[Pages H1499-H1502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DEFENDING SOCIAL SERVICES AND PROGRAMS

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mrs. 
Ramirez of Illinois was recognized for 30 minutes.)


                             General Leave

  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order hour.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I take to the floor today to raise the 
alarm for the people of Illinois' Third Congressional District.
  Today, I am standing here for the 197,569 people, including 94,806 
children and 22,000 seniors, whose Medicaid is at risk of being taken 
from them.
  I stand here for the 69,000 people in Illinois-03 who count on SNAP 
benefits and could be losing them.
  I stand here for the 28,000 people who receive coverage under the 
Affordable Care Act and may see their average premium go up by $820 a 
year, a 40 percent increase.
  Mr. Speaker, the working people of my district rely on Federal 
programs and services, and they also rely on the essential 
organizations in Illinois-03 that provide federally funded social 
programs and services.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand for the 11 federally funded health centers with 
a presence in Illiois-03 that leverage $78,954,648 in Federal 
investments for 624,770 patients.
  I also stand here in the people's House for CEDA, which provides 
LIHEAP assistance to 179,082 working people in Cook County to weather 
extreme temperatures.
  I stand here for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center under the 
leadership of Jose, the AIDS Foundation, La Casa Norte, and so many in 
Illinois-03 serving organizations that meet the needs of our diverse 
constituents who are facing uncertainty about Federal funding in this 
precise moment.
  My colleagues and I are standing here because my Republican 
colleagues have bowed down to the whims of an unelected billionaire and 
a wannabe dictator. The majority is stealing from the American people 
so that Republicans can enrich billionaire bosses and expand their 
wealth at the expense of our working families.
  Consider that for a moment. The richest man in the world is demanding 
cuts in the services that working families rely on. The richest man in 
the world, who could be making contributions to end hunger globally, 
decides that we should be cutting program services for working 
families, many of which my colleagues will talk about today.
  Mr. Speaker, as we stand here today in the people's House, I want to 
be very clear about something. I will not betray working families by 
supporting a budget that harms working families to make the rich 
richer. We have to stand up in this precise moment in the people's 
House.
  Republicans must also stand up to their billionaire bosses and do 
what is right, what they were elected to do: represent their 
constituents. We must protect and defend the federally funded social 
programs and services that the American people rely on.
  Mr. Speaker, I will yield to my colleagues who will share about the 
programs and services that their constituents rely on and that they 
were sent to Congress to defend.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).
  Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I recognize 
Representative Ramirez for her leadership on this important issue.
  I rise today not just as a Member of Congress, but as a healthcare 
practitioner. Like so many of my fellow healthcare workers, I became an 
occupational therapist to help people. Before entering public office, I 
spent over a decade working with seniors and children to help them 
achieve independent, full lives.
  Last week, the Trump administration made it harder for our healthcare 
providers to deliver the services that Americans rely on by terminating 
10,000 hardworking members of the Department of Health and Human 
Services workforce. Under this administration, a total of 20,000 HHS 
employees have been illegally fired, putting Americans at risk every 
day.
  These cuts do nothing for the people in western New York or anywhere 
else across the country. They are a means of giving tax cuts to the 
ultrarich and powerful, those who never have to worry about access to 
reliable healthcare.
  These cuts are more than numbers on a balance sheet. These are lives 
that hang in the balance. For western New York, this will make it 
harder for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center or the University 
of Buffalo to advance their lifesaving work.

