Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 436 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI, I make a point of order against consideration of the rule, House Resolution 436.
Clause 9(c) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House specifically state that the Rules Committee may not waive the earmark disclosure rule prescribed by paragraphs (a) or (b) of clause 9 of rule XXI.
House Resolution 436 states: ``All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.''
Therefore, I make a point of order pursuant to clause 9(c) of rule XXI that this rule may not be considered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts makes a point of order that the resolution violates clause 9(c) of rule XXI.
Under clause 9(c) of rule XXI, the gentleman from Massachusetts and a Member opposed each will control 10 minutes of debate on the question of consideration.
Following that debate, the Chair will put the question of consideration as follows, Will the House now consider the resolution?
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, House Democrats are making a series of procedural motions today to stop the consideration of this lousy, awful, disastrous bill.
Mr. Speaker, we will not stand by and watch Trump and his billionaire friends destroy this country without putting up one hell of a fight, and because this resolution waives the earmark rule, it is not in order for it to be considered on the floor.
As I just said, Democrats are not going to sit here and let Republicans jam this bill down the throats of the American people. We are going to fight back, and we are going to fight like hell because, Mr. Speaker, this point of order is not just about the fact that this bill has earmarks. Look at who the earmarks are for. Look at who Republicans help and who they hurt. Follow the money.
From day one, Trump has demanded that this entire process be about one thing: giveaways to the rich and to the powerful. This bill is a scam; a tax scam designed to steal from the American people and give to Trump's millionaire and billionaire friends.
These are the same millionaires and billionaires who write big, fat checks to Members of Congress, and guess what? They expect a return on their investment, and this bill, this Republican tax scam, is exhibit A.
This is all about corruption, greed, and theft--theft from the American people, theft of their hard-earned tax dollars to give to Elon and his rich friends. It is 1,000 pages of giveaways to billionaires.
There are so many, I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with the big, fat earmarks Republicans have in here for polluters. There is lots of pork for polluters in this bill.
We have corrupt pay-to-play schemes that let polluters buy immunity from lawsuits, cut corners on environmental reviews, and skip the legal permitting process. Did ExxonMobil come up with that one, or was it BP? There is a nice little giveaway to them tucked into this bill. That is on page 247 and page 600.
Mr. Speaker, what about the earmarks in here that will allow certain companies to exploit and pollute pristine public lands, including for a coal mine owner with criminal convictions for environmental and safety violations? Did he just text Republicans the language of that earmark, or did my colleagues on the other side of the aisle draft it themselves? That is on page 559 for those following along at home.
This bill even has a hit man handout. An earmark here gets rid of an excise tax on gun silencers. Who does that? That is on page 1,024.
This has been in place for nearly 100 years, and it is a vital public safety measure. Over 400 silencers were found on or traced to violent crime scenes in 2023 alone.
At least on that earmark, we know who asked for it. It was the NRA. We know why Republicans complied. It is because they want to keep getting big, fat checks from the gun lobbyists.
I could go on and on, but this bill is loaded to the gills with giveaways to lobbyists, earmarks for special interests, and loopholes for the rich so they can get away with dodging their taxes.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I claim time in favor of consideration of the resolution.
The question before the House is: Should the House now consider House Resolution 436? The resolution before us waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
The Committee on the Budget filed its report on May 21, 2025, which included the following statement from each instructed committee's reports: The committee print does not contain any congressional earmark, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits, as defined in clause 9 of House rule XXI.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I can't believe the Republican argument is just: Trust us.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).
Mr. Speaker, this is a moment I am never going to forget because, tonight, hundreds of Republican Members of Congress are wanting to line up to vote for the biggest transfer of wealth from the working poor and the working class to billionaires and megacorporations that we have seen in this country's history.
This is a deep moment of betrayal, a complete absence of loyalty to the people that we represent, and an abandonment of the values of hard work and a dignified life.
Mr. Speaker, I am 28 years old. My generation already expects that we will never be able to afford a home, to get out of debt, to retire, or to live comfortably. No, it is not because we have lived beyond our means, but it is because we have been denied the means to live.
Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are making it worse by gutting Medicaid and food assistance to give tax cuts to billionaires and special interests.
Mr. Speaker, out of all of the things that you could give tax breaks for, this bill will cut taxes on silencers for guns. For those who don't know, gun silencers can be attached to a gun to muffle the sound of a gunshot.
In mass shootings, these silencers make it harder to identify and respond to the source of the gunshots. Earlier, I put forth an amendment to strip this tax cut for the gun lobby, and House Republicans wouldn't even let it come up for a vote.
Mr. Speaker, the Republicans then made the bill worse in their manager's amendment by making silencers completely unregulated. In 2023 alone, the ATF recovered over 400 silencers from violent crime scenes. For this reason, silencers have been highly regulated for nearly 100 years.
In May of 2019, the Virginia Beach shooter attached a silencer to his .45-caliber handgun that he used to kill 12 people on three floors of a city building. Survivors of the attack said that they weren't even aware that a mass shooting was going on due to the silencer.
My question is: Why did this get added to the bill just a couple of hours ago? Which congressional Republican just couldn't stand to vote for the horrible bill until it promised even more death to people?
Mr. Speaker, I will yield to hear a name.
Mr. Speaker, point of order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his point of order.
Mr. Speaker, this is supposed to be a challenge because the rule says that we waived earmarks, but the gentleman is not talking about earmarks. He is talking about process that he doesn't like. He is talking about parts of the bill that he doesn't like, but he has not mentioned any specific earmark.
Even the gentleman who spoke before him, the gentleman from Massachusetts, only talked in general terms about things that were general policy, not earmarks.
We are talking about an earmark for the gun lobby, my friend.
I submit, Mr. Speaker, that the gentleman is not in order, giving remarks that are not pertinent.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Virginia has not stated a point of order.
Mr. Speaker, I reclaim my time.
Mr. Speaker, I will yield just to hear the name of the Republican that couldn't vote for this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I am just curious which Republican couldn't vote for the bill until we completely deregulated silencers.
My generation isn't just defined by a bleak financial future. We are also defined as the mass shooting generation. We have done more active- shooter drills than fire drills. We have grown up watching classes of our students die a brutal death, helpless inside classrooms, on our blocks, and in our churches again and again and again.
Mr. Speaker, I say to America, we have to be very clear and truthful about this budget. Laws for gun manufacturers to make more money off the deaths of children and our people? Yes. Food for children to eat? No. Healthcare for seniors, disabled Americans, and millions more? No. Resources to help working families fight to make ends meet? No.
This is why they have been told to not host any townhalls back in their districts. That is why this debate is happening in the middle of the night. It is nothing short of theft.
Congressional Republicans are really helping me understand why half of this country doesn't vote. It is because they will look people in the eyes and make promises only to come here in the middle of the night to advance a bill that will take away the benefits that they have earned. Republicans would have us believe that the person most likely to steal from you is a Black person in a hoodie or an immigrant with tattoos.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida.
This is to distract from the fact that, at least here tonight, the people stealing from Americans are not folks with tattoos and hoodies. It is people wearing suits, ties, and congressional pins, sitting in this Capitol right now, not in some random alley wrapped in darkness, but in the United States Congress wrapped in the flag.
It is disgusting, and we will never forget this.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith).
Mr. Speaker, as I said in the point of order--which I didn't have the rule in hand, but it is 17(1)(b). As I said then, if they want to complain that they didn't like the process, if they don't like the bill, if there is a piece of the bill they don't like, save that for the debate on the bill itself. Instead, they have raised a parliamentary procedure to claim that the rule is not proper, assuming or claiming that there are earmarks. I would submit, Mr. Speaker, that they have not mentioned an earmark yet.
I have been listening. I have been wondering where it was because I have read the bill and the manager's amendment. With the manager's amendment, I see no earmarks in the bill. They haven't brought it up, and I submit it is because they can't. The proper ruling would be to rule that there aren't any earmarks.
I understand we might have to take a vote, but let's try to get our processes right, Mr. Speaker. I would submit to everybody that we ought to get the process right.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this is everything that people hate about Washington. This bill is a tax scam that steals from the American people, and it is filled with earmarks.
It has earmarks to the gun lobby, earmarks to polluters to be able to exploit land, and earmarks to every big donor that gives to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
This is really about corruption. This bill that we are trying to bring to the floor steals from regular people, takes away people's food benefits, throws people off healthcare, and gives a big, fat tax break to millionaires and billionaires. That is what their priorities are all about.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Democrats and Republicans who care about the integrity of this institution to vote ``no'' on considering the rule and to block this terrible tax scam from coming to the floor today. We can do a hell of a lot better. This is a disgrace.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this is just a dilatory tactic by my colleagues across the aisle. We must continue so the House can begin consideration of this historic legislation and deliver on President Trump's agenda.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on the question, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
The question is, Will the House now consider the resolution?
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217, nays 211, not voting 4, as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 2 minutes remaining.
Mses. PINGREE and PEREZ changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Messrs. BARR and McCAUL changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the question of consideration was decided in the affirmative.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 426 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, I make a point of order against consideration of the rule, House Resolution 436.
Section 426 of the Budget Act specifically states that the Rules Committee may not waive the point of order prescribed by section 425 of that same act.
House Resolution 436 states that all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. Therefore, I make a point of order pursuant to section 426 that this rule may not be considered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts makes a point of order that the resolution violates section 426(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
The gentleman has met the threshold burden under the rule and the gentleman from Massachusetts and a Member opposed each will control 10 minutes of debate on the question of consideration. Following debate, the Chair will put the question of consideration as the statutory means of disposing of the point of order.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. Speaker, let me say this once again. Democrats will not stand by and watch Trump and his billionaire friends destroy this country without putting up one hell of a fight.
Because this rule waives the point of order against unfunded mandates, it is not in order to consider it on the floor. The bill Republicans are attempting to jam through the House this week cuts food assistance for moms and dads, kids and people with disabilities, veterans, and seniors.
It goes after the most important people in our lives, our families, all to fund a massive tax break for the richest people in this country.
What the hell is wrong with these people, Mr. Speaker?
It is more than just a massive betrayal of the American people. This bill is also a massive, new, unfunded mandate on States.
Mr. Speaker, don't just take my word for it. The nonpartisan experts at the Congressional Budget Office said that title I of the bill, the Agriculture Committee's portion of this awful bill, would impose intergovernmental mandates by requiring States, for the first time ever, to provide State funding for food assistance benefits, increasing the share of food assistance administrative costs paid by States and requiring State agencies to perform additional administrative duties. This massive, new, unfunded mandate would cost States a whopping $19 billion each year.
Mr. Speaker, where the hell are States going to come up with this kind of money? They can't. So what will happen is that people will get kicked off of food assistance. They will get less benefits, and they will go hungry.
This will increase hunger. State after State and Governor after Governor has written to Congress begging us not to pass this awful bill. They have made it very clear that if this bill goes through, then States will be forced to cut benefits, kick eligible people off of food assistance entirely, or raise taxes to pay for this massive, new, bureaucracy that Republicans are creating in every State.
The chairman of the Agriculture Committee's home State of Pennsylvania would have to come up with over $1 billion to cover the State's share of benefit costs.
There is no State in the country that is able to take on this kind of massive, unfunded mandate. We are talking about basic needs for people, a food assistance benefit of $2 per meal so that people don't go hungry. By the way, that money not only lifts people out of poverty, it improves health and uplifts local economies too.
Hunger costs this country, and food assistance programs save us money. Workers who are hungry are less productive at work. Kids who go to school hungry don't learn. Seniors who take their medication on an empty stomach end up in emergency rooms.
We live in the richest country on Earth. For God's sake, not a single kid in this country should go to bed hungry, not a single damn one, especially not when Republicans are giving millionaires and billionaires a big, fat tax break.
Mr. Speaker, I think Republicans know exactly what they are doing here. They know that this bill will kick millions and millions of people off of their modest food assistance. They know that their cuts will hurt kids, moms and dads, working families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. This is an unbelievably cruel and rotten thing to do.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to this point of
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Indiana is recognized for 10 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, the question before the House is: Should the House now consider House Resolution 436?
The gentleman on the other side of the aisle is certainly correct. The bill before us today does impose a number of intergovernmental mandates. However, let's look at what is considered in those. The bill requires States to have skin in the game on SNAP. The bill requires States to be more responsible about how Medicaid is funded. The bill provides needed tax relief for seniors.
These are good things that reduce the size and scope of Federal Government that is encroaching on the everyday lives of Americans, and it protects the American people from a Democratic Party that prioritizes illegal immigrants over vulnerable American families.
In order to allow the House to continue its scheduled business for the day, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on the question of consideration of the resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, enough with the BS about States having skin in the game. This is about throwing families off of food assistance, and it is an awful thing to do.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes), who is the ranking member of the Nutrition Subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today against this House Republican reconciliation bill that would put 42 million Americans at risk of losing their SNAP benefits.
I would argue that my State of Connecticut that sends more money to the Federal Government than Indiana already has skin in the game.
As ranking member of the Nutrition and Foreign Agricultural Subcommittee, it is notable that we have had no hearings on the State cost-sharing provisions or on the Thrifty Food Plan or on the impact of access to SNAP.
House Republicans are pushing untested policy proposals that have real-life consequences on the people in my community.
During the Agriculture Committee reconciliation markup, I offered a commonsense amendment stating that this legislation can only take effect once the USDA and all State agencies issue reports evaluating and certifying that any changes made to SNAP will not result in a reduction of benefits to individuals or decrease participation. No Republican on the Agriculture Committee voted for that amendment.
Hunger is a policy choice, and today, we are considering legislation that makes the choice to take food away from people. The reconciliation bill we are considering here today is the largest ever cut to SNAP.
Approximately $313 billion is being taken away from the most vulnerable in this country--hungry children, hungry families, hungry veterans, and hungry seniors. I guarantee they are not just in Connecticut.
Republicans are pushing a legislative package that guts SNAP, the most effective and efficient antipoverty program in our Nation. The cost-sharing provisions in this legislation are going to shift the financial burden to States, forcing States to cut benefits, eligibility, or both to reduce costs.
They are pushing work requirements with no workforce development, pushing reporting requirements with no administrative reports, and pushing for cuts to children who are on this program without considering that they will also lose free and reduced lunches at school.
They don't want to feed kids at home. They don't want to feed kids at school. It is just cruel.
Every provision in this program is cruel, and they know it. That is why none of them spoke on it in the Agriculture Committee. That is why they were silent in the Budget Committee. That is why they have nothing to say. That is why they have no response. That is why they don't hold townhalls. That is why they don't answer questions.
All they do is tweet, repeat, and hide in the back until they vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, by the way, it is not just people in Connecticut who are threatened by this budget. I would say to the gentlewoman from Indiana that there are 54,000 people in her district who are going to be threatened, losing their SNAP benefits because of what Republicans are voting for today on the Republican budget. I don't know how you deal with that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown), the vice ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member McGovern for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this rule and the underlying bill.
Let's be clear, Republicans are paying for massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires by cutting $300 billion from SNAP.
Instead of owning those cuts, Republicans are punting their problems to the States, forcing Governors and legislators to do the dirty work of denying food assistance. That is not fiscal responsibility. That is political cowardice.
This is an unfunded Federal mandate, plain and simple. States would have to cover at least 5 percent of SNAP benefits and up to 25 percent.
What they call skin in the game is unworkable. The hits to States' budgets would be massive, up to $4.5 billion over 10 years in Louisiana, $4 billion in Alabama, $15 billion in Florida, and $7.5 billion in my home State of Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, what does that mean? Well, I am glad you asked. It means fewer dollars for schools, opioid response, and basic services. Any way you cut it, families lose.
If States can't pick up the bill, they will have to cut benefits or kick folks off the program, a program that currently provides $6 a day, on average.
This plan will take away food from kids, working families, veterans, seniors, and the disabled. It will hit red States, blue States, and every State and every district.
Even Republicans know how damaging this is. That is why they have delayed implementation until when? After the next election.
Hiding the consequences doesn't make them less real. Their own State legislators, Democrats and Republicans, oppose this plan. The National Conference of State Legislatures calls it fiscally unsustainable and warns it will harm the very people SNAP is meant to help.
This is a shameful attempt to dodge accountability while handing out tax breaks on the backs of hungry families.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' Protect SNAP. Don't make struggling Americans pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how many more speakers the gentlewoman has.
Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 1 minute remaining.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, let me just say to my Republican friends that hunger is a political position. We have the money. We have the infrastructure. We know what to do to end it. We have everything but the political will.
You bring to the floor a bill that robs from poor people and takes money away from the most incredible food assistance program in the world. You take that and use it not to end hunger but to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. That is shameful. That is shameful.
You put a big unfunded mandate on States. Stand with us on the right side of history. Stand with people who need help. For once in your life, do something to help people who really need help and not just reward those at the top who are well-off and well-connected.
Stand with us in stopping this rule and vote ``no'' on this.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Indiana has 9 minutes remaining.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the Democrats claim that this is providing tax cuts for the wealthy. Let's just talk about that.
This bill includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and provides tax relief for seniors on Social Security. This will protect the largest tax cut for middle-class and working families in American history. Americans will see a double-digit percent decrease in their taxes.
If we want to talk about districts, Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the Second District of Massachusetts. It is home to 524,530 taxpayers.
The average taxpayer in Massachusetts' Second District would see a 20 percent tax hike if the Trump tax cuts expire, which is what my Democratic colleagues across the aisle are fighting for. They are fighting for taxes to go up.
A family of four, making $95,495 in the Massachusetts Second District, the median income, would see a $2,141 tax increase if the Trump tax cuts expire. That is about 10 weeks' worth of groceries for a typical family of four in that region.
Now, let's talk for a moment, too, Mr. Speaker, about SNAP benefits. Only Democrats would protect error rates in SNAP benefits, saying that integrity in the program is a cut, but this is ensuring that benefits are available to the people who are eligible for them and need them most. Anything else is fraud.
Republicans are ensuring that SNAP prioritizes benefits for American citizens and protects the program's long-term stability by closing loopholes and requiring cost sharing for States that have error rates that are unfeasible.
We are focusing on protecting tax cuts for the American people across the board. That is what we are trying to do here, Mr. Speaker. Anything else that we hear from the Democrats is a stall tactic.
We must continue so the House can begin our consideration of this historic legislation to deliver on President Trump's agenda.
Mr. Speaker, I urge our Members to vote ``yes'' on the question, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
The question is, Will the House now consider the resolution?
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 216, nays 211, not voting 5, as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 2 minutes remaining.
So the question of consideration was decided in the affirmative.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Indiana?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the underlying legislation.
This morning, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 436, providing for the House's consideration of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This provides for a closed rule on the bill. The rule provides 1 hour of debate for the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Budget or their respective designees, as well as an additional 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees. Additionally, the rule provides 1 motion to recommit.
Today, after months of hard work and hours of testimony in hearings, House Republicans are advancing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to deliver on President Trump's America First agenda.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard plenty of fear-mongering and flatout dishonesty from the Democrats and their liberal media allies about what this bill actually does.
Earlier this morning, Democrats challenged us to debate this bill in the light of day. Mr. Speaker, it may be the middle of the night. Yet, we are here, wide awake and ready to defend it because the truth doesn't sleep, and neither do we when it comes to fighting for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, let's talk about how this bill delivers for the American people.
It makes the very successful 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, protecting the average taxpayer from a 22 percent tax increase. It unleashes American energy production and allows us to drill, baby, drill.
It provides the largest border security investment in history and empowers ICE to deport the millions of illegal immigrants that were allowed in under President Joe Biden.
It also completes 700 miles of border wall and stops the flow of fentanyl into our communities.
It shuts down the blatant abuse that has allowed 1.4 million illegal immigrants to access taxpayer-funded Medicaid, draining resources meant for our most vulnerable citizens.
It establishes modest work requirements for able-bodied adults with no dependents who receive Medicaid.
It drives down costs for seniors by increasing the transparency of pharmacy benefit managers and expanding access to the medications seniors need by providing more choices.
It ends the reckless Biden student loan giveaways that favored liberal elites over working-class Americans at taxpayers' expense.
It provides nearly $150 billion in resources to our military to improve areas from servicemember quality of life to strengthening our shipbuilding capacity.
It also makes targeted reinvestments and improvements to foreign policy and other rural priorities that support our farmers and ranchers.
It includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, car loan interest deductibility for autos made in America, and provides tax relief for seniors.
The list of wins goes on and on and on in this one big, beautiful bill.
Our friends across the aisle will try to deflect from these real and tangible benefits. They want to deceive and scare the American people, and I am sorry for that. Don't believe them.
My Democratic colleagues seem to forget that 77 million Americans rejected their America-last policies last November. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now trying to convince the American people that a bill that secures the border; invests in our military; extends tax relief to millions of hardworking Americans; and protects Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security for the people who need it most is somehow not in the best interests of the country.
Yet, the American people know better. The American people know Trump's tax cuts worked and need to be extended. The American people know that it is in the best interests of our national security to secure the border. They know the world needs American energy leadership. They know that the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces need additional resources to counter the growing threats and defend American interests across the globe.
We are putting Americans first by deporting illegal immigrants and protecting taxpayer-funded benefits for those who truly need them. Everything you will hear from the Democrats tonight is wrong. Again, don't believe them.
How many times do you have to get duped by their dishonesty before you stop listening? The sky is not falling.
Mr. Speaker, today, we are delivering on President Trump's agenda. I look forward to the consideration of this one big, beautiful bill, and I urge the passage of this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, over 100 Democrats just spent hours and hours debating hundreds of amendments in the Rules Committee for over 19 hours, and the reason why is simple: We are fighting back because this bill is a moral disgrace.
It rips healthcare from millions of Americans. It guts Medicaid and Medicare, lifelines for seniors, children, working families, and people with disabilities. It takes food out of the mouths of hungry kids and veterans. For what? To shovel tax breaks into the overflowing pockets of billionaires and giant corporations.
Let's call this what it is: theft. It is stealing from those with the least to give to those with the most.
It is not just bad policy. It is a betrayal. It is a betrayal of the American people. Republicans know that this bill is toxic, and that is why they started their rules hearing at 1 o'clock, by the way, yesterday morning. They are terrified that the American people might actually see what is in this GOP tax scam and be outraged by what they are doing.
Republicans don't want to talk about it. They want us to just shut up and pass this bill. They want it rubberstamped. Trump said to them: Close your eyes and vote for it. Guess what? No, no, no. We are not going to do that. We will not stay silent. We will not close our eyes and do what Trump says.
