Brendan Boyle

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee and also a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. NEAL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Amo), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. Beyer), the distinguished senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), distinguished member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I think it has been a good debate that has brought out a couple of clear facts. Even though President Trump directed House Republicans last night to ``close your eyes'' and just pass the resolution, I believe the speakers on this side have opened the eyes of the American people. These are indisputable facts: the largest cut to Medicaid in American history in order to help pay for a tax cut, 83 percent of which goes to the richest 1 percent of Americans. Indeed, this is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires. Vote ``no.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I wouldn't want to disappoint the gentleman from Michigan, so I am happy to inform him of the accurate number. This bill would put 2.4 million people in Michigan at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), a distinguished former member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I will remind the gentleman that this bill would put 340,000 people in Nebraska at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman, this bill would put 1.2 million people in the Badger State at risk of losing Medicaid. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), a distinguished member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I would remind my fellow Pennsylvanian that this bill would put 3.1 million people in Pennsylvania at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I should be quite clear about what this is really about. This budget represents a Republican betrayal of the middle class, and I am proud to rise to oppose it. Here is what is at stake. My friends on the other side of the aisle want to deliver $4.5 trillion of tax cuts, almost all of which go to the richest 1 percent of Americans. How do they pay for it? How do they pay for that $4.5 trillion in tax cuts? First, at least $880 billion is from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Those cuts from Medicaid, by the way, represent the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history. Seventy-two million Americans get their healthcare from Medicaid. I am mostly talking about seniors, children, and those with disabilities. Another 20 million Americans get their healthcare from the ACA. Combined, I am talking about 92 million Americans whose healthcare is at risk. Why? All to deliver tax cuts to billionaires. Now, we have a math problem because even with the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, we don't get anywhere close to $4.5 trillion. How do they finance the rest of it? We have more cuts, hundreds of billions more in cuts to education programs like school lunches, Head Start, and student loan repayment. There are also $230 billion in cuts to nutrition assistance at a time when grocery prices are at record highs. All told, that gets you to at least $1.5 trillion. Remember, the size of the tax cuts is $4.5 trillion, and they want to add some more spending on top of that. What do they do to make up the difference? Increase the national debt by $4 trillion, a massive increase to our national debt from the same crowd that for the last 4 years has done nothing but shed crocodile tears about the size of our national debt. Mr. Chair, you can always tell when there is a Democrat in the White House because that is when the other side cares about the size of the national debt, but when there is a Republican President, a Republican House, a Republican Senate, the top priority is always tax cuts for the top 1 percent. A budget isn't just numbers on a spreadsheet. It is a reflection of our values. It is a reflection of what kind of country we are and want to be. This past November, there was a lot of campaigning going on around this country, and especially in my State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After all, we are the biggest battleground State in the Nation. A lot of promises were made on both sides. A lot of it was about reducing costs for ordinary Americans. Not once, ever, in that campaign did I ever hear the other side say: We are going to cut Medicaid to the tune of $880 billion, the biggest cuts to Medicaid in American history. In fact, we have a President who said: I will love and cherish Medicaid. Then a few hours later, he endorsed the House Republican plan that slashes Medicaid to the tune of $880 billion. When this President promises to love and cherish something, watch your wallets. I think the American people are going to figure out what this is about. It is right there in black and white. The $880 billion I talked about, it is right there in their 58-page resolution. The $4 trillion increase in debt is right there in black and white in their resolution. No amount of spinning will get you away from that simple reality. This is cutting healthcare and all sorts of programs for the American people in order to deliver tax cuts for billionaires who don't need it. I urge every Member in this House to oppose this reckless and unfair plan. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentleman that this bill would put 2.8 million people in North Carolina at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, the gentleman from Kansas is right, it is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires. I would also remind the gentleman that this bill would put 410,000 people in his State of Kansas at risk of losing Medicaid. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. Scott), the ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee, also a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that this bill would put 990,000 people in Oklahoma at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman this bill would put 1.8 million people in the Commonwealth of Virginia at risk of losing Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), my distinguished colleague on the Budget Committee.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chair, let me first say before my closing that my good friend and chair of the Budget Committee and I have worked closely together in opposition a lot of the time but actually in agreement some of the time with some real achievements, though not today. He said something that really interests me. There is this GAO report showing $5 trillion of fraud. I certainly would be interested in seeing that report. The size of the entire budget every year is only $6.5 trillion. How in the world is $5 trillion out of $6.5 trillion really fraud? I find it a little hard to believe. Mr. Chair, we are at a pivotal moment. I said at the beginning of this debate some 2\1/2\ hours ago that this budget resolution represents the Republican betrayal of the middle class. For the last 2\1/2\ hours, we have heard speaker after speaker on my side expose exactly why that is so. First and foremost, and I think most crucially, the $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the largest cuts in American history to Medicaid, why is that important? It is important because 72 million Americans rely on Medicaid. Another 20 million rely and get their healthcare through the Affordable Care Act. They are also at risk. We have heard further that, while those are the biggest cuts, there are even more. There are hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to nutrition assistance, school lunch programs, Pell grants, and Head Start. The list goes on and on. Why is that? It is all to deliver $4.5 trillion of tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of Americans. Let's not forget the fact that in order to cover the rest of the costs of those tax cuts, they are increasing the debt limit by $4 trillion. They like to talk about debt and how horrible it is, but this piece of legislation will make our debt situation far worse. This is the Republican betrayal of the middle class. Day after day, in my home State of Pennsylvania, candidates from both sides talk about how the number one priority should be to lower costs for Americans. The President made that promise. He said he would do it on day one. Here we are more than a month in, and there is not one executive order or one bill to lower the costs for the American people. Instead, we have this bill to take money from the middle class and give it to those who need it the least. Mr. Chair, I am proud to lead the opposition to this Republican betrayal of the middle class. I urge every Member of this House to vote ``no,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, upon hearing that the richest 1 percent of Americans pay 45 percent in taxes, my heart is breaking. I will be sure that at church this Sunday we take up an extra collection, but God knows that the billions of dollars they are about to get in this budget resolution will certainly help line their pockets. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.