Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Murray: “Republicans are going down this partisan path because they know Democrats are not going to join them in throwing Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and veterans’ benefits into the wood chipper so they can throw more tax cuts at billionaires and the biggest corporations.”
Murray: “We should not be taking kids out of child care to give billionaires a tax break. We should not be taking food off the family table to put more fuel in private jets.”
ICYMI: Senator Murray speaks at Budget Committee markup of resolution, offers common sense amendments rejected by Republicans
***VIDEO HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Budget Committee, took to the Senate floor to forcefully speak out against Senate Republicans’ budget resolution that will help billionaires at working families’ expense—as well as the Trump administration’s lawless mass firings and ongoing funding freeze that is hurting people and jeopardizing critical services they need in every part of the country. She also underscored how a clean full-year CR is not an acceptable solution to government funding.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“Thank you M. President. We need to be focused on solving problems—and I think most of us here get that.
“No matter who the President is, our constituents expect us to work for them. They expect us to fight for them. And they expect us to do the hard work of passing laws to make their lives better.
[TRUMP LEAVING FARMILIES IN THE DUST]
“People don’t send us here to make their lives worse. But that’s exactly what Trump and Musk are doing. They are looking at our most pressing problems—and making them so much worse. And this budget proposal will only add fuel to the fire.
“Right now—even as egg prices hit an all time high—Trump and Musk have done nothing to lower prices.
“They’ve done nothing to address the housing crisis, or help families get quality, affordable child care—or address other issues I hear about from folks all the time.
“Instead, they are slashing programs that help our families make ends meet, they are gutting an agency that saves working people money and protects them from scams, and starting trade wars that will impose what is effectively a Trump sales tax entirely on the backs of American workers.
“As China works to strengthen its global leadership, Trump and Musk have ceded the ground almost entirely—illegally cutting off investments we make to continue our country’s leadership and help allies.
“At the most precarious moment for the Middle East in decades—Trump is casually proposing to ethnically cleanse Gaza so that Trump and his family can build waterfront property there.
“When it comes to helping our allies in Ukraine secure a just peace—Trump is giving away countless concessions to Putin out of the gate, calling our ally a dictator and meeting with Russia without inviting Ukraine.
“When it comes to the Bird Flu—Trump and Musk are firing the very workers who are responsible for tracking the disease and keeping it from spreading further. And now, suddenly, they are desperately trying to hire them back.
“And as Texas deals with a serious measles outbreak, Trump’s Health Secretary can’t even confirm the obvious, and tell parents the vaccine doesn’t cause autism—which, to be clear, it does not!
“And, almost unbelievably, just weeks after the deadliest commercial plane crash in the U.S. in over two decades—Trump and Musk are firing FAA workers who make sure flying is safe. Who does that help?
“And now Trump is letting Musk run wild by inappropriately accessing and rifling through sensitive SSA and Treasury files, with IRS being next—your data! How does that make sense?
“But while President Trump is busy making problems worse, and trampling our laws, and quoting dictators—what are we doing here in the Senate?
“Are we holding President Trump accountable? Are we holding his co-President, Elon Musk—the richest man in the world, who has billions of dollars in conflicts of interest—accountable?
“Are we putting a stop to the catastrophic cuts and reckless firings that are hurting people and our communities, and setting our country back decades?
“Seems to me that would be a good use of our time—after all, I’ve even heard some Republicans admit that cutting things like medical research, and firing people like VA workers are bad ideas. So you would think—maybe—we could work together from that common ground.
“But instead—Republicans are throwing all their effort behind a partisan plan to slash and burn programs that help our families, and raise costs for everyday Americans, and shovel billions of dollars to help people who already have billions of dollars.
“Meanwhile, I would like to remind my colleagues we are less than a month away from a deadline to pass bills to fund our government. And as we approach that deadline, the entire world is watching as President Trump and Elon Musk shut the government down bit-by-bit—whatever parts Elon doesn’t like.
