Patty Murray

“President Trump is illegally refusing to spend money that Congress passed and he signed into law. He is cutting funding for healthcare research and home-buying help. The Government Accountability Office has already said twice that this is illegal. I want Congress to pass our bill to stop him and protect our power to spend federal money.”

“Madam President, I thank my colleague from Oregon for setting out what is going on here because, as he said, on Friday night, President Trump announced that he was stealing more money from the American people. Trump and his Budget Director, Russ Vought, call it a pocket rescission. Well, whatever you call it, it is illegal. Trump is taking the bipartisan funding that we passed, funding that Democrats and Republicans agreed on, that he signed into law, and he is now ripping out the pages he doesn’t like. Forget about ideas like Congress and the law. Look, this is theft from the American people, plain and simple. In this case, Trump is tearing away funding to help Americans buy a home. He is cutting off funds for healthcare research which would prevent things like hospital infections that are dangerous or saving taxpayers literally billions of dollars. But you know what, Trump could not care less. While he blows your tax dollars on an illegal war, Trump is illegally cutting off funding for health research, housing, and more. I guess that is no surprise given how this President is constantly out of touch with American families--saying ``tariffs’’ is his favorite word or saying that he loves inflation or saying he wants housing costs to go up. He said that. But where are my Republican colleagues who passed these funds that Trump is now stealing? Because this did not come out of left field. No one can pretend to be surprised by what is happening now. When Russ Vought was nominated as Trump’s budget chief, he was pretty darn transparent about the fact that he planned to break the law, he planned to tear up our bills, and he dared us to stop him. That didn’t stop every Republican Senator from voting for him. When his Deputy was nominated and told us this summer that pocket rescissions were very much still on the table, what happened? Once again, every Senate Republican voted to confirm him too. Anyone watching could see this coming from a mile away. Trump used this scheme to unlawfully impound $5 billion last summer, for heaven’s sake. That is why Democrats have fought again and again and again to prevent the President from being able to use this illegal tactic, including in recent negotiations over the CR that is now law. But Republicans have refused to work with us to prevent Trump and Russ Vought from stealing from the American people. Time after time after time, they have shot down our attempts to stop this administration from defying Congress and robbing our constituents. Let’s talk more about this pocket rescission scheme for a minute and what is at stake. President Trump and Russ Vought are saying: Hey, we can ignore the law. We can ignore bipartisan deals and just make our own decisions as long as we do it last-minute. Everyone knows that is ridiculous and illegal. Congress would never have created a system that gave any President the ability to decide to just ignore or bypass a law. It makes no sense. In fact, GAO has looked at what this President has done and has said it is clearly illegal twice. My Republican colleagues know this. Some of them have even said so. But whenever they have had the chance, they have not joined us to put an end to this. Democrats have language that Republicans could have let us put in the last CR or the CR before. We have taken vote after vote on versions of this language on the floor and in committee. And, of course, we had the vote where Republicans confirmed the unabashed architect of Trump’s illegal scheme as budget director. Well, now, tonight, they are getting one more chance. Senator Merkley and I and others have a bill to help Congress reassert its authority-- our authority--and head off Trump’s completely illegal pocket rescission scheme. And we should be clear. Trump isn’t just illegally robbing our constituents through this pocket rescission; there are a whole lot of other funds that he is refusing to get out the door--more healthcare research funding, grants to prevent teen pregnancy, funding to protect Americans from global health threats, and even a quarter of a billion dollars to help families in rural areas get the financing they need to finally achieve their dream of owning a home. Hundreds of families in rural America will be denied the shot to buy a home as Trump lights this money on fire tonight. So it is not just the pocket rescission; it is all the rest of the money this administration is holding up or misspending. The Republicans have been pretty quiet about it. Russ Vought has always made his message to Congress painfully clear. He thinks the votes we all take here don’t count. He thinks the laws we pass are optional. Now is the time for our Republican colleagues who said they would never let this happen to help us now pass a bill that makes our message to Russ Vought equally clear: Stop stealing from our constituents. Start following our laws. I yield the floor.”

• Personal attack
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  Speech in the House

  Respect 98 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “Trump could not care less”.

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• Reasons given
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  Speech in the House

  Reasoning 100 of 100

  This statement drew 12 conclusions and gave a reason for each one.

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“President Trump is out of touch with regular people. His trade taxes and his war have raised the cost of food, gas, and housing. He cuts healthcare and childcare while asking for more money for war. Republicans in Congress are letting him do it, but voters will hold him accountable this fall.”

