[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3029-H3033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
2027 PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET REQUEST WILL MAKE LIFE HARDER
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Garcia
of Illinois was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
minority leader.)
General Leave
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues
from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Assistant Democratic
Leader Joe Neguse to call out the many ways that Donald Trump's 2027
budget request will make life harder for our neighbors and
constituents.
I will start with the fact that families across the country are
already hurting because of Republican policies. Last year, Trump's
budget bill made drastic cuts to healthcare and food assistance, and 17
million people will lose healthcare coverage as a result. Yet, that
wasn't enough for Trump because his 2027 budget proposal cuts even
more.
For example, the President's budget request eliminates $4 billion of
affordable housing investments, wiping out programs that help families
find housing, stay in their homes, and get back on their feet.
My district has suffered from severe floods over the last 2 years,
and some of my constituents were displaced from their homes. As rents
rise, Trump wants to cut programs that are designed to help keep a roof
over their heads.
The President's budget also eliminates LIHEAP, a program that helps 5
million families afford their utility bills, leaving them unable to
cool their homes in the summer or pay heating bills in the winter. When
you combine that with surging prices at the gas pump because of Trump's
illegal war with Iran, Trump is making the American people suffer
twice.
As if this wasn't bad enough, Trump's budget proposal also calls for
deep cuts to food assistance like SNAP and WIC.
[[Page H3030]]
These are programs that help mothers and young children afford fruits
and vegetables.
With all of these cuts, what is Trump increasing the budget for? One
word: war.
As he proposes to cut $73 billion for housing, food, education, and
health, he is asking for $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon, a record-
shattering amount that demonstrates just how detached Trump is from our
constituents' needs and priorities.
Trump started a cruel, illegal, deeply unpopular war that costs
billions of dollars every day, sent gas prices skyrocketing, and
triggered a global fuel crisis.
This budget request would enable him to do more destruction with more
money, while lining the pockets of his defense contractor friends. This
makes us all less safe.
{time} 1620
Just last week, Trump said: ``It is not possible'' to help Americans
afford healthcare or childcare because ``we are fighting wars.''
Through this budget request, Trump isn't just waging illegal wars
abroad. He is waging war on working families here at home.
I thank my colleagues for joining me to talk about how Trump's
proposed budget request would make a tough situation even worse for
working families.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse),
the Assistant Democratic Leader.
Mr. NEGUSE. First, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the
distinguished gentleman from Chicago, Illinois, for his friendship, for
his partnership, and for articulating so well today the stakes.
Since returning to office, as my colleague from Illinois referenced,
President Trump has made life harder for everyday Americans. He has
made life less affordable for everyday Americans, certainly for the
working families that I represent in northern and western Colorado.
Let me give you a sense, my colleague from Illinois, about what the
last 16 months have been like for my constituents, the folks that I
have the privilege of serving in Colorado.
President Trump has denied not just one, but two major disaster
relief requests for massive fires that took place last year in Western
Colorado, the Lee and Elk fires, and devastating flooding in Southwest
Colorado. These are communities that are conservative, rural
communities that President Trump denied disaster relief to them all the
same.
He has gutted childcare support for Colorado families. Childcare
centers across Colorado--Larimer County, Adams County, Western Slope,
Southern Colorado--are closing because of this President's policies.
He slashed Medicaid, the largest cut to SNAP in the history of that
program, families going hungry across our State and across our country,
chaos for our farmers and our ranchers, record-high bankruptcies for
America's farmers, including in Colorado.
He fired thousands of workers at our Federal laboratories, in our
national parks, and in our national forests.
He has--again, the gentleman said it so well--increased costs on
everything. Everything is more expensive. Groceries, medicine, car
insurance, health insurance, you name it, it has all gone up.
Now, given all that I just described, the President has the audacity,
the gall to propose a $2.2 trillion--trillion with a t--wish list in
the form of his budget request that would implement historic cuts to
education, to housing, to health programs, all while creating a $1.5
trillion slush fund for the war that he has unconstitutionally
declared.
In my view, it is reprehensible, and it is not consistent with the
needs of the American people.
We need this administration to get serious about helping everyday
Coloradans and Americans afford healthcare and afford the basic needs
that they have. We need them to get serious about an economic agenda
that actually makes life better for working people.
