[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H3914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OPPOSING THE ICE BUDGET BILL

  (Ms. Barragan of California was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, families are struggling to pay for 
groceries, gas, rent, and healthcare.
  What are Republicans doing? They are bringing a budget to the floor 
this week to give ICE and Border Patrol another $70 billion blank 
check--no guardrails, no oversight, no accountability.
  Not a single dollar in this bill covers the cost of living for 
Americans. Not a single dollar makes life more affordable for working 
families. Instead, Republicans are spending billions to bankroll Donald 
Trump's cruelty and corruption.
  At the same time, they are letting Trump keep a $1.8 billion slush 
fund that can be used to reward political allies and advance his own 
agenda. This is not fiscal responsibility. This is the betrayal of the 
American people.
  We have already seen where these priorities lead. Republicans cut 
healthcare. They cut food assistance for children, for seniors, and 
veterans, all while protecting giveaways for the wealthy.
  Now they want Americans to pay for more masked ICE agents to 
brutalize our communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant 
families.
  Communities across the country are demanding accountability. Instead, 
Republicans are writing another blank check.
  House Democrats are fighting to lower costs and make Americans lives 
safer, healthier, and more affordable while holding this administration 
accountable.
  Congress should be lowering costs. We should be helping working 
people. We should be holding this administration accountable, and that 
is why House Democrats reject this reckless budget.


     Fighting Back Against the Dismantling of the Voting Rights Act

  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say I dissent. I strongly 
dissent.
  I join Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown 
Jackson in their dissent in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision that seeks 
to demolish the Voting Rights Act.
  As Justice Kagan stated: ``the Court's decision will set back the 
foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral 
opportunity.''
  Make no mistake, this is an attack on fair representation. 
Republican-led southern States have wasted no time to redraw their 
districts to eliminate any Democratic representation. In some extreme 
cases, they have canceled elections that already started. Just last 
week, the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to eliminate a whole majority 
Black district, essentially reversing its previous opinions.
  Whether you are in a majority Black district or not, this impacts all 
of us.
  Right now, they are targeting Black representation in the South, but 
tomorrow it could be a blue district in any State. This is about fair 
representation, and it is about our democracy.
  Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated in her dissent, the Court ``debases 
the democratic process'' and ``corrodes the rule of law by rewarding 
Alabama's gamesmanship and outright defiance of Court orders.''
  Republicans know they have to rig the maps in November to win because 
they cannot run on their failed policies, policies which have led to 
high gas prices and made life more expensive.
  People shed blood and some died for the right to vote for fair 
representation.
  We need to come together now to fight for our voting rights. Black, 
Latino, Asian American, White, and all communities need to unite in one 
mission: to protect democracy.
  We must guarantee that every American has an equal voice in our 
democracy and an equal opportunity to elect Representatives who 
represent their constituents' interests.
  When Democrats regain the House, we will work to pass the John R. 
Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore voting protections to 
guarantee fairness and equal representation in our elections.
  This is about preserving the promise of American democracy itself. I 
call on every American to organize, to educate your friends, neighbors, 
and colleagues on what is at stake and to vote.
  As we head into November, House Democrats will work with the civil 
rights and voting rights advocates, legal experts, and grassroots 
organizers to defend American democracy.
  When people come together to fight for justice, history shows us that 
justice ultimately wins, and Democrats will never stop fighting for it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personality toward the President.

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