Relating to consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4) to rescind certain budget authority proposed to be rescinded in special messages transmitted to the Congress by the President on June 3, 2025, in accordance with section 1012(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this process sucks. None of what we are doing here today is about governing. We aren't here to improve healthcare access or to put money back in hardworking people's pockets or to make life better for Americans or, for that matter, anybody in any way.

We are here because Republicans want to protect powerful people. They want to protect billionaires and protect those at the top. It is about doing Donald Trump's bidding. Shame on them.

Earlier this week, I offered a simple amendment to release the Epstein files that Donald Trump, his AG, his FBI director, and his supporters tell us contain a list of clients of Jeffrey Epstein. Let the American people make up their own mind. But Republicans voted it down, every single one of them. Why? Because Donald Trump, for whatever reason, doesn't want these records to get out anymore.

After years of promising America that his administration would release the Epstein files and tapes, Trump is now calling it a hoax. He is calling his own supporters stupid for believing the things he told them, and you are deeming adoption of a bullshit resolution on Epstein that does nothing.

Let me be clear. This resolution does not have the force of law. This does not have the force of law. It is political theater. It is a smokescreen for Republicans to hide from doing something that would demand Trump's DOJ release of these files.

This is a glorified press release, a talking point to save face, something they can wave around and say: See, we care, so they can walk free of shame while doing absolutely nothing.

This nonbinding resolution does nothing to get these files released.

Mr. Speaker, when we asked them when this nonbinding, useless resolution is coming to the House floor, the answer was, well, it is up to the majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, either Republicans want to actually release the files, or they don't. There is no middle ground here.

Republicans don't get credit for pretending to care. They don't get points for playing PR games while the people who enabled Epstein's abuse go unnamed and unpunished.

This is why people hate Congress. This is why they don't trust government.

Republicans talk about supporting the victims. They talk about holding

powerful people accountable, but it is lipservice. When the time comes to do something, they come up with a phony, fake vote to give themselves political cover, which brings me to this rescissions package, Mr. Speaker, another disaster, fiscal irresponsibility masquerading as cuts.

The other side just added $4 trillion to the debt with their big, ugly, billionaire-tax-break bill. The big, ugly bill costs 450 times what these rescissions will save. It doesn't even come close.

Mr. Speaker, I should mention that these rescissions are also deeply harmful. It cuts funding for international aid that provides lifesaving healthcare. People are going to die because of these cuts. It undermines Ukraine and our allies. It slashes public broadcasting that delivers essential news to communities nationwide.

Republicans call it tightening the belt, but it is the same old story. Republicans blow up the budget for billionaires, and then they nickel and dime everyone else to pretend that they care about the debt and the deficit. It is nuts.

If we were all being honest here, nobody even truly knows exactly what the hell is in this bill. As Senator Tillis, a Republican, said: ``I suspect we're going to find out there are some things that we're going to regret.''

Susan Collins, another Republican, said: ``The rescissions package has a big problem--nobody really knows what program reductions are in it.''

You can't make this stuff up.

Finally, let's not forget that the Trump administration, as we speak, is illegally withholding over $425 billion in congressionally approved funding while Republicans in Congress rush to get these rescissions done, covering for the President once again, afraid to raise an eyebrow to question what he is doing.

This is not how this place should work. None of what we have experienced with this majority is normal. This is government by chaos, run by a party that can't count its own votes, can't pass its own rules, and can't stand up to the White House after all of their broken promises.

This week has been shameful. People are watching. They see what is happening, and they are tired of being sold out, spun, and left behind.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is concerned about unchecked deficits and debt. He just voted for a bill to add $4 trillion to the debt. Come on. Give me a break.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the Democratic leader.

Mr. Speaker, you have to love the gentleman from Georgia when he says that he worries about the deficit and the debt. My question is, why the hell did you vote for the big, ugly bill that adds $4 trillion to the debt? It makes no sense.

Mr. Speaker, I urge that we defeat the previous question, and I will offer an amendment to the rule to immediately bring up to the House floor H.R. 4405, the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, introduced by Representatives Khanna and Massie under a closed rule with 1 hour of debate.

Mr. Speaker, tonight in the Rules Committee, Democrats offered a motion, several motions, to allow a vote on the floor to actually release the Epstein files, and Republicans on the committee just voted to block it, time and time again.

The only reason it won't be considered on the floor immediately after this rule passes is because of nine Republicans on the Rules Committee who voted no.