  These cuts mean delayed treatments, denied cures, stolen hopes from 
patients battling cancer, Parkinson's, ALS, Alzheimer's, and so many 
other devastating diseases. I felt the pain and hope of patients, 
grandparents, mothers, fathers, and children who are counting on the 
next clinical breakthrough to survive. These cuts say to them: Your 
health doesn't matter. Your life doesn't matter.
  President Trump, unelected billionaire Elon Musk, and Secretary 
Robert Kennedy are more concerned with cutting services and pushing an 
antiscience agenda than they are with supporting and improving our 
healthcare system. By walking away from practitioners and patients, the 
Trump administration is abdicating its duty to our most vulnerable and 
signaling to the world that the United States is no longer the global 
leader in scientific research.
  As someone who spent years treating patients, I know that abandoning 
our scientists, our research institutions, our doctors and nurses, and, 
worst of all, our patients puts our entire community and country at 
risk.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this body, Democrats and Republicans, to stand up 
for our healthcare heroes, invest in breakthroughs that millions of 
lives are depending on, and restore the funding and workforce our 
Nation's healthcare system depends upon.
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Kennedy) for his comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I have the opportunity and honor to serve with the 
gentleman on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Every day, I see the 
work that he does to uphold the work that is necessary to protect the 
benefits of our veterans. I am so grateful for the ways that the 
gentleman continues to show up for his constituents in New York and for 
the entire Nation. It is truly an honor to serve with the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday, the Speaker saw constituents from 
every single State in the country come out to protest and rally. The 
Speaker saw children and saw people who are probably closer to 100 
years of age walking through streets, going to the parks, and asking 
other Members of Congress: Have you forgotten about the people who sent 
you to Congress?
  Mr. Speaker, I say as we are standing here in the House of 
Representatives that New York, Michigan, Texas, and Chicago have 
Members of Congress who are unwilling to accept the idea that we would 
slash the very same programs that we promised to protect for the 
American people.
  Today, I am grateful that I get to be here with Members of Congress 
not just from New York, but also with a colleague of mine who continues 
to ring the alarm for the safety net programs that our constituents 
here and in Michigan need and deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

[[Page H1500]]

  

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the leadership of 
Congresswoman Ramirez, who has led with her own lived experiences and 
her compassion. She leads with compassion, which I think is sometimes 
missing here in this Chamber.
  Mr. Speaker, Republicans are advancing, as we all know, a budget that 
includes $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for 
billionaires. These are folks who do not fully understand what it means 
to live paycheck to paycheck. Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of our residents 
in our country live paycheck to paycheck.
  Just so we are clear, the $880 billion cut to Medicaid is the largest 
Medicaid cut in American history. There are 72 million people who rely 
on Medicaid for healthcare in our Nation, including 40 percent of 
people in Speaker Johnson's own district.
  Mr. Speaker, for families, seniors, and people with disabilities who 
rely on Medicaid, it is the difference between life and death. Yet, 
right now, the future of Medicaid is under threat.
  I have heard many of my Republican colleagues in this Chamber try to 
gaslight the American people and claim that the budget does not make 
cuts to Medicaid. Senator Hawley, as we know, just offered an amendment 
to the same legislation right now that came through this Chamber to 
strip the $880 billion in Medicaid cuts out of that bill.
  It was voted down by Members of his own party. The amendment 
literally said: To strike the section related to reconciliation 
instructions to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives to cut $880 billion from Medicaid.
  The Senator's Republican colleagues in the Senate voted it down, so 
let's be honest with the American people. If Republicans are going to 
cut their healthcare, be honest about it. Don't gaslight and try to 
pretend.
  Those who rely on Medicaid aren't just a number. They are our 
neighbors. They are our friends. They are our families. They depend on 
Medicaid for health services, treatment, and medication that they 
simply cannot afford due to our broken healthcare system.

