Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there has been no response from either of the gentlemen about why it was okay for Trump to pardon the guy who let the fentanyl into this country and who made hundreds of millions of dollars off of fentanyl. He was sentenced to life in prison, and he let him out. You are okay with that, yet you are coming down here saying that you really care about fighting fentanyl in our country. There has been not a peep from the other side justifying what Trump did. One of his first acts as President was to pardon this guy who received life in prison for his crime. He received life in prison. Mr. Speaker, I urge we defeat the previous question. If we do, then I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 4531, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. Mr. Speaker, the SUPPORT Act reauthorization would permanently place xylazine in schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. However, unlike the bill before us today, it doesn't stop at scheduling. The bill reauthorizes resources for residential substance use disorder treatment for pregnant and postpartum women. It provides resources for training and education related to fentanyl and other illicit substances for first responders, and it ensures that Medicaid beneficiaries have access to medication-assisted treatment. Here is the best part, Mr. Speaker. This bill already passed last Congress with 386 votes. One hundred ninety Republicans voted for it, and it was included in the end-of-year spending package. Guess what happened, Mr. Speaker? Elon Musk tanked that deal for reasons that no one seems to be able to explain to me, and this good bill was never signed into law. Mr. Speaker, passing this bill would mean, to quote the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce who helped lead this bill in the last Congress, that this bill could help save lives by preventing overdoses and providing access to immediate and long-term care recovery services. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) to introduce that proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, what would help end the illegal fentanyl problem here would be Donald Trump not pardoning a drug kingpin, essentially, who brought illegal fentanyl into our country and who was sentenced to life in prison in a Federal court. What would have been a strong signal would have been not to pardon somebody like that. Mr. Speaker, I get why my friends don't want to talk about that. Republicans don't want to get on the bad side of the President because then Republican Members may get a primary or then Elon might send all kinds of money into their primary. I get all of that. If we are serious here about dealing with fentanyl, we should at least all be able to say what the President did was wrong. Maybe the gentleman wasn't listening to the debate on the previous question, but the gentleman from New York (Mr. Langworthy) talked for 3 minutes about an alternative bill that would help deal with this problem. This was a bill that got 386 votes in this House in the last Congress. The bill received 386 votes. It was in the final package that we were all going to vote on, by the way, that Republican leadership agreed with and our leadership agreed with and the Republicans and Democrats in the Senate agreed with. It was in that bill, but then Elon Musk sabotaged that bill. Mr. Speaker, I get it. I have been here for a while. Before I was a Member, I worked here as a staffer for George McGovern, no relation, and for Congressman Joe Moakley. Let me tell you, Republicans today do not hold the same values as Republicans from back then. Republicans used to be for backing the blue. Trump pardoned people who beat police officers. Right now, he is gutting the FBI, which the Republicans used to believe was the citadel of law and order. Republicans used to stand for cutting the deficit. Now, the majority is spending night and day planning to jam through a tax cut for the ultrarich without pay-fors, which will blow up the deficit by trillions of dollars. It is what my Republican colleagues did in 2017 for their billionaire tax cuts. Republicans spent decades claiming my colleagues on the other side of the aisle were the champions of free trade. Just this past week, Trump and the Republican Party started a trade war with our neighbors, not to mention the majority spoke nonstop about inflation for the past 2 years but seem to be fine with slapping this tariff tax on their constituents that is going to make prices across the board in this country go sky high. Is there any principle today's version of the Republican Party won't abandon? Is there anything Trump could do that Republicans wouldn't support or would even question? It would be almost comical to see how much my Republican colleagues are willing to bend down and kiss the ring if we didn't currently find ourselves in multiple constitutional crises at the hands of Trump and his cronies. Mr. Speaker, the fact that we can't even get Republicans to say that it was wrong for the President of the United States to pardon this individual who was serving life in prison for bringing fentanyl into our communities and killing our constituents, the fact that the majority can't even raise the question of whether it was the wrong thing to do, tells you everything you need to know. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I understand that the gentleman is new to the Rules Committee, and I think this may be his first time on the floor handling a rule. I will remind the gentleman that this is the rule debate. We are not having general debate on the underlying bill. The rule debates are about the majority's agenda, what Republicans are bringing to the floor and what Republicans are not bringing to the floor. The majority could have brought to the floor the bill that we want to bring to the floor, that we talked about in the previous question debate, that passed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote in the last Congress, and that my Republican friends allowed to get blown up at the last minute. Basically, I am going to take my time during the rule debate to talk about the Republicans' unpopular, crummy agenda for the American people: raising prices on consumers and ignoring all the concerns that everyday people have. We are also going to talk about the fact that, when it comes to fentanyl, one of Donald Trump's first acts was to pardon a criminal who brought fentanyl into this country and who was sentenced to life in Federal prison. Mr. Speaker, I get it that the gentleman doesn't want to have an opinion on that or voice an opinion on that, but, really, is it that hard? I don't know what is so difficult to condemn there. Mr. Speaker, speaking of the agenda, I am looking at The New York Times: ``Trump Proposing Takeover of Gaza as U.S. Territory.'' Do Republicans' constituents want to have their sons or daughters sent to Gaza to be in the middle of that violence? This is the guy who also now wants to invade Greenland. He wants to take over Panama. He wants to annex Canada. He wants to now occupy Gaza. Mr. Speaker, we have 42 million people in this country who are hungry. Whatever happened to America First? Whatever happened to helping people in this country? Whatever happened to lowering prices? Instead, we get this. This is like a warmonger here. I mean, come on. Again, we had an agreement on a bipartisan bill that would address the underlying concerns that the gentleman raises here, yet it was blown up at the last minute. Mr. Speaker, the rule debate is about the Republican agenda. It is about the crappy agenda of this majority in the House of Representatives, which is not fighting for regular people and not fighting for the people who I represent but instead is doing the bidding for billionaires like Elon Musk and others. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), the distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman really think that people dislike Congress because we are debating issues, because we are debating what is on their mind? No. I think people dislike Congress because politicians say one thing and do another. They are on the floor today talking about the need to combat fentanyl and then are silent when the President of the United States pardons a criminal sentenced to life in prison for flooding our streets with fentanyl. That is what people get frustrated with. People are frustrated that we had a deal on a bill at the end of last Congress that everybody signed off on. It was fine. At the last minute, Elon Musk comes in and blows it up, and now we can't bring the bill up again. That is what people are frustrated with. My Republican friends like to talk about America First. Look at the front page of The New York Times today: ``Trump Proposing Takeover of Gaza as U.S. Territory.'' I have to tell you, people voted for lower egg prices, not for a Middle East Mar-a-Lago. People did not vote to send their sons and daughters into the tunnels of Gaza so that Jared Kushner and Donald Trump can build Trump Tower Gaza. That is not what they voted for. People want to talk about issues. They want us to deal with issues that will impact everyday life and lower the cost of living. In the first weeks, we have seen nothing from this President or the Republican majority here to deal with that. Don't tell me that people don't like Congress because we debate issues. I am sorry. We are debating your agenda, even though it is unpopular. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from the Associated Press titled: ``Elon Musk's DOGE commission gains access to sensitive Treasury payment systems.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an article from The New Republic titled: ``25-year-old Elon Musk Crony Has Total Control Over Treasury Payments.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from Wired titled: ``Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record an opinion article from The Washington Post titled: ``Elon Musk has your Social Security number. It's as scary as it sounds.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, it is being reported that Elon Musk has sent his creepy minions to illegally install a private server that is stealing people's information. They are using it to skirt laws about sensitive and possibly even classified information, giving them access to people's Social Security numbers, home addresses, and more. What is happening is a crime, plain and simple. It is a crime. It violates the Privacy Act of 1974, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as well as provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Elon says it is a crime to expose who he has put in charge of the Federal Government. Mr. Speaker, I say to Elon that it is a crime to hide that from the American people. I, for one, am not going to stand by while he gets his grubby little billionaire hands all over our parents' and grandparents' Social Security checks. He better believe that he is going to be held accountable for all of this. The truth is coming out. He is stealing from the American people, and we are not going to let him do it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am not prepared to close yet, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman brought up some pardons. A few minutes ago, I talked about how Trump pardoned a drug trafficker who let fentanyl pour into our country. Let's not forget he also pardoned over 1,000 people who beat cops and tried to kill them on January 6. The last time I was on the floor, I went through some of the worst offenders he pardoned. Since then, we have learned even more about these convicted felons, these violent criminals, who are now roaming free in our communities thanks to Donald Trump and the Republicans. Matthew