Unfortunately, this budget proposal is anything but that--quite the
opposite.
Now, the good news is that Republicans here in Congress don't have to
follow the President's budget. It is not a requirement. I know that may
come as a surprise to some folks who are observing the proceedings here
in Washington, D.C., because, for the last 16 months, House Republicans
have capitulated to virtually every whim, every request, and every
demand that this President has made. But they don't have to do that. In
fact, they are expected by our Framers and our Founders not to, to
instead jealously guard the powers of our branch of government under
Article I.
Democrats and Republicans can work together through the
appropriations process to advance a proposal that would actually lower
costs for everyday Americans. That to me ought to be our North Star.
I hope our colleagues are listening today.
I thank the gentleman from Chicago and so many of my House Democratic
colleagues who I know will be speaking this evening for making the case
in such an impassioned way. Let's hope it doesn't take my colleagues
too long to ultimately do what is right.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I now yield the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Nadler).
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Garcia and Mr. Neguse for
organizing this Special Order hour about President Trump's budget
request for next year.
The one saving grace of the President's budget is how clearly it
demonstrates the failed policies and misplaced priorities of the White
House and the Republican Congress. While proposing a massive increase
in defense spending to support a reckless war of choice in Iran and
supporting numerous policies to protect the billionaire class, the
Trump budget would slash programs that provide healthcare, education,
and housing to working Americans and would do nothing to lower gas
prices or make groceries more affordable.
While there are too many outrages contained in this budget to mention
all of them, I want to focus on one program in particular that
highlights the senseless cruelty represented by this budget: the
President would completely eliminate support for the Housing
Opportunities for Persons With AIDS, or HOPWA, program.
HOPWA provides critical housing support to hundreds of thousands of
individuals and their families across the country. Housing is one of
the greatest needs for those living with HIV/AIDS, and it is among the
strongest predictors of access to treatment and health outcomes.
Unstable housing or homelessness is linked to late or limited access to
care, higher viral loads, increased hospitalizations, and premature
death.
HOPWA was created in 1990 to respond to the HIV crisis, and it has
enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. It has led to dramatic
improvements in healthcare and reduced mortality for people living with
HIV and AIDS. Yet, this President wants to cut HOPWA to the bone,
leaving people with HIV and AIDS vulnerable to more HIV transmissions
and a spike in homelessness.
Congress established HOPWA--under a Republican President, I might
add--because of illegal discrimination in the private housing market
against people with HIV and AIDS. As for public housing, many
individuals with HIV and AIDS on the waiting list for housing
tragically died while waiting for an open unit. HOPWA changed that.
A study from 2010 found that HOPWA has been tremendously effective in
improving the physical health and housing status of enrollees. These
gains did not come overnight. They came from funding this program year
by year for over 30 years, and Donald Trump wants to gut all of it.
I was proud to lead 107 of my colleagues in supporting HOPWA funding
for fiscal year 2027 appropriations, and I am outraged at the
President's disregard for vulnerable Americans. We must protect HOPWA
and stand up for all Americans in need.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I now yield the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano).
{time} 1630
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Garcia) for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, a budget for our country is a moral document. It shows
our
[[Page H3031]]
priorities. It shows what kind of future we are laying the groundwork
for.
A budget should reflect investments in Americans by funding education
and housing while also lowering costs. But Donald Trump's budget
request sends a clear message about the kind of country Republicans
want; one that invests in war, not Americans.
What happened to the so-called America First project by this
President? What happened to the so-called America First project?
The President's budget slashes $8.5 billion from K-12 programs, cuts
52 percent of the budget for the agency charged with protecting our air
and water, and reduces housing programs by $11 billion--all of that to
pay for the largest percentage increase to the Department of Defense
since World War II. Let me say that again. All of that is to pay for
the largest percentage increase to the Department of Defense since
World War II.
The American people are tired of seeing their tax dollars fund more
endless wars in the Middle East. They are tired of seeing a President
who sends our sons and daughters to war while apparently being
increasingly unstable both mentally and emotionally. They are tired of
seeing his top aide say nothing, nothing, and do nothing to intervene
when the President clearly needs help.
How much longer does this have to go on before this Republican
majority steps in? How many more AI-generated Jesus images does the
President have to post before you, my Republican colleagues, are
alarmed like the majority of Americans?
