Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, more than any other day I have been in Congress, the cruelty of the Trump administration and the Republican majority is on display. They are asking us to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's cuts to PEPFAR, which saves millions of lives treating people with HIV, funding for clean water, funding to fight malaria, funding to help people starving from famine.

Donald Trump and Republicans are doing this at the same time they are giving trillions of tax cuts to the rich. While they are at it, they are also cutting educational programming for children, like PBS.

Why are they doing this? It is not to reduce the deficit because this $9 billion is a fraction of a fraction of the tax cuts they are trying to pass for billionaires. These are the richest people in the world taking food and medicine away from the poorest children in the world.

I have news for Elon Musk and Donald Trump and the billionaires: No matter how much money you have, no matter how many poor people you take food and medicine away from, it will not fill that hole inside of you.

To my colleagues in the House: History will judge us today. You have the chance to be heroes. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, today the House majority took a shameful vote to cut billions of dollars of aid that goes to PEPFAR to treat people around the world with HIV. They cut aid for malaria. They cut aid for clean water around the world.

Thankfully, this bill did not cut funding for emergency food aid like Plumpy'Nut. The problem is that even though this funding has not been cut and it is still available, the Trump administration still continues to hold up the money instead of getting it to companies like Edesia in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, who manufacture this food aid to ship it around the world. We continue to have a now 5-month pause in the delivery of emergency food aid to starving children.

The Trump administration needs to keep its word to deliver this food aid. The money is available so that lives can be saved.

This is the 2lst time that I have spoken on the House floor demanding that the Trump administration restore emergency food aid. I will continue to speak every legislative day until they do it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 20th time to demand that the Trump administration restore funding for lifesaving food aid around the world.

Now, today, I will talk about promises. Since the Trump administration paused funding for emergency food aid through USAID 5 months ago, we have heard a lot of promises. Elon Musk tweeted that emergency food aid would be restored. He even mentioned the name of a factory in my district, Edesia, that makes Plumpy'Nut, a type of emergency food aid.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio multiple times has said that emergency food aid will be restored. He said it in his confirmation hearing. He said it just a few weeks ago in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when asked by my colleague from Rhode Island, Representative Amo.

Just yesterday, the State Department told FOX News that they have a plan to restore this funding.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 5 months and every day that goes by is another day that children around the world are going hungry and starving to death because this aid has been held up. I will continue to speak on this House floor every day until the administration honors its commitment to restore this aid.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 5 o'clock and 24 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 19th time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children.

I am a father. I have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old at home, Max and Lucy. Like any parent, I want the very best for my kids. I am so lucky that I do not have to worry about whether they will be fed today or tomorrow. Yet, around the world, malnutrition and starvation is the number one cause of death for children.

When a child suffers from malnutrition, it stunts their growth. Their organs shut down. For toddlers, like my 3-year-old, they can have their body weight reduced to be as low as an infant's.

When they suffer from extreme malnutrition, they can't be fed traditional food anymore. In order to save their lives and to cure their malnutrition, they need this: Plumpy'Nut. It is a packet of fortified paste. They take one of these per day. After a month, they are back up to normal body weight and healthy once again.

Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown is one of two places in the country that produces Plumpy'Nut. All the ingredients, the peanuts, soybeans, sugar, and dairy, come from American farms and

factories. It is manufactured here in the United States and, until recently, was shipped around the world, reaching 400,000 children a month.

Think about that, Mr. Speaker. That is 400,000 children a month whose lives were being saved--that is, until Elon Musk and the Trump administration cut off funding for this program.

There is nothing woke about this. This is not waste. This is not fraud. This is nutrition for starving kids, and it needs to be restored.

These production lines have been shut down. There are boxes and boxes of this stuff sitting in a warehouse in Rhode Island instead of getting to the kids who need it.

What is the impact of this halt in funding? Not only does it mean that there are more kids starving around the world by the thousands, but it also means that our adversaries, particularly China, have a golden opportunity to swoop in to the rescue and build good will with nations all around the world.