Huttle is a man with 12 prior criminal convictions, including a shocking case where he pled guilty to brutally hitting his 3-year-old son, leaving bruises all over the child's backside and neck. After he was pardoned by Trump, Huttle went back to Indiana where he was killed during a violent confrontation with law enforcement. Huttle was a child abuser with a history of violence who put law enforcement in danger again after he was pardoned by Donald Trump. Theodore Middendorf, accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child, pled guilty to this horrific crime in 2024 and was sentenced to 19 years in prison, but that wasn't all. He also pled guilty to destroying government property using a flagpole as a weapon during the Capitol riot, and for that he was pardoned by Donald Trump. Peter Schwartz is a man with 30 prior criminal convictions, including assaulting his wife, biting her and repeatedly punching her. The same man attacked police officers on January 6 with pepper spray. He is a repeat offender pardoned by Donald Trump. Andrew Taake was arrested in 2016 for soliciting a minor online for sex, but his criminal history didn't stop there. He assaulted police officers with bear spray and a metal whip on January 6. He is another repeat offender pardoned by Donald Trump. Kasey Hopkins has a criminal history so disturbing, it is hard to stomach. In 2002, he was convicted of forcible rape, where he choked his victim to the point of impairing her vision. This is the same man who has prior convictions for assaulting law enforcement and possessing controlled substances. He was here on January 6, and he was pardoned by Donald Trump. David Daniel is facing charges for producing and possessing child pornography, disturbingly involving two young girls in his own family. Police officers found evidence of child sexual abuse while they searched his home in connection with his arrest for assaulting police officers on January 6. He may have his sexual charges thrown out thanks to the fact that he was pardoned by Donald Trump. Because of Donald Trump and the Republicans, we have child sex predators, domestic abusers, and violent criminals unleashed back onto our streets. I have to ask, how many American parents are sleeping easier tonight knowing these criminals are out there walking free thanks to Donald Trump? This is stomach churning. It doesn't even stop there. We also have January 6 perpetrators who have been rearrested--yes, rearrested--on new charges even after being pardoned. Daniel Ball, a convicted felon because of his involvement in the Capitol insurrection, was pardoned by Donald Trump on January 20 only to be rearrested 2 days later on gun charges. Now, Trump is going after the law enforcement officers who helped put these criminals away. America, your President is purging the police of anyone not loyal to him. Think about that. Let that sink in because these are the actions of a fascist. More than half a dozen senior FBI executives have been ordered to retire or be fired by Monday. The Acting Director of the FBI said that the list of names of those involved in the Capitol riot investigations could number in the thousands. How many police officers will Trump fire? How does any of this make any of us more safe? My colleagues need to wake up. I mean, purging the police of anyone who goes after criminals, we know how this ends. We know what the message this sends is. Trump is telling America that violence is fine as long as his people do it. Republicans are releasing violent child predators, domestic abusers, and sexual offenders back into our communities and, at the same time, investigating and firing the real law enforcement officers, the heroes who are actually upholding the rule of law. Guess what. I won't be complicit. They are about to run into a massive wall of resistance, and that wall is us. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I have so much more I want to say, but this all really boils down to one question: Whose side are you on, Mr. Speaker? Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the American people or the billionaires who are stealing from them? Are you on the side of law enforcement or the guy who pardoned the drug dealer who let in all the fentanyl? Are you on the side of workers or the robber barons who want to fleece people out of their paychecks and rob them of their hard-earned benefits? Are you on the side of the American taxpayers or Elon Musk, a nepo baby who sucks up government subsidies and uses tax money to enrich himself while spreading hate and lies on his broken website? Democrats know what side we are on. We are on the side of the people. We are going to continue to show up, and we are going to continue to fight back. Mr. Speaker, I urge everybody to vote ``no'' on this rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our public servants as they face an unprecedented, illegal attack by the Trump administration. Our Federal employees are part of every single community in America. They keep us safe. They sustain us, and they support us. Now, they are under attack. Donald Trump and Elon Musk's attack on the Federal workforce is an illegal purge. Don't let anyone call it anything else. This is a purge. It is an unlawful attempt by a reality show wannabe king to install cronies and bootlickers. Our public servants represent the best of us. They are selfless, determined, disciplined, and professional. They are everything that Donald Trump and his MAGA flunkies are not. To our public servants I say this: Do not be afraid. Do not be intimidated. The law is on your side. We are still with you. A grateful Nation is still with you. You have dedicated your lives to the American people. You have made our country strong. Have faith that our country is strong enough to withstand the petty tantrums of a small, self- obsessed man who disgraces the very idea of public service with his every breath. Now is the time for courage. I am grateful for your service. I believe in you.