00:00The gentleman from New York Reserves, the gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized.
00:03Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a couple of things.
00:04First of all, I want to correct the record.
00:06The gentleman said that this budget reconciliation bill reflects a full and fair and open process
00:12in all the committees of jurisdiction.
00:14I hate to tell him, I'm on the Agriculture Committee,
00:17and the chairman actually cut off debate when there were dozens of amendments still yet to be offered.
00:24So that's not a full and open and fair process, maybe by Republican standards it is,
00:28but by most people's standards it isn't.
00:31And the gentleman is on the Rules Committee, and we are debating the rule.
00:39And so I have a question for my Rules Committee colleague.
00:43This rule contains a fast-track process for the Republican tax scam,
00:48the so-called budget reconciliation bill.
00:52But we all know, we all know that deals are being made behind closed doors,
00:57changes are still being negotiated, big changes, we're told, big changes.
01:02So I'd like to know if the majority will commit to ensuring a congressional budget office score
01:09is available on the final bill before it moves forward.
01:15Because we need to know the impact on our constituents.
01:18Not only how much it will cost, how many people will lose their health care,
01:22and how quickly they will lose their health care.
01:25Those are legitimate questions that, quite frankly, Democrats not only want to know,
01:31but Republicans should want to know as well.
01:33So I guess, I mean, can we get some...
01:39Can I just get the gentleman to kind of give us an assurance
01:43is that will we know the impact, will he commit to ensuring a congressional budget office score
01:50is available on the final bill before it moves forward?
01:55I'm happy to yield to him.
02:00Well, I guess we're not going to get an answer.
02:03I mean, I guess we all know why they don't want the nonpartisan expert analysis
02:08to be made available before a vote on this bill, because this vote is a monstrosity.
02:14This vote is going to throw off at least 14 million people off of their health care.
02:21This is going to constitute the largest cut in food assistance in history.
02:27People are going to see their nutrition benefits reduce,
02:30which will impact children, which will impact senior citizens, veterans, and those with disabilities.
02:35And again, I mean, and it's relevant to what we're talking about here today
02:39is because in this rule, you provide the authority
02:43to just immediately bring the budget reconciliation bill to the floor
02:48without giving people time to debate the bill,
02:53to be able to analyze the bill, for CBO to do their work on this,
02:58for us to even know what the impacts are going to be on our constituents.
03:01I mean, this is, I mean, on something this big,
03:05and by the way, you know, I hear Republicans talking a lot about,
03:09oh, we have this deadline, we have this deadline.
03:11There's no deadline.
03:13There's nothing magic about having to pass this bill by tomorrow or the next day.
03:18You could do this right.
03:20You could actually have a rules committee hearing and markup in the light of day.
03:25And you could do it when you come back after the Memorial Day recess.
03:28But there has to, people should ask the question,
03:32why are they rushing so quickly?
03:35Why are they doing everything they can to jam this through
03:37before people have a chance to understand the full impacts of this bill?
03:42The reason why is they don't want the American people to know what they're doing.
03:46They're ashamed of what is in this bill.
03:49Again, throwing people off of health care,
03:51throwing people off of food assistance.
03:52Why?
03:53To give a tax cut to billionaires?
03:56Give me a break.
03:58We're here to help lift up people in this country,
04:03to be there for people who are struggling.
04:06And instead, this Republican Congress is about enriching
04:09those who are well-off and well-connected.
04:11I reserve my time.
04:12I'm going to begin.
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