Our eyes are open, Mr. Speaker, and our voices are loud. We are here to fight, and this bill is about whose side you are on.
Democrats choose to stand with our communities, our neighbors, our families, and our people, and not the ultrarich Republican mega-donors and billionaires that write big, fat campaign contributions to buy votes.
This is a rotten, ugly, bad bill that will hurt the people I represent. It will hurt millions of people in this country, but the sad reality is, Mr. Speaker, Republicans just don't care.
Democrats are united, and with strength in our mission, with unity in our purpose, we are here to vote ``hell, no'' on this monstrosity of a bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), chairwoman of the Rules Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding and for her great work on this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying legislation.
After a marathon session in the Rules Committee, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act now stands right here on the floor of the people's House.
For months, the House's committees, chairmen, Members, and staff have worked to craft this legislation. Let me tell you something, Mr. Speaker, it is truly big and beautiful.
It is a clear, full-throated response to the millions of hardworking men and women across the entire Nation who believe that America is due for a serious course correction. These men and women categorically rejected the dysfunction and disarray of the last 4 years under the Biden-Harris administration.
While our colleagues across the aisle have resorted to casting aspersions, conjuring up misleading claims, and fear-mongering about this legislation, Republicans are the ones who put pen to paper and have created one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in our Nation's history.
The American people and this government, by extension, cannot afford inaction. Americans need this legislation to ensure our economic survival
The express purpose of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is this: to ensure that our Federal spending, taxation, and other revenue- generating concepts align with the current needs of the American people and bring us into that new American era.
How do we achieve this grand realignment? It is through this great reconciliation project. We are executing the instructions given to the committees, pursuant to the budget resolution--one that passed both Chambers and is binding on this body and the Senate.
We are not interested in rhetorical jousting or succumbing to the status quo. We are interested in delivering real, tangible results to the American people.
These results are achieving the full potential of our energy dominance, realizing a secured border, and establishing fiscal certainty for our great American future.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to be part of delivering real, tangible results by voting ``yes'' on the rule and ``yes'' on the underlying legislation.
Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the distinguished chairwoman of the Rules Committee: Do you know what gives people fiscal certainty? It is food in their refrigerators.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).
Mr. Speaker, among the many other deficiencies of the bill, it is a direct assault on women's reproductive freedom.
Number one, it defunds Planned Parenthood, which means if this bill passes, 1 million Americans will have no pap smears. They will have no breast cancer screenings. They will have no well-women visits. That is the first thing it does.
Then, the manager's amendment, introduced in the dead of night, says that one in seven Americans who are on the insurance exchanges will no longer be able to get abortion coverage on those exchanges with their own money.
I can see why the Republicans wanted to do this in the dead of night because after the Dobbs decision, America woke up. We realized that this is an important service. When the women and families of America wake up and find out the direct assault on reproductive freedom in this bill, they are going to be mad, and they are not going to forget when they go to the ballot box in 2026.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the big, beautiful bill because this is not just a budget bill. This is the beginning of a great American comeback. That is what the people demanded when they went to the polls last November.
They voted to take our country back from chaos, from open borders, from crushing inflation, and from a government that rewards fraud while punishing hard work.
This bill answers that call. It puts working families first with expanded tax relief for families and the hardworking men and women who are paying the bills in this country. This bill tells them: We see you, and we have your backs.
At the same time, we go after the rot that has taken hold here in Washington for far too long. Just last year, Medicaid alone paid out $36 billion in improper payments. That is fraud. That is theft. That is a disgrace. That is money that is not taking care of our most vulnerable, which we have to protect at all costs.
This bill stops it cold with tough enforcement, eligibility checks, and a full crackdown on waste, fraud, and abuse.
We also bring back work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. It is just common sense. It has worked before--in fact, in the 1990s, under a Democratic President, Bill Clinton. He worked with Congress and passed historic welfare reform that helped millions of people move from dependence to dignity. We have now restored that principle in this bill because a nation that rewards hard work is a nation that thrives.
We stop throwing taxpayer dollars at failed green schemes and electric vehicle mandates that working families simply can't afford and don't want. Instead, we double down on American energy--oil, gas, and nuclear--to lower costs and to make this country safer and stronger than ever.
Let's be clear: This bill is more than just policy. It is a turning point. It is the beginning of the great American comeback that President Trump is leading and that this House Republican majority was elected to deliver.
The American people are tired of excuses. They want results. They want accountability. They want a government that works for them, not for bureaucrats, not for special interests, and not for people gaming the system.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers. It protects taxpayers. It restores work. It ends waste. It gets America back on track.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule, vote ``yes'' on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, vote to launch the great American comeback, and vote to stand with the people who sent us here.
Let's pass this One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Let the great American comeback begin.
Mr. Speaker, some people may be wondering why we are debating this bill at 1:20 in the morning, which is prime time in Guam. It is because they are ashamed of what they are bringing to this House floor, and they should be ashamed.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Tran).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this reckless attempt by Republicans to force through a reconciliation bill that makes life harder for the working families in California's 45th District.
My constituents deserve better than this budget. The American people deserve better than this budget. Republicans are taking money out of Americans' pockets and giving it to billionaires and big companies.
Over 250,000 people in my district rely on Medicaid, and over 100,000 of them are children and seniors. Nearly 40,000 children, seniors, veterans, and families in my district will have less food on their tables because of Republicans' cuts to SNAP.
Our constituents sent us here to fight for them. They are looking to us for answers, and all Republicans can offer are higher costs for less care. That is not okay with me. Our constituents deserve better.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford), my friend.
Mr. Speaker, we now have a chance to deliver real, lasting change for the American people.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is not just a promise that we as House Republicans and President Trump made. This is a generational opportunity to reset the direction of our great Nation.
Let me be clear: My colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't like this bill because it puts hardworking Americans first, not the bureaucrats, not special interests, and not those who break our laws.
Our friends on the left like to shout: ``The sky is falling. The sky is falling.'' Enough with the Chicken Little mentality in this body.
This bill stops the largest tax increase in U.S. history. This bill will increase take-home pay by more than $13,000 and grow wages by more than $11,000. It protects Medicaid for our citizens by removing more than a million illegal aliens from taxpayer-funded benefits. Yes, Mr. Speaker, this draws the clear line: No taxpayer dollars for sex change surgeries for anyone.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this big, beautiful bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, my friends are so proud of this bill that they are doing it at 1:25 a.m.
The bottom line is the reason why we don't like the bill is that we don't think billionaires deserve any more tax
Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question. If we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule to make in order amendment No. 233 offered by Leader Jeffries, which strikes all provisions that would cause millions of Americans to lose healthcare and food assistance.
We spent over 20 hours in the Rules Committee today trying to stop this ugly, cruel Republican bill. Over 100 Democrats came to testify. We did everything we could to get them to change this bill so that it would not strip healthcare and food assistance from the most vulnerable people in our Nation.
Now, we will give Republicans one last chance not to strip vital programs like Medicaid and SNAP away from millions of Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Underwood) to discuss our proposal.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out on behalf of millions of Americans who are about to have their healthcare torn away from them.
Republicans have been working through the night to hand Donald Trump a massive tax cut to all those billionaires who were in the front row of his inauguration.
It seems that nothing is off-limits. Everything is on the table to get that done, including meals for hungry families, working families' healthcare, and the incredible gains that we have made to get more families affordable coverage.
Today, Republicans blocked my amendment to lower healthcare costs, refusing to accept a proposal that Donald Trump's own pollster said is the most popular way to make care more affordable.
The Medicaid and nutrition cuts that they are pushing will be devastating. Hospitals and nursing homes will close, and they will not come back. Kids will go hungry. Millions will lose their healthcare, and more people will die.
We will not stop fighting for the American people to have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Utah (Ms. Maloy), my very good friend.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, legislation that prioritizes fiscal responsibility while boosting America's economy.
The Energy and Commerce Committee provisions provide $912 billion in deficit reduction. The Ways and Means Committee provisions make real tax relief. This bill reins in Federal spending levels by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and strengthens our economy by ensuring that working American families can thrive without overly burdensome taxes or costly regulations.
We are moving the economy and government in the right direction.
The Natural Resources Committee title reduces the deficit by at least $18.5 billion while restoring commonsense management to our Federal lands and environmental programs. It will generate revenue through oil and gas leases, coal leases on Federal lands, leases for geothermal energy production, timber sales, and other activities that stimulate local economies while generating Federal revenue.
It cuts waste and strengthens resource development, all while achieving significant fiscal savings.
This bill is good for Utah, and it is good for America. The bill helps all Americans by helping us keep our border secure by providing law enforcement with the tools they need.
Mr. Speaker, I support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), a man who is not afraid to speak his mind about fiscal responsibility.
Mr. Speaker, I would love to stand here and tell the American people that we can cut your taxes and increase spending, and everything is going to be just fine. I can't do that because I am here to deliver a dose of reality.
This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term but promises our government will be fiscally responsible 5 years from now. Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises?
This bill is a debt bomb ticking.
Congress can do funny math, fantasy math if it wants, but bond investors don't. This week, they sent us a message. Moody's downgraded our credit rating, and the bond investors who buy and finance our debt demanded higher interest rates on the 10-year note, 20-year note, and the 30-year note. What does this mean? Very soon, the government will be paying $16,000 of interest, interest alone, per U.S. family.
What are we telling them? Instead of taking care of that problem, we are going to give them a $1,600 tax break.
Under the taxing and spending levels in this bill, we are going to rack up, the authors say, $20 trillion of new debt over the next 10 years. I am telling you, it is closer to $30 trillion of new debt in the next 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, we are not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We are putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. If something is beautiful, you don't do it after midnight.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn).
Mr. Speaker, tonight we have the opportunity to deliver on a promise made to the American people on border security, energy independence, and tax cuts for working-class families.
Now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, many of them millionaires themselves, may bemoan what it may do. I promise them this. For folks back home in Iowa, this is a working-class tax cut.
I spoke to an Iowa mom, Sarah Curry, who used her child tax credit to help buy a new water heater for her family when it went out last winter. Sarah was also able to get speech therapy lessons for her son.
I talked to Jolene Riessen, an Iowa farmer, whose sons were able to continue her family's legacy of a family farm because she didn't have a death tax cut that would have allowed a foreign country to buy their family's centuries-old farm.
In fact, the average household will see an increase of $5,000 in real income that goes straight back into our economy. That, my friends, is how we not only grow the economy but pay down the national deficit. This mechanism is something the CBO apparently doesn't understand with over $1 trillion in growth.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. The American people demand this bill.
Mr. Speaker, you have got to love these Republicans. The two things they don't want to talk about are tax cuts for billionaires, which are in this budget reconciliation, and the debt. This bill adds trillions to the debt.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, the Republicans may think that they can hide what they are doing to the American people by voting on this one big, bad, beautiful, BS bill in the middle of the night. They need to think again.
I represent Las Vegas. That is a 24-hour town. My constituents are up. They are not asleep. They are working, and they are watching.
They can see my Republican colleagues cutting benefits for families while cutting taxes for billionaires. They can see them taking away food from children and healthcare from women. They can see my friends on the other side of the aisle stripping funds from renewable energy, Medicaid, and public education.
They are not asleep. They are not blind. Their eyes are wide open. Republicans can say whatever they want to, but my constituents are watching what they are doing.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
Mr. Speaker, we are here this late because our time has been wasted for the last 3 or 4 hours on the nonsense coming from the left.
We were elected to improve our country, to work with President Trump to improve our national security, and strengthen our economy. We were elected to bring fiscal sanity to an out-of-control budget, deliver on accountability, and lead the world toward peace. We were elected, frankly, to bring common sense so people start trusting our government again.
This big, beautiful bill is about caring about America. It is designed to strengthen our national security, fortify our now-secure border, which was turned into a disaster by the Democrats, responsibly grow our domestic energy supply, and create more opportunity for Americans.
It also gives small businesses the type of tax environment and certainty they need and deserve, not one where they are slammed by major tax increases which would occur by voting ``no'' on this bill.
Voting ``no'' on this bill will assure massive tax hikes and will continue the waste, abuse, and fraud that is just running rampant through our Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is just the beginning. It sets the stage for making America as great as it should be.
Mr. Speaker, boy, that was weird.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).
Mr. Speaker, I rise against the cruelty of a bill that would take food from the hungry and medicine from the sick and give billions in tax cuts to billionaires who don't need it.
I rise against a Republican Party that is too afraid to do townhalls and face their own voters, too afraid to debate us in committees to support this terrible bill.
I rise for the working people who are struggling under the weight of Donald Trump's tariffs, the largest tax increase on the middle class in a generation. They can't afford higher copays or higher premiums.
I rise for the seniors who will have nowhere to go when their nursing homes are shut down by the Medicaid cuts in this bill. I rise for the children who will have to pay the tab for the trillions in debt that they are adding.
My Republican colleagues told their voters that they would change Washington. Washington has changed them. Do better. Vote ``no.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the big, beautiful bill which will cut rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in critical government programs so they are protected for vulnerable Americans who need them most for generations to come.
With this bill, President Trump and Republicans in Congress are defending Medicaid, protecting SNAP, and eliminating fraud so taxpayers' dollars are spent on Americans in need, not stolen by illegal immigrants or other fraudsters.
This critical legislation will also make Trump tax cuts, which benefit all American taxpayers, permanent. It will cut taxes for hardworking families, while Democrats try to drive them up.
The bill will also allocate $60 billion toward farm bill programs to support our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and producers who so desperately need support.
Remember this. Republicans are the ones protecting these critical government programs. When Democrats refuse to support this bill, they are choosing to hike up taxes on American families, allow fraud to run rampant in benefit programs, and cut off aid to our farmers who put food on our tables.
Mr. Speaker, passing this bill that puts America first is vital to our Nation's future in both the long and short term.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms. Pou).
Mr. Speaker, the massive cuts to Medicaid within this bill will unleash catastrophic impacts across America and my district. Hospitals and nursing homes could close, and healthcare prices will rise as a result of these cuts.
More than 1.7 million New Jerseyans, including over one-third of all children in our State, get their healthcare through Medicaid. Our State will lose one-quarter of the Federal funding it receives for Medicaid. That is $3.6 billion.
That is what this bill will do if it becomes law. These cuts will especially hurt families in our poorest communities. That is why I offered an amendment to require continuous Medicaid coverage through pregnancy and a year postpartum.
If my colleagues support women and working families, there is no reason to oppose this provision. However, my amendment was blocked, along with five other commonsense amendments.
I urge my colleagues to please vote ``no'' on this cruel rule.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin) for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, right now the Montanans that I represent are staring down the barrel of a 26 percent tax increase. If Congress does not act soon, the average Treasure State family of four will lose more than $1,400 a year.
President Trump won a decisive victory on creating jobs, lowering costs, and making his signature tax law permanent. This resolution advances his full agenda that the American people overwhelmingly elected us to enact.
This is a game changer for individual filers, as well as farmers, ranchers, and small business owners that make up the backbone of the Treasure State's economy.
Our reconciliation bill delivers permanent death tax relief, benefiting over 2 million family-owned farms, ranches, and small businesses that would otherwise see their exemption cut in half.
Our bill provides permanent relief for the small businesses around the country that employ nearly half of Americans, while honoring President Trump's promise of no tax on overtime and no tax on tips.
Put plainly, a vote against this rule, or our one big, beautiful bill, is a vote to raise taxes on every single American. With that, I urge my colleagues to support this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman the reason why the tax cuts for middle-class families might expire is because that is the way they wrote them in the 2017 Republican tax scam bill.
Republicans made the corporate tax cuts permanent. Republicans made those tax cuts for working people expire. It is their fault.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Casten).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, if you run a company that is losing market share, then you have three choices: You can go bankrupt, you can innovate, or you can come whining to Washington saying that competition scares me.
In this bill, the Republican Party is delivering that protection from competition to the fossil fuel sector.
Some numbers: In the last 15 years, coal use is down 50 percent; oil use is flat; gas is losing market share.
That is because people are transitioning to renewables. If you don't have to burn fossil fuel, Mr. Speaker, then you don't have to buy fossil fuel. People like cheap energy.
That is awesome. In the IRA, we passed rules to make sure that everybody could access those technologies, not just ones with disposable income. It is great for consumers. We prioritize those investments in red and blue States.
The result of all that is that the oil and gas sector doesn't like competition for the same reason the Republican Party doesn't like DEI, Mr. Speaker, because mediocre folks are scared about meritocracies.
They are now slashing those programs that were building out transmission, that were leading the Renaissance technology, and that were building out nuclear and solar not because they are clean, but because they are cheap. We are getting higher energy prices, a less reliable grid, and more extreme weather, all so that the fossil fuel industry doesn't have to face competition.
That is not capitalism. It is state-directed socialism. You own your life choices, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos).
Mr. Speaker, I had a great conversation with their interns the other day.
They said: I have been studying the tax bill. The current tax rate on the wealthiest Americans is 37 percent. The new tax rate, so to speak, will be 37 percent.
They asked me: Why do they keep on talking about cutting taxes for the rich? It is who is getting the cut. It is simple. It is the person who has earned Social Security. It is the person who earned those tips. It is the person who has earned that overtime pay.
The people who make America work have been suffering for last 4 years from failed government policies.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight because healthcare is on the line and so is the well-being and the dignity of the people I serve in New Hampshire.
The phones in my office won't stop ringing because people I represent are beyond angry about the proposal to slash Medicaid.
Last week, I sat down with a constituent of Laconia, Donka Facciolo, who lives with a disability. Thanks to Medicaid, she receives skilled nursing, transportation, and employment support. Because of that help she can live on her own.
Another constituent whom I met, Kevin Brett, told me the same. Without Medicaid, he is not sure where he would go.
Parents of individuals with disabilities have told me that they could lose in-home care for their kids, and in doing so, they would be forced to quit their jobs.
What kind of choice is that for these parents?
Slashing Medicaid is cruel. It would take away Granite Staters' ability to receive care and their chance to work, and it would rob them of their independence.
We know it is all being ripped away in order to give big tax breaks to billionaires and the biggest corporations.
I am a ``no'' on this reckless scheme, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Moore).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that delivers on President Trump's promise to make America great again.
The bill makes America energy dominant again by repealing the Democrats' disastrous green new scam, expediting permitting, and unleashing all of the below energy--that is the ground--coal, oil, and natural gas.
The legislation makes America safe again by building the wall, giving needed resources to enforce our immigration laws, and rebuild our military.
We also make America prosperous again by providing the largest tax cut in history, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and slashing taxes on Social Security. Tip workers will see a $1,700 increase in take-home pay in this bill.
That is a win for the American people.
Finally, this bill puts American families first by increasing and making permanent the child tax credit and enhancing the adoption tax credit and defunding, thank God, big abortion.
President Trump made a promise to the American people, and this bill fulfills it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes).
Mr. Speaker, every time I hear the name and the title of H.R. 1, I am stunned with how childish and immature it is to name a bill the way that the majority has.
However, truly, it is the cruelty that is the worst part of this bill. When I was first elected, I told the people of Ohio's 13th Congressional District that it may be my name on the ballot, but we are all going to Congress together. I made that promise because as a Representative, it is my responsibility to make sure that my constituents' needs are being addressed here in Washington.
The people in Ohio's 13th Congressional District need lower costs. They need access to care, and they do not need this horrible, horrible bill.
I have said many times before that access to maternal health, to infant mortality reduction, to making sure that people have access to substance and mental health services is what is so important. Mr. Speaker, there was no Republican mandate to kick our grandmothers out of nursing homes.
However, the most important part about this is that when 30,000 jobs are on the line in Ohio's 13th Congressional District, Mr. Speaker, what are you going to say to my constituents?
Will you call them lazy or worthless, unworthy of food, shelter, and human dignity? I already know the answer to that.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard you talk about them, that they are not important. They are totally unworthy of this horrible, horrific, mean, cruel, and nasty bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McDowell.)
Mr. Speaker, it comes as no surprise that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are afraid of the truth when speaking about the bill before us today.
We now have extensive reporting that the last administration kept the American people in the dark about the health of President Biden. They refused to call the flood of illegals coming across our border a crisis.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle tried putting lipstick on their inflationary economy rather than changing course.
It should come as no shock, Mr. Speaker, that these same folks are misleading Americans about the bill before us today. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will be a major course correction delivering massive tax relief, certainty for small businesses, a historic investment in border security, and we are unleashing American energy.
Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that too many in this body live their own truth, not the truth. The truth is: This puts America first.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Figures).
Mr. Speaker, we are talking border security, and the same administration just let in El Chapo's family. El Chapo's family. I rise today as somebody representing one of the poorest districts in this country. The individual median income is around $30,000. Mr. Speaker, one in four people in my district receive SNAP benefits, and one in four people in my district receive Medicaid benefits.
These people cannot afford to lose healthcare access. They cannot afford to lose access to SNAP benefits.
The truth of the matter is, the truth is people will lose those benefits, all in an effort to make long money even longer.
My question is: Is their money being longer worth people in my district's lives being shorter?
It is not. It never will be. It never can be. We have to stand up for these people. I came to Congress to be a voice for people who need things like Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
Every day I am here, I will push back against efforts to cut back on these benefits.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Kennedy).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the yielding of that time.
Mr. Speaker, as a family physician, I have seen both the benefits and issues associated with Medicaid.
Currently there are 7.6 million people on Medicaid who should not be there.
It is time we crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse on such a vital program for those who need it.
As we assess the state of Medicaid, we find that roughly $1 in every $4 are spent improperly with more than 80 percent of these payments stemming from eligibility errors.
Medicaid is critically important for countless Americans, and this bill will ensure that those who truly need it can continue to access the care they depend on.
Medicaid was designed to support the disabled, pregnant women, children, and those who are in need. It has ballooned with able-bodied adults who are currently not required to be working.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans are trying to fix Medicaid and preserve it for those who need it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. McBride).
Mr. Speaker, I offered a simple but essential amendment to this slash-and-burn Republican budget.
This budget creates red tape that would result in vulnerable seniors losing their healthcare. My amendment would have prevented that red tape unless the Congressional Budget Office certifies that this bill will not result in any senior losing coverage.
Why did Republicans block my amendment? Because they know their budget cuts care. That is why they are doing all of this in the dead of night. That is why they are rushing this through. They want to eviscerate healthcare so long as they get tax breaks for their billionaire best friends.
