During remarks on the House floor, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) spoke in opposition to House Republicans' budget plan and continuing resolution proposal.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Madam Speaker, I rise today in defiance of the House Republicans' partisan funding bill.
00:08Democrats pulled up a seat for Republican leadership at the negotiating table to discuss
00:13a bipartisan solution, but Republicans walked away.
00:17What did Republicans propose instead?
00:19A blank check to Donald Trump and Elon Musk to take money away from you and spend as they
00:25will.
00:26For years, I've heard my Republican colleagues talk about the power of the purse and how
00:31that power belongs to Congress and Congress alone.
00:35Republicans loved to talk about Article 1 of the Constitution and insisted on clear
00:40checks and balances.
00:42What do I hear now?
00:44Silence.
00:45Now that Republicans are in control of Congress, they decide to bend the knee to Donald Trump.
00:52Republicans are giving Donald Trump and Elon Musk the power to decide who gets money and
00:56who doesn't.
00:57Based on these last eight weeks, we know who Trump prioritizes – his billionaire friends
01:03and big corporations.
01:04He does not care for veterans, workers with disabilities, children, senior citizens, farmers,
01:10or families just trying to make ends meet.
01:14Republicans will try to call this a clean, continuing resolution.
01:18Believe me, that is a bunch of full-in-the-blank, because this is far from clean.
01:23The Republican funding bill has dirt all over it.
01:26With this bill, the Trump administration will decide construction funding by the Army Corps
01:31of Engineers.
01:32Trump will cut funds for lead pipe replacements for schools, better water mains to prevent
01:37flooding, and better streets for our communities.
01:40Elon Musk and Doge have proven how little they care for our veterans.
01:45They made sweeping staffing cuts to veteran centers across the country, including in Danville,
01:51Illinois.
01:52My office has gotten calls from workers and some vets who were fired for no justifiable
01:57reason, impacting their own families and the veterans they care for.
02:01The Republican funding bill goes even further, cutting $23 billion in veterans' benefits.
02:08It gives Trump permission to eliminate programs for veterans, including homelessness prevention
02:13programs, which could lead to more than 32,000 veterans losing their homes.
02:18These are people who defended our country.
02:21Trump would also have the power to reallocate funding dedicated to maternal and child health
02:26programs, including Healthy Start, rural maternal health initiatives, and maternity care training.
02:32For over a decade, I have rolled up my sleeves to save mothers who are dying from preventative
02:38pregnancy-related causes.
02:40In the middle of a maternal mortality crisis, Trump would sign away all the programs that
02:45help mothers and babies.
02:47Trump likes to talk a big game about border control and our country's fentanyl crisis.
02:53He plays as the world's biggest bully and hits our closest allies with tariffs.
02:58Meanwhile, Republicans give Trump the power to steer funding dedicated to stopping the
03:03flow of fentanyl and instead spend that money on mass deportation initiatives.
03:09Last September, Kankakee County and my district received funding to help law enforcement crack
03:14down on illicit drug trafficking and address the overdose epidemic.
03:19That funding would stop under the Republican bill.
03:23You heard at the joint address to Congress last week that RFK Jr. is free to run with
03:28his conspiracy theories and anti-vaccination lies.
03:32This bill would give him broad discretion to spend money as he wishes at the CDC, ignoring
03:38critical life-saving programs like ending the HIV epidemic initiative, Alzheimer's
03:45disease programs, and cancer prevention.
03:48If you are not part of the 1%, House Republicans or Donald Trump simply do not care about you.
03:54It does not matter if you are Democrat, Republican, or independent.
03:58This partisan funding bill proves it.
04:01Republicans are giving Donald Trump the green light to do as he wishes and we all know that
04:05he does not have the American people in mind.
04:08I alongside House Democrats have always been at the negotiation table, but we will never
04:13negotiate away veterans' benefits, health care, or people's Social Security.
04:18I refuse to betray my constituents.
04:21Please stand up, speak out, and make your voices heard.
04:26I yield back.