Rep. Jim McGovern delivers a fierce attack on Donald Trump, calling him the “biggest fraudster in U.S. history” while criticizing the Trump administration over tariffs, presidential pardons, rising costs, broken promises and other policies. McGovern also takes aim at Trump’s trade war with Canada, its impact on farmers and small businesses, and the administration’s approach to AI and data centers.
Watch McGovern’s full remarks as he lays out his criticism of Trump’s record and the policies he says are hurting Americans.
#JimMcGovern #DonaldTrump #Trump #TrumpTariffs #TrumpPardons #USPolitics #TrumpNews #Congress #Republicans #Democrats #AmericanPolitics #Tariffs #Canada #SmallBusiness #Farmers
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Watch McGovern’s full remarks as he lays out his criticism of Trump’s record and the policies he says are hurting Americans.
#JimMcGovern #DonaldTrump #Trump #TrumpTariffs #TrumpPardons #USPolitics #TrumpNews #Congress #Republicans #Democrats #AmericanPolitics #Tariffs #Canada #SmallBusiness #Farmers
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NewsTranscript
00:00I have pages here, and I'm happy to walk them over to the gentlewoman so she can see
00:05for herself.
00:06Try to defend this.
00:07How do you defend this when you go home to your district?
00:10How do you defend this to people who are right now struggling to pay grocery bills and to
00:15say, hey, all these people, all these rich people, all these fraudsters got pardoned
00:21by the President of the United States?
00:22And what is the Republican response?
00:25Nothing.
00:25Not a peep.
00:27Not a word.
00:27You don't say anything.
00:28Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the gentlelady from Minnesota for yielding
00:33me the customary time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
00:37Without objection.
00:39Mr. Speaker, this is the last week the House is in session before Americans head to the
00:45polls in November.
00:47Two weeks ago, the House was scheduled to work through the end of September.
00:52Now Republican leadership canceled the final two weeks.
01:02One last shot to look the country in the eye and make the case for why they deserve another
01:10two years of being in the majority.
01:13And they've absolutely blown it, Mr. Speaker.
01:16Because here's the thing.
01:18There's no shortage of issues Republicans could address this week.
01:22We have an affordability crisis.
01:24The cost of everything is up, thanks to Republicans' awful economic policies.
01:29We have technology moving faster than our government's ability to protect people.
01:35We have an illegal war that is escalating overseas.
01:40There's a lot that we could be doing.
01:43But instead, Republicans have us debating things I think most Americans would agree will do nothing
01:49to help them.
01:51Fraud bills.
01:51Give me a break.
01:53The President of the United States pardons fraudster after fraudster after fraudster.
01:59And you guys say nothing.
02:01He rolls back the rules that protect the quality of our air.
02:07You guys say nothing.
02:09And I have to be honest.
02:10If this is their closing argument to the American people, lots of luck with that.
02:16Take this message home to every district in America.
02:19Good luck with that.
02:21Because every day people are opening their electric bills.
02:25They are filling up their cars.
02:27They're renewing their leases.
02:29They're standing in grocery stores doing math in their heads, deciding what goes in the
02:35cart and what goes back on the shelf.
02:37And every day they are wondering what the hell Congress is doing to help them.
02:44And today's rule makes it clear.
02:46Republicans will do almost anything except lower costs for American families.
02:53The national average for gasoline today is more than $4.31 a gallon.
02:59Diesel is more than $6.23 a gallon.
03:03The highest national average AAA has ever, ever, ever recorded.
03:09Now let me repeat that.
03:10Diesel costs are more now than ever before in history.
03:16Energy prices are up more than 16% over last year.
03:21Food prices are still climbing.
03:24Nearly 50 million people don't know where their next meal will come from in this country.
03:29And inflation is running at 3.4%, though I personally believe the rate is probably higher
03:36than this administration is willing to admit.
03:39That is what people are dealing with right now.
03:44Americans know that this economy is lousy.
03:47Wall Street, the billionaires, the CEOs, and the Mar-a-Lago class, they're doing better than ever.
03:53But for regular people, 50 bucks buys less food than it used to.
03:58Filling your truck's gas tank costs another 20 or 30 bucks.