It may be very late at night, but it is not too late for my Republican colleagues to do the right thing. It is not too late to protect Medicaid. It is not too late to protect SNAP. It is not too late to protect their constituents, but I won't hold my breath.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna).
Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone for being here today.
Mr. Speaker, I can say that I am very excited to vote for this bill for a few reasons. Starting in November, I was campaigning with our very popular President, who won not just the national popular vote but also the electoral college and who campaigned on ending taxes on tips, taxes on overtime pay, everything that would help the American people who have felt far too long left by Washington, D.C.
We are finally able to deliver. What are we delivering on? It doesn't just stop there. It is ending taxes on car loan interest, which so many people struggle with. It is going to bring additional tax relief for seniors. It makes sure that we restore border security.
By the way, I remind the American people that it was our colleagues who were responsible for giving many of these program benefits to people who never paid into the program, to people who were here illegally, hurting our very own people.
We talk about defending seniors. We talk about defending the most needy. Yet, these programs were literally at risk of insolvency had we not done this.
Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that I am very proudly supporting this bill that also includes an increase in the child tax credit and an increase in individual tax deductions.
Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone to join us in this. Please support the very big, beautiful bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar), chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding. I am grateful for his leadership and the leadership of the Rules Committee Democrats, who are fighting back against these massive tax giveaways to billionaires and corporations raking in record profits.
Mr. Speaker, the American people are getting squeezed by reckless tariffs that are raising prices on every family, and it is only going to get worse. With prices still too high, I don't understand how my Republican colleagues can justify taking food off the table from women, children, and families.
While so many working families are struggling, I don't understand how they can justify a tax bill that only makes life easier for billionaires like Elon Musk.
In the dark of night, they want to pass this GOP tax scam.
We saw today that the President has said that a vote against this legislation represents an ultimate betrayal. The real betrayal, Mr. Speaker, is to the working people of this country, who will pay the price so that billionaires can pay less in taxes.
Mr. Speaker, our friends on the other side of the aisle said that they wouldn't cut Medicaid, and that is exactly what this bill does. They said that they would end taxes on tips, but they forgot to mention that the tradeoff is that Americans will lose their healthcare.
The American people didn't sign up for these broken promises. They asked their elected officials to work together to lower costs.
My colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus are waiting for these so-called reasonable Republicans to join us. Let's focus on bringing down the cost of housing, rent, gas, and groceries, and let's stop rewarding billionaires at the expense of the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Dakota (Mrs. Fedorchak).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on behalf of these people and thousands of others like them. They are not millionaires or billionaires. They are family farmers.
Brent and Stephanie Baldwin farm wheat, sugar beets, edible beans, and soybeans in St. Thomas, North Dakota. They have three kids. They are fourth-generation farmers.
Unless Congress acts, the tax relief they depend on, the 199A deduction, will expire at the end of this year. Our bill will permanently expand this and increase this deduction for passthrough businesses like the Baldwins'.
In 2020 alone, 67,000 taxpayers in my State, including many farmers, claimed the 199A deduction, putting $682 million in their pockets. That is real money for working-class Americans.
Our bill also eliminates the death tax for family-owned businesses. We can't have the big, bloated Federal Government stealing their hard work and wasting it on fraud and abuse.
For our family farmers and producers, the backbone of rural America, this is urgent. Let's make these tax cuts permanent and pass this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding his time.
Mr. Speaker, 13.7 million Americans are the number of people in this country whose healthcare is going to be stripped in this bill. Now, Republicans are going to try to say every single distraction in the book from that essential number.
I want people at home to understand that Medicaid and the Federal matching funds for Medicaid can make up 30 to 40 percent of some of the State budgets that we have going on back home.
Republicans have put this bill together, rushed it together in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin, shaking it, walking it out of the White House, and brought it right here to this floor.
They are defunding Planned Parenthood. They are ending tons of Medicaid coverage for 13.7 million Americans, including Affordable Care Act coverage, as well. If Americans want to get an abortion and have a silver plan on a healthcare plan that they paid for, they will also be affected by this legislation, as well.
Mr. Speaker, it is also allowing suppressors on guns to be deregulated to some of the largest amounts that we have seen since the 1930s. This is just a Christmas tree bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York.
Mr. Speaker, I want people to understand, for my Republican colleagues who are sure what
When this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).
Mr. VAN ORDEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to ground this House in reality and make sure that everyone understands that words have consequences and that the violent political rhetoric that has been delivered over the last 48 to 72 hours by my Democratic colleagues has affected Americans across this country and the globe.
Mr. Speaker, it has been reported that two Israeli diplomats were shot leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., by someone who yelled: ``Free, free Palestine.''
I would like to spend the rest of my time that has been yielded by Mrs. Houchin to respectfully ask my colleagues to have a moment of silence for these two people who were murdered by someone for political purposes.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker Emerita.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his exceptional leadership. I recognize all the Members of the Rules Committee for their stamina and Mr. McGovern for his values.
Mr. Speaker, the Reverend Martin Luther King said: ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.'' He went on to talk about access to healthcare as a right.
This bill's inequality and inhumanity is exactly what Republicans have in store for the American people.
I was in the Rules Committee for 5 hours. I know some of you were there longer, and it was stiff competition as to what was the worst provision they came up with.
Let's just talk about work requirements for a moment. Republicans said with great pride: Oh, if they have a 7-year-old child, they have to go to work. A 7-year-old child is a little child.
I will just recall for you a conversation I had with some moms. One of them said: If I have a work requirement to have Medicaid, this is what it means to me. If my child is sick, I can't go to work because I can't afford childcare. If I miss work, I will miss pay, and I can't afford to miss the pay. If I miss going to work, I can be fired. What I have to do is put my child on a schoolbus even though my child is sick, and I have to go to work to have Medicaid.
Then, of course, as has been mentioned about the silencers, that is just beyond comprehension in terms of safety for our children.
Mr. Speaker, because of Republicans' tax bill scam, millions of American families, seniors, and veterans--
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.
Ms. PELOSI.--vulnerable children, people with disabilities, and all the rest will lose their healthcare. Rural hospitals will be closed. Millions of jobs will be destroyed across America, and all of this to give another massive tax cut to the richest people in America. It is a Republican Robin Hood in reverse, one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our country.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and on the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards).
Mr. Speaker, once again, Democrats are distorting the truth to smear a bill that protects working-class Americans.
They scream: Tax cuts for billionaires. Yet, not a single personal income tax rate from the Trump tax cuts is being changed, tax cuts that pulled over 6 million people out of poverty and brought our country's poverty rate to a record low.
What they don't want Americans to know is that without this bill, families face a 22 percent tax hike. House Republicans are making sure that does not happen. Republicans are cutting taxes, boosting take-home pay, and securing millions of American manufacturing jobs.
Republicans are delivering on conservative promises: no taxes on tips, overtime, or car loan interest. We are strengthening the child tax credit, making the paid leave credit permanent, and repealing the Democrats' IRS overreach targeting gig workers with their $600 rule.
This bill stands for working families, economic freedom, and common sense.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from North Carolina.
The left can't spin it all they want, but the facts don't lie.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this one big, ugly bill.
Instead of cutting costs, it imposes the biggest healthcare cut ever, forcing 14 million people to lose coverage.
This bill makes the deepest cuts to nutrition assistance in U.S. history, ripping food from the mouths of kids, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.
It guts clean energy, hurts farmers, expands abortion bans, and explodes the debt so badly it will trigger $500 billion in cuts to Medicare.
Its thousand-plus pages all boil down to this: $1.1 trillion is swiped from SNAP and Medicaid and stuffed right into the pockets of the richest 1 percent.
It no longer, thankfully, gives tax breaks to tanning beds, although Republicans tried that in the dead of night, yet strips Affordable Care Act coverage from millions of families and raises deductibles and copays for millions more.
This is worse than the haves versus the have-nots. It is just one big giveaway to the have yachts.
Just like Trump did to all his businesses, this bill will drive our constituents and our country into bankruptcy.
Any Republican with a spine, which they clearly lack, and a conscience, which they also lack, should join me in voting ``hell no.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine).
Mr. Speaker, I am a new person in this Chamber, and one of the things I have observed over the last 6 weeks is the fundamental question of: Who is it that we should be most worried about? See, Rome is burning, and it doesn't seem as though people realize that.
It is not thoughtful, it is not generous, it is not compassionate to borrow money from our children and our grandchildren to give it to people who should not be in our country anyway. It is not compassionate to borrow money from them to give it to people for healthcare if they could work and they could provide it for themselves.
What is compassionate is to tell someone who is a waitress, working hard to support her family, that she doesn't have to pay taxes on her tips. It is compassionate to someone like my father who is blind to know that he might not have to pay taxes on his Social Security.
There is compassion in this bill. There is compassion for the American people, and I hope that everyone will support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crank).
Mr. Speaker, there was a lot of talk tonight about what happens if we vote for this bill.
What are my colleagues voting for if they vote against this bill? Democrats who aren't going to vote for this bill will be voting for a $4.5 trillion tax increase. They will be voting for waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid. They will be voting for illegal immigrants stealing from Medicaid. They will be voting for continuing green energy scams.
What are they voting against? They are voting against $150 billion increase for our military, and they are voting against a base housing allowance increase for our soldiers. That is in this bill. They are voting against tax relief for seniors and working Americans.
Let's end the nonsense. Let's do what is right for America. Let's pass this rule and pass this bill.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 5\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, one of the previous Republican speakers got up and said: Rome is burning. I hate to tell him, but Republicans are in charge, and Trump is your Caesar.
CBO just did an analysis of this budget, and they did an analysis as to how it impacts the bottom 10 percent and the top 10 percent income earners of this country. Guess what? The bottom 10 percent gets screwed, and the top 10 percent gets a big raise in terms of revenue, in terms of tax breaks.
Let me end where I began, Mr. Speaker. This is about whose side you are on. Whose side are you on, Mr. Speaker? From where I stand, it looks like you and the entire Republican Party betrayed the American people to side with the billionaires.
People are so tired of getting screwed over by a system that doesn't work for them. They are fed up, and they want change. They want us to make things better for regular, hardworking people, not just the rich and the powerful.
What Republicans' big, ugly bill does is the exact opposite. Our colleagues and Trump are perpetuating the exact broken system that people hate and despise: more tax breaks for billionaires while regular people get screwed; more giveaways for the rich and powerful while moms and dads struggle to get by; and more loopholes into the tax code for Wall Street while working families fall further and further behind.
That is the Republican agenda. That is what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle think is big and beautiful--greed, corruption, and tax breaks for billionaires. My State of Massachusetts funds States like Indiana, where the gentlewoman is from. We get back less than we give. How dare she or anybody else vote to steal our tax money and give it to billionaires.
Mr. Speaker, no, we will not go quietly. No, we will not give up. We will fight this cruel, corrupt, immoral bill every step of the way because the people we represent are counting on us, and we will never stop fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge every Member of this House to vote ``hell no,'' ``never,'' ``absolutely not,'' on this terrible disgrace of a bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, Rome is burning, but not because of the leadership of Republicans and Donald Trump. After 4 years of failed leadership under President Biden, our country faces many challenges.
Yet, Republicans, along with President Trump, are ready to address them head on and get our country back on track. The one big, beautiful bill is here, and the American people are ready to see us deliver on our promises.
This is historic legislation that is a bill for working Americans. Here are three words I want my colleagues to remember: ``ineligible,'' ``illegal,'' and ``able.'' Those are the people who we don't believe should be taking Medicaid from pregnant women, children, the disabled, and the elderly.
We have heard a lot about 13.7 million people are going to lose their healthcare. That number was debunked by The New York Times. That is a newspaper that doesn't write a lot of things that are friendly to our side. It is not that way.
This is a bill that is going to support pregnant women, children, the disabled, and the elderly. It supports our veterans, our farmers, and our small business owners. It secures tax certainty, permitting reform, and our border.
Mr. Speaker, put quite simply, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is America First, and I am proud to support it. With this vote, we can unlock the golden age of America. I look forward to moving the One Big Beautiful Bill Act out of the House and delivering for the American people who voted for the golden age to return.
I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on the previous question, and ``yes'' on the rule.
The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 436 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 15- minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by 5- minute votes on adoption of the resolution, if ordered, and passage of S.J. Res. 31.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 213, nays 211, not voting 8, as follows:
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 217, noes 212, not voting 3, as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 2 minutes remaining.
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 436, I call up the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 436, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-3, modified by the amendment printed in House Report 119-113, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
Part 2--Repeal of EPA Rules Relating to Greenhouse Gas and Multi-
Part 1--Permanently Preventing Tax Hikes on American Families and
Part 2--Additional Tax Relief for American Families and Workers
Part 2--Additional Tax Relief for Rural America and Main Street
Part 3--Investing in the Health of Rural America and Main Street
PART 2--REPEAL OF EPA RULES RELATING TO GREENHOUSE GAS AND MULTI-
PART 1--PERMANENTLY PREVENTING TAX HIKES ON AMERICAN FAMILIES AND
PART 2--ADDITIONAL TAX RELIEF FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES AND WORKERS
PART 2--ADDITIONAL TAX RELIEF FOR RURAL AMERICA AND MAIN STREET
PART 3--INVESTING IN THE HEALTH OF RURAL AMERICA AND MAIN STREET
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 2 hours equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget or their respective designees and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Boyle), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, for the last 4 years, the American people have suffered one self-inflicted crisis after another--from the chaos at our southern border, to our crime ridden streets, to a cost-of-living crisis that decimated working families from sea to shining sea--leaving Americans weaker, our country more divided, and more vulnerable than it has been in generations.
Mr. Speaker, lest we forget how we got here and why this moment is so important and so consequential in the life of our country. Let's reflect on the recent history.
Under the leadership of Biden-Harris and congressional Democrats, our Federal Government failed to enforce the laws of our land and unilaterally surrendered our sovereign border to terrorist drug cartels.
On top of that, our military mission was reduced from warfighter readiness to ideological indoctrination. We lost the confidence of our allies, the respect of our enemies, and America's influence on the world stage.
Unbridled spending and failed fiscal policies sent our country's economy into a tailspin. Trillions in deficit spending, trillions more in regulations, cradle-to-grave welfare without work, and an all-out assault on American energy independence wreaked havoc on our economy and created the worst inflation crisis in 40 years.
In November, the American people gave President Trump a historic mandate and unified Republican leadership in Congress to reverse course on these failed policies and their disastrous consequences.
That is exactly what this bill does, Mr. Speaker.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers:
The greatest single investment in border security and national defense.
The largest tax cuts for families and small businesses.
The most significant commitment to unlocking America's energy resources.
The largest reduction in spending in the history of the United States by two-fold.
However, in an attempt to derail our efforts, Mr. Speaker, you can be sure of this: Our Democratic colleagues will use their tired, old tactics of fear-mongering and false claims.
Mr. Speaker, they would like to lead you to believe that this reconciliation bill is a ``tax cut for the rich on the backs of the poor.'' Their narrative throughout this process has not only been misleading, Mr. Speaker, and completely untrue, it preys on the fears of our Nation's most vulnerable.
Here is the truth: The 2017 tax cuts lowered tax rates for every American household at every income level with the lower income families benefiting the most while actually increasing the amount of taxes paid at the top 1 percent.
Mr. Speaker, $3 out of every $4 in the Trump tax cuts didn't go to corporations. They went to individuals.
Workers experienced a record 25-year wage increase. Families received an additional $5,000 in median household income, and income for the bottom 50 percent grew three times faster than the top 1 percent.
As a result, Mr. Speaker, a record 6 million Americans were lifted out of poverty.
This won't stop our Democrat colleagues from scaring you, Mr. Speaker, with fallacious statements that children will go without food, seniors will be stranded without healthcare, and the disabled will be left to die in the streets.
All of this is just a cover for what they really want to do. They want to protect healthcare and welfare at any cost for illegal immigrants at the expense of hardworking taxpayers and our--our-- citizens who depend on them.
Crazily enough, Mr. Speaker, they also want to abandon the commonsense, Clinton-era work requirements that reduced government dependency by 80 percent. Instead, they would trap millions of people in poverty and rob them of the dignity of work.
By the overwhelming results of this last election, it is abundantly clear that the American people see through this too, and they have totally rejected the Democrats' radical agenda.
Their message to Washington was clear, Mr. Speaker. They want competent leaders, commonsense policies, and a commitment from all of us to put America and Americans first.
Now let's give the people what they voted for.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, by my calculation, I have now been up 43 of the last 45 hours, and I am not quitting yet. We are not quitting yet. That is because the stakes are just too damn high.
This is one of the most significant pieces of legislation we will ever vote on. This bill will bring about the greatest loss of healthcare in American history.
More than 6 million Americans who are currently on the Affordable Care Act will lose their health insurance if this Republican bill becomes law. More than 7 million Americans currently on Medicaid will lose their healthcare if this Republican bill becomes law. In fact, in total, 13.7 million Americans will lose their healthcare, according to the nonpartisan CBO.
That is bad enough, but then, late last night, we also got confirmation from CBO that something else is in this bill: over $500 billion worth of cuts to Medicare.
All told, given the cuts to the ACA, the cuts to Medicaid, and the cuts to Medicare, it is the largest loss of healthcare in American history as a result of this bill. Not even during the Great Depression did so many people lose their healthcare as will lose it in this bill.
There are even more cuts beyond that: cuts to nutrition assistance programs, cuts to Head Start, cuts to other education programs. The list goes on and on. Why? To help pay for over $5 trillion worth of tax cuts, most of which go to the top 1 percent.
As draconian as these cuts are, they actually don't even come close to paying for the size of the tax cuts.
How is the rest subsidized? With more debt financing, so much so that we have finally seen for the first time ever the Moody's Credit Agency on Friday downgrade the quality of the credit of the United States.
Today, we saw more market churn. Markets are worried. Now, most ordinary Americans, most people I call neighbors and friends back home in Northeast Philly, a very working-class and middle-class place, most people I know aren't paying attention to credit agencies and what Wall Street is doing, but it will affect interest rates. In fact, it already is.
Mortgage rates have gone back up over 7 percent and are set to rise by more. It is not just mortgage rates but auto loan rates and the rate that your credit card company charges.
At a time of increasing unaffordability in America, this bill doesn't make the situation better. It makes it far, far worse.
Mr. Speaker, this is not the kind of bill that is worthy of the Congress of
Again, these aren't Democratic talking points. These aren't coming from progressive organizations. Last night, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released the distribution tables in terms of who will get what from this tax bill. They found the bottom 10 percent will be 4 percent poorer in household wealth under this bill, with most of the benefits going to the top 10 percent of Americans. Of that top 10 percent, of course, it is the top 1 percent that will get the most benefit of all.
Robbing the poor to reward the rich is wrong, bad economics, and, as one Republican Senator called it, morally wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, just to be clear, the CBO doesn't say economic benefits. It talks about Federal resources. That letter actually affirms the success of our bill.
Because of reasonable, commonsense work requirements and because of prohibitions on illegal immigrants getting taxpayer-funded social services, we will actually have people moving up and out of the welfare trap. We won't have people siphoning off money who are not eligible.
That is success--not to them, but success to my Republican colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), my good friend from the Keystone State and the chair of the Agriculture Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that will halt the largest tax increase on American families, bolster our hardworking farmers and rural communities, and give President Trump the tools he needs to make America safe again.
The Agriculture Committee was tasked with $230 billion in net deficit reduction. I am proud to say that we exceeded that instruction. We achieved these savings for America's taxpayers by restoring integrity to the SNAP program, reinforcing work, rooting out waste, and ending the unchecked overreach by States and the executive branch that has driven costs through the roof.
SNAP is the only State-administered welfare program that does not have a cost-share component. While the Federal Government funds 100 percent of the benefit, States are tasked with operating it. The only problem is that they aren't operating it well.
In 2023 alone, over $13 billion in improper payments were made. That is not just a slap in the face of taxpayers but of the needy families who rely on SNAP, as well.
We don't just stop at restoring the SNAP program to its original intent. We are also delivering big wins for rural America by shoring up the safety net for farmers and ranchers and providing critical tax relief.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes permanent and expands the Trump tax cuts. It also prevents the death tax from hitting over 2 million family farms.
It locks in the small business deduction, helping 98 percent of American farms stay afloat. It expands immediate expensing so farmers can expense the tools that they use today to secure the harvests of tomorrow. It protects domestic biofuels from being crowded out by Chinese imports. It lowers the cost of borrowing for our farmers hit by Biden's sky-high interest rates. It reduces regulatory burdens on small farmers hiring seasonal workers.
In short, this bill secures the safety net our farmers deserve and delivers to SNAP the accountability taxpayers demand.
America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities sent us here to fight for them, and the one big, beautiful bill delivers on that mandate.
Mr. Speaker, I remind my friend that this bill will kick 404,000 people in our State of Pennsylvania off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee on the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. Speaker, breaking yet another promise, Republicans are cutting Medicare by $500 billion.
On October 1 of this year, every Medicare healthcare provider will see a 4 percent cut, and that will occur year after year as seniors try to find someone who will accept Medicare.
On January 1, millions of Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act will lose their access to a family physician. Medicaid for those in nursing homes and for half the babies born in my hometown of Austin is cut. Almost 14 million Americans will lose their access to healthcare.
The new Trump school voucher sabotage plan atop State vouchers incentivizes removing students from public schools. Meanwhile, our national debt, soaring by trillions from Republicans who talk fiscal responsibility but serve their cult leader, the deficit hawks have become chicken hawks tonight in submission to Trump, the self-described king of debt, all to reward billionaires with even more tax breaks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of this reconciliation effort, and I thank my friend from west Texas, the home of national security, for supporting this bill and working hard to bring it to fruition, bringing it to the House floor.
Last month, the House Financial Services Committee completed our work assigned to us under the Budget Committee's reconciliation instruction. The resolution asked us to decrease the deficit by $1 billion during the planning period of 10 years. The Financial Services Committee exceeded that objective. We saved for the American taxpayers by cutting the deficit in our plan by $5.2 billion in savings.
During the markup, we spent 9 hours debating and considering 40 amendments from our friends on the other side of the aisle. After this exhaustive process, we favorably reported the Financial Services Committee's print to fulfill our obligations under this bill.
Mr. Speaker, we can't lose sight of the reason that we are here tonight on this House floor. In 2024, the American people voted for fiscal responsibility and real change.
