Mary Gay Scanlon Eviscerates The Gulf Of America Act: ‘The Dumbest Bill Brought To The Floor’

Forbes Breaking News

During a debate on the House floor on Tuesday, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) discussed the proposed 'Gulf of America' Act.

Transcript

00:00The gentlewoman from Pennsylvania is recognized.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

00:05As much as it pains me to say this, we're here on the House floor today

00:09because the House Republican majority has chosen to prioritize debate and passage of a bill

00:14to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

00:19That's not what my constituents think is the most important thing Congress should tackle this week or this year.

00:25And I bet it's not what your constituents think either.

00:28It's easy to mock this legislation because it's so inane and embarrassing, and we have,

00:35but its very existence and the fact that House Republicans have chosen to waste time

00:40and taxpayer dollars to bring it up for a vote is worth considering.

00:44So let's talk about the real Gulf of America, the Gulf in America,

00:49the Gulf between the ambitions and priorities of this White House,

00:53aided and abetted by the House majority, and the needs of the American people.

00:57The Gulf that makes Republicans think that it's more important to give tax cuts to billionaires

01:03than to make sure that America's children and veterans and seniors have food and housing and medical services

01:10and that we protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.

01:15The Gulf that causes the Speaker to bring ridiculous legislation to the floor

01:20to flatter the President and appease his base rather than meet the needs of the American people.

01:26Americans want a Congress and a White House that solves problems rather than creates them.

01:32Americans aren't asking to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

01:35In fact, public polling, including on Fox,

01:38says that nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose that executive order

01:41and this legislation to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

01:46Like many Americans, I follow the news each day with trepidation.

01:50Many folks tell me that the chaos and missteps of this administration

01:54are too painful or upsetting to follow, and they've tuned it out

01:58because the only guarantee we have is that every day,

02:01the President or his administration will have done something dumber or more dangerous

02:06than the day before.

02:08Each day brings its own self-inflicted crisis with this White House,

02:12and millions of Americans are exhausted by it.

02:15They're pleading with their elected officials to act,

02:18to do something, anything, to bring normalcy back to this country,

02:21to bring decency back to this country.

02:25There was a time when American public life was guided by a genuine sense of duty

02:29and a converse fear of shame, but today neither appear to hold much sway.

02:36Instead, we have a White House filled with charlatans, made-for-TV personalities,

02:40conmen, snake oil salesmen, grifters, billionaires, and criminals,

02:44all using the power of the federal government to enrich themselves

02:47at the expense of the American people and to punish their political opponents.

02:53Last week was President Trump's 100th day in office,

02:55a customary benchmark by which we measure the successes and failures

03:01of a new president's term.

03:02I think it's safe to say that Trump's first 100 days have been a disaster.

03:08His tariff policies are likely to cause a recession.

03:11Millions of people have seen their retirement savings evaporate.

03:14Families don't know if they're going to be afforded basic goods,

03:18much less Christmas dolls.

03:20Businesses, big and small, are paralyzed by uncertainty

03:23and reducing their spending,

03:24and many small businesses may not survive.

03:27To add insult to injury, when faced with these facts,

03:31what does the president say?

03:32Deal with it.

03:34Those are the president's own words.

03:35The tariffs will be painful, but it's a price that must be paid.

03:40But paid by whom?

03:41It won't be Trump or the billionaires in his cabinet or at his golf clubs.

03:46No, it's going to be real people, people who work for a living,

03:50who will have to pay the price for his ill-conceived trade war.

03:54It's not going to be guys like Bassenford, Lutnick,

03:57who have multi-million dollar mansions and fly on private planes.

04:00They'll be just fine.

04:02However, for working parents, according to Trump,

04:05maybe the kids will have two dolls instead of 30,

04:07and I don't know who has 30 dolls.

04:09And maybe the moms who live in my district

04:11will have to pay more for the stroller

04:13they use to transport their kids to daycare and doctors

04:17and the grocery store.

04:19So much for the guy who said he was going to bring down prices on day one.

04:23And it's worth noting that just yesterday in our rules markup,

04:26our Republican colleagues voted once again

04:29to keep the Trump tariffs in place.

04:31Over a month ago, they rigged the rules of the House

04:34to prevent Congress from voting to end the Trump tariffs.

04:38They literally voted to stop time,

04:41to say that for the purposes of protecting the Trump tariffs,

04:45there's only one day between now and the end of September.

04:48That will prevent anyone from being able to force a vote

04:51on whether to end Trump's tariffs.

04:54So they're dragging down our economy and American families with it.

04:58And that's just the terrible Trump tariffs.

05:01In these first hundred days, the administration has cut services at Social Security,

05:06fired medical staff at VA hospitals, and withheld aid to food banks,

05:11children's health programs, and community violence prevention efforts.