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Georgia just changed topics so quickly back to Biden that I have whiplash. I think I need a neck brace to be able to follow his logic here. Spare me your comparisons of Biden pardoning his family and Trump pardoning violent criminals who attacked police officers on January 6. Do you know what? You can be against both of those actions, but they are not the same and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same conversation. Let me tell you about the people whom you continue to want to defend and who have been pardoned. Here are some of the convicted felons that Trump set free on Monday: Steve Cappuccio, convicted of six felonies, including assaulting a police officer. He ripped off Metro Police Officer Daniel Hodges' gas mask. At one point during the assault he said: How do you like me now, mother f'er? He was pardoned by Donald Trump. David Dempsey, sentenced to 20 years. He stomped on police officers' heads, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch, and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture. He also attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him, and he has a demonstrated history of political violence. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years. He is a former national leader of the Proud Boys, a domestic terrorist far-right militia. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy. He helped plan the January 6 attack and made sure it was violent. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Guy Reffitt, sentenced to 7 years and 3 months. He brought a gun, zip ties, body armor, and a helmet to the Capitol, presumably to try to take hostages in an attempt to keep Trump in office after he lost. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Daniel Joseph ``DJ'' Rodriguez, sentenced to over 12 years. He repeatedly tased Officer Mike Fanone, shocking him in the neck multiple times and causing him to lose consciousness and have a heart attack. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Patrick McCaughey III, sentenced to 90 months. He assaulted police, beat their faces and bodies with riot shields and batons that he stole from them. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Peter Francis Stager, sentenced to 4 years and 4 months. He pled guilty to assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. He is on video declaring: ``Every single one of those Capitol law enforcement officers, death is the remedy.'' Those were his words: That is the only remedy they get. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Julian Khater, sentenced to 6 years, attacked Officer Brian Sicknick with pepper spray. Officer Sicknick died the next day after suffering two strokes. Edward ``Jake'' Lang was on trial for 11 charges, including swinging a baseball bat at officers. In addition to his January 6 charges, he began organizing a nationwide network of armed militias in all 50 States. He was pardoned by Donald Trump. Mr. Speaker, the criminals pardoned were not tourists. They were not peaceful. They were violent criminals. Here is just one example: Daniel Ball's case was dismissed today, and he was released from jail. Why was he in jail? He was being held in pretrial detention because of what a judge described as ``some of the most violent and serious offenses of any of the charges being brought against participants in the January 6 events.'' That includes hurling an explosive device into the lower west terrace tunnel of the Capitol, the scene of some of the most egregious violence against police that day. Some officers suffered from hearing loss for months. Get this, Mr. Speaker: Mr. Ball has already been arrested again on Federal gun charges, and he was already a two-time convicted felon for domestic violence battery by strangulation and resisting law enforcement with violence. Yes, he was already arrested again. This is whom the President pardoned. This is why my Republican friends are silent. It is because this is indefensible. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record a Politico article titled: ``Trump freed a January 6 defendant charged with assaulting police. DOJ had him arrested again on a gun charge.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are bringing up a rule for two bills that will be debated on the floor this week. I look forward to that debate. I feel compelled to focus on this majority's screwed-up priorities which now include handing a get-out-of-free card to KKK members, Proud Boys, and other criminals who violently beat cops within an inch of their lives on January 6, 2021. I thought this election was about lowering costs. What the hell happened? I thought it was about securing the border. I thought it was about making sure that our communities are safe, not whatever the hell these pardons are. These pardons are sick. They are offensive. They are un-American. I don't ever want to hear about law and order from the Republican side again, Mr. Speaker, when Republicans are letting criminals back on the streets, criminals who beat cops and tried to overthrow our government. There were 1,500 criminals, including over 600, who were charged with violently assaulting police officers. I am here to talk about that on the floor because I think it is disgusting. I think it is a disgrace. The people Trump let out broke through windows, beat up cops, and desecrated this beautiful symbol of our country, a building, by the way, that terrorists tried to destroy on September 11, 2001. They couldn't get here because they were stopped by the courageous people onboard flight 93. The crowd that Donald Trump sent here breached the building, and they attacked it in a way that had never been done. It was a horrible, awful thing that happened that day. I was in this Chamber. I was