04:02The rent is going up.
04:04The insurance is going up.
04:06Everything is going up.
04:08For regular people, this economy sucks.
04:12So, Mr. Speaker, you'd think that Republicans would want to do something about it.
04:17You know, where is the response to the tariffs that American businesses and consumers are ultimately
04:23having to absorb?
04:24Trump's trade war with Canada is killing tourism.
04:28It's killing our farmers and our small businesses,
04:31including in the gentlewoman's district in Minnesota right now.
04:36Why isn't she worried about that?
04:38Where is the Republican bill to lower costs?
04:42Where is the legislation dealing with the price of housing or providing relief at the gas pump?
04:48Where is the serious effort to bring down health costs?
04:53That is the disconnect that people are frustrated with.
04:57Congress has limited time.
04:59Floor time is valuable.
05:00And when families are getting squeezed this badly,
05:02they have every right to expect that their government will treat the cost of living like an emergency.
05:10And as we just add, and there are no opportunities for us to make any of this better.
05:16Even if we tried.
05:17This is the 172nd closed rule that Republicans are bringing to the floor of this Congress.
05:25No amendments allowed.
05:27No amendments allowed.
05:28Take it or leave it.
05:30This process is lousy.
05:32And this rule is garbage.
05:33And I urge a no vote.
05:35And I reserve my time.
05:37The gentleman reserves.
05:38The gentlewoman from Minnesota.
05:40Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
05:42And it is unfortunate that the other side does not recognize the cost of fraud.
05:49It costs us taxpayer dollars, hard-earned tax dollars.
05:53Stopping fraud helps everyone.
05:56It helps the American people save tax dollars.
05:59And then potentially we don't have to tax them.
06:01We will not have to tax them as much.
06:03But it also helps those children and those people counting on those programs that are
06:08being robbed blind by fraudsters.
06:11Stopping it is critical.
06:12It is important to every American citizen.
06:15And with that, I yield one minute to my colleague from Minnesota.
06:22The gentleman from Minnesota is recognized for one minute.
06:25Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
06:27And thank you to my colleague from Minnesota for yielding.
06:29I rise today in support of the rule and my bill, H.R. 9576, the National Fraud Enforcement
06:35Division Act of 2026.
06:38My home state of Minnesota has become far too familiar with the fraud,
06:42waste, and abuse running rampant throughout our state and country.
06:45While we've seen the systematic failure of Tim Walz and his administration,
06:50the Trump administration has stepped up working to investigate these matters and safeguard
06:54Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
06:57The Department of Justice has taken decisive action, establishing the National Fraud Enforcement
07:03Division to investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.
07:09My legislation will make this division permanent within the Department of Justice
07:14and will appoint an Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement.
07:19This position will head the National Fraud Enforcement Division and perform duties laid
07:23out by the Attorney General.
07:25It's high time we put an end to the fraud plaguing this country by establishing this
07:30permanent framework to strengthen our federal fraud prosecution efforts.
07:35I urge a yes vote, and I yield back.
07:37The gentleman yields back.
07:39Reserve.
07:40The gentleman reserves.
07:42The gentleman from Massachusetts.
07:44Mr. Speaker, I can't believe Republicans would dare raise the issue of fraud or say
07:50that somehow Democrats aren't doing enough to combat fraud when the fraud that we all know
07:56exists is sitting right in the Oval Office.
07:59I mean, this president, this president has pardoned enough people that cumulatively would have contributed
08:09two billion dollars, two billion dollars back to consumers and taxpayers who they ripped off.
08:15He pardoned all of them.
08:17You know, how did they get pardoned?
08:18Well, they paid to get pardoned.
08:22That's the way this place works around here.
08:23We see this pay-to-play game going on, which is disgusting.
08:27But let me tell you some of the people that have been pardoned, these fraudsters that have
08:33been pardoned.
08:33George Santos, wire fraud.
08:36Ross William Ulbrich, pardoned for fraud with identification documents.
08:43Rod Blagojevich was pardoned.
08:45He had eight counts of wire fraud under color of official right.
08:49Brian Kelsey, he was pardoned.
08:51He was basically convicted of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.