05:15They've waged a political war against universities and scientific research,

05:19and illegally frozen over $400 billion in congressionally appropriated funds,

05:25including billions of dollars to FEMA,

05:28to everyone from local firefighters to states that have been affected by natural disasters.

05:33This White House has issued hundreds of controversial executive orders,

05:38many of which courts have deemed illegal or unconstitutional.

05:43And every day, this administration is disappearing hundreds of people,

05:48sending them to faraway detention centers without any due process,

05:52due process that would expose mistakes and lies about some people who are not criminals,

05:59and in some cases are even citizens, and therefore should not be deported.

06:03The damage that's being caused right now by this administration to our communities,

06:08to our international standing, to our national security and national fabric,

06:13will take years to unwind.

06:16But eager to do their part and contribute to the chaos,

06:19House Republicans continue to find novel ways to bring this chamber to new lows.

06:24This week, Republicans are putting forward two bills,

06:26one that's pretty much a redundant effort to counter Confucius Institutes,

06:31and another to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

06:35The second bill may be the dumbest bill brought to the floor during the six years I've served in Congress.

06:41With all of the important work this Congress should be tackling,

06:44the Speaker and House Republicans have chosen to indulge the President in a whim

06:48that the American public does not support.

06:52Frankly, if I had to vote on a bill like this, I would find it deeply embarrassing,

06:56and I know my Republican colleagues are smart people.

06:59They're not dumb, so I have to feel that they share this embarrassment,

07:03unless they're members of a cult, a cult of personality based around a dear leader

07:08who they're required to obey or risk retribution,

07:11and upon whom they bestow endless compliments and praise in order to seek personal favors.

07:17And it doesn't matter how much damage he causes, how much money he wastes,

07:21how many lives and family he hurts.

07:23It doesn't matter if he causes a recession.

07:26It doesn't matter if he encourages influence peddling and grift with a Trump coin

07:30or his Gulf of America merch,

07:32or if he gives insider stock tips before taking executive action.

07:38House Republicans seem to always do what Trump says.

07:41So if he wants to do something as dumb as rename the Gulf of Mexico,

07:46Republicans apparently will fall in line.

07:48We'll watch them twist themselves into pretzels

07:51to come up with increasingly convoluted rationale for the President's actions.

07:56Today will surely be a master class in delusion.

08:01Further adding to the chaos,

08:02this month House Republicans are expected to finish drafting the text of the reconciliation bill,

08:07through which they're planning to cut health care benefits to seniors and children

08:11and people with disabilities and cut nutrition assistance to the poor

08:15in order to pay for a huge tax giveaway to billionaires and big business.

08:21Despite more than 40 years of empirical evidence

08:24showing that Republicans' trickle-down economics are a resounding failure,

08:29Republicans are nonetheless pushing ahead with their party orthodoxy.

08:33We have more than enough evidence that trickle-down economics does not work.

08:39It doesn't help the middle class, it doesn't create jobs,

08:41it doesn't increase business investment,

08:43and it doesn't grow the economy.

08:46What these policies actually do is allow companies and their shareholders

08:49to pocket more profits at the expense of everyone else.

08:54It's because of trickle-down economics

08:56that we now have some of the most extreme income inequality

09:00in this country, in our nation's history.

09:04To pay for this giveaway to the rich,

09:05Republicans are going to take away health care benefits and food assistance

09:08and cut critical federal investments in our local communities,

09:12in our democracy, in the environment, and in our national security.

09:17Also, millionaires and billionaires can get an extra buck.

09:20It's horrifying, it's immoral, and it's un-American.

09:25Unlike many of my Republican colleagues,

09:27I have participated in multiple town halls this year

09:30to hear from my constituents.

09:32One message that I hear consistently

09:34is that people are scared.

09:37These are good, honest, hard-working Americans

09:40who in one way or another

09:42have been forced to rely on Medicaid or Medicare

09:44or SNAP or WIC or Head Start

09:47or Social Security or LIHEAP

09:49in order to make ends meet for their families.

09:52And they're rightfully scared

09:54that Republicans are planning to gut those programs.

09:57We'll surely hear all kinds of mental gymnastics

09:59from our colleagues

10:00about how millionaires really need that extra tax cut

10:03or how cutting Medicaid won't really lead

10:06to a loss of coverage or service.

10:07We'll hear tortured arguments from Republicans

10:10to hide what they're really doing.

10:12When you take a step back

10:14and look at everything that's happening,

10:16this White House, in concert with Elon Musk

10:18and Congressional Republicans have put the country

10:20on a dark and troubling path, a fear-based path.

10:25It's leading us to a place

10:26that has more in common with Stalin's Russia

10:29than the free society envisioned by our founding fathers.

10:33It's heartbreaking to see the lengths

10:36to which some people will go

10:37to destroy the ideas and institution

10:40that for decades have made this country great.

10:43Mr. Speaker, I think it goes without saying

10:45that I rise in strong opposition to this rule

10:48and I reserve the balance of my time.

10:49The general moment.

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