Procedure 6% Claims 84% Positioning 6% Aside 1% Reasoning 3%
Structure · 30 steps
Claims · 13
This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Chair, Procedure · 9 words I yield myself such time as I may consume. Procedure Mr. Chair, Claims · 69 words as you may recall, 2 years ago, in the election that my good friend the chair referenced, Donald Trump won a whopping landslide of 1\1/2\ points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history, for those keeping score.1 During that election, he campaigned in my State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more than any other in the country. The promise he most often recited at every rally was, Procedure · 6 words and these were his exact words: Procedure Claims · 8 words I will lower your costs on day one.2 Off point Mr. Chair, Positioning · 4 words what an abject failure. Positioning Claims · 93 words This Presidency, and the rubberstamp Republicans who enable him, have pushed through an agenda that hasn’t lowered costs for the American people. It has only made things far more expensive. He started over a year ago with the Trump tariff taxes, a tax on most imported goods. On average, this has raised costs by about $1,800 a year for the American family.3 He then doubled down on that last summer, in July of last year, when the rubberstamp Republicans passed, 4 and the President signed what he used to call the big, beautiful bill, Positioning · 11 words which has become the big, ugly law for the American people. Positioning Claims · 145 words That bill makes healthcare more expensive for the American people while cutting off their food assistance at a time that food prices are through the roof.5 Off point Now, here we are, after all of that. We have the Republican reconciliation 3.0. I think that both parties would agree--in fact, the two Presidential nominees 2 years ago happened to, in a rare point of agreement, but they happened to agree that the number one issue on people’s minds by far was the affordability crisis, that America had become too expensive. Isn’t it interesting that despite the fact that polls continue to show by an overwhelming majority that is the biggest issue that voters care about, we have in front of us the Republican reconciliation 3.0, 47 pages, 6,560 words, not one word about affordability, not one word about how to bring down costs for the American people.6 Positioning · 22 words They are not even trying. We have a President who just doesn’t care about the average American family and the affordability crisis. Positioning Procedure · 6 words Don’t take my word for it. Procedure Claims · 29 words Take the President’s own words. ``I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.’’7 Off point This bill reflects that fact. We have in this bill almost $100 billion in new deficit spending.8 Procedure · 4 words Yes, that is right. Procedure Claims · 99 words The same crowd that loves to cry crocodile tears about deficit and debt whenever there is a President in the White House who is a Democrat, cumulatively now they have added $5 trillion to our national debt, more than any other 18-month period in the history of Congress.9 They are about to add $100 billion more. Most of that spending is for President Trump’s Iran war, a reckless decision with absolutely no plan on how to achieve victory and how it would end. The American people paid the price for President Trump’s war in terms of dollars and cents. Procedure · 5 words Just look at gas prices. Procedure Claims · 72 words The day before the war was launched, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.98.10 Today, it is over $4 a gallon and climbing.11 Off point Here, we have another reconciliation bill in front of us--nothing in there whatsoever to bring down costs, nothing to lower gas prices, nothing to lower food prices, nothing to lower the cost of consumer goods, just more spending on the most unpopular war in American history. Aside · 9 words That might sound like an exaggeration, a Trumpian exaggeration. Aside Procedure · 5 words No, it is a fact. Procedure Claims · 49 words Going back to the beginning of polling almost a century ago, there is no other war in American history in which the American people, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, disapprove over approve.12 Only 30 percent of the American people approve of what the President is doing in Iran.13 Procedure · 4 words It is no wonder. Procedure Claims · 5 words They are paying the cost. Reasoning · 19 words Of course, as expensive as it is for the American family, that doesn’t measure up to the ultimate cost: Claims · 10 words those lives that we have lost already in this war. Off point Mr. Chair, Claims · 37 words it is quite clear from the President’s own words and the written text of this bill that this President and the Republican majority have no plan whatsoever on how to bring costs down for the American people. Unearned certainty Positioning · 8 words What is worse, they are not even trying. Positioning Mr. Chair, Procedure · 7 words I reserve the balance of my time. Procedure
At a glance
Lost points for Off point ×33 Procedure ×8 Positioning ×5 Aside Unearned certainty
Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.