Now with the previous question, I will give the entire Republican Conference another chance to vote to release the Epstein files, the only other chance to vote on it this week. As I just said, the resolution Republicans just voted on in the Rules Committee is a glorified press release. It is nonbinding.

The Republicans are pretending to do something because they are feeling the heat at home, but it won't even come to the House floor this week, Mr. Speaker. We can't even get a commitment for when it is coming to the floor.

The bipartisan bill we are offering, if we defeat the previous question, would actually release the files. It would have the power of law. It would not be a glorified press release.

Ask yourself, Mr. Speaker, why would anybody want to stop this bill from getting a vote? What are Republicans so afraid of?

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), the sponsor of the bill, to discuss our proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Speaker, let me go back to something the gentleman said in his long and rambling speech.

He talked about a coverup. Let me just say to him, who is doing the coverup? You guys are in charge. You control the White House. You control the House. You control the Senate. Get a grip on reality, for God's sake.

Either you don't want to know the truth because you have been conned by Trump that there is nothing in the files, or you are afraid that there might be something in the files. You are in charge.

By the way, I was hoping the majority leader would tell us when he is going to schedule the vote on his meaningless bill on the Epstein files, but I think we will have to wait until he gets back on the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman voted for the big, ugly bill and added $4 trillion to the debt.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, according to CBO, the top 1 percent get 22 percent of the tax cuts. The top 20 percent get 66 percent of the tax cuts. Only in a Republican mind would that be considered fair.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

That was riveting.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker Emerita.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), who is the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. Speaker, my head is about to explode. That guy just voted to increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and he is trying to blame Democrats for Jeffrey Epstein.

Who was President when Jeffrey Epstein died in his cell?

It was Donald Trump.

Who is in charge now and blocking the release of the files?

It is Donald Trump, so please.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).

Mr. Speaker, that guy voted to add $4 trillion to the debt, too.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Goldman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how many more speakers the gentlewoman has.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, before I close, let's talk about what is actually in front of us.

This rescissions package is a joke. Republicans passed a massive tax giveaway for the rich, one of the most expensive in history. That giveaway was 450 times the size of these rescissions, and every single Republican who spoke tonight voted to add $4 trillion to the debt-- every single one of them.

This isn't even good policy or process. It is rushed. It is sloppy. Even Republicans in the Senate are warning about the consequences, but the House majority doesn't care. They are more interested in headlines than outcomes. Once again, it is everyday people who pay the price.

Mr. Speaker, let us end where we started: the Epstein files.

Republicans can take a real vote today, a vote that will put them on the side of truth and justice, a vote to tell victims that we hear you, we see you, and we will not protect the powerful at your expense.

Instead, they are choosing cowardice. They are choosing obedience to Trump, so they cooked up this nonbinding resolution, a press release, pretending to do something.

Let's be clear: Republicans can either vote to release the files or vote to bury them. If every Republican votes to block our attempt to release the records, they are telling Epstein's victims that they don't matter as much as their political convenience. That should disgust every single one of us.

This place deserves better. This country deserves better. The victims, most of all, deserve the truth.

Release the Epstein files. Release the Epstein files. Release the files.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman, the top Democrat on the Committee on Rules, Mr. McGovern, for his leadership and for yielding.

I thank all the distinguished members of the Committee on Rules for their steadfast, courageous, and insightful participation in opposition to this rule and the substantive legislation that underlies this particular rule.

I also thank Rosa DeLauro for her principled and strong opposition to this reckless Republican rescissions package, this effort by the Trump administration to, once again, hurt everyday Americans.

Mr. Speaker, it was just said on the House floor that the American people are fed up with out-of-control, wasteful government spending. As Democrats, we are committed to making sure that taxpayer dollars are spent in an effective, efficient, and equitable manner.

This bill that is on the floor right now has nothing to do with waste, fraud, and abuse. It represents an attack on the public health of the American people, the national security of the American people, the public safety of the American people, and the ability of the American people to actually get information, particularly in rural America, that they may need through public radio or public television in the face of an emergency.

Mr. Speaker, no one is buying the notion that Republicans are actually trying to improve wasteful spending.

In the aftermath of this one big, ugly bill that just passed this Chamber and has been signed into law that explodes the debt by more than $3 trillion, and then asks everyday Americans to pay for part of the expenses in the bill by ripping away healthcare for more than 17 million Americans, hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, and community-based health clinics will be unable to provide services to everyday Americans. As a result of the one big, ugly bill, people will die.

