Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, in February, the Trump administration, in conjunction with the Israeli Government, launched an illegal and disastrous war in Iran. They provided no rationale to the American people. They sought no legal authority from Congress, and they have since descended our world and our global economy into chaos. That was just the beginning. Now, President Trump has threatened to use the United States military to carry out acts of genocide against the Iranian people, who are innocent civilians. Up until today, he has done this on his own as a rogue actor. Yet, today, we vote on whether or not he will do this in the name of the American people. Congress must vote to exercise our power to stop this chaos or to sanction it. We must vote to restrain it. Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to vote ``yes'' and that we end and stop all that is imperiled before us.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 5658, the Child Care for Every Community Act, a bill originally introduced by Representative Sherrill of New Jersey, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, President Trump ran on a promise to the American people that ICE would go after the worst of the worst. Well, we are now coming up on a year of this Presidency, and I want to talk to the folks at home who feel disillusioned by what ICE is doing in our country. What we have seen is that ICE is not overwhelmingly going after criminals. In fact, over 70 percent of people currently detained in detention facilities do not have a criminal record. Who are they going after? They are going after 6-year-olds in my district. They are going after students and permanent residents for their political views. They are going after Americans born and raised in the United States. Time and time again, Trump has floated taking away citizenship from U.S. citizens based on their ethnicity. At every point, this administration has lied to us about ICE in America while some of the wealthiest actors in our country have tried to sell us a myth to defend it, including private prison contractors. That myth, that ideology, is that our immigrant neighbors are our enemies and more dangerous than us. They sustain that myth because if everybody believes it, they can get away with robbing all of us. I want to remind you where the real crime is. It is in the oligarchs taking $170 billion of our money from healthcare and food assistance and public programs and taking that and funneling it into a secret police program. It is the authoritarians trying to create a black box, because once it is established they can put political dissidents inside of it. But their hatred is a story, a myth, and we can choose to reject it. Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want you to believe that this is who we are as a country. We are here to say that it is not. We are a country that has fought and defeated the Confederacy, that has defeated a history of civil rights violations, of secret police, and of fascism. We are a country guided by a monument to freedom on the waters of New York City who shines brightly and welcomes the ``huddled masses yearning to breathe free'' to our shores. Right now, I ask everyone in our country to fight for that ideal, to fight for this legacy.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is great. It is great that Democrats have a line of people who are willing to fight for working- class Americans from coast to coast in this country. Mr. Speaker, God forbid that we have a Member of the Republican caucus who stands up and actually wants to extend the Affordable Care Act so that people with cancer, need insulin, and all sorts of healthcare issues across this country have their health insurance protected and extended throughout 2026. It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give eight Members of the United States Senate over $1 million apiece. We are robbing people of their food assistance and of their healthcare to pay for it. How is this even on the floor? How can we, as Members of Congress-- Republican or Democrat--vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people? That is what this legislation does. In fact, Senator Graham went before the press earlier today, and he said he was going to seek well over $1 million from the American people from this. Mr. Speaker, we cannot support it, and we cannot stand for it.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) for yielding to me. Today the Republican House majority brought to the floor a resolution honoring the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk's assassination was a horrific and vile attack. It was an incident of political violence, and condemning the depravity of Kirk's brutal murder is a straightforward matter. It is one that is especially important to help stabilize an increasingly unsafe and volatile political environment where everyday people feel more at risk. We can deeply disagree and come together as a country to denounce the horror of this killing, and it is not a license for the abuse of power and whitewashing of American history. Today's resolution only underscores the majority's recklessness by choosing to offer this condemnation and honoring on a purely partisan basis, instead of uniting Congress in this tragedy with one of the many bipartisan options to condemn political violence in Kirk's murder as we did with the late Melissa Hortman. Instead, the majority proceeded with a resolution that brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow, and the legacy of bigotry today. We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was. He was a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a mistake, who after the violent attack on Paul Pelosi claimed that ``some amazing patriot'' should bail out his brutal assailant, and accused Jews of controlling ``not just the colleges, it is the nonprofits, it is the movies, it is Hollywood, it is all of