History will remember this Republican-controlled Congress as
complicit in this President's behavior and his ill-informed proposals.
Mr. Speaker, it is not too late for Republicans to join Democrats in
fighting for a budget that actually puts Americans first, one that
seeks to fund and build schools at home and not fund bombs abroad, a
budget that reflects the values of a government and its President, and
that fact rings true here.
The President is asking Congress to steal from our children's future
to prop up a war that no one wants. I urge my Republican colleagues to
stand opposed to this cruel budget.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury)
Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to President
Trump's 2027 budget. Let me be clear. This budget is completely and
totally morally bankrupt to its core--rotten to its core.
While we debate numbers and line items here in Washington, the
reality is being felt at home in our communities. In New Mexico, people
are worried about how they are going to put food on the table, a roof
over their head, how they are going to keep the lights on, how they are
going to make their rent. They are looking to us, the leaders in this
body, to do something to help the American people.
Yet, this budget does the exact opposite. It is a betrayal to the
American people. It guts fundamental programs that support the working
people of this country. At a time when utilities are at an all-time
high, this budget eliminates LIHEAP, which is vital to helping low-
income families heat and cool their homes, including millions of
seniors.
At a time when we have a housing crisis in every community across
this country, this bill guts block grants and housing programs that
provide affordable housing in our communities.
At a time when millions of Americans can't afford healthcare after
the GOP in this body decided to not extend healthcare subsidies, they
are proposing to slash $5 billion from the National Institutes of
Health. They are proposing to gut and consolidate and eliminate
billions of programs from the CDC, from SAMHSA, and from HRSA.
In a time when Americans are struggling with an opioid epidemic and
an addiction crisis that is literally claiming lives every week in
communities across this country, they are gutting the programs that
keep Americans alive.
In a time when New Mexicans are facing one of the most difficult
water years we have probably ever seen in the history of our State in
modern times, they are threatening to cut funding for water
infrastructure.
This is a morally bankrupt budget, and it will bankrupt the American
people.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here tonight to reject the moral bankruptcy of
this administration, to reject the moral bankruptcy of this body that
refuses to act, and to call on all of us to put forward a vision for
our people that invest in the working people of this country who wake
up every day and go to work in order to put food on the table and care
for their families.
Now, people will say we can't afford it. How could we afford to
invest in our people? Let me just say this: In New Mexico, we are one
of the poorest States in the United States, but we have made the moral
choice to invest in our people. We have made the moral choice to become
the first in the Nation to guarantee free childcare and early childhood
education for every single family. We are the first in the Nation to
guarantee free higher education and trade school to every New Mexican.
When the GOP shut down the Federal Government and Donald Trump
threatened to gut healthcare and food assistance, New Mexico stood up
and acted. We extended healthcare to thousands of New Mexicans and made
sure that not a single family would go without food on their table.
We reject the cruelty and moral bankruptcy of politics that says we
can't invest in our people, and we reject a budget that would steal
from them so that an out-of-control madman in the White House could
take the American people's hard-earned taxpayer dollars and buy more
bombs.
That is why we are here tonight, because we reject that America.
Mr. Speaker, let me just say this: We are the wealthiest Nation in
the world. We can invest in our people. We can lower costs. We can
build an economy for every single person. We can value our communities.
We can care for our communities. We are here tonight to stand up, to
speak out, and to reject the moral bankruptcy of a budget that would
bankrupt our people.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Brown).
Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, the convicted felon in the White House is not
an honest man, but when he rebranded the Department of Defense as the
Department of War, for once, for once, he told the truth because war is
what we have. War is what he wants, and war is what he is asking the
American people to pay for.
President Trump's budget requests $1.5 trillion in taxpayer money for
the Department of War--$1.5 trillion, a $440 billion increase. Who pays
the extra $440 billion? Not the billionaires who just got tax cuts, not
Elon, not the Trump family, not White House insiders cashing in on
trades ahead of market-moving announcements, no. Trump's war machine
will be paid for by working people, just like his tax cuts for
billionaires were paid for by working people.
In the last year, Trump has made the largest cuts to Medicaid and the
Affordable Care Act in history and the largest cut to food assistance
in history, all to make the richest Americans richer and the biggest
corporations bigger.