Our country is currently $37 trillion in debt, paying billions of dollars in interest each day on that debt. Congress must act. Today, we start that process. For too long the government spending has been a one-way road in the wrong direction.
I am proud of the good work of the Financial Services Committee in doing our part to reduce this deficit.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my friend from Arkansas this bill would kick 131,000 people in Arkansas off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee and also a member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to take my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seriously when they give speech after speech after speech complaining about the deficit and then support this reconciliation bill that adds trillions of dollars to the national debt.
The bill not only increases the deficit, but also 4 million students who will lose their Pell grants, 18 million children who could potentially lose their free school lunch, 13.7 million people who are set to lose their healthcare, and everybody loses when the National Institutes of Health research is cut.
This big, bad billionaire's bill steals educational opportunities from students, cuts healthcare and food from working families, all to fund tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and then increases the national debt.
Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase Harry Truman: This is not fearmongering. It is the truth, but they just think it is fearmongering. Vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, my Democratic colleagues surely recognize and remember that for the last 4 years they racked up $8 trillion in record debt. If we add the record interest rates
Our balanced budget reconciliation bill actually reduces the deficit in the 10-year window by $140 billion, and it brings the debt to GDP down by 10 percentage points.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes a title from the Energy and Commerce Committee that unleashes American energy, promotes American innovation, and protects care for our most vulnerable Americans.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the Medicaid program to protect low-income families, individuals who were disabled, and seniors. House Republicans share this commitment to this vulnerable population.
This bill protects coverage for those individuals by ensuring ineligible recipients do not cut the line in front of our most vulnerable Americans.
The decision by left-leaning State governments to spend taxpayer dollars on people who are ineligible for the program is indefensible. Medicaid should not cover illegal immigrants, deceased, or duplicative beneficiaries or able-bodied adults without dependents who choose not to work.
Let's be clear about what my Democrat colleagues are prioritizing when they say they oppose our bill. What they are really saying is that 4.8 million people who refuse to work a part-time job or volunteer in their community are entitled to free healthcare paid by hardworking taxpayers.
When they say they are opposed to our bill, what they are really saying is that the 1.4 million illegal immigrants should be prioritized over U.S. citizens.
When they say they oppose our bill, what they are really saying is that people who aren't eligible for Medicaid should be prioritized over children, mothers, or people with disabilities for whom the program was intended.
House Republicans make no apologies for prioritizing Americans in need over illegal immigrants or other able-bodied beneficiaries who are choosing not to work.
Along with work requirements, our bill rolls back restrictive Biden- Harris era regulations, promotes transparency for pharmacy benefit managers, and increases seniors' access to medication.
These are all commonsense policies that will strengthen our healthcare system and return taxpayer dollars to middle-class families.
House Republicans are fighting for America's children. We are fighting for pregnant women and mothers. We are fighting for individuals with disabilities, and we are fighting for seniors who need long-term care.
That is why I urge my colleagues to support this legislation as part of our effort.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my good friend that this bill will kick 159,000 people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, ask yourself why. Why are we here at 3 a.m. fast-tracking this bill? This bill is nothing to be proud of. It is best to pass it in the night when most folks are asleep.
What kind of a nation are we when leaders choose to take food away from children? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to take healthcare away from people? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to add trillions of dollars to the deficit and pass those financial handcuffs on to our grandchildren? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to make those deficits, that it will force $500 billion in cuts to Medicare?
What has happened this week is shocking. It is unconscionable. It is not leadership. It is moral failure, kicking the poor in the teeth while rewarding the richest among us.
Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve so much better than this, so much better. I urge my colleagues to reject this cruel, cynical bill.
Mr. Speaker, 91 percent, on average, of my colleagues, voters, constituents, friends, and families, pay the standard deduction. Democrats' opposition to this bill, if they were successful, would actually cut the standard deduction in half.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves), our Transportation and Infrastructure chair.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which fulfills President Trump's agenda by securing our border, keeping taxes low for families and job creators, and restoring the Nation's energy dominance in cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's portion of today's legislation combines critical investments in border security, national defense, and modernization of America's air traffic control system, while eliminating wasteful spending and other deficit reduction measures.
Specifically, this bill addresses long-overdue needs of the United States Coast Guard, which for over two decades has received less than half of the capital investment necessary to effectively carry out its critical missions. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee included more than $21 billion to recapitalize Coast Guard assets, including the acquisition of cutters, aircraft, polar icebreakers, along with the facilities needed to support them.
In light of serious operational and financial challenges facing the FAA, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee provided a $12.5 billion downpayment for finally modernizing our outdated air traffic control infrastructure.
Finally, the bill addresses the chronic shortfall in the highway trust fund by instituting a $250 annual fee on electric vehicles and $100 on hybrid vehicles, ensuring that all drivers contribute their fair share to maintaining our roads and bridges.
In this measure, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee prioritized core Federal responsibilities, which included national defense, transportation safety, and infrastructure modernization, while also responsibly offsetting these investments with cuts to wasteful spending.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I would correct a disingenuous argument that has been offered repeatedly.
Folks on the other side throughout this past week and a half, 2 weeks, and we heard it tonight, say: Well, if we don't pass this bill, most Americans will face a tax increase. That is completely false.
Time and again over the past 2 weeks, both in Ways and Means and Rules, Democratic Members offered amendments to protect and extend the tax cuts for every American making under $1 billion a year. Every single Democrat voted for those amendments. Every single Republican voted against them.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Boyle for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, Federal budgets are moral documents. They tell the American people who we value and who we leave behind.
This budget is a bonanza for billionaires. It is paid for by cutting healthcare and food for millions of working families and seniors.
The U.S. national debt stands at $36 trillion, and this bill will raise it to over $40 trillion. Historically, Republican administrations have ballooned the debt--Reagan, both Bushes, and Trump--through tax cuts to the very rich coupled with endless wars. It is clear where the debt has come from. Trillions were added and not paid for. Now Republicans are coming after health coverage and food assistance.
President Trump has already added $8.4 trillion to the debt from his last tax cuts. Meanwhile, his billionaires use their tax refunds to do stock buybacks. American workers are left behind.
Mr. Speaker, let's call it what it is: another Republican budget buster, betraying working people while causing prices to rise.
Mr. Speaker, 40,000 people across the district I represent and nearly 14 million people nationwide will lose coverage for healthcare to pay for these bonanzas for billionaires.
Mr. Speaker, this bill must be benched. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues that, over the last 4 years, their failed economic policies and their unbridled spending put a 20 percent regressive inflation tax on working families all across this great land.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and our GOP chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Speaker, my colleagues know it is a good bill because the left hates it--the left that defunded the police; the left that let 10 million people illegally enter our country in a 4-year time span; the left that wants men to compete against women in sports; the left that lied to us about Benghazi, lied to us about the Hunter Biden laptop, lied to us about President Biden's health; and the left that lied to us about COVID.
The Speaker will remember that. Democrats got to go to the fancy restaurants, but all the people we represent couldn't go to church, couldn't go to work, and couldn't go to school.
The left doesn't like this bill. That tells my colleagues it is a good bill.
This bill is about fundamental conservative principles, regular things that the American people appreciate. This bill cuts taxes. This bill requires work for able-bodied adults in our welfare system. This bill gives school choice to parents. This bill secures the border.
We are the party that believes in letting moms and dads keep more of their money to spend on their goals and their dreams. We are the party that says that if you get taxpayer funds and you are able-bodied, you should work. That is fair to the taxpayers. That is good for our economy. Most importantly, it is good for the recipients.
We are the party that says that parents, regular moms and dads, should get to pick where their kid goes to school so they get the kind of education that will allow them to achieve the American Dream. That is in this bill. This bill secures the border. The primary issue of last fall's election, the issue that decided the election, the issue that put President Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the Congress, this bill helps secure the border, and President Trump already has it under control.
That is why we should support this legislation. It cuts taxes, requires work for able-bodied adults, empowers parents to pick the school where their kid is going to get the best education, and secures the border like the American people want us to do.
This bill is doing exactly what we told the voters we were going to do, and that is why we should support it.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Committee on the Budget chairman for his good work on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that this bill will kick 404,000 people in Ohio off of their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is a massive betrayal of working people and poor people across America. It strips at least 14 million Americans of their healthcare. It slashes food for the hungry, and it cuts basic needs for Americans across the country.
Why? It is so that you can give a $5 trillion tax break to the wealthiest billionaires, like Elon Musk.
If you had a giant corporate lobby outside, you get a tax break. If you are in the top 0.1 of 1 percent of billionaires, you get a $398,000 tax break. If you are a millionaire, you get an average $83,000 tax break.
Yet, if you are a working person or a poor person, you are SOL. You get kicked off of your healthcare. You don't get the $2 a meal in SNAP benefits, and you get hungrier. You get poorer. You get sicker.
Here is the thing: If you are so proud about this bill, why are we debating it at 1 o'clock in the morning and 3 o'clock in the morning? Why are these schedules getting rigged so that people don't even get to see what we are doing here in this Chamber?
I am a ``hell no.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for my ranking member, but he is rattling off numbers and saying that this many people will come off of the welfare rolls in my colleagues' districts.
Let's remind the American people: The people he is talking about are folks who are in this country illegally, or they are able to work, and they are not working. They are able to work, and they are not working.
Mr. Speaker, for the record, Democrats are opposing the commonsense policy and what every American's expectation is at a base level that people who are able to work will work. It is good for their soul. It is good for this country. It is the right policy, and my Democratic colleagues are fighting us on it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Keystone State, Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), my friend and vice chairman of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his work on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, we are charting a bold new course today for American prosperity. This bill not only builds on the progrowth legacy of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it prevents the largest tax hike in American history.
Across the country, years of inflation have taken a bite out of everyone's paycheck. Groceries, gas, and housing all cost more. Americans feel left behind, and this bill is the solution. It delivers immediate relief for working families. It locks in permanent tax cuts, unleashes economic growth, and puts American workers first.
We are talking about saving 6 million jobs, cutting red tape, securing our borders, and supercharging Made in America manufacturing. We do all of this while achieving historic Federal savings. It is possible to reduce spending, provide tax relief, and protect core services for Americans all at once.
This is real, responsible leadership.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is bold, immediately effective, and above all, it is common sense. It is time to pass this act and get America back on the path to prosperity.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for my friend, the chairman of the Budget Committee.
We just verified with the Congressional Budget Office, and of the 13.7 million Americans who will lose their healthcare because of their bill, exactly zero are undocumented immigrants.
Mr. Speaker, the complete artifice that the other side is attempting to convince you of is that almost 14 million Americans will lose their healthcare, but don't worry about it. They are all illegals. They are all people who are defrauding the system. It is completely false, and every independent source has verified that it is false.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republicans' unbelievably ugly bill. This bill is worse than we thought.
By ripping Medicaid and food assistance away from many millions of vulnerable Americans while slashing taxes for the ultrawealthy, the nonpartisan CBO found that it would make the poorest 10 percent poorer while making the richest 10 percent richer.
This bill would also increase the debt so much that it will trigger cuts to Medicare benefits by almost $500 billion.
To my Republican colleagues: Think of my constituent, Maria. Maria needs Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security to care for her daughter who resides in a nursing home, uses a feeding tube to eat, and can't recognize her mother.
Maria asked: If Medicaid is cut, where would my daughter go?
Tax cuts for the wealthiest at the expense of Maria's daughter getting the care she needs to survive is despicable.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, according to NumbersUSA, over the last 4 years when the Democrats were in charge of this town and millions of people were flooding into this country from across our border, we were spending $9,000 per illegal immigrant on taxpayer-funded social services.
Mr. Speaker, that is more than we spend on our own citizens who depend on Medicaid. That is more than we spend on military benefits for our veterans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), my friend and fellow Budget Committee member.
Mr. Speaker, if this bill fails, an average family's taxes will rise 22 percent next year, about $1,700 a year. It would be the biggest tax increase in American history.
If it succeeds, working families will be able to keep more of their earnings. We will be able to complete the border wall and protect our communities from the violent cartels the Democrats allowed into our country.
We will relieve pressure on Medicaid by requiring able-bodied adults on it to look for work, and we can free up America's vast energy resources.
The most important economic indicator is how Americans answer this question next year: Are you better off today than you were 2 years ago? By this time next year, Americans could be enjoying one of the most explosive periods of growth in our history and all that means: secure borders, safer communities, lower taxes, abundant energy, an increase in better jobs, a higher standard of living, and a better quality of life--a big, beautiful future for all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that this bill would kick 1.98 million people in California off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, one of the very first bills I ever voted on as a Representative in Congress was passing the Affordable Care Act and bringing historic access to healthcare to millions. That action reflects what Congress should be all about, helping everyday Americans, serving our communities, and fighting against the forces that seek to make us sicker, hungrier, and poorer.
Unfortunately, today, those forces are the Republican majority, the President of the United States, and the richest people on the planet.
On top of constitutional crises, in the throes of a housing and cost- of-living emergency, and in the face of catastrophic climate change, Congress is set to make the largest cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and environmental protections in American history.
Families in my district and across our country are hurting. You don't fix that pain by further ripping away the basic needs programs that help those struggling to get by. For me, the choice is clear: I will never stop fighting for my constituents and all Americans whose lives will be destroyed by this monstrosity of a bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gill), a fellow Texan who is also on the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, so much of what we have heard tonight from the other side of the aisle is nothing but shrill and hysterical calumny from a political party who have nothing to offer the American people but confiscatory taxes, open borders, and men in women's sports.
They talk about cruelty, Mr. Speaker. I will tell you what is cruel: Cruelty is deliberately facilitating the mass importation of millions of illegal aliens, many of whom are murdering and raping and pillaging our people on our soil.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will fund border security. It will fund ICE, and it will fund the largest deportation operation in American history.
Mr. Speaker, we are taking our country back. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, the reality is, this bill, not according to our numbers, according to independent, certified, nonpartisan authority on this matter, verified at least 13.7 million Americans will lose their health insurance. Do you know why they want to talk about every subject under the Sun other than this? Because they know it is going to have devastating consequences for the American people, and it will have devastating consequences for them next November.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, 13.7 million Americans will lose their healthcare. We are going to gut America's premier antihunger program. It is going to add trillions of dollars to the Nation's debt. Mr. Speaker, you don't believe me? The Congressional Budget Office says it. My colleagues: Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Roy, and Mr. Massie all say this is going to add to the debt and to the deficit of this country, and for what? So Donald Trump's small circle of billionaire donors get a tax break.
We know who it helps, but let's talk about who it hurts.
Mr. Speaker, 40 percent of the people who get Medicaid in this country are children. That is whose healthcare we are taking away. It is the kids who rely on this for lifesaving care, kids like my constituent June who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She has had three spinal cord surgeries in the last month.
This enables her to stay at home with her family and to have a life. It will hurt children across this country. We shouldn't do it. We should vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Amo), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, budgets are a statement of values, and Republicans have made their values crystal clear. They value those who can buy crystals over the working class. They value putting the needs of the wealthy few over the vulnerable. They value making the rich richer, the sick sicker, the hungry hungrier, and, yes, the poor poorer. It is a moral inversion, a reverse Robin Hood scheme, to steal from the poor and give to the rich. It is just plain wrong.
This big, bad bill is an abomination that will hurt tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders just to give billionaires a break on their taxes. Republicans have made their values clear, so will I.
My Rhode Island values are healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and uplifting the poor, ensuring that there is opportunity in this country for everyone, especially the working people in the middle class. You have my word that I will never stop fighting for vulnerable Rhode Islanders and against this dangerous bill.
If I thought they had it, I would urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to show some backbone and do the same, but I know they will fall in line.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentleman. Budgets do reflect values. The values of the Republican Party and my colleagues are to protect 40 million families from having their child tax credit cut in half, 26 million small businesses who have the highest marginal rates would lose the 20 percent deduction, 2 million family-owned farms and the farming families would have the debt tax exemption slashed in half.
Mr. Speaker, those are our values. We want people to keep more of their money. We want this economy to grow. We want people to have better opportunities and bigger paychecks. We want to give folks hope for a better life to come up and out of poverty, out of welfare, and put their God-given talents to use.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), a friend and fellow member of the Budget Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The American people are suffering. They are suffering from 4 years of government overreach and out-of-control spending that has put us on the edge of fiscal ruin.
That stops now. This bill will make President Trump's tax cuts for American families permanent, remove taxes
Passing this bill means preserving Medicaid, preserving Medicaid for generations to come, and keeping our promise to ensure it is there for Americans who truly need it. This bill will allow families still feeling the pain of inflation to take home tax-free tips and hard- earned overtime.
This bill will rein in out-of-control spending by government agencies such as EPA that had little or no oversight under President Biden.
Let me be clear: This is a bill that works for America. It will put us back to the path toward fiscal responsibility, keep money in the pockets of Americans, unleash American energy dominance, and preserve key programs for those who need them.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will kick 494,000 people in Georgia off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen), the distinguished ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Mr. Speaker, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Democrats are for bills that invest in job- creating infrastructure. We are against jamming through fiscally reckless bills that rip healthcare away from 13 million Americans and take food assistance away from millions of families so that we can hand out tax breaks to billionaires.
Democrats want to continue historic funding for transportation infrastructure and stronger and healthier communities. Unfortunately, this reconciliation package leaves very little room for those investments--to make the needed safety investments for the entire air traffic control system, the safety investments that we need to tackle the highway safety crisis, and the investments that we need to meet the Coast Guard members' healthcare, housing, and childcare needs.
This bill causes immediate harm by yanking money from locally selected projects that our constituents in Republican and Democratic districts alike are counting on. For what? To help pay for the tax cuts for the richest Americans and largest corporations.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to a future where the Members of this body work together on priorities for transportation infrastructure, but this big, ugly bill ain't it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Speaker, it is telling that President Trump and his cult followers have chosen to name their bill after its size and looks instead of its contents and values.
They don't want anybody looking inside this monstrosity. There is nothing beautiful or big about stripping 14 million Americans of their healthcare or removing food security from 11 million people, including 4 million kids. That is ugly. That is small.
I know Donald Trump has increased his net worth by more than $3 billion since taking office from his global crypto scam and that yesterday he brought home a $400 million jumbo jet from the monarch dictator of Qatar, a flying constitutional violation packed with threats of espionage and surveillance.
There is nothing big or beautiful about plundering the wealth of the people of America to give to the people who have already profited from Donald Trump's prior schemes. Let's vote this whole monstrosity down.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I will tell you what is big: $900 billion in special interest tax breaks to green energy corporations that my colleagues passed unilaterally in the Inflation Reduction Act. That is big.
The billionaires that got rich off their tax breaks got a big break, and we aim to phase them out or repeal them so we can bring energy costs down and strengthen America's energy independence.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Stutzman), my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Despite the claims from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, this bill will give huge benefits to everyday working Americans in all of our districts. This bill includes many tax benefits, including a made-in-America auto tax break, which will not only support American families trying to buy a car but will further support new jobs in manufacturing facilities like General Motors and Toyota in Indiana.
On top of this, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act supports building America's Golden Dome defense system, securing the homeland and bolstering America's capabilities that will start with the skilled workforce in my district in northeast Indiana.
This bill also puts money back into working Americans' pockets. It supports those who work tirelessly in restaurants and nurses and factory workers who work overtime to support their families by establishing no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
This bill supports every American, from small business owners to hourly wage workers, and propels America's economic performance.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, one challenge with doing this massive bill literally in the middle of the night--as I look up, if I am reading that correctly, it is 3:45 a.m. right now--there are all sorts of provisions that we are discovering in this massive piece of legislation being rushed through in the dead of the night.
I want to call out just one deeply troubling provision hidden in this bill, a provision that blocks States from regulating artificial intelligence for the next 10 years.
AI has the potential to be transformative, but only if it is developed and used in a safe, responsible way. That requires strong guardrails. This bill does the opposite.
The fact this was quietly tucked into this budget bill is reckless and wrong. It shows exactly who this bill was written for--not working families, but powerful special interests.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this big billionaire payout.
We are voting in the dead of night, out of sight of the American people, because the Republican majority knows that the public will be outraged after they find out what is in this bill.
It strips health insurance from nearly 14 million people across the country. It puts 11 million people on food assistance at risk of hunger. It increases the deficit by $2.3 trillion. For what? To give billionaires a tax break.
Don't just take my word for it. The independent data crunchers at the Congressional Budget Office found that the richest 10 percent of Americans would see their incomes go up, while the poorest 10 percent would see theirs go down.
This bill is reverse Robin Hood. It takes from the poor and gives to the rich.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this shameful bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, one of the problems with the work requirements in the supplemental nutrition program--and I am sure Mr. Takano knows this--is that States have been allowed to game the system and not effectively enforce those for able-bodied adults receiving services.
In California, in fact, nobody is working who is on food stamps who is able to work. Nobody is working, so it is not fair to those people. It is not fair to rob them of the dignity of work. It is not fair in our fiduciary role to the taxpayer.
Mr. Speaker, we are turning this ship around. We are cleaning the mess up here in Washington. We are putting incentives in place that will do well by everybody involved.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce), my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This important legislation will strengthen Medicaid by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure that the most vulnerable Americans have access to the critical services on which they rely. Pregnant women, children, seniors, and disabled Americans need and deserve Medicaid benefits, not illegal immigrants or able-bodied adults simply choosing not to work.
This bill also fixes a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that new, innovative therapies for rare diseases are brought to market, restoring the hope of future cures for millions of Americans.
In November, the American people sent a clear message with the election of President Donald Trump. Now, it is our job in Congress to deliver this One Big, Beautiful Bill and produce results for the American people. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my friend from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that this bill will kick 404,000 people in our State off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for Republicans who are, under the cover of night, forcing this one, big, ugly bill on working families. What the hell is wrong with them?
They are taking away over $300 billion worth of food from the mouths of millions of hungry children, seniors, and veterans. They are taking away healthcare from over 14 million people by cutting Medicaid by nearly $800 billion.
Despite these and many more cuts to working families, they are raising the debt by more than $5 trillion. For what? Is it to give billions of dollars in tax cuts to billionaires like Elon Musk? What the hell is wrong with them?
The millions of uninsured will be millions of uncompensated care for hospitals that rely on Medicaid. Hospitals will cost more. Services like pediatrics, maternal health, and labor and delivery will be cut. Many hospitals will close. Premiums will rise and cost more.
Mr. Speaker, whether people have private insurance or Medicaid, if their community hospital closes, where the hell will they get their care?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Fry).