08:56Devin Archer, another fraudster, conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
09:02Trevor Milton, securities fraud, two counts of wire fraud.
09:06Jason Galanis, two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, investment advisor fraud.
09:13Aussie Media Inc., conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
09:19Carlos Roy Watson, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated
09:28identity theft, pardoned, pardoned.
09:31You know, Michelle Fiore, six counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, guilty of wire fraud.
09:38She was pardoned.
09:40Another fraudster, Scott Howard Jenkins, conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving
09:46federal funds, honest services mail fraud and honest service wire fraud.
09:51Honest services mail fraud, three counts, honest services wire fraud, pardoned.
09:57Julie Chrisley, five counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the
10:03U.S. to obstruct and impede the internal revenue laws.
10:06Yeah, pardoned by Trump, pardoned by Trump.
10:09Todd Chrisley, he was pardoned on conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud,
10:16wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to obstruct and impede the internal revenue laws.
10:22Lawrence S. Duran, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 11 counts of health care fraud,
10:28conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and pay health care kickbacks.
10:34Again, pardoned by Donald Trump.
10:36I have pages here, and I'm happy to walk them over to the gentlewoman so she can see for herself
10:42to
10:42try to defend this.
10:43How do you defend this when you go home to your district?
10:46How do you defend this to people who are right now struggling to pay grocery bills and to say,
10:52hey, all these people, all these rich people, all these fraudsters got pardoned by the President
10:58of the United States?
10:59And what is the Republican response?
11:01Nothing.
11:02No, not a peep.
11:03Not a word.
11:04You don't say anything.
11:05So don't lecture us on fraud.
11:09You have no standing.
11:10What is going on right now with the pardoning of these people is disgusting.
11:15And I don't know how many of you saw 60 Minutes the other night,
11:19but they did a big piece on the pay-to-play schemes that are going on.
11:24Nine to ten of the people that are being pardoned don't even go to the Justice Department.
11:30They make a side deal.
11:31They donate to this cause or that cause, or they make a big political contribution.
11:36And guess what?
11:37They get pardoned.
11:39They get pardoned.
11:40I'm sorry, people are sick of the Mar-a-Lago class living by one set of rules and everybody
11:45else by a different set of rules.
11:47You know, it's time to restore some integrity in our government.
11:51If you want to get serious about fraud, then you've got to focus on the fraud
11:54that's going on in the Oval Office.
11:56I reserve my time.
11:57The gentleman reserves.
11:58The gentlewoman from Minnesota.
12:01Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming.
12:05The gentlewoman from Wyoming is recognized for two minutes.
12:09Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1530.
12:13If we pass this rule, the House will vote on legislation to continue the effort to root out
12:17rampant fraud and deliver crucial deregulation to the benefit of the American consumer.
12:23Notably, this rule covers two Congressional Review Act joint resolutions offered by Representatives
12:28Gallagher and Fong, and I thank them for their leadership on this issue.
12:32The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to terminate bad regulations,
12:35a vital check over the ever-growing administrative state.
12:39Under this Republican majority, we have used the CRA 24 times to achieve a truly bold deregulatory agenda.
12:46The two joint resolutions this rule tees up are part of this strategy.
12:50If this rule passes, the House will be able to terminate two more California Clean Air Act waivers
12:55approved by the EPA.
12:57The Clean Air Act, which codifies federal jurisdiction over emissions, preempts all state emission standards.
13:03California, however, is not preempted.
13:06It can develop its own emission standards and request a waiver that the EPA must approve,
13:10subjected to limited disqualifying conditions.
13:13But California is abusing the state waiver process in a manner with national policy implications that harm consumers.
13:21First, Section 177 of the Clean Air Act allows other states to adopt these California standards,
13:27which 17 states in the District of Columbia have done.
13:30Second, because California is one of the largest state-based economies,
13:34vehicle manufacturers abide by their overly stringent standards,
13:38as it would not be economical to make certain vehicles for the California market and others for the Wyoming market.
13:45This subjects Wyoming to California law, undermining our state authorities and federal law to subject us to the climate lunacy
13:52policies,
13:53with devastating consequences for consumer choice, safety and prices.