[TRUMP AND MUSK’S RECKLESS, HEARTLESS MASS FIRINGS]
“Trump and Musk are already showing thousands of essential workers the door—despite the fact that they have no clue what these workers do, or why their jobs matter. They’re just turning off the lights and hoping for the best!
“I am hearing so much alarm about this back home—from fired workers and from the people who depend on them.
“Trump and his co-president are shuttering entire agencies, they are locking workers out of their devices and out of their buildings, and demanding the work of the American people come to a screeching halt—again, for no good reason.
“And let me really drive home just how damaging and extreme these firings are—because we are not talking about some routine changing of the guard or some thoughtful or strategic plan to make government more efficient.
“Trump and Musk are just taking a wrecking ball through the U.S. government. They don’t care what they smash up. They don’t care who they hurt. And they don’t seem to have any idea just how painful this is for American families.
“We are talking about tens of thousands of people—and counting—being pushed out the door without any plan, and without any justification beyond Trump and Elon want to slash and cut with reckless abandon.
“This has nothing to do with making government more efficient—it is about breaking it beyond repair.
“Fundamentally, this is not about cutting waste or curbing fraud. Instead, this is about putting the federal workforce into ‘trauma’—that’s how OMB Director Russ Vought callously put it.
“So, they are mass firing hardworking women and men—many of them veterans—whose only mistake was serving our country, serving our communities, and believing they wouldn’t get stabbed in the back by a wannabe dictator and the richest man in the world.
“And, setting aside the fact that many were illegally fired and without real cause, it’s not just the workers who are suffering because of this.
“These cuts undermine essential services for the American people—right down to some of the most basic functions of government.
“Trump and Musk are firing people who help Americans find quality, affordable health insurance, people who help small businesses get a loan, people who help communities and families get back on their feet after a disaster, and people who help Americans get their tax refunds.
“They are firing people who help our economy stay competitive—from firings that undermine energy projects and thousands of good, new jobs, to firings that undermine innovation and technology, to firings that are hurting our farmers and undermining agricultural research.
“They are laying off National Park Rangers—which will mean longer wait times, dirtier bathrooms, delayed emergency responses, and closed parks.
“They fired Forest Service workers who are crucial to preventing wildfires.
“Again, I have to emphasize, they are firing FAA workers for crying out loud—including personnel who work on radar, landing, and other critical infrastructure that help our aircraft navigate safely.
“They are firing these people, and pretending it is no big deal, all just weeks after the deadliest crash our nation has seen in decades.
“Trump and Elon might not fly commercial—but the rest of us do.
“In the Pacific Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration is losing hundreds of highly skilled workers. This includes everyone from electricians and engineers, to dispatchers, to lineworkers, to cybersecurity experts, and so many others.
“These are literally the people who help keep the lights on—and now they’re being fired on a whim because Trump and Elon Musk don’t have a clue about what they do and why it’s important, and you know what? They don’t care to learn.
“They don’t even seem to understand that these are positions funded by ratepayers—by all of us who live in the Northwest—they are not from federal funding.
“Trump and Musk have even fired over a thousand VA workers, including people who are doing lifesaving research for our veterans—research to prevent veteran suicide, build life changing prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more.
“These layoffs could mean longer wait times for veterans to see their health care providers. It could mean ongoing clinical trials coming to a sudden stop. It could mean delays getting your disability claims approved.
“Because Trump and Musk went ahead and fired clinicians and claims raters—even while the current back log of disability claims is over 250,000!
“That is not just a betrayal of these public workers—it is a betrayal of our women and men who have served us in uniform.
“And it is also worth noting—many of the workers being fired are veterans themselves. Trump is firing veterans.
“And let’s not forget the thousands of NIH researchers who are having their research thrown into jeopardy, and the patients who are watching President Trump carelessly toss their best hope for a cure into the shredder.
