'The Costs Are Devastating': Shontel Brown Slams GOP Over 'Unfunded Mandate' In Big, Beautiful Bill

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) tore into the GOP's Big Beautiful Bill.

Transcript

00:00To the gentleman from Ohio, Ms. Brown.

00:02Gentleman's recognized for two minutes.

00:06Thank you, Ranking Member McGovern, for yielding.

00:09I rise in strong opposition to this rule and the underlying bill.

00:13For the first time in history, this bill would force states to pay

00:17to pay for part of SNAP benefits,

00:20and it would require states to increase their share of administrative costs.

00:24This is an unfunded mandate, plain and simple.

00:28And let's be clear, the costs are staggering,

00:31the consequences devastating, and the cruelty deeply disturbing.

00:37This policy punishes those who can least afford it,

00:40seniors on fixed income, veterans and families

00:43already forced to choose between gas and groceries.

00:47States will be stuck in a corner, cut benefits, cut eligibility,

00:51or cut public safety, education, housing, and mental health programs

00:56just to stay afloat.

00:59This isn't just a budgeting decision, it's a values decision.

01:03And for what?

01:05To take from the hungry and give it to the wealthy.

01:10To slash SNAP benefits, just $6 per day,

01:13and hand a quarter, a quarter million dollar tax break

01:17to the top 0.1%, 0.1%.

01:20That's not policy, that's plunder.

01:23The math doesn't lie.

01:25In North Carolina, it's $400 million,

01:27more than the entire state budget for child development and early education.

01:32In Georgia, it's $500 million,

01:35double what the state spends on child welfare.

01:38And in my state of Ohio, it's $300 million,

01:42four times the transportation budget.

01:44My colleagues are writing checks that the government can't cash.

01:48And when the money runs out, the food runs out.

01:51Children go hungry.

01:52Seniors skip meals.

01:53Veterans, working moms and dads will be turned down and turned away.

01:58All because of a vote taken here today.

02:01This mandate isn't just unfunded, it's unfathomable.

02:07So I urge my colleagues, reject this provision,

02:11reject this rule, reject this betrayal.

02:15Don't reward the rich on the backs of hungry Americans.

02:19And with that, I yield back.

02:21Gentlemen from North Carolina.