Katherine Clark

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, as we are here in the early morning hours, and 60 percent of the families in this country cannot afford the basics. Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of the Americans cannot afford that first rung of the American Dream. This is an existential failure of the wealthiest Nation on Earth. With this big, ugly bill, Republicans are on the verge of moving that dream further out of touch. They are making people sicker and poorer. We hear the message. If Americans do not have great wealth, they do not matter to the GOP. If my Republican colleagues vote for this cruel monstrosity, they are condemning families to poverty. They are condemning seniors and veterans in this country to hunger. They are condemning children to sickness without treatment. They are voting to enrich billionaires at the expense of what makes us American, which is our freedom to build a better life for our families. Mr. Speaker, the American people overwhelmingly oppose this bill, and they will not forget if my Republican colleagues sell out their freedom this Independence Day.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, Sunday is Father's Day, and what do dads want? They want a fair shot. They want to know that if they work hard, they can provide for their families. Yet, right now, most families in America can't even afford the basics. Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of families in the richest nation on Earth cannot afford the first rung of the American Dream. What are my Republican colleagues doing about that? The majority voted for a big, ugly bill that makes it even harder to raise a child in America. It takes away healthcare from 16 million Americans. It takes food benefits from working parents. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are cutting half a trillion dollars from Medicare and hiking the costs of everyday items with their tariffs, all to fund tax breaks for the billionaire class. That alone is a betrayal of working families, but the GOP is not stopping there. My Republican colleagues are not stopping at dismantling people's financial security. Today, Republicans are threatening their physical security because when you defund public broadcasting, you are defunding emergency broadcasts during hurricane season, tornado season, and wildfire season. That is not even enough. The majority has to take even more. Today, my colleagues are also voting to dismantle our national security. There are three shields that defend our homeland: defense, diplomacy, and development. When you destroy our capacity to address famine, control disease, and build infrastructure in developing nations, you are ceding our power to our rivals. You are planting the seeds of future wars. A prominent Republican said this week that he just couldn't justify these investments. In this debate, I have heard that this is about putting America first. What are Republicans talking about? They just cut food programs and healthcare for American families. Here is what my Republican colleagues fundamentally don't seem to understand: There is no security for billionaires in this country without security for a hungry child. There is no security for the ultrarich donors without security for working parents. In the words of President Kennedy: ``If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.'' Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to please vote ``no.''

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I recently heard from a mom in Massachusetts. I will call her Rachel. Rachel's son was born 3 months early and then spent 2 years in the hospital. He is finally home, but he needs a ventilator and a feeding tube. Still, his mom says he is the happiest little 3-year-old in town. They have been through a lot, but they are able to get by--unless this Republican budget becomes law. Medicaid pays for the daily care this little boy needs to survive. Rachel wrote: ``We are terrified about what losing Medicaid support would mean for our family.'' Moms have enough to deal with. Let's leave their healthcare alone.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, remember when the GOP promised to lower the cost of living? It really wasn't that long ago. Today, we have a tax on cars. We have a tax on coffee. We have a tax on the eggs we import to fill the empty shelves. We have a tax of 125 percent on clothes, toys, and electronics. What does this all add up to? It adds up to a tax of $4,600 a year on American families. While Trump shrugs at all those rising costs, he certainly wants us to know this. While all this was happening to American families, he wanted us to know that he won his Senior Club Championship golf tournament. What are House Republicans doing? Are they voting to cancel these taxes? No, they are carving them into stone, prohibiting us from revealing them, no matter how painful they get. Then they are pushing the costs even higher. Today, they are voting to raise overdraft fees. After crashing the economy, eliminating jobs, and destroying people's retirement savings, they are making it more expensive to be short on money by $225 a year per family. Also, the banks can pocket more, which is their priority. Later today, Republicans will be back on their tax plan, the one where they take deserving taxpayer dollars and give them to the billionaire class in the form of tax cuts for them. By defunding Medicaid, the largest healthcare program in our country, by defunding food programs that feed 15 million children, by dismantling Social Security, firing veterans, closing and cutting public schools, and abandoning special needs children, the rich will get richer. That is who they work for. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work and vote for working people, and we will vote ``no'' on this budget.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I have been blessed to work with some of the most talented staffers ever to walk the Halls of Congress, but the greater the blessing, the harder the good-bye. Recently, I bid farewell to my director of operations, Wendy Hamilton, and my senior adviser, Michael Reed, two pillars of the House Democratic Caucus. Let me start with the one and only Wendy Hamilton. I am so pleased she is here with us today in the Chamber. Wendy joined my team back when I was vice chair. I knew I had hired a talented and passionate Hill staffer. She had already completed tours of duty with Pramila Jayapal, Brenda Lawrence, and Kathy Castor. One by one, I also started realizing she had many off-book skills under her belt, whether it was flower arrangements, style advice, or frank and forthright guidance at Sephora. Along the way, she was putting the service in Member Services, becoming something of a celebrity. Everyone she worked with was grateful for Wendy's expert knowledge, her helpful hints, and her deep insight into how to get things done for constituents. More times than I can count, I met a district director halfway across the country, and when I introduced myself as a Congresswoman, they would say: Wait, you work with Wendy Hamilton? I was always proud to say: I sure do. Then there is the Member whisperer himself, Michael Reed, an adviser who has been essential to my first 2 years as whip. A wise counselor for colleagues across the Caucus, Michael has that instinct for figuring people out, meeting them where they are, and getting them to where they need to be. Here is what you need to know about Michael: You can ask the Speaker Emerita or a new intern, and they will both rave over him in equal measure. They will tell you about his fundamental kindness. They will tell you he is a selfless mentor to those trying to follow in his footsteps, and they will tell you he is just plain cool. He is the only guy in D.C. who can look cool zooming around on a Lime scooter, the only man who can pull off wearing joggers with a suit jacket, and the only person who could ever make Eagles fans seem chill. I am sorry to say good-bye to these two dear friends. I am so grateful to everything they have given to Team Clark, to this institution, and to the American people. To Michael and Keenan, to Wendy, Marvin, and Hendrix, thank you for everything, and the best of luck in all that lies ahead.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut for yielding. Republicans made a promise to the American people. We are going to build a stronger economy, we are going to lower costs, and we are going to have safer communities. For 7 weeks we have seen nothing but ideas and bills that break that promise. We all want government to run more efficiently, to be better for people who depend on it, but stealing money from the Veterans Administration, from schools, from law enforcement, from children's healthcare and giving it to a tax cut to the wealthiest man on Earth and his billionaire friends is not finding efficiencies. That is not taking on waste and fraud in government. It is destroying working families. The GOP are crushing the American people under the weight of their own political ambition. Rents are going up. Housing is in a crisis. This bill today, they propose to evict 32,000 families from their homes, 32,000. Those are veterans. Those are kids. Those are seniors. Those are domestic violence survivors. Eggs at my grocery store on Sunday were $8.49 a dozen. In this bill, Republicans propose to take $27 million away from the inspectors who go out to our chicken farms who are fighting and trying to stop bird flu that is causing the spike in the price of eggs. What kind of insanity is that? Then if we look at the budget overall, we have got healthcare spiking, and you want to cut Medicaid. That is the answer? Seniors' cost of living is out of control, and Republicans are saying let's run up the cost of prescription drugs. As Elon told us directly this week, coming next Republicans want to eliminate Social Security. If Republicans feel this is the mandate that they have, they can do that on their own.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, despite all the promises on the campaign trail, House Republicans have chosen to do three things with their majority: raise the cost of putting food on the table, raise the cost of getting healthcare, and use that money, deserving taxpayers' money, to cut billionaires' taxes. That is it. That is the agenda. Let's look at the scale of what Republicans are sacrificing: funding that feeds 15 million children, a program that pays for half of all the births in America, and a service that keeps nursing homes and health centers' doors open. This is all to cut Elon's taxes. If that sounds outrageous to you, Madam Chair, and I sure hope it does, you are not alone. Let's be clear about the kind of money we are talking about. Do you know what it costs to keep a kid on Medicaid? It costs $10 a day. How about how much it costs to keep that child fed