  Make no mistake. Republicans want to give away trillions of dollars, 
Mr. Speaker, let's be honest, to the richest people in our Nation, like 
Elon Musk and all of President Trump's friends, and let children and 
seniors die from the lack of healthcare coverage.
  As the chair of the Congressional Mamas' Caucus, I need to bring this 
to light because this is important when we talk about Medicaid.
  Mr. Speaker, Black Maternal Health Week begins on April 11, and 
Michigan has one of the highest Black maternal mortality rates in our 
Nation. Medicaid plays a critical role in supporting maternal health, 
covering a significant portion of births in our country and providing 
access to healthcare for pregnant women and postpartum individuals, 
including prenatal care and postpartum services.
  Black women, we know, are three times more likely to die from 
pregnancy-related causes than White women. This is absolutely 
unacceptable. We must address it at the Federal level. Yet, here we 
are, Mr. Speaker, because we have systems right in place and 
institutions have failed our folks, but here we are saying: We are also 
going to take away your healthcare coverage.
  Cutting Medicaid, again, is going to be a life-or-death situation for 
our families, including birthing women. It is a result, of course, we 
know, of different broken systems.
  Yet, at this moment, when we know we have a crisis in the mortality 
rate, we have a crisis of Black maternal health, and we have a crisis 
in our healthcare system, it is a broken system. It is sick care, not 
healthcare. Here we are watching, again, folks choose billionaires over 
the people who elected them.
  We must raise our voices, and I am glad and so incredibly happy to be 
serving with my sister in service, Representative Ramirez. We must 
raise our voices again because we have to defeat this dangerous 
Republican budget. Again, our residents deserve better.
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of Congresswoman 
Tlaib. The gentlewoman is absolutely right. Our constituents do, in 
fact, deserve better.
  As I go back to the district and I look at the emails and the phone 
calls that are coming through, our constituents are asking: What are 
you doing to defend me? What are you doing to protect the programs that 
we depend on to stay alive? You need to do more.

                              {time}  1800

  One of the things that we have said in our townhalls, on the calls, 
on the emails as constituents come to D.C. demanding that we protect 
these critical programs is that we have to use every single 
opportunity--be in committee, be in the conversations we are having 
with colleagues, and every moment we can get to the House floor and 
talk about what is at stake in this precise moment.
  We have to make sure that everyone hears we are doing everything we 
can to protect these critical programs because many of our constituents 
in this moment are feeling that they are being gaslighted by the very 
same people that they sent to Congress.
  It is important to hear from the champions that are taking a stand. 
With us today is one of our newer Members of Congress. She is someone 
that yields from the great State of Texas where there are champions for 
justice who are fighting to protect Social Security, who are fighting 
to protect Medicaid, who are fighting to protect the very same programs 
that are critical and have made this country great.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson).
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding and hosting this important Special Order hour on a topic that 
impacts many of my constituents in north Texas.
  Since day one, the Trump administration has targeted essential social 
services that make government unreliable for all Americans: veterans, 
people with disabilities, seniors, and our children. All of these 
people and more rely on government to survive and all President Trump 
wants to do is cut, cut, and cut.
  Let's call it what it is: It is a full on assault of the most 
essential lifelines millions of Americans count on, especially Social 
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They are right in the crosshairs of 
this administration.
  The Trump administration and Republicans in this House are pushing 
cuts to the programs that Texans rely on every day. These aren't just 
numbers in a budget; they are difference between stability and 
catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of my constituents.
  In Texas alone, more than 4 million people rely on Medicaid for 
healthcare, including half of the children in our State. Let me remind 
you, this is a State of 32 million people. Half of the children in our 
State rely on Medicaid, one out of every two kids in Texas.
  When Trump proposes gutting it, he is not just slashing spending, he 
is taking away critical healthcare from children, from seniors in 
nursing homes, and people with disabilities who depend on it to 
survive.
  Today, in the Capitol, one of my dear friends is here visiting who 
runs a hospice company. They provide dignity of care to people at the 
end of their life. They provide necessary comfort for families as they 
are trying to deal with these situations. End of life care is the most 
expensive part of our healthcare system. Companies like hospice 
companies provide a necessary but much more affordable access to the 
end of life with dignity for families, and they rely on Medicaid. They 
rely on Medicare to stay in business to help families and so many 
people in need.
  We still have to talk about Social Security. Over 4 million Texans, 
retirees, veterans, widows, and people with disabilities rely on Social 
Security to keep the lights on, keep food on the table, and pay their 
bills. It is not a luxury; it is a promise this country made to working 
people. If you pay in, you can retire with dignity, but Trump's budget 
says otherwise.
  He is talking about entitlement reform. That is Washington speak for 
cuts. Cuts that would hit rural communities, communities of color, and 
low-income seniors the hardest.
  Let me be crystal clear: Texas already ranks 43rd in the Nation in 
access to healthcare. It is a statistic I am not proud of from my 
State. We lead

