Gabe Amo · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

Labor Day

2026-09-03

“I want you to think about Labor Day. Workers fought for fairness. I mention Rhode Island strikes in 1824 and 1934. Some workers died. I stand with workers now. We should fight for good jobs, fair wages, and safe workplaces.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, as Americans enjoy Labor Day weekend, let us reflect on the origin of this holiday: working people's fight for fairness. That fight runs deep in Rhode Island. In 1824, at Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, workers led the first industrial strike in history, demanding fair pay and better conditions. More than a century later, thousands of Rhode Island textile workers walked off the job in the 1934 general textile strike. They stood up because they knew that workers deserved better, but they were met with violence by the authorities, leading to the deaths of several workers in Saylesville and Woonsocket. Now, building on that legacy, I stand with Rhode Island workers and workers across our country to keep fighting for good jobs, fair wages, safe workplaces, and the right to organize. We are stronger when we represent the dignity of those who make this Nation strong.

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House of Representatives

Rebuilding Usaid

2026-09-02

“Donald Trump cut USAID. Trump called USAID bad names. Elon Musk bragged about destroying USAID. They were wrong. Cutting USAID killed people. I know three children who died because of USAID cuts. They had names and families. They would be alive today if USAID still helped them. More children will die if the cuts continue. America is paying a price too. Cutting USAID costs America jobs, security, and health. Disease outbreaks will be worse without USAID. Our allies don't trust us. Our enemies are taking over. We must rebuild USAID. We must remember the children who died. They were not just numbers. They should be alive today.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, 19 months ago, President Trump took an axe to our foreign assistance, illegally freezing aid and demolishing the United States Agency for International Development. Thirteen days later, he ranted that USAID was ``run by a bunch of radical lunatics.'' The very next day, Elon Musk bragged that DOGE had ``spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.'' Well, the chips fell, and kids died. When I asked Secretary Rubio about the consequences, he told me: No children are dying on my watch. A year later, the hatchet men were still lying. Children are still dying. Elon Musk recently proclaimed that he cannot cite a single name of someone who died because of aid cuts. Just because Elon can't name one of the 700,000 people killed by his cruelty doesn't mean they didn't exist. We know their names. Abdullahi Ibrahim was 10 years old when USAID-supported asthma treatment disappeared from his clinic in Nigeria. His family could no longer afford his medication. He suffered a fatal asthma attack. Mohammed Hashim was 2 years old. When food assistance disappeared from his refugee camp in Myanmar, he died of starvation. Gbessy Kiadu was only a 1-year-old. He died of malaria after clinics in western Liberia ran out of malaria medication because of USAID cuts. These are not just statistics. These are children. They had parents, dreams, and full lives ahead of them. Today, the warning signs are flashing that if these cuts continue, hundreds of thousands of additional children could die every year. Abdullahi, Mohammed, and Gbessy are three of the more than 700,000 no longer with us because of Trump's choice to close USAID and decimate U.S. foreign assistance programs. We are seeing the consequences in Nepal, where deaths have risen after Trump's cuts to lifesaving maternal health programs. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cuts to USAID-funded disease-detection systems delayed detection and response to the Ebola outbreak. It is now the worst outbreak on record, with nearly 3,000 people dead and over 6,000 confirmed cases. Make no mistake, America is paying a price, too. Shuttering USAID eliminated more than 23,000 American jobs. American farmers and manufacturers who supply food products to USAID were left struggling. From peanut farmers in Texas to sugar farmers in Florida, to American longshoremen moving food through our ports to manufacturers in my home State of Rhode Island, Trump's cuts left wounds across the country. Cuts to USAID disease monitoring and prevention systems leave Americans at greater risk of disease. As the COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed us, disease does not care about borders. Eliminating global health programs puts us at greater risk of a future pandemic. American security on the world stage is suffering, too, as Trump backs away from our strongest soft power tool: helping others. American taxpayers lost the return on an investment that made our country safer and stronger. Our foreign assistance was never charity. It was about American leadership, security, and workers producing food, medicine, and lifesaving technology. It told the world something powerful: When America gives its word, America keeps it. As the USAID logo reminded the world, it was from the American people. Now, that good will is gone because Trump threw that promise into the wood chipper. Our allies are left wondering whether they can trust us. Our adversaries are filling the vacuum. Families are burying children who might have lived. Mr. Speaker, as we look to the future, let's be clear about what we must do. We must rebuild American foreign assistance, restore American leadership, hold accountable those who recklessly dismantle these programs, and remember every single life that was lost. Abdullahi was not a number, Mohammed was not a statistic, and Gbessy will not be forgotten. They were children. They were loved. They should be with us today.