It is an all-out assault on healthcare and the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. It also rips food out of the mouths of hungry children, seniors, and veterans. All of this is being done to provide massive tax breaks to billionaires.

Then, Mr. Speaker, in this one big, ugly bill that has now been signed into law, the debt and the deficit will explode by trillions of dollars.

How dare anyone from the other side of the aisle claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility. That is fake, and that is phony.

When you look at this particular piece of legislation that is in front of us right now, this reckless Republican rescissions package, it undermines American national security and American leadership in the world.

This is not an America First bill. It is a China first bill because of the void that is being created all across the world. It is in America's interests, our national security interests and our leadership interests, to make sure that we are investing in development, diplomacy, and democracy all across the world.

Great leaders have recognized that throughout the American journey. It was Abraham Lincoln who came to the House Chamber in the middle of the Civil War, in the early 1860s, and spoke to the Congress and talked about America being ``the last best hope on Earth.''

President Lincoln said that in the 1860s, a visionary declaration of the role that America might one day play as the leader of the free world.

This legislation, this reckless Republican rescissions package, undermines our ability to keep our people safe here and to project America's soft power all over the globe.

Mr. Speaker, why would we undermine our ability to use diplomacy, democracy, and development to protect our own national security?

The President promised that on day one he was going to end the war in Ukraine that is now going on. In this particular piece of legislation, we are undermining the ability of Ukraine to continue to valiantly fight against Russian aggression.

Russia is not our friend. They are our enemy. Vladimir Putin is a sworn enemy of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, why is it Republicans in this bill are once again undermining Ukraine?

Ukraine stands on the side of democracy. Ukraine stands on the side of freedom. Ukraine stands on the side of truth. Russia stands on the side of autocracy, tyranny, and propaganda.

Why would we stand on the side of Russia? That is inconsistent with American leadership. This reckless Republican rescissions package does the exact opposite.

Mr. Speaker, we just saw tragedy unfold in the Texas Hill Country. More than two dozen children have died. Parents should never have to bury their children. More than 100 Texans died in the deadly floods.

There are a lot of questions that need to be asked about government failure and State government failure in Texas. The Governor of Texas has a lot of questions that need to be answered. Instead, he is trying to rig the Texas congressional map in the middle of a search and rescue operation. He has got to answer some questions.

The Trump administration needs to answer some questions about the National Weather Service and the devastating cuts that have been inflicted on them. Mr. Speaker, the Trump administration needs to answer some questions about the stated goal to defund FEMA.

In the midst of this tragedy that we all need to collectively respond to in Texas, just as we needed to respond to the tragedy that unfolded in California and the wildfires earlier this year, this reckless Republican rescissions package is going to undermine the ability of people in rural America and in small-town American to receive advance warning or necessary information when disaster strikes, when extreme weather strikes, when flooding strikes, and when hurricanes strike.

That is what happens when public radio is shut down and public television is shut down, which is what this reckless rescissions package will do. It is all extraordinary.

Mr. Speaker, I don't understand why Republicans continue to advance legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives that hurt everyday Americans. Is it simply because the goal is, as always, to reward billionaires, as was done with the one big, ugly bill, providing them with massive and unnecessary tax breaks?

Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Congress, as House Democrats, we made it clear that we would work with anyone in this town in order to make life better for the American people. We would work to lower the high cost of living of the American people and to address the affordability crisis afflicting the American people.

We thought perhaps we would have some partners in this necessary endeavor. Why? Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump and House Republicans promised that they were going to lower costs. In fact, costs were going to go down on day one. Those are not my words. Those are President Trump's words.

Costs haven't gone down in the United States of America. Costs are going up. Inflation is on the way up. Life is getting more expensive for the American people.

Nothing in this reckless rescissions package is going to make life more affordable for everyday Americans. It is going to complicate their life even further just like what happened with the one big, ugly bill.

Mr. Speaker, we are strongly opposed to this legislation. This is legislation that apparently Republicans don't even want to actually debate on the House floor. Once again, they want to address an issue to be debated in this Chamber under the cover of darkness.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the challenge that we have with this legislation is that the appropriations process has historically and traditionally been bipartisan. It means Democrats and Republicans will work and try to come together to reach a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, and their economic well-being. House Democrats and Senate Democrats, along with House Republicans and Senate Republicans, will do it in a bipartisan appropriations process to try to reach an enlightened agreement.

Mr. Speaker, what this rescissions package signals to us and the people that we represent and, more importantly, what it signals to America, as the OMB Director just said, Republicans aren't interested in bipartisanship. They aren't interested in commonsense solutions to finding common ground anchored in Democrats and Republicans coming together.