{time} 1640
This time, it is not tax cuts but war he wants.
What ATM is the President tapping again to pay for it?
It is the working men and women of this country.
How does the President propose paying for more war?
I am glad you asked, Mr. Speaker. It is with cuts to heating
assistance, with cuts to housing, with cuts to education and job
training, and even cuts to programs that provide food for women,
infants, and children, all to pay for wars that the American people
don't want.
What is the agenda?
It is to cut healthcare to fund war, cut food to fund war, cut
housing and heating programs to fund war, and cut maternal health to
fund war. He wants to cut more, take more, and sacrifice more.
And for what?
It is for war. Wars the American people do not want. That is not just
grossly irresponsible, it is gross and immoral.
Mr. Speaker, I don't know who is winning Trump's war with Iran, but I
[[Page H3032]]
can tell you who is losing the war: Everyday people in America. It is
hardworking people seeing prices rise even more, people trying to
afford healthcare, to buy a home, and to make ends meet. Working people
can't afford Trump's reckless wars, and they can't afford this
horrendous budget.
We owe it to them to reject this abomination.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Rivas).
Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Garcia and assistant
Democratic leader Neguse for holding this important conversation on
Trump's budget request for 2027.
We are here because Trump and Republicans led us to a cost-of-living
crisis that is making life more unaffordable for working families.
Trump's budget proposal will make this crisis worse. I have heard from
people across my district that life is too expensive, from food to gas
to rent.
Budgets are a reflection of our values, and Trump made his values
heard loud and clear: Leave working families behind.
Trump's budget cuts $73 billion in programs that support working
families. One of the programs that will be facing serious cuts is the
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. LIHEAP is a key
program that helps families with reducing the costs associated with
home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization, and minor energy-
related home repairs. LIHEAP helps environmental justice communities
like mine deal with the effect of extreme heat and climate change, and
Trump wants to gut $4 billion in funding for LIHEAP.
Southern California is no stranger to heat, especially in the summer.
However, due to climate change, periods of extreme heat in southern
California, especially in the San Fernando Valley, are becoming more
common, more intense, and more harmful. Eliminating critical funding
for LIHEAP means my constituents will be less prepared to deal with
periods of extreme heat while also paying more to keep their homes
cool. Extreme levels of heat with no support or financial assistance to
keep homes cool will be dangerous and even deadly.
Additionally, Trump is proposing a 52 percent cut in EPA funding. EPA
has helped environmental justice communities like mine breathe cleaner
air and drink cleaner water. By cutting EPA funding by over one-half,
Trump will make our communities sicker.
Trump's budget proposal does not make life healthier or more
affordable for working families in my district and across the country.
In fact, prices will skyrocket. Since Trump's war in Iran started, gas
prices in Los Angeles County have shot up to an average of nearly $6
per gallon with some gas stations seeing prices as high as $8 per
gallon. Trump's budget request does not bring gas prices down for
working families in the San Fernando Valley or across the country.
Trump's budget will also harm pregnant women, mothers, and children.
WIC programs across my district help many of my constituents access the
resources that they need for a healthier life, including food vouchers,
nutrition education, and healthcare referrals. Trump's budget proposal
slashes funding for WIC programs and will force millions of Americans
to go hungry.
At a time when Americans are struggling to afford to put food on
their table, Trump and Republicans are offering no life raft for those
who need it the most. Trump wants to continue spending over $1 billion
per day to continue his war in Iran while working families in my
district and across the country continue to struggle with the rising
cost of gas.
As Donald Trump turns his back on working Americans, my Congressional
Progressive Caucus colleagues and I are fighting for them and the
resources they need to succeed.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Barragan).
Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Garcia for his
leadership on this.
Americans are struggling. They are struggling with the high cost of
living because of Republican policies that are doing nothing to bring
down prices.
The cost of gas is too high. Americans are paying more for gasoline
this year because of Trump's war of choice against Iran. Americans have
seen the price spike in the last month, and the average household is
expected to spend an extra $740 on gas this year because of Trump's war
of choice against Iran.
Groceries cost more. The average family paid over $300 more for
groceries last year. They are paying more this year, whether it is for
bananas, coffee, and other basic goods. We can thank Republicans and
Trump's tariff war for that along with the war on Iran. Trump's tariffs
cost families more than $2,500 extra this year.