“Or CMS experts, who were working on improving maternal health outcomes so fewer pregnant women die in this country.
“And medical research layoffs aren’t the only ones putting American lives at risk because Trump and Musk are firing public health workers who respond to disease outbreaks, cybersecurity experts who protect our critical infrastructure, sensitive systems, and our data, scientists who make sure our water and air are clean, and that we are ready for extreme weather, workers that help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters—not to mention, members of law enforcement who help stop violent criminals—and of course, our nuclear engineers!
“Seriously—people who manage our nuclear weapons stockpile were being fired by the hundreds, with no real strategy.
“And we know there isn’t a strategy—because then Trump and Musk frantically turned around and rehired many of them.
“And we also know they haven’t learned their lesson—because they just did the exact same thing to workers responding to bird flu.
“Reckless layoffs—followed by ‘Wait, no! Come back!’ That is not a plan.
“To callously fire people who help us stay ahead of deadly diseases, or who maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile—that is the height of dangerous incompetence.
“And nuclear clean-up work has been hit as well. I’ve been fighting to get more resources for the Hanford clean-up in Washington state for years—it is already understaffed, and now Trump is actively making things worse.
“I have heard directly from workers at Hanford who have been laid off—even after some were recognized just this past year for their outstanding work. And by the way: that underscores another reality of these firings—they have absolutely nothing to do with merit.
“In fact, the way they are targeting new employees includes people who were recently promoted—so now these workers are getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Literally pushing out some of our best performers and our most committed workers.
“Oh, and one more thing—they are even illegally firing the government watchdogs who provide accountability and prevent fraud.
“If Trump and Musk were really committed to tackling waste, fraud, and abuse, would they fire the very people serving in nonpartisan roles whose very job is to uncover and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse?
“If they were really interested in transparency, would they have torn down websites where the public can find information about agencies’ spending and policy?
“The list of pointless, actively dangerous firings goes on, and on, and on. It grows by the day—as does the fallout and alarm being caused by it. My phones have been ringing off the hook—and I know I am not the only one.
“Again, these sweeping layoffs do not address fraud or waste. These firings are totally arbitrary—pushing out high performers and the promising next generation of our federal workforce who won’t be easily replaced. Not to mention—the hiring freeze prevents them from even trying!
“And here’s the thing that is so important to remember: these are people who have families, who work hard, who love their country. They are not being sent packing because they’ve done anything wrong or because their work is not important.
“They are being pushed out simply because Trump and Musk are trying to break the government—trying to make it not work for the people who need it. It is wrong, and if this doesn’t stop now, it will be catastrophic.
“The scale and scope of Trump and Elon’s purge will set our country back decades. It is not like you can fire everyone, say ‘oh wait, my bad,’ and rehire everyone with the snap of a finger.
“If you are a VA medical researcher working for less than you could make in the private sector, and you’re fired by a billionaire who decides your research on cancer and burn pit exposure isn’t worth the investment, would you want to come back? Especially with the chaos and sheer incompetence of this administration?
“The federal government is not Twitter. You can’t just fire everyone and break things and hope for the best—people’s lives are at stake.
“Elon Musk has no clue what nuclear safety engineers do at Hanford. He doesn’t care that the Social Security Administration is already understaffed, and that pushing more of those federal workers out the door will make life harder for seniors.
“This effort to push out and arbitrarily fire federal workers is going to break something, worse than it already has—and it’s going to break it irreparably.
“When that happens, the blame will fall squarely on Trump, Musk, and Republicans.
[TRUMP AND MUSK’S ILLEGAL FUNDING FREEZE]
“And it is not just people being fired that is a serious problem—there are also funds still being frozen without rhyme, or reason, or any legal authority for Trump to do that.
“So I’m not only worried about the fast-approaching funding deadline in March—I’m worried about the de facto government shutdown happening right now.
