Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we are now in week three of an ongoing temper tantrum by the radical right because they didn't get to cause a catastrophic default. First, they ground the House floor to a complete halt, and now they are jumping over each other to circumvent regular order and diminish this institution in order to look as extreme as their most fervent supporters. What is getting lost in the meantime is any legislation that would actually help the American people. We could bring more jobs back to America. We could expand the middle class and further fight inflation. We could provide every student with the opportunity to receive a quality education. We could ensure every patient has access to affordable and quality healthcare. We could make sure every single person has a roof over their head and food on the table. We could do more to keep our communities safe. We could invest in mental health and substance abuse programs. We could fund projects that will make our air cleaner and our water purer. We could pass a bipartisan immigration bill, if it is such a big issue to my friends on the other side of the aisle. There is so much we could do if given the chance, but this Republican majority is clearly far more concerned about scoring political points than they are about making life better for everyday Americans. Because the Speaker is not in control of this Chamber anymore, they are wasting the House's time with a debate on whether to send this extreme MAGA resolution to an extra committee instead of just voting to table it. One final word for my Republican friends, Mr. Speaker: Everything that Donald Trump touches fails. This guy has a reverse Midas touch: Trump casinos, Trump University, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Hotels, and now the Trump Republican Party. We can't let him destroy our democracy or this institution. As my mother says, it is never too late to do the right thing. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this ridiculous, pathetic rule. Mr. Speaker, 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 yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me say to the gentleman who just spoke that I know exactly why he is here. I don't think this is--and the American people know--this is not a serious effort. I know my friends don't want to talk about Trump. They want to talk about Biden. So let's talk about Joe Biden. I want to make something clear: Not only is any talk of impeaching President Biden completely absurd--as many House Republicans know--but President Biden has been a historic success over the first 2\1/2\ years in office. He took office in the throes of the pandemic and in the midst of the chaos caused by his predecessor trying to illegally hold on to power, but that hasn't stopped Democrats from making huge strides to improve the lives of every American. Democrats jumped into action by enacting the American Rescue Plan in the President's first months in office. That law changed the course of the pandemic and set the course of our economic recovery to be the envy of the rest of the world. It lifted more than 5 million children out of poverty, it safely reopened our schools, and it put money back in the pockets of middle-class Americans. Every Republican voted against those things. President Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law which makes historic investments in our roads, our bridges, and our transportation networks while improving public safety and creating jobs all across the country. We passed into law the biggest piece of gun safety legislation in decades, and we enacted the Inflation Reduction Act less than a year ago. President Biden is now busy implementing that law which will cut prescription drug costs for our senior citizens, lower the cost of healthcare for millions of Americans, make historic investments in clean energy, and make American-made solutions to our climate crisis. It will do all of that while lowering our deficit, unlike so many of the bills this Republican majority has brought to the floor which would do the opposite. This isn't just me saying how great all of this is. During the Financial Services Committee hearing yesterday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was asked about inflation. He said: ``Everybody has very high inflation, the E.U., the United Kingdom, and many countries within Europe.'' He made one more important point: ``Our recovery is by far the strongest of any country.'' Just look at the results more broadly. More Americans have jobs right now than at any point in American history. Over the past 2 years, more small businesses have been created than at any other period on record. More Americans have health insurance right now than ever before in our history. I could go on and on, but let me be clear. No one is saying things are perfect. There is a lot that we need to do. We need to do more to keep our children fed. We need to do more to ensure every child gets the education they deserve. We need to do more to make sure the richest Americans pay their fair share. We need to do more to get guns off the streets. I would love to see this Republican majority do anything at all to reach those goals or do anything that means anything to anybody. Instead, we are here today debating this latest attempt by the Speaker to keep the most radical members of his party behind him. Quite frankly, it is embarrassing, and it is pathetic. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, despite the former President's repeated claims that Russian interference in our 2016 election was a Democratic hoax, a bipartisan Senate investigation and report released in 2020 made clear that there were extensive communications between senior Trump officials and people with strong ties to the Kremlin. Senator Marco Rubio--the last time I checked, he was still a Republican--said: ``We found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling.'' The report is damning. The facts are clear. Russia interfered in an election. The second impeachment was really in response to what happened here, and everybody saw what happened here: A violent mob broke into this Capitol. Mr. Speaker, 140 Capitol Police officers were injured. The mob destroyed sacred property in this building. They tried to overturn a legitimate election. They attempted an insurrection. I was in the chair, one of the last people off the House floor. I saw some of my Republican colleagues here, hiding, cowering behind Capitol Police because they were afraid of what was going on that day. Now, they come to the floor and say nothing happened, that it was a perfectly wonderful day, a typical day of tourism at the Capitol. It is disgusting, the revisionism that we see here. So you are damn right that he got impeached a second time. He deserved to be impeached. If that is not an impeachable offense, I don't know what is. 