Utilities bills are also soaring through the roof. Since Trump took
office, electric bills have gone up as much as 13 percent nationally
while residential natural gas prices have increased by 12 percent.
Mr. Speaker, do you remember when Donald Trump and Republicans
promised to lower costs on day one?
That was a lie. The cost of everything is going up, squeezing every
penny from American families. As costs continue to rise, this
administration is doubling down on the wrong priorities. The
President's latest proposed budget not only does nothing to lower the
cost, it puts Americans last. At a time when energy bills are rising,
they want to eliminate energy assistance programs to help keep the
lights on for many families. At a time when food prices are high, Trump
and Republicans want to cut programs that would put food on the table
for mothers and children. At a time when housing is unaffordable, they
are cutting programs to help keep a roof over people's heads. At a time
when families are struggling to get by, they are proposing massive
increases in defense spending and pouring billions of dollars more into
wars of choice overseas.
Americans were forced to pay an extra $1,600 on everyday expenses
last year because of Trump's and Republicans' policies, and Trump's
budget will force many of them to pay even more.
I have heard from people in my district. Erica from my district is a
single mother of two. She worries about how to plan meals for her
children because she can't buy as many groceries. She takes them to
free parks and pools because she can't afford extracurricular
activities.
A restaurant owner, Ralph, in South Gate, had decided between making
payroll or paying the electricity bill. He paid his staff. His
electricity was cut off, and it cost him thousands of dollars more to
have it turned back on.
A nonprofit in my district told us that families are calling for help
because they are forced to choose between paying for food or paying for
basic expenses like electricity and water. Working people can't keep up
with rising costs, and many are falling behind.
Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve a budget that works for them, not one
that burdens Americans with higher prices while taking resources away
to keep families afloat.
{time} 1650
Americans deserve better. They deserve to be put first. Democrats are
using every available tool to fight back against Republicans' dangerous
agenda and fight for the American people.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva).
Mrs. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Garcia for his
leadership and for giving us the opportunity to weigh in on this
budget.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on this administration's budget
request, a proposal that makes one thing painfully clear: Trump's
budget isn't America First; it is America last.
While working families struggle to get by, this budget spends $350
billion on another endless and illegal war abroad. To fund this, his
budget cuts the very programs people rely on here at home.
In Arizona, we are already seeing the devastating consequences of
cuts from the big, ugly law. More than 400,000 Arizonans, including
180,000 children, have lost SNAP access just this last year. That is
nearly half of all recipients in my State, the largest drop in the
country. That means parents skipping meals so their kids can eat. This
means seniors choosing between groceries and medication. It means food
banks stretched beyond capacity, trying to fill the gap that the
Federal Government has created.
[[Page H3033]]
Instead of reversing course, Trump's budget doubles down. It
eliminates financial assistance for families that are facing rising
utility bills. It slashes affordable housing programs like CDBG. It
cuts nutrition and health assistance for women, infants, and children,
WIC. It guts cancer research and public health funding, even as rural
hospitals struggle to stay open.
This budget is a statement of values, and it shows clearly that the
priority is not our people. It tells us exactly who this administration
is willing to fight for and who it is willing to leave behind, with a
42-percent increase in funding for the Pentagon while cutting programs
that support the American people here at home by 10 percent.
I will not support a budget that asks working families to sacrifice
more just to bankroll endless wars abroad and hand out tax breaks to
the wealthy.
``Our people deserve better''; ``nuestra gente merece mejor.''
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Menefee), and I thank him for his patience. He was here at
the beginning of this Special Order hour, waiting patiently to make the
case for his district and the people he was sent to fight for here in
Washington.
Mr. MENEFEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose President Trump's
budget. A budget is a statement of values, and this one shows what
President Trump cares about: his senseless war first and American
families last.
Across the country and in my home in Houston, Americans are fed up
with a government that seems more focused on endless wars than on
whether people can afford groceries or gas.
President Trump's proposed budget cuts many of the programs that
would offer even a little bit of relief to the economic pain he has
caused. It would even cut childcare, ignoring the realities families
face. As a father of two, I know how costly childcare is, and I am
troubled by leaders who would make it harder, not easier, for parents
to work and raise their children.