[[Page H1501]]

the Nation in uninsured adults. We also lead the Nation in maternal 
mortality and infant mortality, two statistics the Republicans in our 
State should be embarrassed of.
  Now, Trump and Republicans want to make it worse. It is cruel, it is 
reckless, and it is dead wrong.
  This isn't about balancing a budget; it is about priorities. Donald 
Trump's priorities are tax breaks for his buddies while working 
families are told to tighten their belts. We should be expanding care, 
not slashing it. We should be protecting retirement security, not 
playing games with the futures of people who worked their entire lives.
  Texas families are watching and we will not let this administration 
destroy the programs that protect our health, our security, and our 
basic dignity. I urge my colleagues, especially my Republican 
colleagues, you represent the same people I do, hardworking folks 
trying to make ends meet, trying to provide a life for their kids.
  If you went to your townhalls, you would see people standing up, 
speaking out. They don't want this. The people in this country don't 
want this. My message to you is that Democrats are standing up. We are 
doing everything we can to protect you, your family, and your kids in 
the right for safety, justice, and your right to pursue the American 
Dream.
  Mr. Speaker, Texans and all Americans deserve better.
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her remarks. 
She is absolutely right. Our constituents deserve better.
  I will talk a little bit about what is at stake. You have heard 
already my colleagues talk about Medicaid. You have heard them talk 
about Social Security. You have heard them talk about how their 
constituents are living in constant fear.
  I will talk to you about community health centers, which also are 
incorporated in the Medicaid funding that my colleagues, the 
Republicans, want to slash. I will start by saying to you 
unapologetically and very loudly that I believe to my core that 
healthcare is a human right.
  No one should have to choose between getting the care they need, 
accessing their medication, or paying their mortgage, but I can tell 
you from personal experience growing up in a family where the insurance 
company they pay into constantly makes it difficult for them to be able 
to get healthcare. Knowing that my mom and dad have had to choose 
often, do they get the medication, or do they pay for the mortgage?
  You see, my parents worked their lives in this country and my father 
today has Medicare and my mother up until a year ago had Medicaid 
because, unfortunately, the wages that she worked were not large 
enough, were not equitable enough. They weren't living wages, but the 
Medicaid system that we have that we know isn't working for everyone, 
that we should be expanding, not cutting, made it difficult for my mom 
to continue to get Medicaid.
  I think about the challenges and the struggles that so many American 
people are living here. I will tell you that in the short tenure, we 
have seen that this administration has not talked about making Medicaid 
better. What they are talking about is cutting Medicaid. What they are 
talking about is announcing executive orders that target immigrants and 
the social service providers that work in strong immigrant communities. 
Immigrants that, by the way, pay into Medicaid that they never get.
  What they are doing is undermining local governments and local 
agencies who know best what their communities need. You see, community 
health centers exist to serve an entire community, regardless of their 
income, regardless of insurance status, and regardless of immigration 
status. Many of the services they provide, like emergency care, like 
vaccinations, and public health outreach serve the public good. 
Providing these services broadly in our communities keep us all 
healthy.
  Community health centers also make a profound economic impact on our 
communities, creating jobs, not taking jobs like this administration is 
doing, over 340,000 jobs and generating $118.4 billion in local 
economic activity.
  Republicans have chosen to defund healthcare so that they can provide 
their billionaire bosses with more tax breaks. They want you to go 
without healthcare so the top 1 percent of Americans can get a $314,000 
tax cut.
  Let me say that again. They don't think that you deserve healthcare. 
They want to take your healthcare away, frankly, let you die, so that 
their billionaire bosses can get $314,000 in tax cuts. That is what 
they want to do. They claim to care for working people and our economy, 
but their actions show us just how terrible and in your face their 
hypocrisy really is.
  There are no other words for those who knowingly would put tax 
benefits for the wealthiest Americans over the working families who 
depend on Medicaid for their basic healthcare.
  In Illinois, 772,233 adults are enrolled in the ACA Medicaid 