“As we speak, Trump and Musk are still illegally blocking hundreds of billions of dollars in funding we all secured for the people we represent back home, putting good-paying jobs on the chopping block, creating incredible uncertainty for businesses, stalling funds for infrastructure and energy projects, and so much else.
“As another week of Trump’s illegal funding blockade has come and gone, still, reports are coming in from across my state, and across the country—of the chaos and cuts this is causing.
“And yet, little to nothing has been done by this administration to restore investments people in red and blue states are counting on. And Republicans here in Congress continue to sit by idly while our communities are robbed of hundreds of billions of dollars in bipartisan spending.
“Meanwhile, it’s our workers, it’s our families, it’s our businesses that are feeling this consequence.
“With each day that passes, the uncertain fate of these investments takes a toll of its own: ever-growing anxiety for workers whose jobs are in jeopardy, for farmers who are eyeing the calendar and waiting on resources that they are owed, and for business owners worried a ripped-up contract might put them under.
“I’ve heard USDA grants have been cut off to rural businesses and farmers in my home state of Washington—and it is putting those hard-working Americans in dire straits.
“A small laundromat ordered new machines—but Trump is now stiffing them on funds they need to make the payment.
“A wheat farmer installed solar panels under a federal program—but Trump is going to leave them holding the bag.
“A greenhouse has completed its end of the bargain to install upgrades—but Trump has stopped the federal government from doing the part it promises.
“And there are so many other federal investments on hold as well: Forest Service funding to reduce wildfire risks and restore ecosystems. EPA funding for clean water infrastructure and clean-up work at superfund sites. HUD and Department of Energy investments to bring down folks’ energy costs and create new, good-paying jobs. Funding for our roads, bridges, transit, flood mapping, fisheries—and so many other things.
“Medical research has also been completely upended at research institutions across the country—throwing lifesaving research, clinical trials, and patients into uncertainty.
“Meanwhile they have not only illegally blocked our foreign assistance and shuttered USAID programs that bolster our global leadership and make the world safer for Americans—they are now illegally dismantling the Department of Education.
“They have already bulldozed the independent research arm of the Department of Education—taking a wrecking ball to ongoing evidence-based research and basic collection data we need for accountability to improve student outcomes at our K-12 schools and colleges.
“And, among the many contracts Trump cancelled with his executive orders was funding for a program that helps students with disabilities transition from high school to work and work to improve adoption of evidence-based literacy practices in Washington state. These billionaires have no idea what programs they are cutting.
“Given the chaos of all these efforts—from Trump’s sweeping, radical, and illegal Executive Orders, to Elon Musk jumping from agency to agency and doing seemingly whatever he pleases and whatever is good for his businesses—it’s getting hard to even keep track of all the funding that is being illegally blocked.
“Even stuff they say is not blocked, or say has been unblocked—is still frequently frozen.
“But one thing that is clear? This is hurting our families. It is hurting our communities. And it needs to stop.
“Remember, Musk is the richest man on earth—with deep business ties to China and a direct line to Putin.
“Republicans have chosen to stand by and twiddle their thumbs, as he unilaterally, clandestinely, and illegally cuts our constituents off from the federal investments they are owed and badly need.
“We have zero insight or oversight of what conflicts of interest Musk has as he chokes off government funding left and right, and as he hands over our sensitive financial data and systems to patently unqualified individuals with no accountability.
“This multi-billionaire is operating completely in the dark, hoping his lies are loud enough to drown out any calls for truth or for transparency.
“You can agree or disagree about federal spending—goodness knows we have debates on it here—but it is a complete lie to try and say this is all fraud, or waste, or a conspiracy.
“As a long-time Appropriator—I can tell you—we debate these bills publicly, we post the details out in the open. We pass them in a bipartisan way.
“Republicans overwhelmingly supported the individual bills we put together in Committee last year—many unanimously.
“Spending is not a ‘conspiracy’ just because Elon Musk doesn’t know how to read USA-Spending.gov.