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 will say to the gentleman that we are well aware that the previous President was impeached twice and justifiably so. The first impeachment dealt with his effort to try to extort Zelenskyy into getting dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for assistance so that they could defend themselves against Putin. I guess no one should be surprised because the President seems to have this--the former President seems to have this obsession with Putin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a 2020 Roll Call article titled: ``Senate report outlines `grave' Russian threat in 2016 election interference probe.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman said something that I agree with: The election cannot come soon enough. I think people are just sick and tired of my Republican friends defending a three-time loser, sexual abuser, ex-President that has been indicted more times than he has been elected. It is pathetic. We should be working on matters that actually help people. That is why Democrats have been fighting not only for commonsense gun safety legislation and investments in job creation and environmental protection, but we have also been insisting that we get a guarantee from the majority here that they don't go after Social Security and Medicare. Mr. Speaker, I urge that we defeat the previous question, and I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a resolution assuring our constituents that the people's House will protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare for our future generations and reject any cuts to these essential programs. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will say to my friends that while you want to distract and deflect from all of Donald Trump's legal problems, they continue to mount. I think there will be probably more charges, I expect, in the coming weeks and the coming months. While my colleagues do not want to talk about things like Social Security and Medicare because they are the party of privatization, the party of trying to undercut Medicare, we are going to fight them on those things. We are going to continue to be a voice for the people of this country, for our senior citizens, for those who believe that Social Security and Medicare are important. We will not be deflected or deterred by whatever this circus is that is going on here today. 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 have to say that my friends on the other side of the aisle look small and pathetic and like losers. When they lose this House, this is going to be a reason why. Mr. Speaker, my friends keep talking about open borders. That is an insult to the men and women in our Border Patrol who are risking their lives to protect our borders. It is just not true. I entered in the Record an article by the conservative think tank, the Cato Institute, but facts don't matter. It is what plays on FOX News and how we can distract and how people can make up things. I will also say, Mr. Speaker, that try as they might to deflect from the former President, we can't turn our back on what he has done. Look, Trump literally can't help himself. He has admitted multiple times on air, during interviews, and to others that he stole and shared top-secret government information. Talk about a national security threat. The call is coming from inside the house. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from Rolling Stone titled: ``Trump All But Confesses to Mishandling Classified Docs on FOX News.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want the record to reflect that the previous President of the United States supported an insurrection to basically steal the election. My friends think it is funny, but I will tell you this: Laugh in the face of the Capitol Police. Mr. Speaker, 140 of them were injured. People lost their lives, and the best you can do is laugh--is laugh--about what happened that day? I mean, that is disgusting. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are in charge of the House of Representatives. They control the schedule here. They control when bills get brought up for debate. They make the Calendar. We could be debating a bipartisan bill that actually helps get more people on to healthcare or lowers prescription drug costs and makes coverage more affordable, but instead Republicans are bringing to the floor a bill to chip away at the Affordable Care Act. They are siding with billionaire corporations and insurance companies and actually spending money to kick people off of healthcare. We could be debating bipartisan legislation that makes it easier for regular middle-class Americans to buy a home, but instead, Republicans are bringing to the floor a bill that literally increases mortgage fees charged to middle-income borrowers. Time and time again, this majority brings to the floor bills that benefit billionaire corporations, insurance companies, the rich and powerful, Big Oil, Big Pharma, all at the expense of everyday people back home who send us here to fight for them. We could be debating bipartisan legislation that actually addresses our broken immigration system. Instead, Republicans are bringing to the floor a nonbinding resolution that condemns a nonexistent problem so they can go after immigrants once again. We had a Member in the Rules Committee last night yelling and screaming and ranting and raving about all he thinks is wrong with our immigration system and the border. It was actually kind of scary. Listen, I get being passionate about this problem. I am not here to argue that our