it.'' His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated, and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans, far from the ``working tirelessly to promote unity'' asserted by the majority in this resolution. It is equally important that Congress does unite to reject the government's attempt to weaponize this moment into an all-out assault on free speech across the country all in the name of Charlie Kirk. President Trump and the FCC are now cynically threatening to shut down ABC and any outlets that gives airtime to the administration's political critics. This is a disgusting attack on the American people and the very First Amendment rights that define us as a country. It is also the ABC corporation's responsibility to refuse to embolden and participate in this corruption and escalation of censorship. We continue to pray for Mr. Kirk's family and loved ones in the wake of this terrible act. I am thinking especially of his children and his wife whose grief cannot be measured.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, President Trump issued some statements throughout this process saying, urging, and insisting that this bill does not cut Medicaid. He has also said some things. He says he doesn't think I am too much of a smart person. I will tell you one thing. It doesn't take a smart person to know if you are being lied to. President Trump, you are either being lied to or you are lying to the American people because this bill represents, in the text of this bill, the largest and greatest loss of healthcare in American history. Seventeen million Americans will lose their healthcare with this bill, not undocumented people, not the disgusting term ``illegal,'' but 17 million Americans will have their healthcare cut from this bill. On this point of tax on tips, as one of the only people in this body who has lived off of tips, I want to tell you a little bit about the scam of that text, a little bit of the fine print there. The cap on that is $25,000, while you are jacking up taxes on people who make less than $50,000 across the United States, while taking away their SNAP, while taking away their Medicaid, and while kicking them off of the ACA and their healthcare extensions. If you are at home and living off tips, you do the math. Is that worth it to you? Losing all your healthcare, not being able to feed your babies, and not being able to put a diaper on their bottom in exchange for what? This bill is a deal with the devil. It explodes our national debt. It militarizes our entire economy. It strips away healthcare and basic dignity from the American people. For what? To give Elon Musk a tax break, and billionaires, the greedy, taking our Nation. We cannot stand for it, and we will not support it. You should be ashamed.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, I missed votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 179; NAY on Roll Call No. 180; YEA on Roll Call No. 181; and NAY on Roll Call No. 182.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want people to understand, for my Republican colleagues who are sure what is in and not in this bill, in this process that has been this rushed, when they wake up in the morning, they will realize that they voted to defund Planned Parenthood and take away healthcare from 13.7 million Americans. When this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding his time. Mr. Speaker, 13.7 million Americans are the number of people in this country whose healthcare is going to be stripped in this bill. Now, Republicans are going to try to say every single distraction in the book from that essential number. I want people at home to understand that Medicaid and the Federal matching funds for Medicaid can make up 30 to 40 percent of some of the State budgets that we have going on back home. Republicans have put this bill together, rushed it together in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin, shaking it, walking it out of the White House, and brought it right here to this floor. They are defunding Planned Parenthood. They are ending tons of Medicaid coverage for 13.7 million Americans, including Affordable Care Act coverage, as well. If Americans want to get an abortion and have a silver plan on a healthcare plan that they paid for, they will also be affected by this legislation, as well. Mr. Speaker, it is also allowing suppressors on guns to be deregulated to some of the largest amounts that we have seen since the 1930s. This is just a Christmas tree bill.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, when a private prison camp opens in your town and they say they didn't know this was going to happen, know that they did and that they voted for it. When a Dreamer has disappeared from your classroom and when the President of the United States destroys what is left of the Constitution as he has announced in his attack on birthright citizenship, they will all say: We didn't know this was coming. I want the American people to know that they did. This vote represents it.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I want the American people to know, with eyes wide open, what is inside this bill. We stand here just 2 days after President Trump gave unconditional pardons to violent criminals who attacked our Nation's Capitol on January 6, and these are the people who want us to believe that they are trying to keep criminals off the streets, when they are opening the floodgates. I want the American people to know what is in this bill because, in the guise and in the wake of tragedy, we are seeing a fundamental erosion of our civil rights in this bill. If a person is so much as accused of a crime or if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they will be rounded up and put into a private detention camp and sent out for deportation without a day in court, without a moment to assert their rights, and without a moment to assert the privilege of innocence until proven guilty. Without being found guilty of a crime, they will be rounded up. What is inside this bill is a fundamental suspension of a core American value, and that is why I rise to oppose it. If you are a Dreamer, all someone has to do is point a finger, and you will be rounded up. We have seen moments like these happen before in the USA PATRIOT Act, in the wake of the travesty of 9/11, a fundamental suspension of America's civil liberties, that is what we are seeing here today. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues may wonder why so many of our friends across the aisle, who care so deeply about the rule of law, happen to be so desperate to pass this bill after they are unleashing people who attacked police officers here in this Capitol and who are now free to roam our streets, who are publicly saying now that they want to get a gun. Suddenly, these folks care about public safety? I don't think so. Look no further than the $83 billion price tag of this bill. They know that it can't be paid for. They know that the capacity is not there. Do you know what will be there? Private prison companies are going to get flooded with money, who give this money, no doubt. I want folks at home to look at which Members of Congress are invested in private prison companies, who receive this kind of money, and look at the votes on this bill. It is atrocious that people are lining their pockets with private prison profits in the name of a horrific tragedy on the victim of a crime. It is shameful. It is absolutely shameful. Mr. Speaker, I will conclude with this: In a few months, there are Members of Congress who voted for this bill who are going to pretend that they didn't know about all the bad things that are going to happen because of it.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, here we are today. Republicans, who have voted consistently against the Violence Against Women Act, who have taken away the rights of all women to choose and have control over their own body, who as women are bleeding out in parking lots across the country, standing there allowing us to die, now want to pretend today that they care about women. Why? To open up gender, and, yes, genital examinations into little girls in this country in the so-called name of attacking trans girls. To that, today, what we have to say are two words: Not today. The majority right now says there is no place in this bill that says it opens up for genital examinations. Well, here is the thing: There is no enforcement mechanism in this bill. When there is no enforcement mechanism, you open the door to every enforcement mechanism. Trans girls are girls, and for all the folks that are so concerned, thank you for your concern about women for the first time that I have seen. I don't know about you all, I don't know who has been to gym class lately, but even if you only believe in two genders, I have played coed sports all the time. What this also opens the door for is for women to try to perform a very specific kind of femininity for the very kind of men who are drafting this bill and to open up questioning of who is a woman because of how we look, how we present ourselves, and, yes, what we choose to do with our bodies. I know who loves this bill. Yes, bigoted folks love this bill. Assaulters love this bill. Also, CEOs love this bill, because Los Angeles is on fire right now, and this is the number one priority that the majority has.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank my colleague, Representative Mfume, for presenting this tremendously important legislation. What else can there be said about the great chairman, Elijah E. Cummings? He was a father, mentor, visionary civil rights leader, and fierce defender of democracy. As the son of sharecroppers rising to become chairman of one of the most powerful committees in the United States Congress, his life and his existence were a testimony to the American Dream. As chairman of the House Committee on Oversight, he would often remind us of our purpose within this body. He asked: ``When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked . . . what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?'' Our democracy is what made Elijah's life possible, the great arc of his life possible. He was an inspiring coach and mentor who was uniquely focused on serving his hometown of Baltimore and improving the lives of the American people. His work inside and outside of this building was a master class in how to speak truth to power and keep our country together. He was tough yet compassionate and always reminded people that they were never too late to do good. Elijah dedicated his life to preserving American democracy, a fight that will be even more prevalent in the years to come, and his legacy guides many in our work today. I am proud to support the renaming of the South Loudon Avenue post office after Chairman Elijah E. Cummings as a nod to his incredible legacy.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge the passage of H.R. 8641, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 9549, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 20 seconds to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9549. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) for any remarks she may have.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9580. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross) for any remarks she may have.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge the passage of H.R. 9580. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 9421, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9421. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Perez) for any remarks she may have.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9322. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes) for any remarks she may have.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8909. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda) for any remarks she may have.

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 9285, and I yield back the balance of my time.