“A program is not waste just because it doesn’t help the richest man in the world. It is not fraud just because he doesn’t like it.
“A law is not illegal just because he disagrees with it. This guy just does not know what he is talking about—and it is frankly embarrassing, he doesn’t know how to count!
[MUSK, DOGE LIES AND CORRUPTION]
“The ‘DOGE’ website says it is slashing $55 billion—but it only lists $16.6 billion, and half of that is a typo.
“They took $8 million with an M—as in ‘Musk can’t count’—and counted it as $8 billion with a B—as in ‘BS.’ That is not saving money—it is poor reading comprehension.
“Speaking of reading comprehension—I don’t think Elon fully grasps what the concepts of ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’ mean.
“When he tweeted out the names of government employees months ago—and again this month even—that was ‘accountability,’ but when reporters name people gaining illegal access to Treasury’s payment system, that is a crime?
“Elon Musk gets to look at all of our most sensitive data but no one gets to look at what he is actually doing? That cannot be the standard.
“It’s not ‘maximally transparent’ for Elon Musk to decide for himself what he shares publicly about his actions.
“It is maximally concerning—especially given there are many obvious conflicts of interest—but Elon has not recused himself from a single decision.
“How is it not a conflict—when the owner of Space X is gutting NASA while taxpayer funds to his company keep flowing?
“How is it not blatant corruption—when the owner of Tesla is freezing grants and loans that benefit his competitors?
“How are we supposed to just trust him, when he is probing agencies that have done—or are doing right now—investigations into his businesses?
“Trump fired the Ag Inspector General who was investigating Elon’s company, Neuralink—and then fired the FDA officials who were reviewing it.
“He fired the EPA Inspector General and Transportation Inspector General as they were looking at Tesla.
“He fired the Labor Inspector General—as the Department has several investigations into Musk’s companies.
“And Trump fired the Defense Inspector General who was looking at Space X—and notably, Musk’s connections to Putin.
“And it’s not just Musk who is concerning—he’s brought on an army of walking red flags to pry into our government’s most sensitive data.
“How are Americans supposed to feel, knowing someone who was previously fired for leaking sensitive information from their employer is digging through your most private financial data?
“How are Americans supposed to feel, knowing someone who engaged with prominent white supremacists and misogynists online is helping to shutdown USAID?
“How are they supposed to feel, knowing someone who tweeted explicitly racist statements, someone who said they were, quote, ‘racist before it was cool,’ was given control over incredibly important Treasury payment systems?
“What sort of vetting—if any—is going on here? Are they trying to pick the least qualified, most concerning people? Hey Elon—you are supposed to filter out red flags—not select for them!
“The American people deserve transparency—if Elon Musk really has nothing to hide, then he should leave his safe place on X and at Trump rallies and come before us at a Congressional hearing to be held accountable to the public.
[TRUMP HURTING PEOPLE IN RED AND BLUE STATES]
“What they are doing here is not just illegal—it is devastating for working people in every single zip code in America, red and blue states alike.
“Right now, we need to be speaking out with a unified voice to ensure that when Congress passes a bill, the law is followed.
[DANGERS OF A FULL-YEAR CR]
“And we need to focus on negotiating serious funding bills on a bipartisan basis ahead of the fast-approaching March 14th deadline. That is exactly what I am trying to do right now. And, a long term CR should not be acceptable for anyone here.
“As I have reminded my colleagues many times now: there is a world of difference between a short term CR that gives us additional time for good faith negotiations on our full-year funding bills, and a long term CR that would not only create major shortfalls for critical programs, but would also hand vast power over spending decisions to an administration that absolutely cannot and should not be trusted.
“Passing a clean full year CR would, first of all, create major shortfalls and fail to adjust for new realities on the ground.
“It could mean that instead of babies getting fed through WIC, moms are getting put on a waitlist for the first time in that program’s history. And instead of families getting rental assistance, they get cut off.