with SNAP benefits? It costs $6 a day. What do Republicans want to give away to the already rich? They want to give $6 million per billionaire. Think about that. For a billionaire, $6 million is not even a rounding error. For a hungry child, it is enough to eat every single day for 34 lifetimes. Inflicting hunger on children to give billionaires money they don't need and won't even notice, there is no moral code under which that is acceptable. There is no public demand for it. There is no logical reason for it other than total fealty to billionaire donors, billionaires who will never feel they have enough. I will close with a family that has been on my mind, a mom-to-be who is 5 months pregnant. She and her husband are happy. They are in love, and they are excited for their daughter to arrive. Every month, their budget is tight. They get a little bit of help from food pantries, but sometimes, even if they arrive by 6 a.m., the food is already gone. Without the SNAP program, the mom said: I honestly don't know what we would do. I honestly don't know what we would do. Every Republican has a choice to make with this vote. Will they vote to keep that mom and her daughter fed, or will they keep padding the pockets of those who will not even notice? The American people can forgive a lot, but they will not forgive this betrayal.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I have been listening to my Republican colleagues, waiting for the moment when they are going to fight for the American people, the constituents they have that are not Elon Musk. So far, the silence is deafening. If they are not cheering it on, they are standing aside silently as cancer research labs are shut down, as the veterans administration is targeted, as the healthcare for millions of Americans is threatened, and eggs--oh, those eggs--have hit an all-time high of $8 a dozen. This silence is a betrayal of all Americans, of their very voters. Let's just take a closer look at one example. Now, they are letting Elon Musk dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Most people haven't heard of the CFPB, but Americans know the corporate greed that they have gone after on their behalf for more than a decade: the predatory loan sharks and the abusive debt collectors. When Republicans are silent, they are siding with the scam artists. Let me give you one example. Before the CFPB stepped in, a marine stationed in Texas who needs a loan to repair his truck would be charged the average payday interest rate in Texas. Do you know what that is? That is 664 percent. If he took out a $2,000 loan, he would pay $1,100 in interest. I do hope my Republican colleagues remember the days when they supported the rule of law. When the CFPB enforces the law that limits interest rates for U.S. servicemembers, they reduced that interest on that loan to $60. Altogether, the CFPB put $360 million back into the pockets of our servicemembers and veterans. That is what they do. They save Americans money. They went after bogus overdraft fees. That is $5 billion back in the pockets of working families every year, over $200 per family. They banned outrageous late fees on credit cards. That is $10 billion every year going back to consumers. What is the problem with this agency? Apparently, Republicans in Congress would rather have that money go into the pockets of CEOs and spend that money cutting billionaires' taxes instead of fighting fraud and corporate abuse. The American people did not vote for more scams and more corporate greed. They didn't vote to have our servicemembers go into more debt. They voted for people to fight for them, for lower costs, and for their part in the American Dream. Let's wake up, GOP. Stand up for the American people.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, Republicans have one goal today, and that is a march toward a national abortion ban. They want it so desperately that now through this bill they are treating doctors like criminals, demonizing heartbroken women, and accusing mothers of killing their newborn healthy infants. I will mention what happened to me. It is a story that can be told by so many women in this country. I learned during a routine sonogram that the doctors could no longer pick up a heartbeat. I was devastated by this news. My doctor said that I would need abortion care to prevent infection. I asked for more time so I could go home and somehow hope that this could all be reversed. When the time came and I needed to have this procedure to protect my own health and be the mother I wanted to be for my children, I asked one more time to please check that that heartbeat was there before they did this procedure. These are horrible, painful situations that women, families, and expectant parents find themselves in. When politics are introduced into these moments of grief, they have real consequences for people. When Republicans continue to threaten doctors with prison, what have they achieved? They have gutted reproductive healthcare in this country. OB/GYNs are fleeing States with abortion bans and leaving the field all together. Today, one-third of all counties in our country have no obstetric care. There are no doctors to help women deliver babies safely. For example, under Georgia's abortion ban, currently half of the counties don't have a single obstetrician. Mr. Speaker, if Republicans truly care about the lives of women and children, they will vote ``no'' on this bill.