Mr. Speaker, the Big Beautiful Bill Act is exactly what this country needs. It is bold. It is clear. It is packed with real solutions.
While Democrats have buried their heads in the sand on the biggest issues facing America, Republicans are stepping up. They ignored the border crisis while towns are overrun. They downplay inflation while families can't afford groceries. They pretend crime isn't skyrocketing while our cities become war zones.
Democrats would rather police our speech than protect our streets. They will rush to ban plastic straws but look the other way when fentanyl overruns our cities. When parents speak up at school board meetings, they get labeled as extremists, while actual criminals walk free.
The one big, beautiful bill does exactly what they won't. It secures the border, and it protects our communities. It strengthens our economy. It cuts taxes. It cuts waste. It unleashes American energy and puts the American people first.
Mr. Speaker, there are no more excuses and no more distractions. It is time to fix what is broken, and this bill is the blueprint.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman this bill will kick 220,000 people in South Carolina off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill because it is a targeted attack on Planned Parenthood, one of the most trusted providers of reproductive healthcare in our country.
The bill bans Federal Medicaid and CHIP dollars from going to Planned Parenthood for 10 years, without even naming the organization, by using vague criteria clearly designed to single them out.
This provision threatens access to cancer screenings, birth control, and other essential care for millions of Americans, particularly low- income women.
For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to the committee. If the House would have permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.
My amendment would strike the provision that blocks Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. No one should lose access to basic care just because of where they go to get it. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for this motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), my good friend and the chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, I hear a lot of hyperbole today. Of course, we understand the louder we speak, the more fear we produce in people and the more ultimate power there is over them.
As chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, I am concerned, though, as young people are going to colleges and universities and trying to lift themselves up, we find another challenge that goes on with Big Government and the control through student debt.
The Education and Workforce Committee's portion of the Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers the kind of accountability students need and our economy demands.
The bill saves taxpayers almost $350 billion. It also streamlines loan repayment options, making it easier for borrowers to repay, while also targeting assistance to those who actually need it.
By curbing excessive student loan debt and holding colleges accountable, this legislation also puts an end to colleges hiking tuition and spending recklessly.
Simply put, it provides schools with the incentive to deliver real value for students and taxpayers. The American people want this. Let's support this bill and make America free.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman this bill will kick 370,000 people in Michigan off their health insurance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Olszewski), a distinguished member of the Small Business Committee.
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing beautiful about this bill, but at least the deficit growth is big. Maybe that is why my Republican colleagues are debating it under the cloak of darkness again.
This bill is ugly. The bill is a scam. The nonpartisan CBO has confirmed that under the bill, the poor will get poorer and the rich will get richer.
To fund tax breaks for the wealthy, the bill borrows trillions, while taking away food from hungry kids and healthcare away from hardworking Americans.
My amendment to address the hypocrisy of the Medicaid work requirements imposed under this bill was not included. The amendment was simple. Before prying healthcare away from able-bodied constituents, make sure they actually have access to a job.
Mr. Speaker, 14,000 will lose Medicaid coverage in my district alone. Thousands more will see their premiums soar, and 20,000 who rely on SNAP for their next meal could go hungry; nationwide, it is millions.
It does nothing to lower costs for average Americans. It does the exact opposite. This bill is cruel. We should all vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I don't think it is a scam to prevent a 22 percent tax hike on average Americans. Let's be clear. My colleagues and I don't think it is a scam to steward tax dollars and root out waste, fraud, and abuse across the people's government.
We don't think it is a scam to prohibit people who are not citizens of our country from draining the Social Security safety net and impacting its sustainability for future vulnerable Americans. That is not a scam. That is our job. We intend to do it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, this big, bad billionaire bonus extends tax cuts for the wealthiest few at the expense of the most vulnerable Americans.
It kicks millions of Americans off their health insurance and takes food out of the mouths of millions more, including children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.
This bill will make someone who earns up to $300 a week pay a copay of up to $35 because they need to have skin in the game, ignoring the fact they also have to pay their rent, childcare, utilities, and on and on.
This disastrous bill mandates that States implement burdensome red tape requirements and force Medicaid recipients to prove they are working, even though, when given a chance to implement such requirements, only two States did. Mr. Speaker, 18,000 working people in Arkansas were kicked off of Medicaid because they couldn't meet the State's requirements which are no longer in place. Georgia spent more on administrative costs for their work requirements than on the cost of care.
Once kicked off Medicaid, these people won't be eligible for subsidies to purchase marketplace plans, but they will get sick. They will go to the hospital. The costs will flow to the rest of us.
Mr. Speaker, this big, bad bill is a bust, and I urge a ``no'' vote.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards), also a House Budget Committee member.
Mr. Speaker, this big, beautiful bill delivers on two of our Nation's urgent priorities. It secures our southern border and unleashes American energy independence.
It invests nearly $70 billion to finish the border wall, expand surveillance technology, and hire thousands of new border agents. It gives Customs and Border Protection the tools they finally need to stop illegal crossings, combat drug trafficking, and protect our communities.
At the same time, we are rolling back the Biden administration's reckless energy mandates and cutting red tape to expand American oil, gas, and infrastructure. By restoring the free market and prioritizing domestic production, this bill lowers costs for American families and strengthens our national security.
It is just common sense. Secure the border and power America with American energy. Let's get this done for our agents, for our workers, and for the future of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove), who is a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Speaker, with this backstabbing billionaire bill, House Republicans are selling their soul and constituents to the highest bidder: Donald Trump.
First, he crashed the economy with his temper taxes, driving up the cost of groceries and down our credit rating with Moody's. Now Trump and Republicans want to steal even more from hardworking Americans to provide tax breaks to those who kiss the Mar-a-Lago ring.
Mr. Speaker, they are stealing your food, healthcare, and security.
My district in Los Angeles has the fourth highest Medicaid enrollment in the entire Nation.
Mr. Speaker, 225,000 of my constituents rely on food assistance to feed their families. Nearly 1 million people in my State live in subsidized housing. My constituents call my office asking me to protect their Medicaid. They don't ask that their lifesaving benefits be taken away and given to the top 1 percent.
Daylight is the best disinfectant, which is why all their dirty deeds with this bill have been happening at night.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to listen to their constituents instead of tasing them at townhalls, and vote against this dangerous bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge America to keep the receipts on these votes.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), who is a great champion for the Second Amendment, a good friend, and a Budget Committee member.
Mr. Speaker, my Democrat colleagues have challenged why the deregulation of silencers is in this bill and why are we removing the $200 tax.
Under the law, they are firearms and therefore are protected by another law enacted in 1791 called the Second Amendment of our beloved Constitution. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and neither shall it be taxed.
Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 declared that ``the power to tax includes the power to destroy.'' If you can tax it, then you can destroy it. Mr. Speaker, you can raise the tax so high that almost no one can afford it, and then you really don't have a right at all.
However, the Second Amendment is an unalienable constitutional right, God-given, that governments are required to protect, not to tax.
The Supreme Court in the Heller decision of 2008 declared the Second Amendment to be an individual constitutional right further protecting it from taxation, just like the right to speak and the right to vote.
This bill simply restores that right from over 90 years of draconian tax.
My Democratic colleagues have asked: How did this get in the bill? What was the deal? Who asked for it?
There was no deal. I believe the Speaker with the purest of motives simply wanted to restore a constitutional right. Who asked? It was me. I asked.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps it is because it is now past 4 a.m., but I feel like I have entered the twilight zone. We have 13.7 million Americans, at least, who are going to lose their health insurance because of this bill, another $500 million worth of cuts to Medicare on top of that, and what is one of their last speakers talking about?
A tax cut if you buy silencers, Mr. Speaker. This is bizarre. The reality is millions and millions of Americans are going to lose their health coverage all to help subsidize tax cuts for billionaires, oh, yes, and also tax cuts for those who buy gun silencers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Riley), who is a distinguished member of the Agriculture Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am new here, but this bill confirms what I suspected: This place is corrupt as hell.
My amendment would have used this opportunity to negotiate prescription drug prices. It would have saved us billions of dollars that we could have used for tax cuts for the middle class.
However, Mr. Speaker, you know what happened. The drug companies sent their armies of lobbyists here to kill it. That is because you all are fine taking food off the tables of kids, Mr. Speaker, but God forbid you would do anything to rein in the profits of the drug companies.
We could have used this opportunity to close the carried interest loophole and make Wall Street finally pay its fair share. That is common sense.
We know where all that super-PAC cash comes from. Mr. Speaker, you would rather close rural hospitals than close tax loopholes. Then you wonder why the American people hate this place, Mr. Speaker.
If you really want to drain the swamp, Mr. Speaker, start by killing
Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a long debate. I think we started, I don't know, 48 hours ago or whatever it is by now.
However, make no mistake about it. This is not a debate that should have been happening in the middle of the night. It shouldn't have happened in the middle of the night last night in the Rules Community, and it shouldn't be happening in the middle of the night tonight.
Frankly, if I had a bill that I was proud of, I would want to put it on when people are paying most attention. I can understand, however, why there are some folks on the other side who might want folks to not quite pay attention to what is in this bill.
Mr. Speaker, you have heard speaker after speaker on this side, however, expose the damage that this bill for billionaires will do: 13.6 million Americans at least would lose their health insurance because of devastating cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Another one-half trillion dollars more will be cut in Medicare. There are all sorts of cuts to nutrition programs and food assistance, education programs and Head Start. The list goes on and on. Why? It is to subsidize tax cuts for the top 1 percent.
For the bottom 10 percent, we learned in the last 24 hours they won't even get a little bit of a tax cut. In fact, when all of the components of this bill are factored in, they will be 4 percent worse off than they were before.
Oh, by the way, for the side that always talks about deficit and debt, they really care about the national debt when there is a Democrat in the White House, but then when there is a Republican in the White House, they go about adding more to it.
Don't take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. The nonpartisan CBO shows, the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget shows, the right-of-center Cato Institute shows, and left-of-center groups show-- they have actually united the right, the center, and the left who are all in agreement that this bill adds trillions more to our national debt.
We can do better. As I said in the very beginning, this is one of the most important votes we will ever cast in this Chamber. I am proud to stand here on behalf of this side of the aisle and say: Hell no to this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the nonpartisan CBO was off by $1 trillion in projecting the annual deficit back in 2022. They were off by $1 trillion in projecting what the revenue would be. It was record revenue after we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I just thought I would say that for the Record.
For the remainder of my time, I will say thank you to my ranking member. He is a great guy. He is a good friend and an excellent partner in this endeavor. I know he loves the country. We disagree today, and we have disagreed along the way, but we have also worked together to have record bipartisan legislation for the Budget Committee. I am just grateful for the gentleman. I thank the ranking member.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate by the Budget Committee has expired.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith).
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today, we embark on a golden age for working families and small businesses with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
We make permanent the 2017 Trump tax cuts. We add a $1,300 tax cut for families, compared to what they are paying this year, and halt a $1,700 tax increase.
Working families, farmers, and small businesses win with this bill. We expand and make permanent the small business deduction and increase the child tax credit, the standard deduction, and the death tax exemption.
President Trump promised no tax on tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest. Hardworking Americans working overtime get up to $1,750 more in their pockets under this bill. Those working for tips get $1,700 more. Families buying U.S.-made cars can deduct their auto loan interest.
President Trump promised no taxes on Social Security, and in this bill, we deliver. Low- and middle-income seniors on Social Security will now have their tax liability erased with an increase in their standard deduction.
Under this bill, if you build businesses here in America, you win. Not only do we renew incentives for domestic research and development, but we do 100 percent immediate expensing and the deduction for interest expenses.
We also deliver on President Trump's promise to revitalize American manufacturing, with 100 percent expensing for new factories and improvements of existing facilities. Small- and medium-sized manufacturers also win with greater tax benefits.
We replace bad tax policy with good tax policy, ending Biden-era tax breaks and special interest giveaways to the wealthy, the well- connected, and China. We hold accountable woke elite universities and tax-exempt organizations that abuse their generous tax benefits.
President Trump stopped the flow of illegal immigrants over our borders. This bill will stop the flow of taxpayer benefits to their pockets.
After the October 7 attacks on Israel, rampant anti-Semitism stormed college campuses. The Ways and Means Committee investigated, given the schools' massive tax benefits. Jewish students testified about living in fear as administrators failed to condemn the behavior. No longer. Some of the worst offenders, colleges with endowments reaching into the tens of billions, will now face the same taxation rate as corporations.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act gives America a big, beautiful raise, with the average American household seeing real take-home pay go up by as much as $13,300.
We will save or create 7.4 million jobs, add 1 million new small business jobs annually, and unlock $1.5 trillion in additional small business economic growth, including $284 billion in growth just from manufacturing alone. We can boost short-run real GDP by as much as 5.2 percent and long-run real GDP by over 3 percent.
Renewing the successful Opportunity Zone program will help distressed communities, especially rural ones, by spurring over $100 billion in new investments.
Parents win with expanded education savings accounts to choose the education that best fits their kids' needs. Americans get greater control over their healthcare with expanded health savings accounts. Working families get better access to childcare and a permanent paid leave tax credit.
Supporting the working class is deeply personal for me. I was raised in a single-wide trailer in a town of less than 5,000 people. My grandparents never had running water. The average income in my hometown of Salem, Missouri, is just over $24,000. My priority is the working class because the working class raised me.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Make American families and workers thrive again. Make rural America and Main Street grow again. Help America win again.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this big, beautiful bill must be so beautiful that we are debating it at a quarter past 4 in the morning to avoid the scrutiny of the public for a piece of legislation that was authored just hours ago.
I would challenge some Members on the other side to take an exam on what was added to this legislation before we have a chance to vet it.
The chairman, my friend, said how challenging his modest youth was. I share a similar story. Do you know what? We can both thank Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal for those opportunities.
When the chairman was talking about growth rates, I thought he was going to say bring back Bill Clinton because that is where those growth rates came from.
The cat is out of the bag: $2.3 trillion was borrowed in 2017 to pay for a tax cut that overwhelmingly went to people at the very top.
What are we about to do this evening, or this morning, or last night? We are going to borrow $4 trillion--and with interest payments over the next 10 years, $5 trillion--to justify a tax cut for the billionaire class. That is what this is about.
As the gentleman from Kentucky, no raving liberal, said, you are talking about adding $30 trillion to the debt over the next few years.
Mr. Speaker, 14 million people are going to lose their health insurance to pay for this tax cut for wealthy people. We gut Medicaid, food assistance, childcare, and healthcare.
Do you know what? Everybody in this Chamber, every Member of this House, should call their local hospitals and ask them to lay out the formula for how their pay works in terms of reimbursements. Overwhelmingly, it is almost two-thirds for Medicare and Medicaid. This is going to lead, particularly in red States, to closures.
Mr. Speaker, let me give you some numbers that I think are really intriguing, despite the argument that we heard from the other side about how all of this money is going to go to people at the lower end. Their slogan ought to be: We are rich, and we are not going to take it anymore. That is where this argument is headed.
Mr. Speaker, let me give you some numbers. If you made a million dollars last year, you are going to get $81,000 of tax relief. If you made less than $50,000--guess what?--you are not quite so lucky, but do you know what? A dollar a day goes a long way. That is where the numbers land.
When they talk about broken promises, I listened to a Republican tonight on TV, a younger guy. He said that they reject what CBO has had to say.
In the Ways and Means Committee and in the tax world, this is scripture. That is how important it is. We might not like the answers we get from time to time and might be upset about it, but we know that the people who delivered it are not Democrats, not Republicans. They are economists, tax attorneys, and CPAs.
Let me just remind everybody on the Republican side about a couple of other things that I think are really important. Most of them supported postal reform; that cost money. Republicans voted for the CHIPS Act; that cost money. They voted for the infrastructure bill; that cost money. Thirty of them voted for the Butch Lewis Act; that cost money. How about the PACT Act for our veterans? That cost money.
The Inflation Reduction Act, despite their efforts to deride it, their Members are going to groundbreakings and taking advantage of it right now. One piece of testimony the other night in the committee said that there is one congressional district that is receiving $6 billion of investment. Boy, I would hate to explain that to my constituents that I was sending $6 billion back to Washington.
I call attention to this because they supported these issues along the way, and now they want an excuse to cut taxes for the people at the very top. That is where these cuts are going, to the people at the very top. That is not to be denied.
I hope as we listen in the next few minutes, we hear the contrast that we would offer if we were in the majority, so we could agree tonight on the very basic fact that I am going to offer. We could agree with 98 percent of the tax legislation if they kept the number at $400,000 and fewer. People under $400,000 would keep their tax cuts, and people at the top would go to 39.6. Those are Clinton-Obama rates, and they worked fine for the country.
We all have some degree of honor to keep here. How about those soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq? They deserve our care. They are closing veterans service organizations. I just did a townhall with veterans. They are astounded by what is happening already.
I am looking forward to the next 25 minutes of debate on this side and the next 25 minutes of debate on the other side because they are trying to sell Americans, at 4:22 in the morning, a bad piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this package, which fulfills commitments to secure our border, rein in waste, and strengthen the economy for American families.
In the Ways and Means Committee portion of this bill, we build on the huge success of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by further increasing the standard deduction, increasing the child tax credit, and further reducing taxes on income earned by family-owned farms, ranches, and small businesses.
We also make a landmark investment in educating kids with the inclusion of my bill, the Educational Choice For Children Act, which creates a tax credit for scholarships to meet the needs of K-12 students and puts more parents back in control of their child's education, regardless of ZIP Code.
In addition, we are bringing an end to the unauthorized, wasteful, and redundant IRS direct file program which directly contradicts taxpayers' best interests.
This moment is years in the making, and we now have the opportunity to deliver on the job Americans elected us to do in a fiscally responsible way.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), a recipient of the Purple Heart, who knows something about veteran issues.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this big, terrible bill.
This bill takes healthcare away from 14 million people. With this bill, 9 million people lose food assistance. It adds $4.3 trillion to the debt, and that is before the interest on that.
This bill also advances China in the race for renewable energy superiority at a time when energy demand is soaring off the top of the charts. All of this is to give a tax cut to the Musk billionaire-type donors.
Mr. Neal talked about the distribution charts. The distribution charts are the coin of the realm. That is what we go by. Look at those distribution charts. They tell the truth. If someone makes under $50,000 a year, they get a tax cut of about $260. If they make a million dollars a year, they get a tax cut of about $81,500. All of this is to give a big tax cut to the richest people in the country. At the same time our constituents lose and our hospitals and our clinics will close. Our veterans' community loses. This is a bad bill. I urge a ``no'' vote.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the gentleman from California that a family of four making $96,334, the median income in California's Fourth District, would see a $2,167 tax increase if the Trump tax cuts expire.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
First, let me outline what this bill doesn't do. It doesn't take away Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security for Americans who need it, and it doesn't give lavish tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
Here is what it does do: It ends benefits for illegal immigrants. Instead of giving Medicaid to able-bodied adults, it prioritizes the benefit for children, seniors, and low-income Americans. It provides a tax credit for seniors, exceeding President Trump's plan to end taxes on Social Security. It provides funding for more border security to keep our country safe. Perhaps more importantly, it extends the profamily, progrowth policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that even The New York Times and The Washington Post admitted gave tax cuts to middle-class Americans.
How do we know this will work? We know it will work because we saw
Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to vote in favor of this one big, beautiful bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. Speaker, for months President Trump and congressional Republicans have been promising that they would not cut Medicaid or Medicare.
The reality is that Republicans are cutting both Medicaid and Medicare in this bill. They are essentially repealing parts of the Affordable Care Act. This bill will destroy the healthcare system of this country. It keeps getting worse with each GOP amendment.
The GOP tax scam takes healthcare away from at least 13.7 million Americans so they can give giant tax breaks to billionaires and big corporate interests. It is a shameful reverse Robin Hood scheme. They are stealing from the American people to give to the rich.
Republicans are stripping healthcare away from people by putting all sorts of burdensome and time-consuming roadblocks in the way of people just trying to get by. The vast majority of people on Medicaid are already working. This is not about work. It is about burying people in so much paperwork that they fall behind and lose their health coverage.
If someone loses their health coverage through Medicaid, this GOP tax scam also bans them from getting coverage through the ACA marketplace. It is just one of the cruel ways that this bill basically repeals the ACA and makes it more difficult for people to get affordable health insurance.
Now, the Republican bill also makes it more difficult for States to finance their share of Medicaid costs by preventing them from implementing new provider taxes. This will be catastrophic for States as their healthcare needs change over time and will force them to either increase taxes on their residents or cut healthcare services.
For those of you who say it doesn't impact Medicare, the GOP tax scam will also cut Medicare, I repeat, Medicare. It is basically a $500 billion cut to Medicare because of the sequestration under the paygo. The Medicare cuts will lead to reduced access to care for seniors, longer wait times for appointments, and increase costs.
Mr. Speaker, the GOP tax scam destroys America's healthcare system by cutting over $1 trillion dollars, and this bill should be defeated.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
For the past year, Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee have worked to craft tax policy legislation that delivers on our promises to the American people and will provide rocket fuel to our economy.
By making President Trump's historic tax cuts permanent, expanding the child tax credit, removing taxes on tips and overtime pay, delivering tax relief for seniors, permanently expanding the small business deduction, and putting in place the research and development tax credit, and much more, H.R. 1 will give a vital boost to our families, workers, farmers, and businesses nationwide.
I am proud to say that this package also includes language from my bipartisan legislation, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. I have heard from constituents and local leaders across Illinois' 16th Congressional District that have expressed that a lack of available, affordable housing is one of the most significant barriers to economic success in their communities and across the country.
By expanding and improving the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, H.R. 1 will jump-start the development and construction of affordable housing nationwide and support the needs of our growing workforce.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who has worked in the adoption space and is a model for America.
Mr. Speaker, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford said: ``Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.''
I behold no beauty in cutting and seeing cut the heart out of healthcare in America.
I see no beauty in children not being able to take care of themselves because their parents don't have the resources.
I see no beauty in a bill that promotes wealth for the wealthy and decreases services and resources for those at the bottom.
It is a bad bill. It is not good for America.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump's one big, beautiful bill delivers on the promises that we made to Iowa's workers, manufacturers, farmers, small businesses, and our families.
The bill increases the small business deduction, helping Iowa's small businesses invest in their workers and grow their operations. It also doubles section 179 small business expensing, which means better-paying jobs for every Iowan worker.