Mr. Speaker, foreign aid is not just charity. It serves our interests as a country, as well, when we build good will with nations that have rare earth minerals and can assist us in intelligence gathering against terrorist organizations and our other adversaries. This is part of how we build strong relationships around the world to make Americans safer. When we cut off this aid, which is a tiny, tiny fraction of the Federal budget, then it only helps our adversaries.

The entire funding for this program was about $80 million a year. The Cannon House Office Building across the street is being renovated at a cost of $800 million. We are spending 10 times as much to renovate our office building as we were spending a year to save the lives of thousands and thousands of children suffering from malnutrition. What kind of priorities are those?

Here is the thing: The good news is that Trump administration officials, including Secretary Rubio, have said over and over that they are going to restore funding for this program. They admit that this is not waste or fraud but that this is part of the core mission of what USAID was supposed to be.

That is great. Why haven't they sent the money? What is the holdup? It has been 5 months now, and they have said over and over that they intend to restore funding for emergency food aid. They just haven't done it yet. Why not? Every day that goes by is a day that children are unnecessarily going hungry.

Once again, I am going to rise in this Chamber every day until the administration keeps their word and restores funding for emergency food aid for children around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today for the 18th time to demand that the Trump administration restore funding for lifesaving food aid.

Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, is one of only two U.S. manufacturers of Plumpy'Nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food that saves lives every day.

This operation includes a supply chain that encompasses American farmers, American distribution companies, and American logistics companies.

The Edesia location in Rhode Island in a normal year sources 85 million pounds of raw materials: peanuts, soy, dairy, sugar, and more, all from the United States. That is enough to fill 128 Olympic-sized swimming pools a year.

When the Trump administration cuts USAID funding, they are not only hurting children around the world who rely on this nutrition. They are also hurting American farming and manufacturing.

The Trump administration needs to deliver on its word to restore this aid. Until they do, I will continue to speak on this floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 17th time to demand that the Trump administration deliver on its promise to restore funding for lifesaving food aid.

This so-called pause on lifesaving food aid is unnecessary and unconscionable.

``Anybody who tells you that we can slash foreign aid and that will bring us to balance is lying to you.'' Foreign aid is less than 1 percent of our budget. That is a quote from Marco Rubio before he worked for Donald Trump. This is not how we solve our budget problem. A fraction of a fraction of a percent of the Federal budget goes to lifesaving global food aid.

The Trump administration has said they will restore it. They need to follow their own words and do so immediately before more lives are lost.

I will keep speaking on this floor every day until they do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the proposed Republican cuts to public broadcasting.

Next week, our Republican colleagues are planning to bring a bill to the floor that would mean a devastating cut of funding to shows like ``Sesame Street'' and ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,'' all in their endless quest to find more money for tax cuts for their billionaire donors.

It is important for people to understand that television is changing. More and more content is being put behind paywalls, and PBS is one of the only sources of children's educational television that is still accessible to every child for free.

Studies show that kids who grow up watching PBS get better grades, read more, are better at expressing their feelings, and have better educational outcomes. Educational television, when it is high quality, works.

I have two young kids myself, Max and Lucy. I cannot tell you enough about how important it is to have access to affordable, high-quality educational content for children.

Public television has always been about the simple idea that every child deserves access to learning or inspiration, even if their families don't have a lot of money. That is why it is so important that we continue to support PBS and public broadcasting in general.

I am asking my colleagues to evoke one of my son's favorite programs, ``Mister Rogers,'' and be a good neighbor. Vote ``no'' on the cuts to public broadcasting.

restore funding for lifesaving food aid

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 16th time to beg the Trump administration to honor its word and restore funding for lifesaving food aid for starving children.

This is Plumpy'Nut, an emergency paste that is used to treat malnourished children. Until recently, the United States shipped this product all across the world, saving lives, saving the lives of children suffering from malnutrition.

This is important because it is the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do for the United States. I want to read a quote from someone who I think understands that. ``It is going to be a lot harder to recruit someone to anti-Americanism, anti-American terrorism, if the United States of America was the reason why they are even alive today.'' This quote, Mr. Speaker, is from our own Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, before he started working for President Trump.