We know that is the case because we have made clear our willingness to solve the challenges that the American people face and work with anyone in this town, particularly when it comes to lowering the high cost of living in the United States of America. Republicans continue to do nothing about that. They are not doing a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people.

That is one of many reasons why we continue to be opposed to this reckless legislation that Republicans bring to the House floor. It will hurt everyday Americans. It will hurt children. It will hurt families. It will hurt older Americans. It will hurt people that Republicans represent in rural America and all while undermining American leadership in the world.

Mr. Speaker, once again, this is unfortunate. Once again, we see a Congress not functioning as a separate and coequal branch of government. We see a Congress, given this Republican majority, not willing to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch but always willing to do the bidding of the executive branch, as if we work for the Article II branch of government.

Mr. Speaker, we don't work for Donald Trump. We don't work for JD Vance. We don't work for the OMB Director. We work for the American people, and that is why we are a hard ``no'' against this reckless rescissions package.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 590 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.

During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying legislation. This evening, the Rules Committee met and produced a rule, House Resolution 590, providing for the House's consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025. Passage of this Rule will send H.R. 4 directly to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, if you told the American people that wasteful spending overtook Washington during the Biden-Harris administration, they would not be surprised. Their jaws would not drop, and their pupils would not dilate in utter shock.

The American people saw the fiscal ruin that was created by the previous administration. That is why they overwhelmingly chose Republicans to lead the Nation and restore fiscal sanity. That restoration is here, Mr. Speaker. H.R. 4 is part of our efforts to get Washington's fiscal house in order.

H.R. 4 rescinds $9 billion in spending that the President has identified as wasteful and unnecessary. As I said in the Rules Committee, it is unfortunate that the Senate was not able to execute all of President Trump's recommended rescissions. That said, there are many pertinent rescissions that remain, and they are very impactful.

Now, our Democrat colleagues will scoff and say that this $9 billion we are clawing back is a drop in the bucket; that it is merely peanuts. That is where they are wrong, Mr. Speaker. The thing is that in their arguments against H.R. 4, Democrats can only grasp at straws. Their positions are weak, and their claims are even weaker. They will talk in circles and just bloviate. In the end, they simply don't make any points that are worth remembering. They will rail against H.R. 4 so much that they say absolutely nothing.

Here is the truth. If this rescissions package was not put forth and passed by Congress, taxpayer dollars would still be funneled to ideologues at PBS and NPR and taxpayer dollars would continue to be funneled to all manner of foreign aid repositories that do not align with the fiscal sensibilities and values of the American people. That money, the people's money, would continue to be squandered. That is the truth of the matter.

Republicans understand that $1 of taxpayer money wasted is $1 too many. We must pass this rescissions package and send it to the President so that we can continue our work and continue to secure wins for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean).

Mr. Speaker, two words from me: Low energy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, give me a break. Republicans are finally offering taxpayers relief from years of spending from Democrats. Again, with President Biden they expanded the Federal Government with an unprecedented $11 trillion in spending, $6 trillion of which has been added to the national debt. It needs to end. We voted to end it in H.R. 1. We are ending it in this package here today, and we won't stop fighting for taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who is one of our most eloquent speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy), who is a Rules Committee member.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Here we go again, not talking about the subject at hand but trying to distract people. It is the same old, tired song and dance. Our friends revert to demonizing and misrepresenting the big, beautiful bill. They say you can't make this stuff up, but that is what they do.

We are having one success after another, and it is driving our friends across the aisle to distraction.

When they had full control of the levers of power just a few years ago, they expanded the Federal Government with an unprecedented $11 trillion in spending, $6 trillion of which has been added to the national debt.

What is most revealing is their refusal to articulate a single program, a single outlay, or a single area of Federal spending they want to reduce on behalf of taxpayers. They want every single dime of taxpayer money, and they don't like the historic cutting of $1.6 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse in H.R. 1. They can't stomach the $9 billion here in this discretionary cuts to wasteful spending. There is no upper limit to the amount of taxpayer dollars they will throw at their government-centered schemes.

How about a million? Can democrats articulate a cut to Federal spending in the amount of a million? How about in the thousands, like the $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda or the $8,000 for promoting vegan food in Zambia that we are cutting now? They can't do it, and that is very unfortunate because it has dire consequences for our Nation.

The fact is, we can't work in a bipartisan fashion to cut Federal spending anymore, and that wasn't always the case. Our colleagues are addicted to a tax-and-spend formula that has been bankrupting our government.