President Trump promised a manufacturing revival in our country, and Iowa will be the first to deliver it. We restored R&D expensing and 100 percent bonus depreciation to rebuild domestic manufacturing, creating new jobs, and bringing investment back to our country and back to our State.
President Trump promised a strong economy and manufacturing dominance, and our big, beautiful bill delivers this for our country and for Iowans.
Mr. Speaker, I thank President Trump for that promise.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).
Mr. Speaker, the bill that we are debating this morning is an insult to every American who works for a living. American families are struggling. Under President Trump and Republican leadership, they have seen nothing but chaos.
Prices for everyday necessities, such as food, clothing, diapers, and formula, keep rising because of Trump's tariffs. Premiums for health insurance, car insurance, and housing are going up, making it harder to make ends meet.
Americans are worried about their future. People are afraid of losing their jobs, their healthcare, student aid, and food assistance. This bill brings that pain.
Almost 14 million people will lose their healthcare coverage under this Republican bill, and for what? It is so billionaires can get even richer while the rest of us drown in debt. This is outrageous. Republicans are doling out tax cuts for the wealthiest while destroying the means of survival for hardworking families.
This bill assaults those seeking the American Dream by stealing tax benefits and services from working people who are paying taxes. It would deny the child credit to 2 million children who live in the United States.
Here is an idea: How about you start working for the people who you represent, not your wealthy donors? I guess that is asking too much from people who have lost their moral compass.
Mr. Speaker, if the Trump tax cuts expire, in the Congresswoman's district, 95,070 of California-38 families would see their household child tax credit slashed in half.
That is helping your constituents.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this one big, beautiful bill.
The American people have heard a lot of lies about this bill. The left and their friends in the media have settled for demagoguing and fear-mongering to try to stop President Trump from delivering on his promises to the American people.
Fortunately for all of us, the bill that they conjured up just simply doesn't exist.
What does exist is a bill that champions working-class families. It strengthens the middle class and provides much-needed support to small businesses.
It is thanks to President Trump's leadership on this big, beautiful bill that we have something we can all be proud of.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all of the committees and the chairs who worked on this legislation, but particularly our chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Jason Smith, who knew 2 years ago that this might happen, that this might occur and that we would be in exactly this position. He spent those years ensuring that our committee was prepared, educated, and empowered to be ambassadors for the President's tax policies.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Before I recognize the gentlement from Massachusetts, let me remind both sides to direct their comments to the Chair as we continue through debate.
I always do, Mr. Speaker, thank you. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), whose hospitals I have visited.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the one big, billionaire, boondoggle bill. We are here because, according to President Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress, billionaires and giant corporations don't have enough money.
We could be working to help Americans deal with the high cost of living. We could be working to make sure that healthcare is affordable for all, but what are we doing? At 4:35 a.m. in the morning, we are preparing to vote on a bill that will provide a $4 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy, well-connected, and well-off.
How will we pay for it? We will pay for it by kicking 13.7 million Americans off of Medicaid and cutting $300 billion in SNAP benefits from hungry families. The people who I represent in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District are good and honest Americans. They work hard every day. They make enormous sacrifices to support themselves and their families, but they are hurting. They are hurting and being crushed by the high cost of living, and they live paycheck to paycheck.
Meanwhile, my Republican colleagues are hell-bent on providing and making life much harder for them. It is outrageous. It is simply unacceptable. This is a sad day in Congress. I strongly oppose this bill, and I give this warning: Hands off Medicaid, and hands off SNAP.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Ways and Means Committee Republicans have worked tirelessly for 2 years, traveling across America, and hearing from real people about the impacts that the 2017 Trump tax cuts had on them. Working families got more money back in their paychecks from a simplified tax code. Main Street America was able to utilize the small business deduction to weather the storm of high inflation during the Biden years, and larger businesses were able to invest more of their money domestically because of a globally competitive corporate rate.
This one big, beautiful bill builds on all of that successful tax policy and then some.
This bill gives the average working family a $1,300 tax cut. It delivers on President Trump's promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime pay.
It makes the 199A small business deduction permanent to keep our economy humming. It provides relief to gig workers by ending the Democrats' ridiculous $600 1099(k) reporting threshold and reverting back to the time-tested standard of $20,000 and 200 transactions. This legislation will undoubtedly make the life of the average American better.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), who really knows something about the child credit.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump and Republicans love calling this one big, beautiful bill, but it is really one big, broken promise.
Republicans swore that they would lower costs on day one. Instead, families are paying more for groceries, energy, and healthcare bills. Republicans have spent months fighting over how many Americans they are going to kick off of Medicaid and how fast.
This is literally a matter of life and death, and for what? Another massive round of tax breaks to pad the wallets of the ultrawealthy and big corporations.
A mom from Kirkland told me recently that she was horrified to see what Republicans are doing to these programs. She raised two kids with the support of Medicaid, SNAP, and the child tax credit. She said that the supports that Republicans are cutting help real people live real, productive lives.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Republicans to listen to their constituents and vote ``no'' on this big, broken promise.
Mr. Speaker, this is what this one big, beautiful bill is all about.
This is what 77 million Americans voted for: make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on car loan interest, and tax relief for seniors. The one big, beautiful bill puts money back in the pockets of the people who make this country run.
President Trump promised a new golden age, and House Republicans are delivering on that promise. The American people are counting on Congress to get the job done.
Let's pass this bill. Let's deliver for American workers, farmers, families, and small businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).
Mr. Speaker, in this bill, we are providing real tax relief for hardworking Americans, middle-class families, and our senior citizens, not the billionaires like the Democrats claim.
We increased the State and local tax deduction, the standard deduction, and the child tax credit. The last two would be cut in half if we take no action today.
We provide tax relief by including my legislation to provide a bonus deduction to reduce the taxes that our seniors pay on their Social Security income.
We fulfill President Trump's commitment to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime.
We stopped the return of the alternative minimum tax that crushed middle-class families.
We allow Americans to fully deduct auto loan interest on their American-made vehicles.
We help young graduates with student loan debt get reimbursed by their employers tax-free.
All of that is for the working and middle class, not billionaires.
We also make sure that this bill keeps our borders secure and funds the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants. We increase and strengthen domestic energy production and security. We safeguard Medicaid for our seniors, disabled, and children with disabilities. We crack down on fraudsters by targeting waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Democrats can continue to fight for the fraudsters. They continue to fight for the illegal immigrants. We are going to deliver for the working families, middle class, and senior citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentlewoman that the SALT deduction that we offered in our tax bill on a secret ballot would have gotten all the Republicans from New York, New Jersey, and California.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), who nobody has ever walked away from saying that they think she is undecided.
Mr. Speaker, I will just say this: The greatest trick that the devil plays is to convince you that it won't be you who he devours. It will be those others, those so-called illegals, those trans people, the welfare queens, and the boy in the basement who won't work.
The majority justifies slashing hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, undermining the ACA, cutting half a trillion dollars in Medicare, adding trillions to the debt, and facilitating the dismantling of care from hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes to finance billionaire tax cuts.
Then, the bell sounds, and they screech: ``For whom does the bell toll?'' It tolls for thee.
Mr. Speaker, I will yield back, but I will not yield my soul. Do not vote for this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff).
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
My colleagues and I on the House Ways and Means Committee on the Republican side have been preparing for this moment for 2 years.
Mr. Speaker, we have traveled across the country and conducted field hearings, meeting and hearing from individuals, manufacturers, farmers, and small business owners. The message that we got from them was clear: Make permanent all those successful provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
There is no doubt that when we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we ushered in a red-hot economy that created jobs and opportunities for all Americans.
It is essential that the House of Representatives pass this bill today to cement a progrowth tax code and usher our Nation into a new era of prosperity for all.
The American people in November voted overwhelmingly for this, and now it is our time to deliver.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch), the ranking member of the Oversight Committee and my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Springfield for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning on behalf of our friend and colleague Gerry Connolly, the gentleman from Virginia, with the hope of infusing this debate with his passion and wisdom on behalf of the Federal workers for whom there was no greater champion.
Gerry was especially grateful for the Federal workers at the VA and the Walter Reed Medical Center, especially the nurses, therapists, physicians, and support staff who care for our veterans and active military.
In all honesty, Gerry was furious at the way the Federal workers and veterans are being treated under this bill. He was angry that Donald Trump purged 325,000 Federal workers, including at least 3,000 workers at the VA. He was angry that the cuts in this reconciliation bill will require the firing of 80,000 more workers at the VA. At least 27,000 of those workers are veterans themselves.
While the termination of these workers at the VA is outrageous and disrespectful, it is only half the story because it is the mission of those workers at the VA to care for our veterans that will be ended, as well.
Each of us should remember that veterans' benefits are different. They are special obligations taken on by our country, our society, and our Congress. Veterans' benefits are obligations owed to our veterans for courageous service previously rendered. It is the promise to every son and daughter who puts on that uniform that if you come home from service with the scars of war, visible or invisible, we will take care of you and your family.
That promise has been maintained throughout this Nation's history by Democratic and Republican administrations without pause until now, until tonight, until Donald Trump signs this bill.
Mr. Speaker, this is a disgraceful way to treat both workers at the VA and the veterans they serve. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for yielding and for his leadership, patience, and unwavering dedication to putting this tax policy and budget reconciliation bill before us.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the opportunity we have to not only provide historic tax relief for hardworking Americans but also to spur investments in our economy by developing the resources of our land.
This is our unique opportunity to do something truly worthy to be remembered in our day and in our generation. The Natural Resources Committee is proud to have played a key part in this legislation.
Our title far exceeds our $1 billion instruction. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will generate over $20 billion in savings and new revenue for the Federal Government, primarily by direct royalty and lease fees from the sale of oil, gas, timber, and mined resources, while curbing wasteful spending.
CBO's direct revenue evaluation is only a paragraph in a much larger story.
Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to utilize billions of dollars of resources without massive investments in oil rigs, pipelines, LNG facilities, mines, refineries, sawmills, mobile equipment, machinery, workforce development, and the list goes on and on with the upstream and downstream economic benefits of resource development.
Our title reinstates onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales, holds annual geothermal lease sales, and ensures a fair process for critical mineral development nationwide.
We have also directed the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to utilize long-term timber sale contracts. We are putting our fiscal foot forward by using America's resources to generate wealth for America while restoring American energy dominance and giving Americans the opportunity to make products from America, in America, and for America and the world.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in kick-starting this new golden age of America by voting ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer), who really knows something about the bond market.
Mr. Speaker, our dearly departed friend and colleague Gerry Connolly used to say our job was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. This bill does the opposite.
My Republican friends say this act is about helping the working families in America, but nothing could be further from the truth. This monstrous bill strips healthcare from 14 million Americans and cuts $300 billion in food and nutrition assistance from working Americans while giving a temporary head fake to those working overtime and working for tips. It actually raises taxes on the poorest 20 percent of Americans, exactly the folks my Republican friends pretend it helps.
The overwhelming benefits of H.R. 1 flow to the wealthiest Americans, the largest transfer of wealth from working Americans to the rich in the history of our country.
Mr. Speaker, Gerry Connolly was a devout Catholic who studied to be a priest. He and I agreed that the essence of this bill sends the opposite of the message of the New Testament, which is to give our lives to help the poor.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran).
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This bill is our opportunity to deliver on the promises we made to the American people. It is our chance to put working families, small businesses, and communities back at the center of our economic future.
In the First District of Texas, the median income is just $62,000. If we fail to pass this bill, a family of four at that income level will see their taxes go up by over $1,100, a staggering 22 percent increase.
That is not just a number. That is 6 weeks' worth of groceries. That is money that could be used to fix a truck, invest in a small business, or save for a child's future.
If we do pass this bill, we protect that $1,100 of hard-earned income. In fact, we protect every American's money.
At its core, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is about more than dollars and cents. It is about liberty and empowering the American people. It is about giving families, workers, and small businesses the freedom to thrive without government taking more of their money.
We have the chance in this moment to expand opportunity, restore dignity and work, and strengthen the American Dream. That is worth fighting for.
Let us not fail in this task. Let us pass the one big, beautiful bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill and in support of America's working families, families who are trying to provide healthcare, feed their children, and secure their futures.
My Republican colleagues continue hiding under the cover of darkness as we sit here at almost 5 in the morning, wrapping up. What are they trying to hide? Are they trying to hide the largest cut ever to Medicaid with 14 million losing healthcare, the largest cut ever to fighting child hunger, and adding $5 trillion to the Nation's debt, all to line the pockets of Trump's superrich family and friends?
Just yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office assessed that the bottom 10 percent of taxpayers will be poorer because of this bill while the top 10 percent will get richer. Not only that but the CBO also determined that the Republican plan to explode the deficit will trigger mandatory cuts to Medicare totaling $500 billion.
My Republican colleagues are attempting to hide the truth of this bill because they know the pain it will inflict on American families. This is not one beautiful bill. It is one awful deal for the country.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill and to stand up for their constituents, who will be worse off if this bill passes.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Yakym).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the profamily, proworker, progrowth bill before us.
We keep hearing the same tired claims from my friends on the other side of the aisle about giveaways to the rich. They said the same things about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Do you know what? It wasn't true.
Even The New York Times admitted that most payers got a tax cut, but many didn't believe it. Why? ``To a large degree, the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained and misleading effort by liberal opponents.''
Are the American people going to believe their bank accounts, or will they believe the same people who told them it was a racist conspiracy theory that COVID originated in a Wuhan lab, who censored Hunter Biden's laptop as Russian disinformation, and who insisted that the former President was doing cartwheels in the Oval Office?
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I might say that the former President was writing historic legislation in the Oval Office and at least signing the products that came from these committees.
I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), a very important member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. Speaker, this Republican partisan tax bill will be the largest self-inflicted wound on America's working families in our Nation's history, with the largest cut in healthcare and food assistance to pay for the largest tax cuts for billionaires.
I get that this bill is about fulfilling the President's promises, but like the President, we can't rely on it for working families, as the bottom 10 percent would lose basic services so that the top 10 percent can increase their wealth.
What is worse is that, in order to pay for this bill, they are relying on not just the cuts but fabricated economic growth numbers, ignoring costs of the TCJA, and hoping that there are revenues from tariffs.
Yet, even with all of that, they stick it to our children by adding trillions to our Federal debt.
Look, not only are our creditors and allies losing faith in our Nation, but Americans watching this tonight are losing faith in Congress. If we work together, we could help working families, bring down prices, and bring down our national debt. Ultimately, we could have restored faith in this institution.
Instead, Mr. Speaker, I am voting ``no'' on this partisan bill because it gives in to the President's politics, breaks promises to working families, and gives up on our promise to the future of our children.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).
Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 years, my colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee have traveled around the country, listening to working families, small business owners, and job creators. North Texans have been very clear: They want relief, certainty, and a tax code that works for them, not against them.
Last week, we delivered. The bill that we passed out of committee reflects the real needs of our communities and the promises that we made to the American people. It is a strong, commonsense compromise that builds on the success of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
This bill expands the child tax credit, makes the small business deduction permanent, and boosts the standard deduction with a new enhancement for seniors. It restores immediate expensing for R&D and increases access to tax-free health savings accounts.
In short, this one big, beautiful bill stops the largest tax increase in American history and delivers historic tax relief instead.
I look forward to its swift passage and to President Trump signing it into law.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez), a valuable member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. Speaker, let's get it straight. This is one big bill, but it is a bill that steals Medicaid. It steals SNAP. It steals all the assistance for working people in order to give tax breaks to the billionaires in this country.
Those making less than $30,000 a year will pay $20 billion more in taxes over the 10-year period. If you make $50,000 a year, you have a 50/50 chance of seeing any kind of change in your taxes while the billionaire establishment gets a cut of $270,000.
This is the biggest transfer of wealth in our Nation's history. It is literally stealing from the poor to give to the rich.
They want to talk about how they went around the country to listen. Well, they didn't listen very hard because what the Republicans are doing is hurting average working people. They are not helping when it comes to housing. They are not helping when it comes to childcare. They are not helping.
When they do talk about housing, it is 20,000 units a year for 10 years. That is a drop in the bucket.
We need our Republican colleagues to actually do something besides the cheap talk and theatrics of going around the town but only listening to the billionaires at the end of the day.
Mr. Speaker, if the Trump tax cuts were to expire in Mr. Gomez's district, a family of four making $62,008, the median income in California's 34th District, would see a $1,139 tax increase.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean).
Mr. Speaker, it is a scary time for taxpayers in the United States or those who own small businesses. Both are facing a tsunami of tax increases, the largest in U.S. history.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news: Help is on the way. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is real tax relief for real Americans. It is for those who are paid in tips, for hourly workers who are working overtime, and for families and seniors who have been struggling under the weight of inflation. It is for the 91 percent of Americans who use the standard deduction.
The bill expands the child tax credit. It secures our border and enhances education and health savings options. It unleashes American energy. It will encourage production on U.S. soil. Made in America will mean something once more.
Buckle up, America, and put your seat in the upright position because, with the passage of this bill, the golden age of America is ready for takeoff.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 10\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Missouri has 8\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), who is a terrific advocate for the people of his constituency.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, this is no way to govern. In the dead of the night, congressional Republicans are passing this partisan, big, ugly bill for billionaires.
Who are they here to serve? Are they here to serve billionaires or the constituents who elected them to bring down costs and to make life more affordable?
Their constituents, like mine, rely on Medicaid and public education, veterans' programs, SNAP, childcare, Head Start, and Medicare.
Republicans claim to be for the working people, and yet the meager tax relief of about $1 a day that middle-class workers and families receive under their plan is temporary. The tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations are permanent. That is a choice.
I am for permanent tax cuts for moms and dads and for small business owners. Who are they here to serve? The GOP budget cuts from the masses to give to the few, to billionaires who barely pay taxes to begin with.
I know who I am here to serve. I serve the 750,000 people from Nevada who elected me. I will continue to fight for them to make their lives better and not worse.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with their constituents and against the billionaires.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let's talk about who benefits from this bill. A single mom, a waitress in Nevada is working long hours. She is raising one child. She is living paycheck to paycheck. She gets a bigger standard deduction underneath our legislation. She won't pay taxes on tips in our legislation. She gets a boosted child tax credit.
That is a tax cut of $4,891. That is not pennies. That is real money for working Americans. This is what it means to stand with the working class and millions of tipped workers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller).
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith and the Ways and Means Committee for all the hard work they put into this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, strengthening our economy starts at home. I am proud to rise in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which delivers much- needed tax relief to the American workers, farmers, and families.
This legislation builds on the foundation laid by the 2017 tax reforms, allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned money, empowering them to invest in their futures, support their children, and build brighter lives.
I am especially pleased that this bill includes making the increased standard deduction levels from 2017 permanent. Simplifying the tax code has been transformative, especially for working-class communities where most taxpayers claim the standard deduction. The guaranteed standard deduction has made tax season faster, easier, and far less stressful for millions of Americans.
Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. Over 93 percent of my constituents claim the standard deduction. If we fail to act, millions of Americans will see a tax hike of nearly $2,000 per household.
Permanency gives working families the certainty they need to plan ahead, whether it is saving for college, investing at home, or simply trying to make ends meet with confidence and greater financial security.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).
Mr. Speaker, I rise in vigorous opposition to this bill that is callous and cruel and clueless about what the American people are dealing with.
We are talking about generations of harm, lives lost because of defunded cancer research, pregnant mothers denied essential healthcare, school lunch programs gutted, and our babies hungry if this bill is passed.
For what? It will line the pockets and stroke the egos of a fewer petty billionaires.
I believe in the promise of this Nation. I believe in the possibility that government can do right by people and help us through our most vulnerable moments. This bill is the antithesis of that. This bill is a threat to the lives and livelihoods of so many people.
The mood up here is somber. Republicans are gleeful. It is somber because this is shameful. We just need four Republicans to be people of conscience and stand up against this.
In exchange, my colleagues across the aisle can save lives. They can look their kids in the eye. They can say that when everything was at stake, they had clarity and did the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, I am not begging my Republican colleagues for benevolence. I am asking them for decency. I ask them to do right by the people that sent them here.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McGuire).
Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump and the Republican trifecta were elected this November to deliver results for the American people.
This one big, beautiful bill we are considering today pinpoints waste, fraud, and abuse. It secures our borders. It reignites economic growth.
These are impactful tax cuts, reducing Social Security taxes, eliminating taxes on tips, and eliminating taxes on overtime will help the middle-class American people.
If the 2017 tax cuts are allowed to expire, 56,000 small businesses in my district alone would experience a 43.4 percent tax hike. Over 8,000 family-owned farms would have their death tax exemption slashed in half.
I came to Congress to deliver real results, and that is what this bill does. In the defense portion of the bill, $34 billion is allocated for shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base in my district of Virginia and the United States.
Mr. Speaker, this bill delivers on the America First promises President Trump and congressional Republicans made to the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the Democratic leader, I want to talk a little bit about what I began with.
First of all, let me just say as a courtesy and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee for 33 years, this debate should be taking place during the day. I know the Members on the other side feel the same way.
There is no reason at 10 minutes after 5 o'clock in the morning to debate a bill of this consequence. It is as simple as that. These were legislative courtesies that we once extended to each other. There is no reason for it to play out at a time when most Americans can't dial in to hear the debate.
Mr. Speaker, there is no getting away from the fact that the Republican Party, the party of fiscal rectitude, the party that has lectured us for decades on spending patterns, is about to borrow $4 trillion for a tax cut that is overwhelmingly going to go to people at the very top including the billionaire class.
What is troubling about it is that if we look back at these tax cuts, as I noted, it is $10 trillion of tax cuts from 2001 to this moment. In 2017, it is borrowed money. It is $2.3 trillion of borrowed money.
This is $4 trillion. When we are done paying the interest on it over the next 5 years, as the bond market reminded us again today, it is closer to $5 trillion, and the Republicans are the party of fiscal rectitude.
I call attention, again, to this because we would say that if you kept these tax cuts for people under $400,000 a year, Mr. Speaker, then you would get a buy-in from us. We are okay with that. We object to the idea that people who are about to derive the biggest benefit don't need it, and in most instances, they weren't asking for it as well.
The theology that tax cuts pay for themselves is nonsense. We have heard that forever, but it is that continued effort that Republicans have to suggest that no matter what happens, a tax cut should be the most important consideration.
There were two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, two tax cuts during those
Ronald Reagan had the good sense when he found out what the tax cuts meant against spending cuts, he reversed the position during that time.