A couple of weeks ago, Secretary Rubio was in front of Congress. Under questioning from our colleagues Representative DeLauro, my colleague from Rhode Island, Gabe Amo, Senator Booker, and others, Secretary Rubio said again that he understood the importance of continuing to fund emergency food aid.

Why isn't it being done? Why are there boxes and boxes of this product sitting in warehouses in the United States, waiting for funding to be restored when the Trump administration has said that they intend to do so?

When we do not deliver on our promises as a country, it erodes trust, makes it harder for the United States to build relationships around the world, and gives an open opportunity for our adversaries, particularly China, to swoop in and save the day.

We cannot allow this to happen, not only because of the moral imperative of saving the lives of starving children around the world but out of our own self-interest. It is in our interest to build good will. We can do it if the Trump administration will just do what it says it is going to do and restore funding for emergency food aid.

Secretary Rubio said that it is going to happen. Elon Musk said that it is going to happen. It has been 4 months now, and we are still waiting.

What is the delay? Let's get this food aid moving again now. I will continue to speak on the House floor every day until we do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 15th time to call on the Trump administration to honor its commitment to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for children around the world.

This is Plumpy'Nut. This is used to treat malnourished children and get them back to health. It saves millions of lives a year, or at least it did until the Trump administration cut off funding earlier this year.

A couple of weeks ago, Secretary Rubio was back here at the Capitol, testifying to the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee. He said that the Trump administration was going to restore funding for this emergency food aid. He is the Secretary of State, and he is also the Acting USAID Director. He said under oath that they are going to do it, so why haven't they?

As we speak, this is sitting in warehouses in the United States. Production has virtually shut down while we wait for the administration to honor its commitment.

I will continue to speak on the floor every legislative day until the administration follows through on its word to save the lives of starving children around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 14th time to demand restoration of funding for global food aid for malnourished children.

It has been 1 month since I began speaking on this floor every legislative day and 4 months since this aid was frozen, when the Trump administration began.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of children around the world have not been able to get the lifesaving food aid that they need because the funding has been cut off.

During a normal year, Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, produces enough of this nutritional paste to save the lives of 400,000 children in a single month. Yet, those production lines have slowed to a near halt. Warehouses are full of this product when they should be getting shipped to the children who need it.

We have heard enough excuses from the administration. They keep saying that they intend to restore emergency food aid, but they have yet to actually do so. They need to act instead of just giving us hollow words.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 13th time to call for the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children across the world.

Every 7 seconds a child in this world dies of malnutrition, of starvation, needlessly and unnecessarily. For decades, the United States has saved lives, particularly by providing funding for ready-to- use therapeutic food, also known as Plumpy'Nut. This is a miracle treatment. This is a peanut-based paste that treats malnutrition, doesn't need to be refrigerated, and can be shipped around the world. You don't need to add water, and it saves the lives of children.

Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, is one of the factories that produces Plumpy'Nut. From that factory alone, over the last decade, 25 million children have been saved with this treatment.

Funding was cut off at the beginning of the Trump administration under the so-called DOGE initiative, and every day that this product sits in warehouses in Rhode Island is a day that children around the world are unnecessarily dying.

Now, the good news is that Elon Musk, Marco Rubio, and others have said that this funding will be restored. In fact, just yesterday, at his Senate hearing, Secretary Rubio said again that essential humanitarian aid, he meant food aid, will be continued. So do it already.

It is good that the administration is saying that they intend to continue providing this aid around the world, but they need to do it. Again, there are thousands of boxes of this ready-to-use food sitting in warehouses here in the United States that should be getting to the children who need it.

Every day that the United States fails to provide this aid is a day that China and our other adversaries have an opportunity to step into the void and earn goodwill around the world.

As the Secretary pointed out yesterday--and Secretary Rubio said this--China's generosity is not free. China's generosity comes with a price. It comes with a price of subservience and dependency on the Chinese Communist Party. That is not what we want.

We want the developing world to be allied with the United States, for our own reasons: so that we can have access to critical minerals, so that we can have access to intelligence, and so that we can beat back terrorist organizations that would otherwise threaten U.S. interests.