Expansion. If Republicans cut Medicaid, these constituents would lose 
their healthcare. We have the obligation to remain defiant in our 
position that everyone independent of citizenship status, ZIP Code, or 
age has a right to a dignified, healthy life.
  Now is the moment to remain united in our commitment to healthcare 
for all, courageous in our resistance, and undeterred in our fight 
against this administration's authoritarian agenda.
  Mr. Speaker, I will talk to you about immigrants because apparently 
my colleagues here do everything they possibly can to vilify them every 
single day. It is almost as if they forgot that their grandparents also 
crossed borders and shores to get here, but let me say to you, you may 
have forgotten your roots, you may have forgotten that your parents or 
your grandparents or your great-grandparents were immigrants, but I 
haven't.
  I am the proud daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, the wife of Boris, 
who until recently, was a DACA recipient, and I am the niece of a man 
who has contributed to this country and paid taxes for more than 30 
years and put four boys through college.
  This body considers, once again, a budget that leaves working people 
behind. I will for a moment talk about immigration and our economy 
because what these colleagues of mine, the Republicans, will tell you 
is that immigrants are taking from the American people. Immigrants are 
taking your jobs. Immigrants are taking your housing. They are taking, 
taking, taking, so let me clarify facts here.
  The reality is that Republicans are pushing for a billionaire budget 
that gives $4.5 billion in tax breaks to the ultrawealthy like Elon 
Musk and Jeff Bezos, while cutting trillions of dollars in programs 
like Medicaid and SNAP. That is not immigrants doing that. That is 
Republicans doing that.
  Republicans have the audacity to tell us that they are doing all 
these cuts because we are broke. Well, Mr. Speaker, like I said to 
Chairman Green in the Homeland Security Committee, we wouldn't be broke 
if the ultrawealthy would pay their fair share.
  Fair taxing could fund a budget that centers working families. It 
could fix our tax system. It could create opportunity for policies that 
work for working people. Let me also say to you, immigration reform 
could unleash the full economic power of our immigrant communities to 
fully participate in a fair tax system.
  Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in State, local, and 
Federal taxes in 2022. Mr. Speaker, $96.7 billion is what they paid.
  On top of that, undocumented immigrants pay an average rate of 5.27 
percent in Federal taxes. That is a rate higher than most of the United 
States' wealthiest billionaires or megacorporations. Yet, while 
Republicans give another billion-dollar company another tax break, they 
are telling us that it is immigrants who are taking from the community 
and from the people. Well, that is a lie.
  It is a lie because we understand that 23.6 percent of all 
entrepreneurs are immigrants. Some undocumented, some are legal 
permanent residents, and some are naturalized citizens. Mr. Speaker, 
$1.7 trillion in spending power is what immigrants bring to this 
economy.
  Every time they tell you that immigrants are taking from us, let me 
be very clear: Immigrants contribute every single day.

[[Page H1502]]

  As I am wrapping up, I will say that there are many reasons to be 
concerned, but it is also important to remember that there are reasons 
to celebrate. I will take a moment to recognize a reason to celebrate.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 111th anniversary of the 
Village of Elmwood Park and to celebrate the 25,500 Illinois' Third 
Congressional District constituents who call this village home.
  Elmwood Park is a wonderful place to live, to shop, and to do 
business. They have built unique intergovernmental and cross-sector 
partnerships, and I am proud that our commitment and collaboration with 
President Saviano, Village Manager Volpe, and Senators Durbin and 
Duckworth have secured $13.1 million for a transformative project that 
included grade crossing improvements to enhance resident safety in 
Elmwood Park.
  I thank all the hardworking employees of the village whose public 
service enables residents to access critical services and programs. I 
remain committed to continuing to deliver the resources our communities 
need to improve public safety, create well-paying jobs, and expand 
economic opportunity for Elmwood Park and across Illinois' Third 
Congressional District.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Elmwood Park for these 111 years of 
community. I look forward to many more years of partnership and to 
continue to fight in the Halls of Congress for every constituent in my 
district.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________