However, Mr. Speaker, the current Republican Party subscribes to this notion that you can be for infrastructure--you can take defense spending now that is heading over $1 trillion, you can vote for the infrastructure bill, you can vote for the CHIPS Act, you can vote for postal reform--and, yes, 30 Members voted on that side for the Butch Lewis Act--and you can do all these things and simultaneously cut taxes.
No, Mr. Speaker, you can't, and we know that.
We are in a position to argue, I think, with great force for the American people because I know what happened. For all their talk about what happened in the tax cut of 2017, we easily won the House the next year.
The American people don't buy this. That is because they know where these tax cuts are going. They are intended to help people at the top when it is really the people at the bottom and in the middle who need help.
Hospitals are going to close. Children are going to go hungry, and healthcare is going to be denied, but the billionaire class is going to pick up a considerable number of dollars.
Again, the number that I cited earlier, Mr. Speaker, was that if you make $1 million, then you will pick up 90,000 additional dollars. That is almost 10 percent. If you make under $50,000, Mr. Speaker, you are getting $1 a day? Is that what this tax package means?
Defeat this bill. Send it back to the Ways and Means Committee. Compel that committee to negotiate. We can come up with a plan where the middle class would get the tax cuts, and then we would address subsequently the debt that is plaguing this Nation.
This legislation will take us to $40 trillion worth of debt, and they are going to lecture us on debt?
It is the old story: On Monday they blame us for debt, and on Tuesday they add $4 trillion to it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve what I have remaining of time unfinished, but I will yield at the appropriate moment to the Democratic leader.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the fair manner in which you have done this, as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).
Mr. Speaker, when I ran for Congress, I said that I would never support a tax bill that did not adequately lift the cap on SALT. This bill does that. It increases the cap on SALT by 300 percent.
I would remind my Democratic colleagues when they had full control in Washington, they lifted the cap on SALT by exactly zero dollars, zilch, zip, nada. There was not $1 of increase in tax relief for hardworking New Yorkers.
To all my New York colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Before you speak out and say that you don't support a 300 percent increase on the cap on SALT, the fact is that this bill adequately addresses the cap on SALT and provides tax relief to hardworking middle-class families.
Mr. Speaker, I had not intended to rebut, Mr. Speaker, however, our tax bill had an $80,000 cap on SALT, and it passed the House of Representatives.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).
Mr. Speaker, as a small businessman who started his business career under George H.W. Bush and operated that business all the way through all the administrations up to and including the Biden administration, I can unequivocally say that the Trump tax policies in the Trump administration were the best for small businesses, period. That is why I joined the majority of the Americans across this country to vote to make those Trump policies permanent.
You see, Mr. Speaker, it doesn't matter if you have two college degrees, no college degrees, Brown, Black, White, Trump's policies lifted all boats. That is why I encourage my colleagues to join me, pass this bill, and vote for Main Street.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Missouri for his leadership and getting us to this point. So many other chairmen will talk about that, too.
I rise in strong support, Mr. Speaker, of this one big, beautiful bill, this bill that is going to deliver on so many promises that the American people asked us to do for them.
We have elections in this country, and we had an election that had a lot of crystal-clear messages sent in November. We had a contrast, maybe one of the sharpest contrasts between two candidates for President.
If you read this bill, Mr. Speaker, and maybe some of my friends on the other side haven't read it by some of the comments they have made, because you would think it is 2017 all over again when you listen to the things that they said. They have said the same things they are saying tonight that they said in 2017, none of which turned out to be reality.
They had an opportunity to make their case for raising taxes on the American people. In fact, their candidate for President was for a lot of the same things they are for tonight: Letting the Trump tax cuts expire to punish those middle-class and low-income workers who benefited the most from those tax cuts. They benefited tremendously.
President Trump said that he was going to lock those tax rates in, not giving all these tax breaks the minority is talking about to millionaires and billionaires but, in fact, to help the working families of this country who are struggling.
They struggled after 4 years of the last administration. The weight of the failures of their policies raised inflation, raised interest rates, made homeownership unachievable, and made the ability to fill their own grocery carts unachievable. President Trump said he would reverse it.
How else did he say he was going to reverse it? President Trump said that we were going to produce more American energy.
Now, the other side of the aisle has been very clear for years with an all-out assault on American energy. They have carried it out. They have voted for it. They campaigned on it, and the voters rejected that false premise, that failed approach.
Now, maybe they are upset that the voters said: We want to produce more energy in America. However, Mr. Speaker, President Trump was crystal clear: If you elect us, elect President Trump, elect a Republican House and Senate, then we will deliver for you. We will open up more American energy from ANWAR in Alaska to the Gulf of America. That is what he campaigned on. Maybe they are upset that he is actually delivering on those promises and that this bill delivers on those promises.
It is a promise that will lower prices at the pump. When you go to the gas station, Mr. Speaker, you will be able to fill up your car. So that is in this bill.
It also creates more jobs. Now, there are some people, clearly, who don't like that. It is not just my friends on the other side of the aisle who don't want to produce more American energy.
Do you know who else doesn't want those provisions in this bill, Mr. Speaker? It is countries like Russia and countries like Iran who have been making billions of dollars a month selling their energy on world markets because of the failed Biden policies, the policies that allowed them to enrich their countries and use that money for evil to fund the war in Ukraine and to fund wars on terror around the world.
Terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis were funded by the billions of dollars a month that those countries got from selling their oil on world markets because America was shut down.
America will be shut down no more when this one big, beautiful bill is passed into law because we will be able to produce our own energy here in America.
My friend Chairman Smith worked incredibly hard to make sure that this
You will see an American renaissance, a golden age in this country that we haven't seen in generations. Why would people vote against that? Who knows.
The press talks about the other side being a party in disarray, and maybe we are seeing it on display right now. When they are vocally opposed to these kinds of policies that will get the country back on track, why do they say tax cuts for the millionaires and the billionaires when they know it is not true?
I will tell you why, Mr. Speaker, because not only do they know that is not the case, but they know who benefits the most from this bill.
One of the great new provisions of this bill that President Trump campaigned on and that Chairman Smith made sure to deliver on was no tax on tips. Now, the last time I checked, Elon Musk does not get paid in tips. Do you know who does? A lot of hardworking people across this country.
Any restaurant you go to, Mr. Speaker, talk to the waiters and waitresses. Ask them about their hopes and dreams, ask them about their families, and what they would do with just a little bit more money in their paycheck. Do you know, Mr. Speaker, that big provision that every Democrat is going to vote against, the average tip worker makes $32,000 a year, and every Democrat will vote ``no'' on that benefit while they hide behind the lie of the millionaires and the billionaires. They know that is not the case.
They also know if they are going to vote against every hardworking waiter and waitress who averages $32,000 a year--how do they get away with it? They have to create some fake boogeyman that they can point to and say, gee whiz, look at the billionaire over there.
Class warfare, dividing Americans, is their way to try to get more power in Washington. How about we give people in America more power? Take it away from Washington and empower the people in this country who have been struggling for too long.
If you want to live the American Dream, it can still exist. For a lot of people, they thought it was going away. President Trump ran and said that he will renew that promise, but it only happens if Congress delivers.
The other side will vote against it, every single one of them in lockstep, and they will root against the success of this bill. Then, if it were to fail, they would just go, look at that, the country is still in demise, because they were against it every step of the way.
We saw this play out, by the way, in the state of the Union just a few months ago, right here in this Chamber, and America watched in shock. They want to see us come together. Can we at least come together on things we agree on?
There stood President Trump, right at that podium, Mr. Speaker. He talked about so many of the great things of this country--not partisan things, things that we used to all celebrate.
Mr. Speaker, President Trump pointed over there to the balcony where not only was the Presidential family seated, but they also had some special guests. He pointed to a 13-year-old boy who had just beaten cancer.
You want to talk about something that can unite the whole country, that can bring us all together to say that, yes, we might disagree on issues big and small--that happens; that is America--but we can all celebrate a 13-year-old boy who just beat cancer, Mr. Speaker.
What happened when he said that? We rose up and applauded, as we all should have. What else happened? The other side sat there, sat down grumpy, angry. I don't know why. I would not say it was because he beat cancer, but it was just because President Trump happened to point out that he beat cancer.
We should not root for or against a person like that based on what President Trump says he is for just because the talking points of the party went out that said be against anything President Trump is for. That is not a party platform.
This country wants direction. President Trump ran on a direction, and their party did, too. It wasn't like it wasn't laid out in the campaign. President Trump said that he would secure America's border. That actually was the number one issue all across the country.
I got to go around to a lot of parts of this country. You hear from a lot of different people. You see what their hopes and dreams are. You will also see from them, and they will tell you, what they want to see us come together to address. It didn't matter what part of the country you went to. They all said, for goodness' sake, can we secure America's border?
Millions of people were coming in illegally, many of them really bad people, gang members, violent people who were harming Americans. We saw it over and over again.
Laken Riley was murdered. By the way, the first bill President Trump signed into law was the Laken Riley Act to say that if you come here and harm an American citizen, you are gone, deported.
This bill allows for the deportation of violent criminals who come here illegally and harm American citizens. We should all support that. The other side doesn't. They will fly to Venezuela and El Salvador, Mr. Speaker, to try to get out of prison a gang member who beats his wife.
This bill allows President Trump to continue securing America's border. He has done phenomenal work on his own through executive action protecting America, but he needs money to build the wall. He needs money to let our Border Patrol agents have the ability to compete with the drug cartels of Mexico.
It is embarrassing that today the drug cartels of Mexico have better technology than America's Border Patrol agents. We said we are not going to allow that to happen again like the other side did. We are going to do something about it. We are going to give them those tools, night vision goggles, drones, other things so that they can actually do the job that they came here to do.
They put their lives on the line to keep us safe. The least we can do is allow them to have the ability to be safe themselves, to go home at night to their families while keeping our country safe. It is in this bill. We deliver on that promise and so many others.
We are making America competitive again in our military so that we can finally confront the threat that China poses militarily. We all talk about it and know what it means, but are we going to talk about it or do something about it?
President Trump wants to do something about it. This Republican majority wants to do something about it. In this bill, we deliver on that promise. Everybody who votes no is saying no to that.
Again, the minority can hide behind the millionaires and billionaires, but they are voting against strengthening America's military. That is in the bill. They are sure not talking about it on the other side, Mr. Speaker. We haven't heard them talking about it because they are about to vote against that. Let's be honest about it.
Mr. Speaker, when you think about those benefits, you also have to recognize what a ``no'' vote means today. We have two buttons. You can press ``yes'' or press ``no.'' If you vote ``no,'' you are voting against American energy, securing America's border, and helping those middle-class families. Mr. Speaker, you can run all the numbers. It would be a 22 percent tax increase on low- and middle-income families.
We are not talking about the millionaires and billionaires. We are talking about a family making $70,000 a year combined who is struggling to get by and would like to make a little bit more investment, maybe in their kids' education, and might want to take a family vacation. This bill gives them the opportunity to do it.
It also gives every small business in America the opportunity to make investments in America again. The 199A provision is locked in permanently so there is no uncertainty so we can grow more jobs in America. That is a good thing. It is a good thing for a lot of us here. That is what a ``yes'' vote gets.
A ``no'' vote tells every small business in America that they will be at a competitive disadvantage with the big corporations. You hear them rallying, Mr. Speaker, against the fat cats and the big corporations. Yet, if they vote ``no''--these are the facts--the big corporations, the global companies, get a
Your local small businesses would be noncompetitive with the big corporations. We said that is not fair. We want to allow our small businesses to compete on a global stage with the big national corporations, and we do that in this bill. A ``no'' vote doesn't do that.
Yes, we root out waste, fraud, and abuse, Mr. Speaker, waste, fraud, and abuse so that vital programs in America actually work better for the people who deserve them. Why would somebody come up here and defend hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington? There are hardworking families who are struggling and barely able to get by and pay their taxes. They are infuriated when they find out some of the waste that is going on up here. They are saying: When is somebody going to finally do something about the fraud so that I feel comfortable that if I am funding my government, it is going to go to help the people who deserve it and not some 35-year-old kid, who is fully able-bodied, who is sitting in his mom's basement playing video games, getting over $40,000 in taxpayer-funded benefits, while they are working two jobs, while the waiter/waitress averaging $32,000 a year is struggling to get by. We help them. That is who we are helping, those families who are struggling. We will get this economy moving again.
You can vote ``yes'' or you can vote ``no.'' I wish everybody would vote ``yes.'' A ``yes'' vote gets America's economy moving again. It allows President Trump to continue fighting for the hardworking families who elected him. All across this country, every swing State, the majority of the American population wants this kind of relief.
Republicans are going to keep moving forward, Mr. Speaker, and are going to deliver for those families who deserve this help, who want to see America come back. They know America can come back. They know America has been held back for the last 4 years. The same people who have been telling us that President Biden's health was just fine are now telling us all these other things about millionaires and billionaires.
We are going to get this right. This bill finally starts to right the ship of state. We all should come together and do that, Mr. Speaker. We have got so many great people who have worked so hard to get to this point, and we are still at the early stages. Let's send this bill over to the Senate, and give them an opportunity to have their say as well.
Ultimately, let's go deliver. Let's go deliver for that single mom who is working the night shift at a diner right now, who is going to have more money in her pocket because of this bill, who is maybe going to be able to send her kid to college because of this bill.
We are going to deliver for those families. You can say ``yes'' or ``no.'' America is absolutely watching. America went to the polls in November and said: We want this relief, and we are calling on Congress to provide this relief.
Republicans ran and said: We will do something about it, and we will fix it. We are actually following through, Mr. Speaker, on that promise made to the American people. President Trump is leading the way. President Trump is going to turn this country around, and this bill gives him the tools to do just that.
I urge everybody to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, let me say to my friend, the majority leader, everybody on this side was cheering for the success of that young man defeating cancer. The way we are going to defeat cancer is not to cut NIH.
I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the very capable and distinguished minority leader.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlemen from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), who has done a tremendous job leading the Ways and Means Committee on our side.
I also thank Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, Ranking Member Jim McGovern, all the members of the Ways and Means Committee, the Budget Committee, the Rules Committee, every single Member of the House Democratic Caucus who have stood on this floor, stood before the Rules Committee, participated in markups on behalf of the American people, in defense of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this reckless, regressive, and reprehensible GOP tax scam. This is one big, ugly bill that House Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people under the cover of darkness.
This legislation will not make life better for the American people. The GOP tax scam represents an assault on the economy, an assault on healthcare, an assault on nutritional assistance, an assault on tax fairness, and an assault on fiscal responsibility.
There are more than 100 other reasons to vote against this one big, ugly bill that can be found by reading this more than 1,000-page document. Those reasons are too numerous to mention, but this legislation also undermines reproductive freedom, undermines the progress that we have made in combating the climate crisis, undermines gun safety, undermines the rule of law and the independence of the Federal judiciary. It even undermines the ability of hardworking and law-abiding immigrant families to provide remittances to their loved ones who just may happen to live abroad.
There are more than a hundred different reasons to vote against the GOP tax scam. In the days, the weeks, and the months to come, all of those reasons will be exposed for the American people in each and every one of your districts.
This bill represents a failed promise. Last year, Donald Trump and House Republicans spent all of their time talking about their promise to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America. In fact, Donald Trump and Republicans promised that costs would go down on day one.
We are now more than 120 days past the inauguration. Costs aren't going down. They are going up. Inflation is out of control. Insurance rates remain stubbornly high. Our Moody's rating, our credit rating has been downgraded. We have got people losing confidence in this economy. Republicans are crashing this economy in real time and driving us toward a recession.
Beyond that, costs are actually going up. The trade war that Donald Trump has recklessly launched, his tariff scheme, will raise the cost of goods, groceries, and gas for everyday Americans, the Americans that Republicans claim they were going to help, but the Americans that they are clearly hurting.
Republicans have destabilized the business environment. Small businesses are at risk of closing. Farmers, small family farmers are in distress. Businesses can't invest. People are not hiring. Republicans are actively crashing the economy, driving America toward a recession.
Republicans promised to lower costs on day one. Costs aren't going down. They are going up.
Now, as House Democrats, we believe that we have to build an affordable economy for hardworking, American taxpayers. We are committed to lowering housing costs, grocery costs, insurance costs, childcare costs, and utility costs. In America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, there are far too many people living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet.
Here in this country, no American should find themselves in that situation. Republicans promised that they would do something about it, but things are not getting better. They are getting worse.
We could have partnered together to try and find a bipartisan path toward building an affordable economy for hardworking American taxpayers, but Republicans chose to go it alone, to try to drive their extreme right-wing policies down the throats of the American people.
That is what this one big, ugly bill represents, not simply a broken promise as it relates to your failures on the economy. Despite the gentleman from Louisiana trying to articulate all of the so-called successes that have taken place, we know that this Presidency has already been a failure, filled with crisis and chaos, cruelty, and corruption.
The American people know it, which is why Donald Trump, at the 100- day mark, was the most unpopular President in American history. The American people understand. It is unfolding right before their eyes. No matter what kind of MAGA spin you try to put on the situation, things are going to get worse.
Why? It is because of this big, ugly bill. It is not simply an assault on the economy, a broken promise, but it is an assault on the healthcare of the American people.
You see, as Democrats, we believe in this country that healthcare is not simply a privilege. Healthcare is a right.
From Medicare, to Medicaid, to the passage of the Affordable Care Act and subsequently enhancing it, we have begun to move America to a place where every single person in this land could have access to the healthcare that they need to live a life of dignity and respect.
At this moment in America, we have the lowest rate of uninsured people in our Nation's history, but this GOP tax scam will reverse that with this assault on healthcare. It is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
Here is what it will mean for the American people: Children will get hurt. Women will get hurt. Older Americans who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care and for home care will get hurt. People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive will get hurt. Hospitals in your districts will close. Nursing homes will shut down, and people will die.
That is not hype. That is not hyperbole. That is not a hypothetical. The people that you all represent have been writing to us to make that clear. Thousands of people who have written to us--everyday Americans-- have made that clear. I will just present a few of those stories in the Record.
That is Shauna, who lives in Arizona's Sixth Congressional District.
That is Gregg, who lives in the Eighth Congressional District of Colorado.
That is Julisa, who had a message for her Representative in Pennsylvania's Eighth Congressional District.
What we are here to say as House Democrats to Shauna, to Gregg, and to Julisa is that if your Representatives won't fight for you, we will. We will. We will. If they won't fight for you, we will fight for you, for your healthcare, for your decency, for your well-being, for your grace, and for your dignity.
Now, in addition to visiting the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, that is not enough for the MAGA extremists. CBO has independently confirmed that this one big, ugly bill will also set in motion a $490 billion cut to Medicare in this country.
Unfortunately, that should come as no surprise because we know that our Republican colleagues have been trying to attack Social Security for decades, as they are doing right now, not necessarily in this bill. Why? It is because the 1974 Budget Control Act prevents you from doing it, but you have been going after Social Security for a long time and going after Medicare for a long time. Elon Musk, who seems to function as your puppet master, has made clear his intentions, which you just follow as if you work for him.
Elon Musk wants to take a chain saw to Social Security, a chain saw to Medicare, as you are doing in this bill. Elon Musk wants to take a chain saw to Medicaid, as you are doing in this bill. Here is our message to you and the American people: No matter how long it takes, House Democrats are going to take a chain saw to Project 2025 because it is not in the best interests of the American people.
What this bill represents is your effort to try to put into law Project 2025. You acted like you didn't know anything about it. This is why you have no credibility right now. You spent all of last year lying to the American people, saying to them that you were going to lower the high cost of living. In fact, you are doing the exact opposite.
At the same period of time, you acted like you knew nothing about Project 2025, and this bill is an effort to try to implement it into law.
You mentioned credibility issues. I think it exists on the right side of this Chamber.
Not only have you gone after Medicaid. Not only have you gone after Medicare.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has been very patient. The gentleman is reminded to direct his comments to the Chair.
Mr. Speaker, you know what is interesting, is that every time I have come on this floor, I can use sharp language, he can use sharp language. You choose to admonish me. I don't work for you, sir. I work for the American people.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. As I said, Mr. Leader, we have been very patient. We just listened to the majority leader of the other side who directed all of his comments to the Chair. It is important for the decorum of the institution for you to do the same. You may proceed.
We can continue this. Every time I am interrupted, that is going to add another 15 minutes to my remarks.
Mr. Speaker, what we have seen is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. It is an effort to devastate Medicare. Of course, what this bill also does is strip away some of the coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act.
Millions of people will lose their coverage as a result of this GOP tax scam. When you aggregate the assault on healthcare that is taking place, what we are likely to see is, at least, 13.7 million people are going to lose their healthcare in the United States of America.
That is what we are fighting for. That is why we are a ``no,'' amongst several other reasons on this bill. It is an assault on the economy. It is an assault on healthcare. It is also an assault on nutritional assistance.
Now, in the 1960s, the American people were shaken up and disturbed by images they saw after some investigations exposed the conditions of some people in America who were dealing with intense hunger in rural America, in underresourced communities, and communities of color, images of children with distended bellies, families rummaging through garbage in order to find food so they wouldn't starve.
That is what eventually led to the creation of what is now the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program because the American people concluded that in this great country, not a single child should ever go hungry. That is our position.
Apparently, it is not the position of our Republican colleagues. In this bill, SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will experience more than $300 billion in cuts, the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history.
Literally, Mr. Speaker, Republicans are taking food out of the mouths of children, disabled Americans, veterans, and older Americans. That is another reason why we are strongly opposed to this bill.
This is the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is indecent to rip food out of the mouths of children and everyday Americans. It is indecent.
To make matters worse, we know that as a result of this bill, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute, there are 18 million children in this country who are at risk of losing school meals. Decade after decade after decade in America, we have made great progress. That progress, as it relates to alleviating hunger and food insecurity, is now at risk of being rolled back.
One of the excuses that I am sure we will hear from the Speaker of this institution is that this one big, ugly bill is all about waste, fraud, and abuse.
It is interesting because month after month after month, we continue to hear that phrase. Let's be clear: As Democrats, we believe in trying to make sure that Federal taxpayer dollars are spent in an efficient and effective way. We are all for that, but that is not what is being done in this bill. No evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse has been presented in a compelling way.
In fact, you know what is interesting, you are talking about taking away nutritional benefits that amount to $2 per meal, $6 per day, at the same time, when Elon Musk and his Federal contracts are worth $8 million a day.