immigration system doesn't need to be fixed. We all know that it could use a comprehensive overhaul, but we don't need to be screaming at each other about this nonbinding press release of a bill that does literally nothing to help deal with our border. My God. Republicans want to talk about immigration, so let's talk about immigration. Let's talk about how the Republican solution to the border is building a stupid wall that even they know won't work. Let's talk about fentanyl. Let's talk about how most of it is trafficked through legal ports of entry in the United States by U.S. citizens, by the way, and let's talk about how President Joe Biden seizes more fentanyl at the border than Donald Trump did. That is just a fact. Yet, we had a Member last night have a complete meltdown over this issue. Would Republicans rather the Biden administration not seize fentanyl? I don't get it. Make it make sense. Let's talk about how, since the end of title 42 on May 11, unlawful entries along the southern border have plummeted. As of June 6, Customs and Border Protection had an average of 3,700 encounters between points of entry or unscheduled encounters per day, a decrease of over 70 percent. Republicans don't want to talk about any of that. Instead, they are going to try to get people all worked up by scapegoating vulnerable migrants who are fleeing awful circumstances in search of safety. I can't believe I have to say this, but migrants are not political pawns. They come to our country seeking a better life, often fleeing violence and oppression. They are human beings and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Yet, Republican Governors have treated migrants like they are garbage, busing them across the country like luggage, with no advance notice or coordination, dumping them outside after they call the press to show up and make a scene. I find it disgusting. I find it racist. I find it disrespectful to all that this country stands for. This nonbinding press release that they are bringing to the floor isn't a serious attempt to solve a problem. They are dropping migrants off in New York City and then attacking New York City for trying to come up with solutions to the problem. This is absurd. Then, Republicans claim gyms can't be used to house migrants because they want to ``protect students.'' Give me a break. Migrants have never been housed in a facility with kids. That is just a fact. In the Rules Committee last night, we asked the person who was bringing the bill before the committee to give us examples. She couldn't. If we want to talk about protecting students, let us talk about protecting students. A thousand kids have died from gun violence this year. Where will the next school shooting be? Parents are terrified their kid will be next. Teachers are terrified that their class will be next. Students are terrified they will be next. Republicans are here regulating gyms instead of guns. What the hell is wrong with these people? This majority is obsessed with demonizing, demeaning, and targeting people who are coming to the United States in desperate search of a better life. Stop appealing to the worst instincts in people. Stop peddling hate. Stop fueling racism. Here is a contrast I want people to know about. President Biden and the Democrats are working to expand the middle class, to build a strong economy from the bottom up and the middle out. Democrats are lowering costs for working families, helping cut inflation by more than half since last summer. Democrats have taken on Big Pharma to reduce prescription drug costs, and Democrats continue to fight special interests to lower healthcare costs while making childcare and housing more affordable for working families. Democrats are investing in America and have created more than 13 million jobs since President Biden took office. Democrats are bringing supply chains back home, fixing our roads and bridges, and delivering clean water and high-speed internet to more communities. Democrats are making our communities safer. We are committed to building on the gun safety legislation we passed last year by strengthening background checks and keeping dangerous weapons of war off our streets to protect America's kids. Democrats know that we don't have to choose between an immigration system that reflects our interests and our values, and we don't demonize and attack people who want to come to this country in search of a better life. You are seeing on the floor today exactly what Republicans have to offer: nothing, not a thing, no plans, no ideas. They are just interested in helping the rich and powerful and using immigrants as political pawns to drive a wedge between people. It is a rotten, shameful thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule and the underlying bill, and I urge my colleagues on the Republican side to get serious about bringing legislation to the floor that will actually make a difference, that will actually help fix some of the challenges that we face in this country. This is a joke. 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 have to say, what I am a little surprised about today is that nobody has raised the deficit or the debt because the Republicans were obsessed with that when they basically threatened to ruin this economy by not allowing us to move forward to increase the debt ceiling. We had to have all these cuts from programs that help poor people. Throwing people off of programs like SNAP, the food benefit, that is what they did. I now understand why we are not talking about the deficit or debt today because of the bills that they are bringing to the floor. One of the bills that we are talking about right now, the CHOICE Arrangement Act, cuts more than $348 million. That is what the CBO says. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the CBO score.