Hakeem S. Jeffries

Mr. Chairman, I also thank the distinguished top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Representative Brendan Boyle, for yielding and for his incredible leadership.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to this America-last Republican budget that will provide billions of additional dollars to Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East, which has been a complete and total disaster for the American people.

Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice in Iran has skyrocketed gas prices on everyday Americans who are already suffering from the failed Republican economy and drowning in its poor management.

Now, Donald Trump has made several promises to the American people upon his return to the White House, all of which it appears to me he has failed to keep.

Donald Trump promised to lower the high cost of living on day one, but costs in America haven't gone down. Costs have gone up, in part as a result of the reckless Trump tariffs that have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year.

Donald Trump promised to love and cherish Medicaid, but instead turned around and, as a result of the Republicans' one big, ugly bill, cut Medicaid by $1 trillion, costing more than 14 million Americans' access to health insurance and causing hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers, particularly in rural America, to close.

Donald Trump promised the American people that ICE enforcement would be focused on the worst of the worst and would only target violent felons. That is not what has happened. Donald Trump and his violent masked deportation machine are spending billions of dollars for ICE to brutalize and kill American citizens or to violently target law-abiding immigrants, as we just saw in Maine and in Houston.

Donald Trump, of course, promised that he was elected not to start endless wars in the Middle East but to stop them, and then turned around and has gotten us involved in a potentially endless war in Iran, a reckless war of choice that has made life more expensive for the American people while making us less safe, with Iran being stronger now, having a stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz, a stronger Iran now than they were before Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice.

I stand in strong opposition to this America-last, reckless Republican budget, this effort to waste tens of billions of dollars more on operation epic failure in the Middle East.

Mr. Chairman, we express our heartfelt condolences to the additional family members of those soldiers and members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives needlessly in the Middle East, and we all have a responsibility to continue to stand with them in their time of mourning and their time of great need but simultaneously make sure that no additional heroic, patriotic, brave American servicemen or -women need to die overseas in Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice.

We stand in strong opposition to this America-last budget. One of the most important things Members of Congress are solemnly given by the Framers of the Constitution is the responsibility to determine issues of war and peace. One of the most important things that we can do is stand against this reckless war of choice in the Middle East so no more servicemembers have to be sent home dead to their families who have been left behind.

What we should be doing in this Congress is actually using our taxpayer dollars to make life more affordable for the American people, and that is our commitment as House Democrats.

Unfortunately, Donald Trump and our Republican colleagues don't share that commitment. That is not a hypothetical. It is not hype. It is not hyperbole. Look at their own words. Donald Trump, of course, has said: Because we are fighting wars, we can't prioritize things like daycare, Medicaid, or Medicare. That is exactly what is happening right now.

Republicans, in their one big, ugly bill, enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, ripping healthcare away from more than 14 million Americans all across the country, in rural America, urban America, small-town America, the heartland of America, and Black and Brown America. No one has been untouched by the Republican assault on healthcare.

Why is this happening?

It is so that Donald Trump can fund this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East.

The reality is, in his own words, he doesn't give a damn about the economic well-being of the American people.

How do we know that?

Donald Trump, in his own words, said that the affordability crisis is a hoax. Donald Trump, in his own words, said: I don't think about the personal financial situation of the American people.

Donald Trump, in his own words, said: ``I love the inflation.''

Mr. Chair, we don't have to wonder why things aren't going well for everyday Americans in the United States right now. It is because, in my humble opinion, President Trump and Republicans in this House continue to act indifferent to the economic well-being of the American people and to actively do things that are hurting everyday Americans financially like this reckless and costly war of choice, which is why we stand aggressively against it.

On issue after issue throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted extreme policies to make life worse for everyday Americans and to actively hurt the American people. The Trump tariffs are actively hurting the American people, raising costs, including on farm country, by thousands of dollars per year.

The refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits raised health insurance premiums on everyday Americans, more than 20 million people across this country, some by as much as $1,000 in additional expense per month.

People are suffocating and drowning in this Trump economy.

Donald Trump and Republicans in the one big, ugly bill enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, a $186 billion cut at the same time that they are funding this reckless and costly war of choice. Republicans have literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors, and veterans to sustain the Trump war machine. Republican extremists apparently have money for wars but can't feed the poor.

Our message to the American people is: Don't lose faith. Help is on the way. Regime change is coming to the House of Representatives in November, so keep your head up.

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague Representative Brendan Boyle from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for yielding and for his leadership.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this Republican scheme to waste $70 billion in taxpayer money to give a blank check to ICE without any guardrails, any oversight, or any accountability.

Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, it should be just, and it should be humane. That is not what is going on right now as it relates to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine.

Donald Trump promised America that he would target violent felons who are here illegally. Instead, taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE and his violent mass deportation machine to target and brutalize American citizens--in some cases, killing them, as was the case in Minneapolis with Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti--or to violently target law- abiding immigrant families, children, and in some cases, veterans who have served this country.

As Democrats, we believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people as opposed to what the one big, ugly bill represented and continues to represent in this Congress.

Republicans are making a decision to rip away healthcare and nutritional assistance from the American people: the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, alongside the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history. They are literally stealing food from the mouths of hungry children, veterans, and seniors, in order, through the one big, ugly bill, to give ICE and Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine a $140 billion blank check.

