LEADER JEFFRIES ON THE RECKLESS REPUBLICAN BUDGET: “DEMOCRATS ARE A HELL NO”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke on the House Floor against Republicans' reckless ICE and CBP reconciliation package that gives Donald Trump another $70 billion to unleash brutality on our communities and reiterated Democrats' commitment to lowering the high cost of living created by Republican policy failures.

LEADER JEFFRIES: 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's 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, but 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 serve 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 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, literally stealing food from the mouths of hungry children, veterans and seniors in order, in the One Big Ugly Bill, to give ICE and Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine a $140 billion blank check. And as if that wasn't enough, ripping healthcare and nutritional assistance away from vulnerable Americans, hardworking American taxpayers, working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and those who aspire to be part of the middle class. As if ripping 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, that ICE needs to be brought under control and that ICE needs to conduct itself like every other cop, every other police officer and every other law enforcement agency in this country. But instead, Republicans have decided to continue to waste taxpayer dollars to jam Donald Trump's extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people. And so, 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've gone up. The cost of living is totally out of control. Why? Because of Republican policies.

First, the Trump tariffs raising costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year. Second, in your One Big Ugly Bill, in order to fund the Republican violent mass deportation machine, ripping 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.

And 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, certainly can't thrive, struggling to survive, living paycheck to paycheck. High rent, high groceries, high gas prices, high health insurance costs.

And when I look at the Republican scheme that this budget represents, not a single sentence about making life more affordable for the American people. Republicans want to cut healthcare and cut 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 Republicans' 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're 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, can barely survive. We believe that in this great country, when you're doing the right thing, when you're working hard, you should be able to live an affordable life. That's not happening right now. A comfortable life, that's not happening right now for far too many people. You should be able to live a good life-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.

And 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 to give your MAGA donors massive tax breaks that they don't need and do not deserve-that 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, more expensive, because of policy choices that the Republicans have made to inflict policy violence and cruelty on the American people.

And this toxic piece of legislation is just another example of how Republicans have failed the American people. And so, we will be voting no against this Republican scheme, and 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's 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 your extreme immigration policies that have failed America.

Full Floor speech can be watched here.

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