But we won't stand idly by. We won't wait on Democrats to take their heads out of the sand or wake up from this woke-induced coma. We are taking bold action at every level and in every facet of the Federal Government to get our Federal spending under control. We will do it $8,000 at a time when we have to or $1.6 trillion at a time when we can. We have been given this mandate, and the American people are counting on us.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which mandates that all public broadcasting programs must demonstrate strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs. There are a myriad of statistical studies that prove that they are not.

Perhaps most damning for NPR is the fact that it had to utilize a $1.9 million Federal grant to ``improve objectivity and diverse viewpoints'' last year. This is despite the fact that NPR's CEO recently testified, as our colleague said, that she didn't witness any bias at the organization. Then why the need for the Federal grant?

The problem with the Public Broadcasting Act is that it lacks an enforcement mechanism, so we will go with our constitutional prerogatives here to enforce the law. It starts with the rescission of funding.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we are far from weak. We are doing what the American people want us to do, and that is to let them keep more of their money and not take it and let unnamed bureaucrats spend it on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am not quite ready to close, but will be shortly.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, all night, our colleagues across the aisle have been talking about what we are not here to discuss, which is this rescissions package. They keep trying to distract the American people with things that we are not here to talk about.

The American people do not want to see their hard-earned tax dollars being squandered, not one bit. At its core, H.R. 4 is about shutting off the spigot of wasteful money, clawing back the tax dollars of Americans, and ensuring that wasteful and unnecessary spending is uprooted and left to wither and die.

It is just that simple. That is all there is to it. With more rescissions packages on the horizon, the President and Speaker have indicated that the best is yet to come.

We are doing our job to help save the American taxpayers' dollars. We know how hard it is to earn those dollars, and we don't want to see them squandered.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question, ``yes'' on the rule, and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for yielding and for helping get this process to the floor, despite so many attempts by the Democrats to block this effort to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending. We have seen it over and over and over again.

Every time we have tried to get our economy back on track to put more money in the pockets, by the way, of hardworking families, as we just succeeded in doing with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, every step of the way, the only people trying to block that effort have been Democrats in Washington.

They are getting nervous. They are feeling the heat from people back home, Mr. Speaker, that are angry, saying why did you vote--those waiters and waitresses, who make $32,000 a year, when they keep hearing them talk about billionaires. They are not voting against billionaires. They are voting against waiters and waitresses earning $32,000 a year and cops working the beat who don't want to have to pay overtime taxes. We protected them from that.

Every Democrat voted no, Mr. Speaker. I can understand why they come up here and want to talk about anything other than what we are actually doing to deliver for those families.

It is interesting how they talk about Jeffrey Epstein because for 4 years, Mr. Speaker, President Joe Biden had those files and not a single Democrat that you are hearing tonight tried to get those files released.

The House Republicans are working to do that and, of course, they are in a tizzy, Mr. Speaker, because they are finally being exposed for covering it up for 4 years.

Let them continue to come up and talk about all the deficit spending that they created while they cite and talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If you look at our scorekeeper here in the House, Mr. Speaker, they said it is going to add $4 trillion to the deficit by giving people their money back, along with cutting waste, fraud, and abuse that we did in this bill.

They are citing the same organization that the last time we gave families more of their hard-earned money back, that same group, CBO, said, oh, it is going to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit.

Mr. Speaker, we actually have the numbers now, and CBO was just a little bit off. The same people they cite as Gospel on $4 trillion said that we were going to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit back then. Do you know how much they were off by, Mr. Speaker? The numbers are in. They were off by $1.5 trillion.

They have lost their credibility. The Office of Management and Budget actually came out and said that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would reduce the deficit by $1.4 trillion. They don't want to talk about that because every Democrat voted no. Every Democrat voted against, by the way, reforming and revamping America's air traffic control system, which was in that bill. Every Democrat voted no.

Every American family wants that air traffic control system reformed. They sure want that tax relief. Those small businesses want to be able to get back up on their feet, and they will be able to because House Republicans said we are going to just focus on doing the work of the American people. Anybody that just wants to go root for failure and continue to try to keep inflation high, interest rates high, and vote ``no'' on every bill that puts power back in the pockets of families, let them have to answer for that back home, Mr. Speaker.

We are going to keep working. This bill tonight is part of continuing that trend of getting spending under control. Does it answer all the problems? No. I would say $9 billion is a good start. Hopefully, we do more things like this, but they are going to come up here and talk about everything other than this bill because they are all going to vote ``no.''

