Katherine Clark Slams Republicans For Ceding U.S. 'Power To Our Rivals' With Foreign Aid Cuts

During Thursday's debate on the House floor, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) spoke in opposition to HR 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025.

Transcript

00:00is recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sunday is Father's Day, and what do dads want? They want a

00:08fair shot. They want to know if they work hard, they can provide for their families. But right now,

00:15most families in America can't even afford the basics. 60% of families in the richest nation

00:23on earth cannot afford the first rung of the American dream. So what are my Republican

00:30colleagues doing about that? They voted for a big, ugly bill that makes it even harder to raise a

00:38child in America. Takes away health care from 16 million Americans. Takes food benefits from

00:45working parents. They're cutting half a trillion dollars from Medicare, and they're hiking costs

00:51of everyday items with their tariffs. All to fund, all to fund tax breaks for the billionaire class.

00:58That alone is a betrayal of working families. But the GOP is not stopping there. They're not stopping

01:06at dismantling people's financial security. Today, they're threatening their physical security.

01:12Because when you defund public broadcasting, you are defunding emergency broadcasts. During hurricane

01:20season, tornado season, wildfire season. And that's not even enough. They have to take even more.

01:28Today, you are also voting to dismantle our national security. There are three shields that defend our

01:36homeland. Defense, diplomacy, and development. When you destroy our capacity to address famine, control

01:45disease, and build infrastructure in developing nations, you are ceding our power to our rivals.

01:54You are planting the seeds of future wars. A prominent Republican said this week he just couldn't justify

02:03these investments. And in this debate, I have heard that this is about putting America first. What are you

02:11talking about? You just cut food programs and healthcare for American families. And here's what you

02:20fundamentally don't seem to understand. There is no security for billionaires in this country without security

02:30for a hungry child. There's no security for the ultra-rich donors without security for working parents. In the words of

02:38President Kennedy, if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

02:48Please vote no. I yield back.