During a House Appropriations Committee markup meeting before the Congressional recess, Rep. Rosa DeLauro spoke about funding cuts in the Interior and Environmental Appropriations Bill.
00:00I oppose the bill before us today, which would raise utility bills and energy prices, would
00:06worsen the climate crisis, put polluters over public health, and abandon stewardship of
00:12our national parks, all to benefit billionaires and big corporations.
00:16We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
00:19President Trump promised to lower costs on day one, but instead he and House Republicans
00:24are making the cost-of-living crisis even worse.
00:27The big ugly law is handing massive tax breaks to billionaires and to the biggest corporations
00:32while driving up energy costs for homes and for businesses.
00:36Today we are considering another House Republican bill, which will raise costs for struggling
00:40working families, the working class, middle class.
00:43It will damage our public lands, promote dirty energy, threaten Americans' health by exposing
00:47them to more polluted air and water.
00:50Never mind that we never received a complete budget from the White House, we are holding
00:53this markup in a completely unprecedented time.
00:56With Congress's authority being challenged by a lawless administration.
01:01Since taking office, the Trump administration has stolen resources appropriated by this committee,
01:07passed by Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate, for programs and services
01:11across the federal government, including several in this bill that help to lower costs for the
01:16middle class and working class, protect vulnerable populations, and keep our environment clean.
01:22The administration has unlawfully frozen, attacked, and destroyed grants that help tribes with
01:26hazard mitigation, grants that support the recovery of endangered species, grants that
01:31decrease flooding risks, and the grants that help restore areas damaged by floods and wildfires.
01:37Scores of public servants were laid off and the Environmental Protection Agency just announced
01:42that it will be eliminating its entire Office of Research and Development, impounding $749 million of funds appropriated by Congress.
01:51These cuts are not numbers on the page. They're not only felt in Washington, D.C., they affect all of our communities.
01:57Mary, a Connecticut grandmother, was devastated when her granddaughter, a trained EMT, skilled ice climber, and member of the Alpine rescue team, was fired from her job at Mount Rainier National Park.
02:10Mary's granddaughter had worked for the National Park Service for over five years, but because she had transferred to Mount Rainier less than a year ago, she was technically a probationary employee.
02:20Doge and Elon Musk decided that Mary's granddaughter's public service was less valuable than another tax break for billionaires.
02:28Lost and injured climbers in Mount Rainier National Park will pay the price.
02:33I ask my colleagues, do your constituents consider our national parks waste, fraud, and abuse?
02:38Do they come to your town halls and complain that there were too many employees at national parks?
02:43I doubt it.
02:44All of the departments, agencies, and programs whose funding has been stolen, Congress enacted and appropriated funding for is in the law.
02:53They are substituting Congress's decisions and judgment with their own, turning Article I of the Constitution on its head.
03:01Unfortunately, this bill doubles down on President Trump's pro-pollution and anti-environment, anti-parks agenda.
03:09Because of this bill, families will pay more at the pump and on their utility bills, thanks to deep cuts to funding for infrastructure and the removal of important vehicle emissions regulations.
03:19This bill abandons our children and our grandchildren who will have to confront an ever-worsening climate crisis by eviscerating the EPA, reducing science funding, promoting fossil fuel lease sales on public lands, and deconstructing critical emissions regulations.
03:35This bill will worsen Americans' health by ending enforcement of numerous Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act regulations, as well as hazardous waste and pesticide laws, and by allowing corporations to spew toxic pollution into our communities.
03:50And this bill slashes the funding for national parks and exploits our public lands for the sake of corporate profits.
03:57Underfunding the National Park Service, especially after those eviscerated Park Service standing, means fewer seasonal employees, making it more difficult and cumbersome for our constituents to visit, to enjoy this nation's beautiful parks.
04:10And the 332 million annual visitors to the parks are vital to the economy of so many states.
04:17Funding for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, has severely cut, diminishing and suppressing education of America's culture, history, and values.
04:29I headed up the Arts Council of Greater New Haven.
04:32I opened the New Haven's International Festival of Arts and Ideas every year.
04:36Celebrating America's achievements and contributions to the arts is critical to our national identity and unity.
04:42And these programs ensure all Americans can enjoy our shared culture.
04:46The arts and humanities are the soul of this nation.
04:49Americans cannot keep up with the ever increasing cost of living, but instead of working with Democrats to make investments that can help to lower costs,
04:58protect our environment, preserve our public lands and institutions.
05:02Republicans have put forward a bill that favors billionaires and corporations' right to pollute,
05:07destroy the environment over the health and safety of the American people.
05:12Cannot support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote no. I yield back.
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