I think it is important to know, Mr. Speaker, what they are going to vote ``no'' against. Let's talk about what is in the bill.

They are going to be voting against $6 million that was spent for net zero cities in Mexico, and $8 million for the anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council, a group that is anti-Israel. Why should $8 million of American tax dollars that are being borrowed from other countries be going to that organization? How about we actually get spending under control?

$300,000 was to hold a Pride parade in Lesotho. If Lesotho wants to hold a Pride parade, let them do it with their tax dollars, not with American tax dollars.

$1 million was for voter ID in Haiti. This is rich. They are angry that we are cutting that money off, but those same Democrats who are going to vote ``no'' on that will oppose voter ID in America. They are okay with voter ID in Haiti, but they are against it in America.

I will continue.

They keep talking about Sesame Street. $3 million was going to Iraqi Sesame Street. Again, if the people in Iraq want to have Sesame Street on TV, let them go do it. How about if they do it with their own tax dollars, not with American tax dollars? Better yet, they probably can get it put on one of the many options that the private sector would have, just like here in America. We have thousands of private-sector options to watch any kind of show you would want. Anybody in America can watch all of that.

$33,000 was for ``Being LBGTQI in the Caribbean.'' That is what we are cutting, and every Democrat will vote against that cut.

$643,000 was for LGBTQI programs in the Western Balkans. Mr. Speaker, every Democrat is going to vote against that cut and start talking about, oh, my God, the world is going to end, and that we won't even be able to do diplomacy because we are not going to be spending taxpayer dollars to have an LGBTQI program in the Western Balkans. I think our relations with the Western Balkans will be just fine if we save that taxpayer money and try to get spending under control in Washington. They don't want to do it. At least we do.

$5.1 million was to strengthen the resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer global movements. I don't know what those global movements are. I think they can do that without taxpayer money. Then, of course, there was funding drag shows in Ecuador.

The list goes on and on, Mr. Speaker.

Let's finally get control over waste, fraud, and abuse. We started it in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. We are continuing it here, and we are going to continue it through the appropriations process.

If Democrats want to vote ``no,'' that is their prerogative. They have become the party of socialists. Let them vote that way.

We are going to fight for those hardworking families who want to get our great country back on track.

Let's pass this bill, keep moving, and keep working toward a better, stronger America.

Mr. Speaker, I remain strongly opposed to this rescissions bill, which is a rubberstamp on stealing from the American people.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has stolen funds appropriated by the Congress, passed by Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, and signed into law by the President of the United States, upending the separation of powers and our constitutional order.

This rescissions bill is another effort to subvert the Congress' power of the purse. That is precisely what they are trying to do. For what ends? To hand billionaires and the biggest corporations that already pay little or no taxes a massive tax break and, ultimately, to embrace privatization; to give the biggest companies unchecked power to rig the economy against the middle class, the working class, and vulnerable people; and to ensure the American people have no faith in their government.

This bill will shut down rural television and radio stations, cutting off coverage of local news, eliminating emergency information like severe weather alerts, jeopardizing access to PBS KIDS, children's programs like Sesame Street--yes, Sesame Street.

This bill rips lifesaving support away from hungry, displaced, and sick people in developing countries and conflict zones and will end programs that prevent conflict and pandemics.

This bill abandons the people of Ukraine while they resist Putin's tyranny.

This bill puts America last.

When we retreat from the world diplomatically and through our assistance to vulnerable people, America will be alone without allies in a less stable world without the support of the international community.

Do you know who will come out ahead? China, Russia, Iran.

All of this is being done in the name of combating waste. I will tell you what waste is: 500 tons of food grown by American farmers destroyed at a cost of $130,000 to American taxpayers because of the chaos caused by dismantling USAID. It was left there to expire.

This is the bill to help Republicans claim that they are practicing fiscal responsibility while concealing that what they are doing is ripping health insurance away from at least 17 million Americans in order to make billionaires even more rich, and they increase the debt by $4 trillion.

How dare they talk about the deficit when they have just increased it? They are not addressing the cost of living in this country, the single biggest issue. They are making it worse.

This bill codifies the right of the Trump administration to steal from vulnerable American communities, children, and the global poor for the sake of handing even more money to billionaires.

Congress needs to reassert its role. Fight for the middle class, the working class, the vulnerable, not to protect the interests of billionaires and big corporations.

I strongly oppose this bill. It forfeits our global leadership, undermines our national security, and steals from the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''