13:57Congress took a bold step in negating five of these existing waivers last year, and by passing this rule, we
14:03can begin to work on two more.
14:05I would also note that there are four other CRA joint resolutions pending, one of which I have co-sponsored,
14:11and that Congress must act upon to meet the moment.
14:14I urge all my colleagues to support H. Res. 1530 and the underlying legislation, and I yield back.
14:20The gentlewoman yields back.
14:22The gentlewoman reserves.
14:24Kind of the problem around here, people just read talking points.
14:28Again, not a word in response to all of these fraudsters that Donald Trump pardoned,
14:35and as the gentlelady leaves and tries to, you know, not address any of this stuff.
14:40I understand it, because this is indefensible.
14:43You know, the taxpayers in this country, you know, have been denied over two billion dollars in compensation,
14:48because of these fraudsters getting pardoned.
14:52These pay-to-play schemes are indefensible.
14:58And again, but I mean, I don't want to hear any lectures about fraud from that side.
15:04I mean, you guys are enabling, you know, this fraud to happen on a regular basis,
15:08and it's right in our faces.
15:10Everybody can see it, and it's disgusting.
15:14Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide
15:20for consideration of H.R. 10032, the No Payoffs for Pardons Act, which would prevent President Trump
15:28or any future president from giving out pardons in exchange for money, in exchange for bribes or
15:35political favors.
15:37Mr. Speaker, our founding fathers gave the president the pardon power as the last-ditch
15:43safeguard against injustice, not as a tool for self-enrichment or political favoritism.
15:50But President Trump is handing out pardons like he's running a for-profit business,
15:55letting millionaires and Republican allies out of jail for crimes like Medicare fraud,
16:02for crimes like crypto money laundering, for crimes like tax evasion.
16:08And in one case, he even pardoned a long-time Republican political ally named Michelle Fiore
16:14in Nevada after she stole money earmarked for, get this, a statue to honor a slain police officer.
16:23And she used that money for her plastic surgery.
16:27I mean, she deserves a pardon? What the hell is wrong with you people?
16:31This is crazy. This is insane. If any Republican is brave enough to publicly agree
16:37that this corruption must end, I urge you to vote with Democrats to defeat the previous question.
16:43Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the record,
16:48along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
16:53Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield two minutes to the distinguished
16:58gentleman from New York, the chairman of the House Administration Committee,
17:01and the sponsor of this proposal, Mr. Morelli.
17:04The gentleman from New York is recognized for two minutes.
17:07Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you
17:09so much to the distinguished gentleman from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
17:13my dear friend, the once and future chair of the Committee on Rules.
17:17I appreciate his passion and his energy around this issue. As many of us witnessed in this
17:24weekend's explosive 60 Minutes report, the White House continues to betray the public's trust and
17:29abuse the pardon power for personal gain. To combat this rampant corruption, I recently introduced
17:36H.R. 10032, the No Payoffs for Pardons Act. This legislation will bring desperately needed
17:43transparency and accountability to the presidential pardon process. It will prevent presidents from
17:50exchanging clemency for financial or political favors. It will restore the trust that has been
17:56systematically eroded since this administration's term began. On the first day of Donald Trump's
18:02second term, he issued a blanket pardon to the violent cop killers that attacked this very building,
18:09this chamber on January 6th, 2021, many of whom have gone on to commit subsequent serious violent
18:16crimes. He has pardoned prolific fraudsters that have built families out of their life savings and
18:22retirement funds, depriving them of any chance, any chance whatsoever for justice or restitution.
18:28The Constitution grants presidents broad authority to issue pardons as a safeguard against injustice,
18:35as an instrument for mercy, not as a tool for personal enrichment or political favoritism.
18:41Yet President Trump has repeatedly used the clemency power to benefit only political allies,
18:47wealthy associates, and well-connected individuals, while at the same time cheating those who truly,
18:53truly deserve justice and mercy. That I yield back.
18:57The gentleman from New York yields, the gentleman from Massachusetts,
19:01reserved. And the chair would remind the gentleman from Bratt, Massachusetts to please direct comments
19:06toward the chair. The gentlelady from Minnesota is recognized.
19:10Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I yield two minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
19:14The gentleman from Pennsylvania will be recognized for two minutes.