We are feeling these cuts uniquely in my city of Houston. Despite
having some of the most food-insecure neighborhoods in the entire
country, we have seen massive cuts to food banks, including tens of
millions of dollars from the Houston Food Bank.
Despite having the largest medical research hub in the entire country
in the Texas Medical Center, which relies on a routine basis on NIH
grants, we have seen $5 billion cut from the NIH.
Despite having some of the most environmental injustice-ridden
communities in the entire United States of America, we have seen more
than 50 percent in funding cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.
We know that those cuts are coming mostly from the environmental
justice divisions.
This budget is immoral. It is an attack on Americans. It is going to
severely harm people in Houston.
The President's policies have raised costs, worsened the
affordability crisis, undermined access to healthcare, and delivered
tax breaks for billionaires while working families fall further behind.
Millions of people risk losing vital care and financial security while
a small number of billionaires see their wealth grow. Think about that:
Families are going without care so that the rich can get richer.
We are the wealthiest nation on Earth. Our budget can and must afford
investments in childcare and healthcare and support for our seniors
while managing our finances responsibly. What we cannot afford are
priorities that put the richest first and leave working families
behind.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump's budget represents not America First,
but America last.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for his
continued effort to protect and fight for working families.
For the last 7 years that I have been here, I have been pushing for
us to fund and acknowledge that safe, accessible, and affordable
drinking water is a human right. Right now, in our United States, we
have programs for electricity and gas shut-offs, but nothing for water.
Water is life. It is sometimes literally a barrier to a public health
crisis.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and I are changing that. In 2021, we
established the first-ever low-income housing water assistance program,
a financial assistance program to pay off bills and debts and keep
people's water connected during the pandemic. It was a total of $1.1
billion.
The program saved countless lives, but the money has run out.
Millions of Americans right now are struggling to keep up with the
affordability crisis and having their water shut off.
It is not just an issue in Detroit, but also in communities like the
city of Inkster, Redford Township, and other areas in the 12th
Congressional District. This is a nationwide issue. Every Congressional
district right now has a water crisis.
That is why Congresswoman Dingell and I are introducing the Water
Access and Affordability Act to establish a permanent low-income
drinking water assistance program within the Environmental Protection
Agency.
Our bill would dedicate $20 billion every year to keep people's water
flowing. This program would include direct financial assistance and
bill payments, debt relief, reconnection assistance, and water
efficiency upgrades.
It will set up community advisory committees to help advise the EPA
on how to implement these programs to make the biggest difference
possible.
This bill would ban water shutoffs as a punishment for not being able
to afford their water bills. This is the richest country in the world.
We say it all the time, but it is important. Many families see the
money flowing but not to essentials.
The President just requested a $1.5 trillion military budget, but
they want to tell us they don't have money to make sure that every
family in our country has access to clean drinking water. This bill is
an important first step in our movement to recognize, again, that water
is life. It is a human right.
This has become an issue for me and something very important because
there was an African-American couple in my community in their
seventies. Their story was published in one of our local outlets. One
of the homeowners had put snow in a bucket to melt so he had water to
be able to flush the toilet.
Their story talked about the fact that they worked all their lives.
They paid for their home. They have to pay their taxes every year on
their home. They have a little bit of bills here and there, but the
water costs went so high that they just couldn't afford it. They
literally, in their seventies, in their retirement, couldn't afford
water.
I say this lovingly to my colleagues: It is about time we find money
for our families here at home. If our country has money for endless
wars, we have money to make sure that people aren't melting snow to
flush their toilets or living in fear of getting their children taken
away because water has been shut off.
We will literally take children away from homes that don't have
access to water and spend money on putting them in foster care, but not
make sure that, again, we have programs like this one to make sure that
they are protected and have access to something that is lifesaving.
Mr. Speaker, water is a human right, and I hope my colleagues will
try to support, again, the funding of this program. Trust me, all
across the country, you will find a family that is struggling to pay
their water bill.
{time} 1700
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who joined
us on the floor today, as well as Assistant Democratic Leader Neguse
for cohosting this Special Order hour.
We are all elected to bring our constituents' voices here to Congress
and to pass policies that help them live better lives. I urge my
colleagues to protect housing, education, and healthcare especially; in
other words, to prioritize the needs of all of our constituents.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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