Chuck Schumer Outlines How Senate Democrats Will Fight GOP Budget 'With Every Fiber Of Our Being'

8 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about Democratic opposition to the Republican budget that narrowly passed the House in May.

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00:00Now on reconciliation. What Senate Republicans will try to do this month is a travesty.

00:08They're picking up right where House Republicans left off, trying to ram through this chamber

00:13Donald Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill. As the Senate returns to session, we do not yet

00:22have a text for the Republicans' mega bill, but make no mistake, the fight against this bill

00:27is ramping up today. It starts with Senate Democrats showing the American people what

00:36the bill actually is. One ugly bill. One of the most reckless, odious, and self-serving pieces of

00:43legislation we've seen in a long time. Today I want to share broadly how Senate Democrats will

00:50fight this bill with every fiber of our being. It's going to be a long and drawn-out fight,

00:55but the American people deserve to see precisely how cruel, how vindictive, how ugly this big

01:04bill truly is. Case in point, House Republicans tucked into their bill a nasty provision that

01:12will restrict the power of judges to hold government officials in contempt. It's very

01:17clear what's going on here. Republicans want to codify into law Donald Trump's attack against our

01:27judicial system. They want to make our courts toothless by nullifying their contempt powers

01:33and make it easier for the Trump administration to ignore the courts. This is nothing less than a

01:39naked attack against the separation of powers. If Senate Republicans include this authoritarian

01:45provision in their bill, Democrats will fight it tooth and nail. We'll not stand by while Republicans

01:52try to sabotage our courts, and I fervently believe their effort will not win the day.

02:00Now, yesterday I also spoke with Leader Jeffries about how both chambers can work together to fight

02:05back against this bill. This Wednesday, Senator Klobuchar and I have also invited House Democratic

02:11Ranking Members to meet with our caucus and share firsthand insight from their fight in the House,

02:18including key Republican fault lines. In all likelihood, this bill will continue to undergo changes

02:25and get sent back to the House. For that reason, Democratic unity will be our strongest weapon

02:30as we defend the American people from harms contained in the bill.

02:34Our fight in the coming weeks, of course, is not just procedural. It's going to happen on every front,

02:41in committees, in public hearings, in the birdbath, online, in public, and here on this floor.

02:47The Republican plan is very simple. Sell out working and middle-class Americans

02:52to line the pockets of the ultra, ultra wealthy and well-connected. And let's talk about the deficit.

03:00For years, Republicans screamed about fiscal responsibility. But now, Republicans are backing

03:08a bill that could add over $50 trillion to the national debt over 30 years. Even Elon Musk said

03:16this bill is a bad idea. That should tell you something. And most cravenly of all, Republicans

03:27are cooking the books so they can pretend their tax breaks won't impact the debt.

03:32Republicans are planning to use the budget chair's Section 312 authority under the Congressional Budget

03:38Act in an unprecedented and illegitimate manner to run roughshod over the Byrd rule.

03:44The bottom line is this. Republicans' one ugly bill is a farce. It's betraying our values.

03:51It's a threat to working families. And it's a giveaway to the very few at the expense of

03:56the many. Senate Democrats will fight this bill in committee, on the floor, and in the

04:01court of public opinion every step, every day, and every possible way.

04:06I believe to my core that the American people, when they truly know what this bill is all

04:14about, if they see how shamelessly it enriches the wealthy and everyone else, the American

04:20people will reject it outright.

Chuck Schumer Outlines How Senate Democrats Will Fight GOP Budget 'With Every Fiber Of Our Being'

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