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, that is just the beginning. House Republicans spent half a billion dollars on their H.R. 1 bill that would gut environmental protections and take tax credits away from people who want to upgrade their homes. Half a billion dollars was added to the deficit. Mr. Speaker, $6 billion was added to the deficit on their deeply flawed H.R. 2, a bill attacking immigrants and essentially ending asylum as we know it. Get this, $114 billion--billion with a b--was added through their H.R. 23 to protect the wealthy from paying their fair share of taxes. That was their very first bill on the House floor in this Congress, their top priority adding $114 billion to the deficit. Over $505 million was added through the Republicans' bill last week to enhance access to firearm stabilizing braces. Republicans are on a spending spree, all on the backs of real people--not the rich, not billionaire corporations, not by reallocating funding from the bloated Pentagon budget. Maybe some of you saw the ``60 Minutes'' piece a few weeks ago about the cost overruns, where former Pentagon officials said that they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a switch that costs a couple hundred dollars. We can't find a penny, yet they want to increase the Pentagon budget with no questions asked. They can't touch any of the tax cuts for any of the billionaires or multimillionaires of big corporations. We can't do that, and we all know why. Google where they all spend their money on political campaigns. However, they spend all this money, and they want to balance the budget on the backs of regular, everyday people, and, in particular, the most vulnerable in our country. Last night everybody was complaining about the CBO score--the CBO score. I guess I understand why my colleagues across the aisle would not want to support the hardworking, nonpartisan people at CBO. Maybe it is because they keep giving them bad news. Maybe it is because they keep saying to my friends that they are spending and spending and spending and it is adding enormously to our deficit and our debt. Mr. Speaker, I raise this issue because my Republican friends like to come to the floor and talk about the deficit. Today they are not. I think it is because we had this conversation in the Rules Committee last night. I want people to know that they are driving up the deficit and the debt, and then when they want to talk about fiscal responsibility, where do they go? They go to the middle class, and they go to the people who are poor. That is where their priorities are. So there is a big difference here. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman has no other speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Sorensen) to discuss that proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the gentleman's tirade just now, but the bottom line is that nothing in this bill that his party is championing as somehow this important piece of legislation does anything to provide any assistance to any of these communities. Not one penny goes to offset any of the costs that might be incurred--nothing, not a thing. I just don't get it. People come onto this floor and speak in sound bites and do press releases and then bring legislation to the floor that is nonbinding, that means nothing, that does nothing. This is ridiculous. We need to fix our immigration system. We tried to do that when we were in charge. We had challenges in the Senate trying to overcome the filibuster, but we were trying to fix the system. That is a contrast to what we are doing here now, which is a nonbinding resolution. By the way, a nonbinding resolution, to anybody who is watching, means it is just somebody's opinion. It doesn't do anything--no money, no assistance, no help to anybody. It is just like: ``I want to tell you what my opinion is.'' Big deal. Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question, and if we do, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a resolution which states that it is the House's duty to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare for future generations and reject any cuts to these essential programs. We know, because we have heard from my friends, that they have their eyes on these programs. We need to get people on record to make sure that they will not vote for any cuts. 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 ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a Washington Post article titled: ``House GOP eyes Social Security, Medicare amid spending battle.''

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that fentanyl is coming across the southern border because U.S. citizens are bringing it across through ports of entry. Don't trust me on this. You can look to the conservative think tank CATO that will reinforce what I just said. By the way, this bill that you are bringing here does nothing to solve the problem. It is a waste of time. There are no more resources; nothing to combat it. It is just a press release. What a joke that we are here debating something like this when we could be debating something that might make a real difference. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is simple. To lower the national deficit, House Republicans plan to try to cut Social Security and Medicare. This includes potentially ``raising the Social Security retirement age to 70, targeting younger Americans who have yet to obtain Federal benefits.'' We have a number of Members on the Republican side who talk about privatization all the time. That is their favorite word when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. We want to make sure the American people understand who is on their side and who is trying to undercut things that are very meaningful to them. Mr. Speaker, I also point out that my Republican colleagues have been in disarray since they took the majority, and they have failed to pass meaningful legislation into law on behalf of the American people. As I said, they control this Chamber, the schedule, the committees, and what they bring to the floor. At this point in the 117th Congress, that is the previous Congress, Democrats had passed 17 bills into law. At this point in the 116th Congress, under divided government, we passed 21 bills into law. You want to know how much this majority has passed into law? Six. They are failing the American people. They are incapable of bringing legislation to the floor that can garner bipartisan support that has any chance in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a comparison of the number of bills passed into law by May 31, which demonstrates how utterly unproductive this Congress has been.