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House of Representatives

SNAP Assistance Ripped Away

2026-07-23

“I want to blame Trump and Republicans. I say their law is ugly. I say they caused hunger. People in my district are sad. They need more government spending.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, the data is in, and Trump's and Republicans' big, ugly law has been disastrous for Americans. We can now confirm that they have succeeded in ripping food assistance away from 4.5 million SNAP recipients, including 1.5 million children. In Rhode Island alone, that is over 16,000 people who are now heading to the grocery store with less to spend as costs rise because of Trump's tariffs and illegal wars. Across my district, I have spoken with food pantry leaders seeing rising demand. I have heard from Rhode Islanders struggling to feed a family on $90 a month in SNAP benefits. In the wealthiest country in the world, no one should have to worry about putting food on the table. We can do better than Trump's foreign wars and putting billionaires over the welfare of working people.

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House of Representatives

Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2027

2026-07-22

“I don't like the other side's budget. They want to spend too much money. They want to spend on a war. They want to make it harder to vote. I want my colleagues to vote no on this budget.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chairman, is this Groundhog Day? We must be stuck in some kind of infinite time loop because Republicans are trying to ram through a third unpopular, deficit-busting resolution that does nothing to lower costs for Americans. This is on top of cuts to healthcare and their continued investments in cruelty. Unfortunately, this is actually happening. Republicans are trying to pass another bad budget, and all this for the farm aid that Republicans are touting as necessary because Trump's illegal war in Iran and chaotic tariffs jacked up costs for farmers. The billions in defense funding that Republicans claim is necessary for Trump's choice to wage the illegal Iran war depleted our stockpiles, and the only necessary action that my constituents are imploring Republicans to take, lowering costs for the American people, is completely missing from this failing effort. Republicans are running up billions of dollars on America's credit card so that they can send our servicemembers to fight another forever war in the Middle East. They are working to pass a voter suppression bill that won't secure our elections but will make it harder for Americans to vote. My Republican colleagues tell Americans that they are working for them. The American people are smarter than that. They know what Republicans are doing, and they will not forgive them for what they have done. I urge every Member to vote ``no'' on this latest bad budget.

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House of Representatives

National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027

2026-07-15

“This bill is bad. It makes us less safe. It makes us sick. Republicans want to ban support for the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization coordinates the response to Ebola. Republicans want to cut funding for public health. That makes it hard to respond to cyclospora. Thousands of people are sick. We should work with other countries to prevent disease. We should not stop funding international health efforts.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 8595. This disastrous bill doesn't just turn America's back on the world. It makes Americans less safe and more vulnerable to disease. An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has taken more than 700 lives and infected more than 1,900 people. American citizens have already been infected, and the outbreak will spread if we fail to contain it. Republicans' solution? Ban the United States from supporting the World Health Organization, the group coordinating the response to the Ebola outbreak. The story of outbreaks fueled by Republican shortsighted cuts does not end there. Here at home, we are responding to a growing cyclospora outbreak that has sickened more than 1,600 people across more than 30 States, with thousands more cases under investigation. Public health officials are still working to identify the source of the outbreak. They are facing an uphill battle thanks to Trump and Republicans' deep cuts to the CDC's public health workforce and the program that monitors foodborne illness. The cause and effect is clear. When Republicans slash public health funding and stop monitoring the spread of disease, Americans get sick. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. My amendment would strike provisions that prohibit U.S. participation in international public health efforts through the World Health Organization and the pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response accord. Disease prevention and surveillance at home and abroad protect American families. Infectious diseases do not stop at borders. We are safest when we work with partners around the world to detect outbreaks early, share information, and respond before disease reaches our borders. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment.

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