19:18Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank Michelle Fischbach for her leadership here.
19:22Wow. We've heard gaslighting on this floor before. But here,
19:26somehow or another pardons have anything to do with fighting fraud. That's the excuse to
19:31not help us fight fraud, which, of course, nothing was done before. And by the way, Mr. Speaker,
19:36I don't recall hearing about, you know, Hunter Biden and others receiving pardons from their father
19:41and and also pardons given to those who weren't even accused of crimes, but could be one day.
19:46I don't remember any of any of that being being raised. But I do rise in support of this rule,
19:52which allow House to consider two important pieces of legislation that improves the federal
19:56government's ability to combat taxpayer fraud. You would think that this would be something that
19:59would be bipartisan, combating taxpayer fraud, which is in excess of $254 billion that we've
20:06uncovered so far. But if we have to do it on our own, we will, Mr. Speaker, because that's what
20:11we're about. We're about straightening things out, correcting all the wrongs, particularly the last four
20:15years. And this is a big part of it. The task force to eliminate fraud has uncovered, as I said,
20:21$245 billion in taxpayer fraud. We've seen it in Los Angeles. I heard it this morning in a CMS meeting,
20:27the level of hospice fraud that existed was in the multi-billions. And by the way, the 900 or so
20:35hospices that were shut down, not one of them called to complain that they were being shut down,
20:41that they couldn't serve their so-called providers anymore. And guess what? This is under the jurisdiction
20:46of Democrat leadership that this is all occurring. Nothing was done on fraud for four years
20:52during the Biden administration, during the Pelosi reign, during when these gentlemen had and others
20:59had the gavels. So what kind of nonsense is this? We're calling on pardons as a reason not to be
21:06going
21:06after fraud? And by the way, I have constituents being fraud committed on them. We have fraud in
21:13Philadelphia. We have fraud in Minneapolis, the Leering Center. Has anybody come out on the other
21:18side and denounce that, Mr. Speaker? I mean, this is outrageous. Okay, so my Republican colleagues
21:23and I have been fighting taxpayer fraud as a top priority. We've introduced legislation to establish
21:29an overpayment czar to help state-level fraud prevention. We've supported common sense reforms.
21:35I urge my colleagues to support this rule. And I yield back.
21:39The gentleman from Pennsylvania, the time expired. The lady from Minnesota reserves,
21:44the gentleman from Massachusetts.
21:45Mr. Speaker, the speakers before the gentleman didn't address the fraud. The gentleman just
21:50defended it. And I'm shocked. I'm just stunned by the defense of this. We want to go after fraud
21:57wherever it may occur. But what we're simply saying is that right before our eyes,
22:02we have a president that is pardoning fraudsters. I mean, you know, let me read some more names.
22:08You know, Robert Henry Harshbarger Jr., guilty of health care fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump.
22:15The gentleman's leaving. The gentleman's leaving. You're going to want to hear it. I get it.
22:18Joseph Lewis, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, you know, pardoned by Donald Trump. David Gentile,
22:26conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, security fraud,
22:30two counts of wire fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump. And here's the deal. It has caused victims
22:37to lose over $2 billion in compensation. Now, that may not mean anything to the gentleman or to
22:46the Republicans, but people who have been screwed over by these fraudsters deserve compensation. Now,
22:52those victims don't get any compensation because Donald Trump pardoned everybody. I mean, I go on,
22:58I have pages of names here of fraudsters that he has pardoned. You know, let me read a couple more.
23:06Adriana Isabel Camberos, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud and
23:13aiding and abetting. Julio M. Herrera, Valentini, two counts of honest services wire fraud. David Levy,
23:22a conspiracy to commit securities fraud. You know, I mean, I have pages of names here of people who
23:31have been pardoned. And as a result of their pardons, victims have lost billions and billions
23:37of dollars in compensation. Not a word, not a word. I know my friends on the other side are afraid
23:43to
23:44offend Donald Trump in any way because he might want retribution. But we're supposed to be members of
23:50Congress here. We're supposed to uphold the Constitution. We're supposed to do the work
23:55that our constituents sent us here to do, not to cover up for activity, quite frankly, that is
24:01unconscionable. Mr. Speaker, there are so many other things that we should be working on this week to
24:08help the American people. And the Republicans have just kind of walked away from that. But I do want to
24:12take a moment and specifically talk about an actual emergency that we find ourselves in. Last week,
24:19a handful of AI safety researchers publicly sounded the alarm on the very real existential threat
24:27superintelligent AI poses to the future of humanity. There are credible claims that these major AI firms
24:36estimate a greater than 10 percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade.
