Chairman Aguilar: Republicans are choosing a war over healthcare for the American people.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Ted Lieu and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle held a press conference calling out Republicans' budget bill for bankrolling Trump's reckless war with Iran and failing to lower costs for working families. You can watch the full press conference here and read the transcript below.

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning. We've got a busy week ahead. But of course, of all the things that Republican leadership is trying to jam before the August recess, not one will address the actual affordability crisis that American families are facing. Republicans are putting forward a nearly $100 billion budget bill. But get this: not a single dollar, not one, will go toward lowering the costs that people face. Instead, Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump's failed war in Iran, which has cost three more American servicemembers' lives over the weekend and has set gas prices soaring yet again. Think about what we could spend with these resources instead. For what Republicans plan to spend on the war, we could fully fund a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits and lower insurance premiums for millions. But Republicans are choosing a war over healthcare for the American people. At the same time, Republicans are also tying their voter suppression legislation to this bill in order to rig elections in their favor. This self-dealing and corruption is not what the American people voted for.

Americans elected Donald Trump and Republicans because they were promised lower prices and a better quality of life. But Trump has broken every single promise to lower costs on day one. While Americans are getting squeezed at the grocery store, the gas station and at the pharmacy, we're watching in real time Donald Trump profit off of the presidency and waste their hard-earned tax dollars on a war that they didn't want. It's no wonder that poll numbers have him tanking. Nearly 70 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of inflation and the cost of living crisis. Well, November is right around the corner. And while Trump might not be on the ballot, Republicans who are greenlighting this agenda are: Mike Lawler, Derrick Van Orden, David Valadao and Jen Kiggans. These are the members who will have to answer to their constituents on who they are putting first. Democrats won't stand by while Trump and Republicans waste American tax dollars, and we're going to continue to tackle the affordable kitchen table issues that Americans are facing. Vice Chair Ted Lieu.

VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar. Private Isabella Gonzales, age 19. First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, age 25. And Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, age 30. Those three service members recently died in the unconstitutional war in Iran. Now, at least 17 U.S. servicemembers have died in this unconstitutional war. And why did they die? They didn't have to die. They died because Donald Trump and his Rubber Stamp Republicans entered a war of choice with no strategy, a lack of defensive munitions and a lack of planning. U.S. troops are now stationed at multiple bases that Iranian missile and drone strikes have hit. Because of the lack of planning and the inability to defend these bases, the sons and daughters of Americans are now exposed to Iranian strikes.

And what are Donald Trump and Republicans focused on? Putting Trump's face on the $1 coin, putting Trump's face on a $250 bill, putting Trump's face on giant banners all across Washington, D.C., putting Trump's name on airports, putting Trump's name on federal buildings. Shame on Donald Trump for the callousness towards the lives of our American troops. And what is the Republican response this week? To give a blank check to the administration to continue funding this illegal war. This war has also resulted now in gas prices rising to over $4 nationwide on average, for price inflation, for the cost of goods going up. We call on Senate Republicans to pass the War Powers Resolution that the House passed and get it to the President's desk. With that, I'm so honored to introduce my friend and colleague Brendan Boyle, the Ranking Member of the Budget Committee.

RANKING MEMBER BOYLE: Thank you. It was just a couple of years ago in 2024 that Donald Trump campaigned throughout my state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and indeed all of the battleground states, and his biggest single promise was when he said, and I quote him: 'I will lower costs on day one.' Well, here we are 18 months later, and he has completely failed to keep that promise. Gas prices higher, food prices higher, inflation across the board, higher and going higher still. Why? Directly because of Donald Trump's policies and the Rubber Stamp Republicans who approve them. It started a year ago in what they promised would be a Big Beautiful Bill, but became a Big Ugly Law for the American people, ripping away healthcare from more than 15 million Americans in order to fund tax cuts, mostly for the wealthy and well-connected.

They are now doubling down on that one year later through their so-called Reconciliation 3.0 bill, which passed the Budget Committee last week and will be on the House floor this week. Now, their bill, mind you, is $95 billion. Most of that money is going toward funding this reckless Iran gamble that Donald Trump has gotten us into, with no plan on how to get us out of it. Most of the $95 billion goes toward that. With, by the way, no offsets whatsoever. So the crowd that always likes to cry crocodile tears about deficit and debt, the same crowd that added more than $4 trillion to our national debt through the bill a year ago, now is adding $95 billion more in deficit and debt. If you take the entirety of all of the bills that they have pushed over the last 18 months and signed into law, in addition to this one, $5 trillion added to our national debt. More than any other Congress in such a short period in American history. Now, you might be thinking, well, given that affordability or the lack thereof, is still by far the number one issue on voters' minds, surely there is something in the Republican Reconciliation 3.0 to bring down costs, to bring down food prices, to bring down gas prices. We searched through it, 47 pages, 6,560 words. Not one word about affordability. Not one initiative, not one, to bring down costs for the American people. We have a President and a Republican majority that just doesn't care about the increased costs the American people are having to pay. The American people deeply reject this agenda by more than a 2-to-1 margin. They are right. We will be proud to vote against this. Thank you.

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