“A clean full year CR means veterans are not able to get the care they need and benefits they have earned in a timely way.
“And it means our military falling behind—from forcing cuts across DoD, to pausing promotions, station changes, and other really essential functions.
“It also means losing opportunities to provide new resources for new challenges, and to provide a check on Trump policies—including ones it is clear members on both sides have issues with.
“And on that note, I want to emphasize this—because this is really critical—unlike a short-term CR, a clean, full-year CR means hundreds of specific funding directives from Congress fall away, effectively creating slush funds for this administration to adjust spending priorities and potentially eliminate longstanding programs as they see fit. That is a nonstarter.
“With a full-year CR, Congress would be turning over our power of the purse to a President who has already shown he couldn’t care less about the separation of powers.
“A yearlong CR could be a green light for President Trump, Elon Musk, and Russell Vought to redirect funding to their own pet projects—and slash, burn, and zero out programs we have supported from Congress, that our families count on.
“Maybe they siphon money away from public schools. Maybe they slash federal work study grants and other financial aid. Maybe they zero out money for national parks or monuments they think are too ‘Woke…’ or what would that even mean!
“Maybe they scrap all our oversight of immigration courts, or end family reunification efforts, or dismantle the guardrails for detaining immigrants—something we are already seeing, by the way, with the use of Guantanamo Bay.
“They could cut funding to eliminate HIV, address maternal mortality, or increase vaccination rates.
“They could turn our constituents’ priorities into slush funds. Clean energy investments could become a payday for fossil fuels. Money meant to stop fentanyl and opioids could fuel private prison operations and mass deportations.
[THE COMMON SENSE, BIPARTISAN PATH FORWARD]
“Congress must detail its spending priorities—and direct President Trump to implement these programs faithfully by passing appropriations bills just as it does every year.
“There is truly no telling just how far they will go in bending our federal budget from what our constituents need into whatever Trump and Musk want.
“If you don’t think things could get worse—you’re wrong. A clean, yearlong CR is frankly an unacceptable outcome.
“We cannot tell our constituents, that instead of using our authority to check a President, we give him the keys to the kingdom.
“We cannot say, instead of fighting to get you the resources you need, we’ll let a billionaire have more say in where your tax dollars go instead.
“So we need Republicans to get serious about bipartisan funding bills. And we have got to know that once those bills become law, Trump will actually follow them.
“We cannot just reach an agreement, pass a bill, and then stand by while President Trump rips our laws in half.
“There is a serious, bipartisan path forward for our country—but it is one where Congress works together to avoid a shutdown, stops the de facto shutdown that is already happening, and reasserts its authority to protect the funding our communities need.
[REPUBLICANS’ PRO-BILLIONAIRE BUDGET RESOLUTION]
“But unfortunately, that’s a far cry from the path Republicans are going down with this pro-billionaire, anti-middle-class budget resolution.
“Let’s be very clear: Republicans’ budget resolution doesn’t just accept, it actually doubles down on what Trump and Musk are doing.
“And it is not about balancing the budget—we all know that, because they don’t plan to reverse one of the biggest drivers of the debt: Republican tax cuts.
“Despite all of the boogeymen that Republicans like to point to as driving the national debt—the reality is that the single biggest driver of our national debt since 2001 has been Republican tax cuts.
“The Trump and Bush tax cuts have cost our nation over $10 trillion dollars and counting. And you’ll never guess what our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are focused on right now—nothing to lower the cost of eggs—it’s actually more Republican tax cuts!
“And, no, they will not be paid-for. And, yes, they will blow up the national debt.
“While Elon Musk hacks and chops his way through the government in the name of meager ‘savings’ and Republicans are cheering him on, they are all hoping we will ignore the elephant they brought into the room.
“Even as this budget is a roadmap for painful cuts to programs families count on each and every day—all so they can give billionaires more tax cuts.