What the tags mean →
Signal · 84
14 of 48 deductions are Signal
Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “I yield myself such time as I may consume.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “and these were his exact words:” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Positioning Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it. What the tags mean → “what an abject failure.” Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Positioning Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it. What the tags mean → “which has become the big, ugly law for the American people.” Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Positioning Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it. What the tags mean → “They are not even trying.” Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Positioning Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it. What the tags mean → “We have a President who just doesn’t care about the average American family and the affordability crisis.” Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “Don’t take my word for it.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “Yes, that is right.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “Just look at gas prices.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Aside A remark off to the side of the point. What the tags mean → “That might sound like an exaggeration, a Trumpian exaggeration.” An aside: no claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “No, it is a fact.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “It is no wonder.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Positioning Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it. What the tags mean → “What is worse, they are not even trying.” Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Procedure Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business. What the tags mean → “I reserve the balance of my time.” Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Relevance · 39
33 of 48 deductions are Relevance
Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the bill under debate.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “as you may recall, 2 years ago, in the election that my good friend the chair referenced, Donald Trump won a whopping landslide of 1\1/2\ points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history, for those keeping score.” Recounts the margin of the presidential election rather than anything in the budget resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “During that election, he campaigned in my State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more than any other in the country.” Describes campaign stops in Pennsylvania, unrelated to the bill before the House.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “The promise he most often recited at every rally was,” Continues the campaign anecdote, not the resolution under debate.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “and these were his exact words:” Sets up a campaign quote rather than addressing the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “I will lower your costs on day one.” Quotes a campaign promise, not anything in the budget resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “what an abject failure.” A rhetorical attack on the President, not a point about the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “This Presidency,” Labels the Presidency rather than addressing the bill’s contents.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “and the rubberstamp Republicans who enable him, have pushed through an agenda that hasn’t lowered costs for the American people.” General political attack on the President and Republicans in place of discussing the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “It has only made things far more expensive.” General claim about costs, not tied to the bill under debate.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “He started over a year ago with the Trump tariff taxes, a tax on most imported goods.” Discusses past tariffs, not the budget resolution before the House.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “On average, this has raised costs by about $1,800 a year for the American family.” Offers a statistic about tariffs, a different measure from the bill being debated.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “He then doubled down on that last summer, in July of last year, when the rubberstamp Republicans passed,” Recounts passage of a different, earlier bill rather than this resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “and the President signed what he used to call the big, beautiful bill,” Continues discussion of the earlier law, not the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “which has become the big, ugly law for the American people.” Rhetorical label for a different law, not the bill at hand.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “That bill makes healthcare more expensive for the American people while cutting off their food assistance at a time that food prices are through the roof.” Describes the healthcare and food provisions of the earlier law, not this resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “They are not even trying.” Political charge about effort, not a point about the resolution’s contents.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “We have a President who just doesn’t care about the average American family and the affordability crisis.” Attack on the President’s character rather than the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Don’t take my word for it.” Setup for a presidential quote, not about the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Take the President’s own words. ``I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.’’” Quoted remark by the President, not a feature of the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Most of that spending is for President Trump’s Iran war, a reckless decision with absolutely no plan on how to achieve victory and how it would end.” Criticizes the Iran war generally rather than the resolution’s contents.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “The American people paid the price for President Trump’s war in terms of dollars and cents.” General claim about the war’s cost, not the bill under debate.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Just look at gas prices.” Pivots to gas prices, a topic outside the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “The day before the war was launched, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.98.” Gas price figure unrelated to the bill’s provisions.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Today, it is over $4 a gallon and climbing.” Further gas price discussion, not about the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “That might sound like an exaggeration, a Trumpian exaggeration.” Rhetorical aside about exaggeration, not the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “No, it is a fact.” Assertion about the war claim, not the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Going back to the beginning of polling almost a century ago, there is no other war in American history in which the American people, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, disapprove over approve.” Polling history of the war, unrelated to the budget resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Only 30 percent of the American people approve of what the President is doing in Iran.” War approval figure, not a point about the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “It is no wonder.” Transitional comment about war opinion, not the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “They are paying the cost.” Claims about war costs, not the bill under debate.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “Of course,” Pivots to war casualties, outside the resolution.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “as expensive as it is for the American family, that doesn’t measure up to the ultimate cost:” Continues the war-cost framing, not the bill.
Off point Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate. What the tags mean → “those lives that we have lost already in this war.” Discusses lives lost in the war, unrelated to the resolution.
Respect · no score
Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.
Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.
Clarity · 93
1 of 48 deductions are Clarity
Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.
Unearned certainty Something stated as certain with nothing to back it. What the tags mean → “it is quite clear” Asserts certainty in place of a source for the claim about plans.
Claims · 13
This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.
1 “Donald Trump won a whopping landslide of 1\1/2\ points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history” Donald Trump won the presidential popular vote two years before 2026 by about 1.5 points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history. search 2 “I will lower your costs on day one.” Donald Trump campaigned with the promise that he would lower Americans’ costs on day one of his presidency. search 3 “On average, this has raised costs by about $1,800 a year for the American family.” The Trump tariffs have raised costs for the average American family by about $1,800 a year. search 4 “He then doubled down on that last summer, in July of last year, when the rubberstamp Republicans passed, ” Congress passed and President Trump signed the bill he called the ‘big, beautiful bill’ in July 2025. search 5 “That bill makes healthcare more expensive for the American people while cutting off their food assistance” The ‘big, beautiful bill’ signed in July 2025 increases healthcare costs for Americans and cuts food assistance. search 6 “the Republican reconciliation 3.0, 47 pages, 6,560 words” The reconciliation bill under debate in July 2026 is 47 pages and 6,560 words long. search 7 “``I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.’’” President Trump said, ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.’ search 8 “We have in this bill almost $100 billion in new deficit spending.” The reconciliation bill before the House in July 2026 contains almost $100 billion in new deficit spending. search 9 “cumulatively now they have added $5 trillion to our national debt” Federal policy under the 2025-2026 Republican majority has added $5 trillion to the national debt over 18 months, more than any other 18-month period in congressional history. search 10 “The day before the war was launched, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.98.” The national average gasoline price was $2.98 per gallon the day before the United States launched military action against Iran. search 11 “Today, it is over $4 a gallon and climbing.” On July 22, 2026, the national average price of gasoline was over $4 per gallon. search 12 “there is no other war in American history in which the American people, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, disapprove over approve.” No other war in American history has had public disapproval exceeding approval by more than a 2-to-1 margin, as polling on the Iran war shows. search 13 “Only 30 percent of the American people approve of what the President is doing in Iran.” Only 30 percent of Americans approve of President Trump’s actions regarding Iran. search
