Veronica Escobar Reads Quote From Josh Hawley To Slam GOP's 'One Big Beautiful' Reconciliation Bill

At today's House Budget Committee hearing, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) tore into the GOP reconciliation budget bill.

Transcript

00:00With that, to my friend and fellow Texan Veronica Escobar for three minutes.

00:05Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'd like to address the American people because here we are on the

00:12precipice of passing the biggest tax breaks in American history for billionaires and they are

00:19being funded by cutting services and programs to the American people, to hard-working Americans.

00:26In fact, this bill represents the biggest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs in

00:34American history. And Mr. Chairman, I remember when we were here debating the bill at the onset

00:40and nearly every Republican said, oh no, there will be no cuts to Medicaid. That's not what we're doing.

00:48But we know for a fact and we stated that that's what was going to happen. And in fact,

00:53that's why many of my Republican colleagues are afraid to face their own constituents at town halls

00:59because the American people know that they can see through this smoke and mirrors. And in fact,

01:05Republicans are still saying that this bill only impacts able-bodied Americans who refuse to work.

01:13Nope, not true. And you don't have to take my word for it. Let me read you what a Republican has said.

01:21We're not, and this is a quote, we're not talking here about just work requirements. The House goes much,

01:29much, much further than that. This is real Medicaid benefit cuts. I can't support that. No Republican

01:37should support that. We're the party of the working class and we need to act like it, end quote.

01:43Who was that? That was Republican Senator Josh Hawley. He even called this bill a tax on the poor

01:51and on hardworking Americans. So I agree with most of what Josh Hawley said. I would disagree that

01:58Republicans are the party of the working class. Democrats have supported paid family and medical

02:05leave, affordable high quality child care, universal pre-K, the expanded child tax credit,

02:11health care expansion, making the wealthy pay their fair share. Every Republican last Congress

02:18voted against that. So they're not the party of the working poor or the hardworking Americans. And this

02:25bill doesn't just strip benefits for hardworking Americans. It hurts future generations by adding

02:34seven trillion dollars to the national debt. They're literally borrowing money from the future so that

02:42billionaires can get their big tax breaks. That's not working or protecting hardworking Americans.

02:50That is crushing hardworking Americans, making their lives harder. This bill doesn't make America better.

02:58It makes Americans sicker, poorer, and hungrier. That's why we will all be voting no. We urge some of our

03:06colleagues to listen to their own constituents who do not want them to pass this bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.