“Republicans are going down this partisan path because they know Democrats are not going to join them in throwing Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and veterans’ benefits into the wood chipper, so they can throw more tax cuts at billionaires and the biggest corporations.
“Make no mistake—this budget resolution is the DOGE resolution, as it assumes the staggering amount of $1 trillion in unspecified cuts in 2025 alone and $9 trillion over 10 years.
“Where do we think those sort of dramatic cuts are going to come from? It’s going to come out of SNAP benefits that keep our kids from going hungry. It is going to come out of public schools and community health centers. It is going to come out of life-saving medical research.
“It will mean costs going up for everyday Americans.
“It means child care costs going up when families lose access to Head Start and other quality, affordable options.
“It means heating and cooling costs going up when families get cut off from LIHEAP.
“It means rent going up as assistance programs get slashed.
“It means your health care costs go up as community health centers and family planning providers are forced to close their doors.
“It means grocery costs going up as programs like SNAP and WIC are gutted—not to mention what happens when you cut support for farmers, and for ag-research.
“And make no mistake, if you are cutting that deeply, that painfully, you are going to start cutting things like veterans’ disability and education benefits, you are going to start cutting Medicare and Medicaid—which, for the information of all Senators, 30 million children rely on.
“There is just no other way to make their numbers work. Especially when we know that this is just step one in their plan—and step two: tax breaks for billionaires and massive corporations.
“So, first they are handing Elon Musk a chainsaw to cut programs families rely on with no accountability—then they are rewarding him with enormous tax breaks. And that is completely unacceptable.
“We should not be taking kids out of child care to give billionaires a tax break.
“We should not be taking food off the family table to put more fuel into private jets.
“I grew up in a family that knew what it was like to fall on hard times. My dad— who was a veteran—got too sick to work. He had multiple sclerosis.
“My mom, kept us afloat with Dad’s VA benefits, food stamps, and the new job she got thanks to a federal workforce program.
“It wasn’t easy. Mom always said they crawled—crawled—to Social Security and Medicare. But she worked hard, and our government was there for them when those hard times came.
“I know there are families struggling now, just like my family struggled then. I hear from them every day—in the letters we get here in Washington D.C., and in the conversations I have back home in Washington state.
“They work hard. They play by the rules. They deserve—at the very least—the same opportunity my parents had when I was growing up.
“And I am not going to stand by silently while Republicans try to sell that opportunity away, to pay for even more tax breaks for billionaires.
“I get why that sounds like a good idea to billionaires like Donald Trump. I get why it’s a sweet deal for Elon Musk—the richest man in the world. It’s great for them—because they are not the ones footing the bill!
“The bill for these tax breaks, the cost of these cuts, is going to be paid by folks like my mom and dad.
“Everyday Americans will pay for billionaire tax breaks with their health care. They will pay for billionaire tax breaks with abandoned medical research. They will pay for billionaire tax breaks with shuttered family farms and small businesses
“Republicans can try and spin a fairy tale about how this will pay for itself, how this will work out for everyone and nobody cares about what will be affected—but the reality is going to show through pretty darn quick, and pretty darn painfully.
“Because spin is not going to put food on the table. It will not pay the rent. It won’t fix the roads. It won’t lower prices. It won’t lower interest rates. And it won’t put money in families’ dwindling bank accounts.
“When it comes to the job we were all sent here to do helping people, and solving problems—families need real solutions, not tax breaks for billionaires and talking points for everyone who loses out.
“So, M. President, I would urge all of my colleagues: hit the breaks, and not just on this devastating, partisan budget resolution. Hit the brakes on what President Trump and Elon Musk are doing right now.
“Let’s instead come together, and work on serious, bipartisan bills to fund the government. Let’s get investments that are sorely needed out to the folks we represent. Let’s pass legislation to give folks a hand—instead of this Republican plan that gives billionaires a handout.”