in this room. I was in your chair, Mr. Speaker. I took over for Speaker Pelosi when she was evacuated. I was one of the last people off the floor. I exited through those doors. I saw the faces of the rioters smashing windows to try to get at us. They wanted to kill people, kill police, kill us. I saw the walls they covered with feces. I saw them use flagpoles to beat police officers. I saw the fear in the eyes of my Republican colleagues as they cowered that day. I saw the bravery of law enforcement that protected us. Mr. Speaker, how the hell do the Republicans walk into this place every day? How does the majority look the police officers in the eye? How does the other side do it, knowing the people who tried to kill them will walk free, thanks to Donald Trump? These were brave officers who tried to hold the line against a violent mob. They were outnumbered, and they were overwhelmed because Donald Trump refused to lift a finger to help. The people he sent were not peaceful protestors. They were criminals, violent, angry, vicious people. They beat cops into the ground, leaving them bruised and battered. Donald Trump let them out of jail, and now he calls them heroes. He wants to invite them to the White House. We even had colleagues who went to a D.C. jail to celebrate their release and complained they weren't being let out fast enough. This is unbelievable. This is an insult to every police officer in this country. It is an insult to the families of the people who died because of what happened and an insult to the millions of Americans who believe in law and order, democracy, and decency. Trump is abandoning the blue. He could have chosen to let out only the nonviolent offenders, but he let out people who beat the cops. That tells you all that you need to know. I think my Republican colleagues owe it to us during this debate, the first time we are debating on the floor since the pardons, to come down and explain themselves. They owe America an explanation because the people I am talking to think those pardons are shameful, disgusting, and wrong. Mr. Speaker, I will wait for an answer, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think it takes a lot of nerve to come down here and talk to us about law and order when the gentleman who just spoke was at the D.C. jail celebrating the release of people who attacked and beat cops here in this Capitol, who almost killed them. Some died as a result of their injuries. I know my Republican friends don't want to defend these pardons because what the President did was indefensible. He couldn't release these people who attacked our police officers quick enough. He couldn't release them quick enough. The Speaker of this House was asked about January 6, about January 6 defendants like Daniel Rodriguez, who pled guilty to viciously injuring a police officer with a weapon. The Speaker said: ``It is not my place. It is the President's sole decision, and he made a decision, so I stand with him on it.'' It is not your place? It is not your place? Mr. Speaker, it literally is your place. It is your place. Mr. Speaker, you preside over this House. You hire the Sergeant at Arms. You oversee the captain of the Capitol Police force. If it isn't your place, then who the hell's place is it? I have a radical idea. How about you stand with the officers who were beaten and bloodied protecting you rather than stand with a reality TV wannabe dictator? If your response to the question about the pardons of people who attacked and injured the officers that you oversee and are responsible for is ``it is not my place,'' my question to you is this: Who do you work for? Do you think you work for President Trump? I would suggest you do some soul searching, and while you are at it, maybe reread the United States Constitution because you don't work for Donald Trump. You are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and it damn sure is your place to have an opinion on the people who beat the officers who protect you and this institution having no consequences for beating men and women who protect this country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, will anybody on that side come down and defend these pardons, which are indefensible? In any event, Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question, and I will offer an amendment to the rule to make in order amendment No. 1 to provide a permanent pay fix for Federal wildland firefighters. We tried to get this made in order in the Rules Committee, but the Republicans said no to better benefits and a pay raise for the people who are fighting these fires. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) to discuss this proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. All these people were pardoned, and not a word from the other side. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, President Trump took the oath of office flanked by the richest people in the world. His inauguration guests are reported to be worth over $1.3 trillion. At the same time, the Republican let-them-eat-cake agenda is pushing to take money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans. These proposals--and you can't make this stuff up--that Republicans have been floating at Mar-a-Lago would slash the food budgets of 40 million hungry families by a third. These are the people who claim that they care about food prices, the ones who want to make it harder for low-income school districts to serve free meals to kids, all so they can give tax breaks to the billionaire ruling class. News flash for the President and Republicans in Congress: You cannot make America healthier if you take away people's healthcare and make it impossible to buy nutritious food. Billionaires do not need help, Mr. Speaker. I beg you, drop these proposals. Work with Democrats to improve programs that help regular people get by, and stop making hunger worse in this country.