicate U.S. leadership abroad 
and put millions of lives at risk. If enacted, H.R. 4 will rescind over 
$8.3 billion in foreign assistance funding already appropriated by 
Congress on a bipartisan basis. The recissions in this bill will cut 
lifesaving

[[Page E581]]

food assistance for families, emergency services for families fleeing 
conflict, agriculture development programs, and core nutrition services 
for children under five--just to name a few. This bill even goes as far 
as to cut the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, a 
historically bipartisan and uncontroversial program that has saved an 
estimated 26 billion lives since its inception. Not only will this bill 
have devastating impacts on the lives of millions of children and 
families around the world; the cuts in this bill will actively make our 
country less safe. Our Nation's ability to prevent conflict, eradicate 
extremism, and promote democracy will be utterly destroyed--and our 
adversaries are eager to step in.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons and many more, I strongly oppose this 
legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

                          ____________________