If you are trying to find waste, fraud, and abuse, I have a suggestion: Start right there. Start right there. Don't take food from the mouths of our children. Start right there.
This is one big, ugly bill. It is a GOP tax scam. It is a reckless Republican budget. It is an assault on the economy. It is an assault on healthcare. It is an assault on nutritional benefits. It is also an assault on tax fairness.
Here is the thing: It is the largest cut to healthcare in American history coupled by the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history in order to enact the largest tax breaks for billionaires in American history.
That is unacceptable. That is unconscionable, and that is un- American. That is un-American because my Republican colleagues promised that they would actually focus their efforts on trying to make life better for everyday Americans. However, disproportionately the benefits of this bill, as confirmed by independent observers, don't go to those who may be at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. They actually go disproportionately to those at the highest end of the economic spectrum.
A CBO analysis requested by Congressman Boyle and myself just confirmed that. It is not hype, not hyperbole, not a hypothetical; it is what will happen if this one big, ugly bill became law.
It is an assault on tax fairness and, of course, that is coupled with the assault on fiscal responsibility.
It is ironic to me that many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but as Richie Neal has often eloquently articulated, that is not what the record shows. The record shows something very different.
This fiscal irresponsibility that comes from the other side of the aisle is actually connected to the obsession with massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. We have seen this rinse-and-repeat scenario play itself out over and over again.
President Reagan comes in to office, and what is his signature domestic priority? His signature domestic priority is massive tax cuts for the superwealthy. As a result, he escalates the debt and deficit.
Those policies, of course, are continued by his successor, President George H.W. Bush, but then President Clinton takes office. In his 8 years, he turns a deficit into a budget surplus. That is fiscal responsibility.
Then, after 8 years in office, President Clinton is replaced by President George W. Bush, who proceeds to follow the same playbook. They used to call it trickle-down economics. The American people aren't buying it because they figured out what trickle-down economics means: We may get a trickle, but we are guaranteed to stay down. That is what has happened over and over again.
President Bush comes into office, and he introduces massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. The 2001 tax cuts and the 2003 tax cuts turned a budget surplus into a massive deficit. His administration then further exacerbated the problem with a failed war in Iraq and a failed war in Afghanistan. They were asleep at the switch as it related to the economy, which resulted in the Great Recession.
Then, President Obama takes office to once again demonstrate what fiscal responsibility is all about. In 8 years, he takes the deficit that he inherited of $1.5 trillion and cuts it by a trillion dollars, notwithstanding the economic mess that he inherited, having to dig the country out of the Great Recession.
Of course, 8 years of President Obama brings us to the current administration in its first term. As my colleague from Louisiana talked about, what is their signature legislative accomplishment? The 2017 version of the GOP tax scam, where, by some estimates, 83 percent of the benefits were set in motion for the wealthiest 1 percent, and you borrow more than $2 trillion to do it, once again exploding the debt and deficit in the United States of America.
President Biden comes into office in his first 2 years, notwithstanding all the signature accomplishments--many of which did have some bipartisan support, particularly in the Senate. There were significant accomplishments led by President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Democrats in the House, partnering with our colleagues in the Senate. Notwithstanding all of those accomplishments, he reduces the deficit in his first 2 years by $1.7 trillion.
That is what fiscal responsibility looks like, so we are not going to be lectured on this issue.
Then, my colleagues have the nerve to talk about fiscal responsibility and to try to pass a bill that disproportionately benefits their billionaire donors like Elon Musk, and borrows--will add to the debt--more than $5 trillion.
That is an assault on fiscal responsibility. That is forcing our children and our grandchildren, all of them, to shoulder an unnecessary burden that will limit their ability to fully experience the American Dream.
That is why we oppose this bill. It is an assault on the economy, an assault on healthcare, an assault on nutritional assistance, including on our veterans, an assault on tax fairness, and an assault on fiscal responsibility.
As I close, let me make one other observation. I believe that there are people of faith on both sides of this Chamber, authentically people of faith on both sides of this Chamber. I am not one to question anyone's faith, but I do think we have to ask the question, particularly when you study the Gospel, and the Gospel in particular of Matthew 25:35-40, where Jesus talks about the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless, the people who are confined, strangers in a foreign land.
When you know the Gospel, when you are charged with trying to live the Gospel, it cannot be the case that one goes to synagogue or one goes to the mosque or one goes to church, as I do, but one goes to church to pray on Sunday, and then comes to Washington, D.C., to prey on the American people the rest of the week.
You can't prey on the poor, prey on the sick, prey on the afflicted, prey on our children, prey on people with disabilities, prey on our veterans who served this country, and project that that is consistent with the faith that I at least know, anchored in Matthew 25:35.
Mr. Speaker, I think this, in some ways, is a sad day here for this institution. James Madison, one of our great thinkers, I believe it was in Federalist No. 51, talks about Congress at its best should function as a rival to the executive branch, serve as a check and balance on the out-of-control impulses of an executive that may emerge from time to time. Congress, according to James Madison, at its best would serve as a rival to the executive branch.
Unfortunately, our House Republican colleagues haven't followed the vision of this Madisonian version of democracy because they have consistently proven to be nothing more than a rubberstamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, and the American people are paying attention. The American people are paying attention.
I think that when the story is told of the 119th Congress, when the votes are ultimately cast on that first Tuesday in November next year, this day may
They are smarter than you think, and they know when they are being hurt. They know when their interests are not being served, and they know when they have been lied to and deceived.
See, they know that Congress was meant to be a separate and coequal branch of government. We don't work for President Trump. We don't work for J.D. Vance. We don't work for Elon Musk. We work for the American people. That is what House Democrats are all about.
Mr. Speaker, because we work for the American people, we will continue to stand up for an economy that is affordable and makes life better for hardworking American taxpayers. We will stand up for Social Security, stand up for Medicare, stand up for Medicaid, stand up for nutritional assistance, stand up for our children, stand up for our veterans, stand up for our seniors, stand up for our families, stand up for the American way of life. That is what House Democrats will continue to do.
We will stand up today, stand up tomorrow, stand up this week, stand up next week, stand up this month, stand up next month, stand up this year, stand up next year, stand up at all times until we end this national nightmare and restore the American Dream for every single person in this great land, from sea to shining sea.
Vote ``no.''
Mr. Speaker, the Democrat leader is mistaken. We aren't currently in the dead of night. We are voting for the one big, beautiful bill first thing in the morning. The relief for working families simply can't wait. We will work until the job is done, and we are going to do that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), the Speaker of the House.
Mr. Speaker, after that very long and wandering speech, my friends, and after a long week and a long night and countless hours of work over the past year, a lot of prayer and a lot of teamwork, my friends, it quite literally is again morning in America, isn't it?
After 4 long years of President Biden's failures, President Trump's America First agenda is finally here. We are advancing that today. What we are going to do this morning is truly historic, and it will make all the difference in the daily lives of hardworking Americans.
The Dallas waitress pulling overtime, the Detroit mom counting bills late at night, and the Kentucky coal miner waiting on his second chance are the forgotten men and women of our country that we are all called here to serve.
The one big, beautiful bill will deliver for those people. It revives our economy. It will deliver historic tax relief. It will make the largest investment in our border security in a generation.
It will unleash affordable American energy again, restore common sense to government, secure generational savings, and strengthen our national defense, while it also strengthens our essential programs like Medicaid for the people who need it the most. That is what we are doing with the one big, beautiful bill.
To put it simply, this bill gets Americans back to winning again, and it has been a long time coming. This one big, beautiful bill is the most consequential legislation that any party has ever passed, certainly under a majority this thin.
Legislation of this magnitude is truly Nation-shaping and life- changing. It is the kind of transformational change that future generations will study one day. They will look back at this day as a turning point in American history. It is exactly what we were sent here to do.
Let the record show that when the House Democrats vote in a few moments, this is what they will be voting for. Their vote will show that they are apparently for the largest tax increase in the history of our country. When they vote against this bill, they will be voting for waste, fraud, and abuse. They will be voting against safer communities, American energy dominance, and American strength on the world stage.
Today wouldn't be possible without the leadership of arguably the most powerful, the most successful, and the most respected President in the modern era of the United States.
Our Democratic colleagues mock the objective truth. We were delivered unified government, my friends, in November. The White House, the Senate, and the House were delivered to the party on this side of the aisle. My Democrat colleagues can laugh all they want.
None of this would be possible without the leadership of the 45th and the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. It would not be possible without the really hard work of the men and women on this side of the aisle.
I want to name our chairmen of our House committees that produced and did all the hard work to produce the big, beautiful bill. Scripture says that we give honor where honor is due, Mr. Speaker. We are going to do that here quickly.
I recognize Chairman G.T. Thompson of the Agriculture Committee, Chairman Mike Rogers of the Armed Services Committee, Chairman Jodey Arrington of the Budget Committee, Chairman Tim Walberg of the Education and Workforce Committee, Chairman Brett Guthrie of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman French Hill of the Financial Services Committee, Chairman Mark Green of the Homeland Security Committee, Chairman Jim Jordan of the Judiciary Committee, Chairman Bruce Westerman of the Natural Resources Committee, Chairman James Comer of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Chairman Sam Graves of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Chairman Jason Smith of the Ways and Means Committee.
I make special mention of Chairwoman Virginia Foxx of the Rules Committee who, by my count, sat in that chair and led that Rules Committee for what seemed like 2 straight days. I think she took two short breaks. She is the Iron Lady of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful for all of their hard work. The beauty of what we produced with the one big, beautiful bill over here is that this was a team effort. These were men and women who were elected to come here. They are the duly-elected Representatives of the people back home. They rolled up their sleeves. They got down in the trenches.
We began this effort over a year ago. It was actually March of last year because we anticipated and believed that we would be delivered a unified government and that we would have a Republican leader in the White House, which is Donald J. Trump. We believed that we would have the Senate and the House and that we would have that moment of opportunity.
We planned, we worked, and we locked arms together as a team. We have delivered this against all odds. The media has tried to divide us. They have written our eulogy about 10 times. Mr. Speaker, do you know what? Sometimes it is good to be underestimated, isn't it?
We got this done, and I am so proud of the work of every Member of this House Republican Conference who worked in their committees. Every single Member had a say in this. Every single constituent, the millions of people who are represented, have their voices and their interests reflected because we did this together as a team. It is quite an achievement.
I just want to say that all that tireless work has led to the hard work of crafting this legislation, and we have been ready since day one to deliver on this agenda. Unified control of government is a rare mandate. It doesn't happen very often. It has happened just three times for our party in the last half century. We do not take it for granted.
We are delivering on that mandate here today. The American people gave us a mandate in November. They sent a message with their vote. They gave this side of the aisle the power, and we are going to use it to make their lives better. What we are achieving here today is nothing short of historic, and that is true.
House Republicans are getting it done again.
In the Republican Party, we believe in a simple principle. We believe that America really is a shining city on a hill.
Ronald Reagan used to talk about that. He was referencing Scripture. He understood that America is exceptional. He understood that, as it says right there above the Speaker's rostrum, our national motto, that we trust in God, in God is our trust.
These are the things that make our Nation exceptional, and the people of our country deserve--they deserve--better. We have been working hard to deliver so that the people of our country see this again as a shining city on a hill and that people around the world see us for who we should be.
One thing we can all agree on on both sides of the aisle is that a strong America is good for everybody all around the world. All of us together, regardless of party, were called here to stand together and defend those freedoms and to defend those foundations that made us the greatest Nation in the history of the world.
All of us have to look and recognize that the shine has not been on that city in a while. We are here to restore it. This piece of legislation, as large as it is and as historic as it is, will do that very thing.
Mr. Speaker, we are accomplishing a big thing here today, but we know this isn't the end of the road just yet. We have been working closely with Leader Thune and our Senate colleagues, the Senate Republicans, to get this done and delivered to the President's desk by Independence Day. That is July 4th.
Today proves that we can do that, and we will do that. It doesn't matter how much the media doubts this or how much the Democrats give us their narratives, it doesn't matter how long the speeches are, it doesn't change the facts. We are delivering, and we are doing it in a big way.
So to our friends in the Senate, I would just say that the President is waiting with his pen. The American people are waiting for this relief. They are waiting for these life-changing results, and we are going to finish this job.
This is a historic moment that we will be talking to our children and our grandchildren about, and everyone will remember: America is back.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, government should help people, not harm them. Government should aid the vulnerable in asking for help, not exclude them from assistance with excessive barriers only to lavish the wealthy with trillions.
This bill makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. It boosts billionaires by dramatically cutting food, health care, nursing home service, and education from tens of millions of children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and workers.
This bill rips health care from 13.7 million Americans, with over 449,000 Illinoisans expected to lose their health insurance, including over 102,000 children and 27,000 seniors in my District.
Under this bill, a millionaire enjoys $81,500 in tax cuts while those earning less than $30,000 get crushed by a $5 billion tax increase. As any good grift, the Republican bill uses tricks to pretend it's helping regular Americans while it shepherds the biggest loss of health care and nutrition assistance in our Nation's history, exploding poverty and suffering.
In addition to the direct harm, the bill's irresponsible explosion of the deficit triggers statutory cuts to critical programs supporting children and families. These Paygo reductions would zero out funding for the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program that is proven to improve mother and child health, family safety, and child development. It would eliminate the guaranteed funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families program that helps prevent child maltreatment and strengthen families. It would eradicate the Social Services Block Grant that provides substantial investment in child care, child welfare, and adult protective services. These egregious cuts alone will cost Illinois over $72 million dollars and hurt Illinois children, seniors, and families.
This isn't right. It is unAmerican. It is immoral. And, I oppose this cruel bill.
Mr. Speaker, the Good Book teaches us to care for the least among us. In medicine, we vow to do no harm. Yet, the Republican budget plan inflicts suffering on the least among us to lavish riches on the wealthiest and most secure.
This bill rips health care from 13.7 million Americans, with 449,818 lllinoisans expected to lose their health insurance. In my Congressional District alone, this cruel Republican plan threatens to cut health insurance from over 240,000 people on the Illinois Medical Assistance Program, including over 102,000 children and 27,000 seniors. Thousands of seniors and persons with disabilities risk losing their nursing home coverage. This Republican bill further raises taxes and health premiums on 24 million Americans, and the $73 billion cuts to Medicaid providers will close hospitals, nursing homes, and other cash- strapped providers.
Government should help people, not harm them. Government should aid the vulnerable in asking for relief, not exclude them from assistance with excessive barriers.
Yet this ruthless Republican bill cuts $300 billion in food assistance for millions of seniors, children, and parents--which then costs farmers at least $30 billion in lost income. The loss of SNAP and Medicaid then threatens the 15.6 million children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals and the 20 million kids who get summer EBT via direct certification. In my District, this bill likely increases hunger for about 244,000 people who could lose SNAP and for over 80,000 children who could lose free lunch.
This Republican scam makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. It boosts billionaires while cutting the food, health care, education, and housing for tens of millions of children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and workers.
In addition to the direct harm, the bill's irresponsible explosion of the deficit triggers statutory cuts to critical programs supporting children and families. These Paygo cuts would zero out funding for the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program that is proven to improve mother and child health, family safety, and child development. It would eliminate the guaranteed funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families program that helps prevent child maltreatment and strengthen families. It would eradicate the Social Services Block Grant that provides substantial investment in child care, child welfare, and adult protective services. These cuts cost Illinois over $41 million in SSBG, over $18 million in home visiting, and over $13 million in Safe and Stable funding. These egregious cuts hurt Illinois children, seniors, and families.
As any good grift, the Republican bill uses tricks to pretend it's helping regular Americans while it shepherds the biggest loss of health care and nutrition assistance in our Nation's history, exploding poverty and inflicting suffering. Under this bill, a millionaire enjoys a windfall 310 times greater than a hardworking American making $50,000 or less. A person making over one million dollars a year gets $81,500 in tax cuts while those earning less than $50,000 only get $265--a laughable sum that evaporates in the face of trillions of dollars in assistance cuts. Disgustingly, if you earn less than $30,000, you get crushed with a $5 billion tax increase.
This isn't right. It is un-American. It is immoral. I oppose this cruel bill.
Mr. Speaker, we are here in the dark of night because President Trump has one goal: to pass massive tax cuts for billionaires by cruelly stealing healthcare away from millions of Americans.
H.R. 1, the ``One Big Ugly Bill,'' isn't about securing the border, and it never has been.
The bill recklessly throws an enormous amount of taxpayer money at the border to buy the votes of Republicans who are reluctant to support the GOP Tax Scam and devastating Medicaid cuts.
Just tonight, Republicans snuck into the bill a $12 billion ``Lonestar Kickback'' to give Texas Governor Greg Abbott a handout for his unconstitutional border security operations.
The ``One Big Ugly Bill'' gives the Trump administration billions to ramp up mass detentions and deportations, including American children with cancer, and deny due process to whomever they can, including those in the country legally.
The ``One Big Ugly Bill'' spends $46.5 billion on Trump's failed border wall--which Trump originally said Mexico would pay for.
That amount is nearly four times what Trump originally promised the wall would cost, and it is 10 times what the bill spends on Customs and Border Protection personnel.
The ``One Big Ugly Bill'' allows the Homeland Security Department to create a slush fund that will enable the worst impulses of the Trump administration, like private jets for the Secretary and securing the President's many multi-million-dollar golfing vacations at his branded properties.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to reject the ``One Big Ugly Bill.''
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this Big Ugly GOP Tax Scam. It's the biggest cut in health in our history. It's the biggest wealth transfer in our history. It will hurt hard working families to pay for tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk.
I offered 4 amendments to protect my constituents from this big, ugly, dangerous Reconciliation Bill, but the Rules Committee rejected all 547 amendments offered by my Democratic colleagues.
My first amendment, No. 168, protects Medicaid by preventing implementation of provisions in this bill if they result in higher mortality rates or if Americans receive reduced access to health care services, as a result of this bill.
My second amendment, No. 428, requires a comprehensive audit by the Comptroller General of the bill's tax cuts on our federal deficit and national debt over the next 10, 20, and 30 years, plus the bill's economic impacts on employment, investment and GDP. This audit will become publicly available no later than 180 days after enactment, if this bill is actually enacted.
My third amendment, No. 369, protects funding for Amtrak's National Network by prohibiting any recission of funds that have already been authorized and appropriated by Congress. Amtrak's National Network provides services connecting local communities across 46 states, with 21,000 route miles. Unfortunately, this Administration has repeatedly defied Congress' directions.
I shouldn't have to say this, but let's be clear: Congress passes the laws, and the executive branch's job is to carry out our instructions. No administration gets to pick and choose which laws they'll follow and which laws they ignore. This administration has flagrantly ignored Congress' directions to spend our appropriated dollars and carry out programs authorized by Congress. The number of cancelled, terminated or clawed back funds this year is unprecedented, and it must end. My amendment puts the brakes on any short-sighted attempt to derail Amtrak's National Network. I am proud to represent the workers at Amtrak's largest passenger rail maintenance facility in the country--in Beech Grove, Indiana--where they repair and restore passenger rail cars, locomotives and other rolling stock that keeps America's trains running. We should be expanding our investment in Amtrak, not stripping transportation funds to pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and his cronies.
My last amendment, No. 433, strikes Section 42109 of the underlying bill, which repeals provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which Congress passed to protect our environment and grow jobs. My amendment will restore the law we passed and maintain support for clean alternatives in the cooling manufacturing industry, resulting in lower energy costs for families across the country.
All of these amendments are designed to help protect my constituents and your constituents too from this big, ugly and dangerous bill. The worst provisions are the cuts to Medicaid; they're the most devastating to Hoosiers in my congressional district.
Just yesterday, I spoke on the House floor about three women from my district in Indianapolis, Arica, Bethany, and Carol Ann. These women expressed their fears that Congress will cut Medicaid and other essential government programs.
These are just three of the thousands of people who have reached out to me in recent weeks, folks who are scared for themselves, but also terrified for their children and their family members.
In my Indianapolis community, we care about each other. We look out for one another. It's what we do, and it's who we are. I have always been proud of my hometown, but I am even more proud hearing the groundswell of voices, especially over the last week, from constituents in Indianapolis who have overwhelmingly told me: We must help our neighbors. We must protect Medicaid.
I am here today to fight for the people of Indianapolis, who deserve a government that stands with them, not billionaires.
This past week, our country has watched Members of Congress debate, essentially, who deserves to live and who deserves to die in our country. For 14 million Americans, healthcare and Medicaid cuts aren't a political discussion. This is a matter of life and death. 14 million Americans would lose healthcare in this historically horrible bill. This includes children, newborns, seniors, and postpartum mothers. The most vulnerable among us.
Republicans deny that this bill will slash Medicaid. Even though a nonpartisan analysis found that this budget simply is not possible without cutting Medicaid and essential healthcare. And yet many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle still deny that this budget will drastically cut essential healthcare.
So I ask my colleagues: prove it. If you insist that this bill will not hurt Medicaid, if you insist this bill will not snatch healthcare out of the hands of 14 million men, women, and children, then prove it by passing my amendment to ensure none of the provisions of this bill will take effect if there is an increase in mortality rates or if Americans receive reduced access to health care services, as a result of this bill.
If Republicans truly believe this bill is not taking money away from Medicaid to give tax breaks to billionaires, then they should have no problem passing my amendment. We should make sure this Reconciliation package does not cause Americans to die, then they should have no problem passing my first amendment, and all of my amendments.
I would like to close by reminding you again of Arica, Bethany, and Carol Ann in Indianapolis. I implore you to remember their humanity. 14 million people who stand to lose their healthcare--including those who elected you to protect the health and well-being of all Americans, and who are relying on you to do the right thing. Protect Medicaid. Protect healthcare. Protect our children.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 436, the previous question is ordered on the bill, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was read the third time.
Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit:
The material previously referred to by Mrs. Trahan is as follow:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 15- minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by 5-minute votes on:
Passage of H.R. 1, if ordered; and
The motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1701, if ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 212, nays 216, not voting 4, as follows:
Messrs. BRECHEEN and PALMER, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois,
On May 21, 2025, page H2357, in the first column, the following appeared: Messrs. BRECHEEN and PALMER, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Ms. MACE,
The online version has been corrected to read: Messrs. BRECHEEN and PALMER, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois,
and Mr. OBERNOLTE changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''Mrs. TORRES of California and Ms. BROWN changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 215, nays 214, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 2, as follows:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 2 minutes remaining.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 145.
