DeLauro on House Republicans’ Budget Resolution: For Republicans, Billionaires and the Biggest Corporations Always Come First
Watch DeLauro’s Floor Remarks HERE
Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro delivered remarks on the House floor in opposition to Republicans’ budget resolution:
“Thank you Mr. Speaker.
“As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee, I am responsible for funding programs and services that the American people rely on. I also see the importance of programs like Medicaid, which help tens of millions of people afford health insurance.
“After all their talk about lowering the cost of living, Republicans wasted no time in making their real priorities clear. For this Majority, billionaires and the biggest corporations always come first. Elon Musk and President Trump are hard at work trying to gut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which help nearly 100 million Americans afford health insurance, medications, and life-saving care. Nationwide, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program provide medical coverage to nearly four in ten children.
“These programs were designed, improved, and expanded over decades by both parties to help people deal with the high costs of health care. And they have delivered for so many families. In my district alone, there are nearly 229,000 people on Medicaid, including 79,000 children and 33,000 seniors. Medicaid paid for 3,000 births last year, providing comprehensive prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care to newborns and mothers. These are programs that help families and children. But Elon Musk is only interested in helping the richest among us. Their dream is to fully extend more than $4.5 trillion worth of tax breaks to their billionaire bosses and the wealthiest corporations in the world.
“To pay for that massive giveaway, Republicans want to cut more than $880 billion from Medicaid and the ACA, putting coverage at risk for millions of Americans and raising premiums for the rest. To cut even more from the program, they also want to make it harder for people to stay insured with extreme restrictions to eligibility and unrealistic work requirements.
“So--who is it bearing the brunt of these cuts? Seniors, low-income families, children, and people with disabilities. Those struggling the most with high health care costs are the first ones left behind. And Republicans will come for SNAP next, threatening 40 million Americans who are just trying to put food on the table.
“Democrats will stand where we always do—on the side of the middle class, against yet another reckless Republican budget that steals even more wealth for the billionaire class. We will be voting to protect health care for millions of Americans. We will demand real solutions that lower the cost of living. And we will not let Republicans forget the day they turned their back on American families once again. Thank you, and I yield back.”