We want the goodwill of the developing world, and we can maintain that goodwill by continuing our commitment to doing our part to end global hunger with U.S.-produced products, sourced from U.S. farmers, manufactured in U.S. factories that help build U.S. goodwill around the world.

That is what we want to continue. We do not want to give an opportunity to China or anybody else to fill the void that is being created right now.

The Global Report on Food Crises published last Friday by the U.N. confirms what we have been warning. The number of people facing famine has more than doubled in the last year. Malnutrition globally is on the rise. This is a global emergency, one that the United States has the greatest capacity to help solve.

The burden should not and cannot fall entirely on us, but leadership comes with a responsibility. We have the responsibility to continue to do our part. The moment is calling us.

Once again, I will rise in this Chamber every single day until the administration does what it says it is going to do and continues funding ready-to-use therapeutic food.

I am not asking the administration to change their policy. We are asking them to just execute on their stated policy, and do what they said they were going to do, which is: Continue the funding. Resume the flow of aid. Save the lives of malnourished children around the world, and strengthen America in the process.

Mr. Speaker, I rise against the cruelty of a bill that would take food from the hungry and medicine from the sick and give billions in tax cuts to billionaires who don't need it.

I rise against a Republican Party that is too afraid to do townhalls and face their own voters, too afraid to debate us in committees to support this terrible bill.

I rise for the working people who are struggling under the weight of Donald Trump's tariffs, the largest tax increase on the middle class in a generation. They can't afford higher copays or higher premiums.

I rise for the seniors who will have nowhere to go when their nursing homes are shut down by the Medicaid cuts in this bill. I rise for the children who will have to pay the tab for the trillions in debt that they are adding.

My Republican colleagues told their voters that they would change Washington. Washington has changed them. Do better. Vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the 12th time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children across the globe.

Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, manufactures this nutritional paste which has saved millions of lives. When the Trump administration began, funding for this program went away. There are kids literally starving around the world, while thousands of boxes of this lifesaving food aid sit in a warehouse in Rhode Island.

When we abandon our commitment to helping solve malnutrition around the world, we are not just hurting those children who are hungry. We are hurting our own credibility as a country. Our adversaries like China are happy to step into the void we have left to make those countries beholden to them.

Make no mistake. China's help doesn't come for free. It comes with a price. This is not just about doing the right thing for these starving children around the world. It is about maintaining America's position of leadership globally.

Restore the funding. Restore the food aid. I will speak every day until this is done.

Mr. Speaker, this is the eleventh time that I have risen to call for Federal funding for malnourished children to be restored by the Trump administration. Today, I rise with a glimmer of hope.

After months of advocacy, Edesia Nutrition in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, has received notice that an order to ship their lifesaving, ready-to-use therapeutic food, Plumpy'Nut, to children in Sudan was finally approved. The food will be moved in the next 2 weeks.

This is a huge win for Edesia, for our country, and, most importantly, for the children whose lives will be saved by this miracle cure.

Let me be clear. This fight is not over. This is just the first step. The order was paid for with fiscal year 2024 funding. Edesia still has another 185,000 boxes of this ready-to-use food sitting in their warehouse, awaiting shipment. Despite money being appropriated for FY25, no new orders are being placed.

I once again call on the Trump administration for a full restoration of funding for ready-to-use therapeutic food that will save the lives of children across the world. We have done it before. We should continue to do it. That is our commitment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the 10th time to call on the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid for malnourished children across the globe.

Mr. Speaker, $50 is all it takes to save the life of a child. Edesia Nutrition in Rhode Island makes a lifesaving paste called Plumpy'Nut that for just 30 cents a packet over 8 weeks can save the life of a child suffering from malnutrition. That is $50, 30 cents a packet, one packet a day. $50 over 8 weeks and you can save a life.

This product was shipped to millions of children around the world before the Trump administration cut off funding.

Now, Secretary Rubio and Elon Musk have both said that this funding will be restored, but they have yet to actually do it.

Once again, I am calling, along with many of my colleagues, for this funding to be restored. The administration needs to live up to its word. The lives of children depend on it.