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, every single parent worries about their kids' safety. Every parent wants their daughters to be treated fairly including on the sports field. That conversation is being had among parents, schools, experts, and sports authorities across the country, as it should be. This bill hijacks those conversations. It hijacks the real concerns that parents have raised. It exploits those concerns to place all of our daughters in danger. This bill doesn't protect a girl's rights. It eliminates them. It requires her to answer an adult's humiliating questions. It will accelerate our national crisis of sexual assault on young women and girls. It puts a target on the back of every girl, every young woman who chooses to play sports, from T-ball to competitive collegiate athletes. Whatever the problem is we are trying to solve, the genital inspection of little girls is the wrong answer. I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and say ``no'' on empowering predators.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Elizabeth Browne for her dedicated service to the health and wellbeing of her neighbors in and around Waltham, Massachusetts. Ms. Browne has been a pillar of our community. She began working with Charles River Community Health in 2003 and has spent the past fifteen years serving as its Executive Director and CEO. For over two decades, she has devoted her time, talents, and energy to the staff and patients of Charles River Community Health. Founded in 1974, Charles River Community Health is a vital resource to the people of Allston-Brighton, Waltham, and surrounding areas. They are focused on delivering comprehensive, integrated, and equitable primary health care for a diverse group of individuals and families. Under her leadership, Charles River Community Health expanded its physical space, grew its dedicated staff, and strengthened its capacity to deliver high-quality service to more patients--ensuring continuity of care at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Browne has dedicated her life to community-based care and has worked diligently to increase access and improve health outcomes for families in Waltham and across the Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Liz for her career of service to the Commonwealth and wish her the best in her next chapter.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, here we are once again. My Republican colleagues have decided to end the 118th Congress the same way they started it; not with a serious budget but with partisan chaos. Let's look at the last 2 years. First, the GOP manufactured a debt ceiling crisis and took our economy hostage. Despite that, we came together as Democrats and negotiated in good faith. We struck a bipartisan deal, and we signed it into law, but the Republicans tore it up. They have ignored it ever since. They have driven us to the edge of a government shutdown four times, all to take money out of the pockets of hardworking families and stuff the pockets of billionaires. It is the same plan every single time: manufacture a crisis then make working people pay the price, cut their healthcare, delay their retirement, lay off the teachers. Well, this week, they have decided to run this same play for a fifth time. They have brought another extreme partisan bill to the floor. Speaker Johnson said yesterday: `` . . . it's the right thing to do.'' The right thing to do? Today is 9/11, the 23rd commemoration of the horrors that were befallen upon us on that day, and I, too, was at the ceremony honoring those heroes that we lost in Afghanistan. So coming up $12 billion short for our veterans' healthcare and endangering their disability checks, that is the right thing to do? Compromising our national security, cutting Social Security's ability to meet the needs of our seniors, and even defunding election security? That is the right thing to do? Come on. They know this is the wrong thing to do. So why are we doing it? Why this reckless 6-month CR? It is for one reason: Donald Trump's Project 2025. The GOP wants to delay this fight past the election into next year all in the hopes that they have a better chance at enacting Trump's extreme agenda. What is that agenda? Ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them, auctioning off the VA to for-profit corporations, cutting our school budgets in half, eliminating the Department of Education, eliminating Head Start, raising the cost of childcare, imposing a national sales tax, rationing healthcare for working families, and enacting a nationwide abortion ban. The Republicans have shown us their plans for a second Trump term. They have told us it will be even worse than his first. We should believe them. The American people reject this extremism, and so should the GOP. Let's pass a bipartisan funding agreement that fulfills our duty to our country, to our veterans, to our seniors, and to our children.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, we have already taken up way too much of the House's time, of the American people's time. Let's get back to doing the work that they sent us here to do. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and move the previous question on the motion. The previous question was ordered.