As if that wasn't enough--ripping healthcare and nutritional assistance away from vulnerable Americans, hardworking Americans, taxpayers, working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and those who aspire to be part of the middle class--as if ripping away healthcare and nutritional assistance in the one big, ugly bill wasn't enough, Republicans have now come back for more: to give ICE and Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check with no oversight, no accountability, and no guardrails.

We believe immigration enforcement should be fair, just, and humane. But ICE needs to be brought under control, and ICE needs to conduct itself like every other cop, every other police officer, and every other law enforcement agency in this country.

Instead, Republicans have decided to continue to waste taxpayer dollars to jam Donald Trump's extreme, rightwing ideology down the throats of the American people.

As Democrats, we rise in strong opposition to this Republican scheme: waste of taxpayer dollars.

Donald Trump promised that the cost of living, Madam Speaker, would go down on day one. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one, but costs in the United States of America haven't gone down. They have gone up. The cost of living is totally out of control. Why? Because of Republican policies:

First, the Trump tariffs raised costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year.

Second, in the one big, ugly bill, in order to fund the Republican violent mass deportation machine, they ripped away healthcare and nutritional assistance from the American people at a time when health insurance costs are already out of control and grocery prices are through the roof.

Third, Donald Trump and Republicans have gotten this country into a reckless and costly war of choice that has skyrocketed gas prices through the roof, burdening everyday Americans who are already struggling to survive, who certainly can't thrive, are living paycheck to paycheck with high rent, high groceries, high gas prices, and high health insurance costs.

When I look at the Republican scheme that this budget represents, there is not a single sentence about making life more affordable for the American people.

Republicans want to cut healthcare and nutritional assistance, send us to a reckless and costly war of choice, impose tariffs that are raising prices on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year, and then use taxpayer dollars to give a $70 billion blank check to ICE so that the Republican violent, mass-deportation machine can continue to brutalize or kill American citizens, like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families.

Democrats here are not simply a ``no.'' We are a ``hell no'' on this legislation, and we are going to continue to fight to make life better for the American people.

We believe that America is far too expensive. We believe that far too many people are working hard, playing by the rules, can't thrive, and can barely survive. We believe that in this great country, when you are doing the right thing, when you are working hard, you should be able to live an affordable life. That is not happening right now. A comfortable life is not happening right now for far too many people.

You should be able to live a good life with a good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for your children, and a good retirement, which, by the way, means we will always defend Social Security and Medicare.

As a warning to the American people, the Speaker of the House recently said, in part, as a result of what Republicans have done to skyrocket the debt and the deficit by trillions of dollars in order to give your MAGA donors massive tax breaks that they don't need and do not deserve, the Republicans are coming next for the Social Security and for the Medicare of the American people.

Madam Speaker, the Republican majority has failed. This Congress has failed. Life hasn't gotten better over the last 18 months. Life has gotten worse and more expensive because of

policy choices that the Republicans have made to inflict policy violence and cruelty on the American people.

This toxic piece of legislation is just another example of how Republicans have failed the American people, so we will be voting ``no'' against this Republican scheme. We will continue to fight to drive down the high cost of living, fight to lower and fix our broken healthcare system, fight to get ICE under control, fight to end Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice, and fight for an America where everyone can afford a high-quality life for themselves and for their families.

That is not the America that we have right now because of Republican policy failures and continued schemes like this Republican budget reconciliation bill to waste another $70 billion on their extreme immigration policies that have failed America.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to the life, leadership, and legacy of an incredible mentor, a Clinton Hill legend and someone who provided tremendous support to me throughout the entirety of my public service journey, the iconic Marilyn D. Mosley.

Marilyn was born and raised in Brooklyn. She is a proud graduate of New York City Public Schools, including Girls High, where she was voted in 1959 ``Most Likely to Succeed.''

That proved to be a prophetic observation.

Marilyn went on to obtain a bachelor's degree from Morgan State University, where she became a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She then returned home to City College, where she received two master's degrees in education and went on to serve for over 25 years as a transformational public school teacher and public school administrator.

She also held a variety of positions throughout local government, serving with distinction in the Brooklyn Borough President's Office, the City Comptroller's Office, and as a special adviser to the New York City Council Speaker.

Though she never served as a legislator herself, she founded the Progressive Association for Political Action and was responsible for the election of political giants decade after decade after decade, including former Congressman Ed Towns, Assemblyman Roger Green, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, and New York State Attorney General Tish James.

Her work was instrumental in making sure that Mary Pinkett in 1973 became the first African-American woman ever elected to the New York City Council and opened the door for future generations of Black women, 12 of whom now serve in the 51-member body that is the city council.

I can unequivocally say that the people of New York City are better off because of decades of Mama Mosley laboring in the vineyards of our community.

I would not be standing here today as a Member of Congress or as House Democratic leader without her love, mentorship, and support.

I am so thankful for all of her wisdom, her guidance, her friendship, her mentorship, and her leadership throughout her incredible journey. It is a classic Brooklyn story, and we are eternally grateful for all that she has done.

May Mama Mosley forever rest in power.