24:44Let me repeat that. There are credible claims that these major AI firms estimate a greater than 10 percent
24:52chance that AI could cause human extinction within a decade. I don't know about my Republican colleagues,
24:59but I think that's a big deal. That makes me concerned. So let's pause for a moment. We're talking about
25:06a greater than 10 percent chance we could all be dead soon if we don't do something to radically change
25:13the way we regulate and oversee AI. And the craziest part of all of this is that tech CEOs agree
25:22that their
25:23companies need to slow down before AI spirals out of control. And they're calling on the government.
25:29They're calling on this government to help them do it. Anthropic CEO, OpenAI CEO, even Grok's CEO,
25:38Elon Musk, agree that the government must step up to increase oversight of their companies. Now,
25:43I don't necessarily trust these guys as far as I can throw them. Maybe they're calling our bluff. Either way,
25:49we clearly need to act. And what is the response from House Republicans and from this President
25:56when they hear these things? Nothing. Nothing. Not a damn thing. The Speaker of the House is sending
26:05Congress home two weeks early. Two weeks early. Trump is saying that communities that do not want
26:10data centers will end up, quote, backwards and poor, end quote. I mean, he actually said that. I mean,
26:17seriously, these data centers are driving up energy costs. Big tech is making record profits. We have
26:23an existential threat from AI. People are begging us for action. And what has the President done?
26:29He said data centers are great. And what has Congress done? Not a damn thing. Nothing. The Speaker is
26:36sending us home early so we don't even have an opportunity to maybe debate these issues or come up
26:41with some sensible regulation. Nothing. I think we need a national moratorium on these data centers.
26:47We need to immediately stop construction until Congress passes comprehensive legislation. People
26:52are begging us. They are begging us to take this on with full force. And Donald Trump's response is to
26:59write them off entirely. To insult them. To defend the ultra-wealthy who are getting rich off AI at the
27:06expense of the rest of us and our future. Get this. Get this. Just yesterday, Trump said that the only
27:13guardrail we need for AI is, quote, a strong and smart, high IQ president, end quote. I mean, let that
27:21sink in. Well, I hate to break it to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don't have one of those. We
27:26don't have one of
27:27those. Nor do we have a high functioning Republican majority. If anything, Republicans here in the House
27:32of Representatives are more interested in jetting off to their next vacation than they are in solving the AI
27:38crisis or any other problem for that matter. And with that, I reserve my time.
27:44Gentleman from Massachusetts, uh, uh, reserves. And I would remind the gentleman to please refrain from
27:51engaging in personalities toward the president. Lady from Minnesota is recognized. Mr. Speaker, I'm
27:57prepared to close. Lady from Minnesota is prepared to close. Gentleman from Massachusetts. I yield myself
28:06the remaining time. Without objection. Mr. Speaker, before we finish, I want to bring this debate back
28:15to something very basic and speak directly to the American people. Are you better off now than you were
28:21two years ago? Because I think most people would say they're worse off. And the numbers back that up.
28:27When Trump came into office on January 20th, 2025, the national average for a gallon of gas was about
28:33$3 and 12 cents. Today, it is more than $4 and 31 cents. Diesel, the fuel that moves our food,
28:41our
28:41building materials, our packages, almost everything we buy is now above 623 a gallon. That is the most
28:52expensive it's ever been in the history of the United States of America. The annual inflation rate was 3%
29:01when this administration began. The latest number is 3.4%. And again, I think that's an undercount.
29:07And Americans are estimated to have spent nearly $2,000 more last year thanks to Trump's stupid
29:15tariffs and his illegal war. That is why I find the conversation Republicans want to have today
29:21so disconnected from what is happening outside this building. I mean, we hear enormous promises.