Mr. McGOVERN. 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 spoke about the unproductiveness of my Republican friends and how they are squandering all opportunities to help the American people since they have been in control but let me just talk to you about some of the stuff that we did when we were in charge of this place. Let me remind people that because of the Affordable Care Act, which I think almost everybody over there voted ``no'' on, 40 million Americans have health coverage under the ACA. Women have access to preventive health services like breast and cervical cancer screening at no cost to them. Prescription drugs are more affordable for older adults. Americans with disabilities are protected from discrimination on the basis of medical history or preexisting conditions. Lifetime caps on essential health benefits are gone. They are gone. Since 2010 when the bill became law, Republicans have been obsessed with tearing it apart. Under Republican majorities, we have voted nearly 70 times to repeal and undermine the law. Nearly 70 times Republicans have tried to dismantle a law that provides healthcare coverage to 20 million people and covers preventive health services. Today, Republicans are continuing this effort to undermine the ACA. It is maddening where their priorities are. It is maddening. Here is the deal. They know that they can't just repeal it outright because everybody doesn't want them to do that. What they are doing is they are going after it bit by bit by bit, trying to chip away at the edges and trying to kill it through a thousand cuts so that maybe people won't notice, that people won't notice when essential benefits are no longer guaranteed. Healthcare ought to be a right in this country, and we ought to be building on the ACA, not tearing it apart, not tearing it down, not trying to make it more difficult for people to get the essential services they need, not to try to give people plans that don't provide the coverage for whatever may occur to them and their families. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to understand--again, the good news here is that all the bills they are bringing to the floor today have no chance in hell of going anywhere in the Senate because they are just over the top and extreme. Make no mistake about what is happening here. They have a target on healthcare. They have a target on Social Security. They have a target on Medicare. Rather than trying to fix our immigration laws, what are they doing? They are trying to tear this country apart. They are trying to demonize immigrants. They have no solutions, just a nonbinding resolution that does nothing. It basically addresses a fake problem that was totally ginned up by FOX News. That is where their priorities are. Certainly, we can spend our time doing more productive things. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I am surprised my friend has no further speakers. I thought because these bills were so important and unbelievably essential that there would be lots of speakers on the other side. Mr. Speaker, we all know how valuable our time is here. We only have 13 scheduled legislative weeks until the end of the year--13 weeks that could be used to improve the lives of everyday Americans. So how have Republicans in the House decided to use this week? Are we working to make our communities safer or our educational system better? No. We are not. Republicans would rather demonize immigrants and peddle hate than regulate guns or invest in schools. They are in control. They can bring what they want to the floor. Don't take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. Look at what they are bringing to the floor. Are we here to help regular Americans purchase their first home? No. We are voting on a bill today that will make it easier for those well-off to get even further ahead while making it more difficult on middle-class home buyers. Mr. Speaker, you can't make this stuff up, but that is what this bill does. Are we passing legislation that will continue to expand people's access to affordable healthcare? No. Republicans want to chip away at popular policy that provides quality coverage to millions. There are very real issues that regular people in this country face every day, and I wish House Republicans could wise up and address them. This is such a colossal waste of time. One of the bills is nonbinding, but the other bills aren't going anywhere. This is a waste of time. Rather than working across the aisle trying to find common ground, they continue to bring these messaging bills. These are bills that demonize immigrants and that continue to chip away at the Affordable Care Act. These are bills that continue to screw people in the middle class, and they continue to bring these bills to the floor. I don't know who their base is, but apparently it is popular amongst their base. This is not about legislating. It is not about making law, and it is not about improving the lives of anybody in this country. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge a strong ``no'' vote on the underlying legislation and a ``no'' vote 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, Republicans have said time and time again that they don't want to hurt pregnant mothers and young children, but they did just that with the FY 2024 agriculture spending bill that they advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee last week. The Republican bill slashes WIC funding by $185 million from the current funding level and guts WIC's extra fruit and vegetable benefits for 5 million pregnant and postpartum moms and young children. It is the first time ever that WIC has been intentionally underfunded. At a time when many families are still dealing with pandemic-caused inflation, these cuts are especially cruel. I am appalled that Republicans' idea of fiscal responsibility is taking healthy food away from pregnant moms and kids under 5. Seriously? Mr. Speaker, let's not forget that Republicans also tried to cut Meals on Wheels and WIC in their original debt ceiling bill, and they have a bill to kick moms with young children and seniors off of SNAP. Taking food away from the most vulnerable is completely heartless. It is shameful, and we are going to fight these cuts.