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), my fellow Bay Stater and ranking member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful House of Representatives, I rise to offer thanks to one of the most skilled staffers that I--and I know many of us agree--have ever worked with. After nearly three decades of service to the people's House, this is Keith Stern's last week on Capitol Hill. Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Keith has not only witnessed a commanding knowledge of rules and parliamentary procedure but a commitment to using that knowledge to help all of us serve the American people. He has helped the House fulfill its critical mission at every stage of his remarkable career. As an eager intern fresh out of Allegheny College, as an L.A., as a Rules associate, as a chief of staff, as a floor director, and now as my senior adviser, he has brought to every job a reverence for this institution and for its duty to the American people. No matter what storm may have been raging--the horrors of 9/11, a global financial meltdown, an unprecedented pandemic, and on January 6, when we saw Keith muster calm, steadfast courage as he maintained order in this Chamber and ensured our safety--throughout it all, Keith's service to us and our country has never wavered. His resolve has only strengthened. Over the years, he has become a friend, a confidant, and an adviser to our entire Caucus. He has earned the profound respect of our colleagues across the aisle because whatever your politics are, true talent is undeniable--on the floor and on the basketball court. This institution is stronger, our country is better off, and our future more promising because of what Keith has brought to bear. I will always be grateful for his wise counsel that has guided me and so many of us. While Keith may never come to respect the Boston Celtics, he has always respected the work that we do here in the people's House. He is a model for anyone who enters this building looking to make a difference. Keith, you will be missed. I thank you for your work, your grace, your humor, and your friendship. To your family--Cara, Sandy, and Colleen, and your dad and Judy, who are here with us--please know how grateful we are for your service, as well. We look forward to all the success ahead, and know this: You will always have a home here in the House. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our Speaker Emerita.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. This month marks 2 years since extreme MAGA Republicans dismantled Roe v. Wade, subjecting American women to reproductive oppression not seen for half a century. For the other side of the aisle, it is still not enough. In Texas, Republican Members unleashed bounty hunters on pregnant women. In Ohio, my Republican colleagues prosecuted a woman for having a miscarriage. In Alabama, the majority shut down fertility treatments. Today, in the United States Capitol, Republicans have chosen their next target: Our veterans. Today, Republicans are telling 2 million women veterans that, if they need an abortion to save their life, the VA should turn them away. That MAGA ideology matters more than our veterans' health, their freedom, even their survival. There was a time in this Chamber when we would unite behind our country's flag and the patriots who serve under it, but in this version of the Republican Party, extremism has displaced patriotism. The majority is so consumed by fanaticism that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would hijack our VA budget and threaten the very women who defended their freedom to speak in this Chamber. My colleagues should be ashamed to play a part in this attack on our Nation's heroes. What a craven abandonment of oath and country.

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. John Gardner said: ``History never looks like history when you are living through it.'' There is no doubt that today's votes in the House of Representatives will reverberate through history and will be felt for generations to come. We have learned that when figures like Vladimir Putin emerge, we will not find peace through appeasement. As caretakers of the world's most powerful republic, we cannot look away when the world looks to us to lead the defense of democracy. We cannot look away because tyranny is not just emanating from Moscow. The same extremism that has fueled the Russian attack on the Ukrainian people has found countenance here in the people's House. In voting ``yes'' today, we can rebuke all those who choose to side with the enemies of freedom. As we combat tyrants, we can also not turn away from the innocent victims of war and famine, the suffering people of Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Chad, and Armenia. The humanitarian aid in this package is vital to relieving their pain, saving their lives, and securing their children's future. As we witness so much destruction and starvation, as we attempt to comprehend the intertwined horrors of the October 7 attack on Israel and the devastating toll on innocent civilians in Gaza, I cannot see a path to peace that does not provide security and sovereignty to both Israelis and Palestinians, a peace rooted in justice and our common humanity. It is my hope that the votes we take today are a start. We are not simply living through history. We are shaping it. We have the opportunity today to shape a future that is more just and more equitable. The bills before us today are not perfect. They consider very complex and painful issues, but they are a critical step forward, and I urge my colleagues to join me in taking it.