29:29For example, Trump is promising $5,000 payments to American adults after the election if Republicans
29:36win, only if Republicans win. But even Speaker Johnson has acknowledged that such payments would
29:42require congressional approval. Needless to say, these $5,000 checks are never going to happen.
29:48I mean, we all know that. But I guess that's to be expected from a president who is the king
29:54of
29:55broken promises. Trump said he would release the Epstein files. And then he did everything he could
30:01to hide them from the public, likely because he and his administration knows he's in them. And again,
30:08I mean, where is the pressure from the Republican leadership on the Epstein files? Nothing. Nothing.
30:15I mean, it takes my breath away how my Republican friends just kind of turn their backs on, you know,
30:25what the right thing to do is. You know, Trump said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24
30:31hours.
30:32That's what he said directly. That was clearly untrue. This is now year four of a full-scale conflict.
30:39He said he would end wars, not start wars. Yet here we are, over six and a half months into
30:45the war
30:46with Iran, and nobody believes there's an end in sight. He said he would balance the federal budget.
30:54Because of the tax cuts from millionaires and billionaires, because of this unpaid for,
30:59reckless, illegal war, the debt just surpassed $40 trillion. $40 trillion. Not a peep.
31:08I don't care. He said he would end inflation and lower prices, quote, on day one, end quote.
31:15Inflation is up. Prices are up. The economy has only gotten worse. And the trouble with these lies,
31:23Mr. Speaker, is that some people believe them. Some families may hear the president promised them
31:30$5,000 and then actually plan around that money. Maybe they're now planning to get that medical
31:37procedure they otherwise could not afford. Or believe that they will finally be able to
31:41pay rent off their, you know, pay their rent and pay off their credit card and have enough food to
31:48feed their family for the next month. You know, they want to believe that when the president of the
31:54United States says something, that it's truthful. And we all know that they can't rely on that,
32:01because he has broken promise after promise after promise. It is wrong to make an empty
32:07promise like that. It is just cruel when the economy is this bad. There's no $5,000 check in
32:14this rule. There could be if Republicans think it's such a good idea. They could have done that.
32:18They wanted to. But they didn't. Nothing about that. And there isn't a bill to bring down food prices in
32:26this rule or to address the housing crisis or to help people afford basic everyday things.
32:33I don't know what the gentlelady hears when she goes home, but I hear about the cost of living all
32:38the time. I hear about issues of affordability all the time. And constituents are asking me,
32:43when is Congress going to do something? You know, I mean, they don't want to hear any more about
32:47building a ballroom or an arc to Trump. They don't want to hear any more about a reflecting pool.
32:52They want to know, you know, when their grocery prices are going to go down.
32:57This majority should be judged by what it actually puts on the floor, not by slogans,
33:02not by promises, not by press conferences or what somebody says might happen someday.
33:08That day is today. That day is today. Republicans are in complete control. They have the House,
33:15they have the Senate and they have the White House. They could do something right now to help people
33:21if they wanted to. The thing is, they don't care. They don't care that people are hurting.
33:27I mean, the acceptance of cruelty, because that is how you characterize the policies that are going
33:36into effect that cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars and cut SNAP by 200 billion dollars.
33:41It is astounding. It takes my breath away. But you know, that much is made clear by their agenda
33:48this week. They'd rather waste time on rotten bills and go home for a month than to fight the
33:54necessary battles here in the Capitol to actually help folks. We need an economy, Mr. Speaker, where
34:01getting to work doesn't break the budget, where buying groceries doesn't require a calculator,
34:08where getting sick doesn't mean going into debt, where an honest day's work is enough to build a decent
34:13life. It's definitely not too much to ask for. It just isn't. That ought to be the standard around
34:20here. We ought to be coming to work to help the American people. Yet Republicans time and time again
34:25fail to meet that mark. The American people see through the blatant corruption and the outright lies
34:33that Washington has become known for. It is time to hold this president, and especially the Republicans
34:41here in Congress, responsible for steering our economy off a cliff and driving our country
34:46into the ground. And come November, I really do hope and I do pray for the sake of our future,
34:54for the sake of our country, that we're going to correct course. And with that, I yield back.
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