“Mr. President, as President Trump himself has admitted-- his quote--``I am not so careful with what I say’’ and ``Americans’ financial situation? I don’t think about anybody.’’ No kidding. We noticed. When it comes to the economy, President Trump’s statements could not be more divorced from reality, let alone the experience of everyday Americans. Yes, in a shock to no one, the billionaire who gets advice from a trillionaire is way out of touch today with everyday people. Trump said last year that he never even knew the word ``affordability’’ until recently. He said that ``tariffs’’--the taxes he raised on working families--is his ``favorite word.’’ Trump said that we can’t afford childcare. He said, ``No one . . . [cares] about affordable housing.’’ He said, ``Health care . . . [is] not of tremendous interest.’’ Get a load of this: Trump said that he loves inflation and that $4 for a gallon of gas is ``okay’’ and that ``when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.’’ Well, that may be true for his buddies--the billionaires and the oil robber barons--but it sure is not true for working families. Of course, I know it is hard to keep track of all of Trump’s wackadoodle claims about the economy, especially with the constant stream of new nonsense spewing out of this President’s brain, so today, I want to take a trip down memory lane and discuss what I consider Trump’s craziest quotes about the economy and working families. It is no secret that Americans are fed up with inflation--at least all Americans except for one. President Trump said: Do my Republican colleagues agree? Do they love inflation? Because I will say they have not lifted a finger to help us stop the Trump policies driving inflation through the roof. Republicans have not helped rein in Trump’s absurd trade wars. Republicans have not stood up against Trump’s war with Iran. They have not helped reject Trump’s cuts to programs that lower energy costs. They did not stop the MAGA healthcare hike that caused insurance premiums to skyrocket. I know Trump is out of touch with everyday Americans when he says he loves inflation. I know it because I hear directly from people back in Washington State about this all the time. But what about Republicans here in Congress? They may not be as blunt about it as Trump, but their actions--or, rather, their inaction to lower prices--speak pretty darn loudly. If you are not a billionaire like Trump, you are probably very familiar with groceries and the fact that costs have been going up, up, and up. If you are Trump, well, then you are saying things like this: It is a ``very simple word, groceries. Like almost--you know, who uses the word?’’ or ``It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It sort of says a bag with different things in it.’’ For most of us, the grocery trip is a weekly errand, it is everyday life, but the way Trump talks about groceries, he may as well be from another planet. It is very clear that Trump has no idea what it is like to clip coupons for discounts on milk and bread. He does not know what it is like to compare cereal boxes to see what size has the best value or to check the clearance aisle in hopes of finding a deal. And I would bet my bottom dollar that he has never in his life bought the generic brand to save a few bucks. He probably doesn’t even know they exist. Groceries may seem old-fashioned to Trump, but for everyone else, whether or not we can afford groceries is the difference between being able to put a healthy dinner on the table, scraping by on the cheapest junk, or just going hungry. Now, if you were wondering why President Trump doesn’t seem to care at all about rising prices, well, it may just be that a billionaire like Trump literally doesn’t understand the idea of struggling to pay for something. The word ``affordability’’ is practically a new concept for him. He doesn’t believe in it. He thinks it was made up. In his own words: He said: And he said: A scam? A hoax? A phony, made-up word? That is what Trump thinks affordability is, but for families across this country today, affordability is a very real problem, one that they are having to deal with every single day and one that is being made worse by this President’s own policies. In case anybody thinks Trump doesn’t have any solutions on affordability, don’t forget this little pearl of wisdom from Trump: Seriously? I talk to moms and dads all the time who are struggling to get by and to families who are already stretching their budgets and pinching their pennies. People are not struggling because they are blowing their savings on dolls. The problem is not their pencil budget. Good Lord! It is everything. It is their healthcare costs, which Trump has sent higher. It is childcare, which is out of control. It is goods across the border, which are up due to Trump’s insane trade wars. It is gas, which Trump launched to new heights with his Iran war. Trump just does not get it. He has no idea what Americans are going through. Trump has already told us that he views ``groceries’’ as an old- fashioned word. He has already said he thinks the word ``affordability’’ is made up. But what has he said about tariffs? You almost have to hear it to believe it. Trump said: Now, as a reminder, since Republicans keep trying to put their heads in the sand on this, tariffs are taxes. Our Republican President is saying his favorite thing is a tax increase. Reagan must be spinning in his grave. And not only are tariffs taxes, they are taxes that hurt working families especially hard. We have seen that time after time. Trump’s tariffs have rocketed grocery prices through the roof. Trump’s tariffs have made baby items--strollers, car seats, toys--more expensive. Trump’s tariffs have put a strain on back-to-school shopping. They have squeezed our local coffee shops. And Trump’s favorite word is crushing small businesses too. I have talked to local restaurants and sporting goods stores and farmers and a lot more. They are all facing serious hardship because of Trump’s tariffs. They are losing customers for produce that they ship abroad. They are having to raise prices in their stores. They are having to pay their employees less and let people go or even shut their doors entirely--all because Trump chose to pursue some of the biggest tax hikes in American history while Republicans cheered him on. Let’s not forget Trump is also totally out of touch on healthcare. As Trump put it, ``I’ve found health care sort of like . . . not of tremendous interest.’’ That explains why he has done absolutely nothing to lower healthcare costs. Worse than that, Trump and Republicans passed the largest cut to healthcare in our Nation’s history and then stood by and cheered as patients faced some of the largest healthcare price hikes in history. In their ``Big Ugly Bill,’’ Republicans gutted Medicaid with changes that are, right now, kicking families off their healthcare coverage. And while Trump and Republicans are plenty interested in tax cuts for billionaires and while they will bend over backward to help keep the private jets fueled, they did not lift a finger to save families from exploding insurance premiums. They stood by as tax credits for working families expired and as people saw their monthly premiums double, triple, or even worse. We know millions of people lost their coverage because of Trump and Republicans. And don’t forget: Trump put tariffs on pharmaceuticals--of all things. Maybe a billionaire like Trump does not find healthcare interesting because Trump has never had to ration his prescription and hope it would be OK, and he has never had to delay a needed checkup until the next paycheck. He has never debated whether to go to urgent care or not because he was worried about the bill or wondered how on Earth he could afford a lifesaving cancer treatment. But that is the reality millions of patients face every day, and they deserve leaders here in Washington who are interested in the challenges they face and who are focused on solutions so that everyone can get the care they need without worrying about the cost. I, of course, have to talk about childcare. I got into politics fighting for childcare, and it is something I push hard on every day. So I was floored when I heard Trump say: Talk about out of touch. That is exactly backward. We have a childcare crisis in this country. It is holding our country back. A billionaire like Trump may not understand that working parents are the backbone of this economy, and if Mom and Dad cannot find childcare, then Mom and Dad can’t go to work. That is a big problem for parents who are trying to make ends meet and for small businesses that are trying to find workers. Trump says we can’t afford childcare. The truth is, we cannot afford to ignore childcare. One of the most outrageous things Trump has said about the economy was something he actually said behind closed doors. According to Punchbowl News earlier this year, Trump told Republican leaders: How ridiculous. We have an enormous housing shortage in this country, especially when it comes to affordable housing. The rising costs from Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war have made it harder for people to make rent. And because Trump has done so much damage to the economy, Federal interest rates are on the rise, meaning mortgage rates are going higher and higher, and millions of families are watching as Trump pulls the rug out from under them--putting their dream of owning a home further and further out of reach, but Trump doesn’t care. Worse than that, Trump sees high housing costs as a good thing. He literally said: Spoken like a true slumlord. And let’s not forget that while Trump doesn’t know words like ``affordability’’ and ``groceries’’ and loves inflation and tariffs and while he doesn’t care about healthcare or housing and doesn’t think we need money for childcare, there is one issue Trump is ready to throw trillions of dollars at--war. He started a pointless war with Iran, with no plan and no concern for how it would explode gas prices. Even now, he is saying $4 gas is OK. He doubled down recently and said: Meanwhile, he has put forward a completely war-bloated budget calling for $1.5 trillion for war spending. That is ``trillion’’ with a ``t.’’ We are talking about 12 zeroes here. I know what you are thinking. It is the same thing most Americans are thinking. We cannot afford another forever war. We have investments right here that we need to be making: childcare, healthcare, energy, roads, housing, and more. But Trump, who once promised no more forever wars, has actually done a complete 180. Not only did he launch a new war, he wrote online about his belief that ``wars can be fought forever and very successfully.’’ So, to recap, Trump thinks wars can be fought forever, but we can’t afford childcare at all. He wants to spend trillions on bombs and weapons but doesn’t care about housing and healthcare. It simply does not get more wrong or out of touch than that. There are so many insane things Trump has said about the economy, but a lot of it comes down to one basic fact: He is in complete denial. Maybe it is because he has let AI videos melt his brain. Maybe it is because he is a hopelessly out-of-touch billionaire. Maybe it is just because he is exactly what he has always been--a liar. They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. When it comes to the economy, Trump cannot even do that. Despite the painful inflation, despite the sluggish job growth, despite the red flashing lights like rising bond rates and slowing GDP growth and plummeting consumer confidence--despite all of that--when Trump was asked to give himself a grade on the economy, he gave himself an ``A-plus . . . A- plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.’’ A plus? That is more like BS. Maybe the high prices and chaos are working great for corrupt billionaires like Trump. After all, he has made more stock trades as President than all of Congress combined; he is raking in billions through crypto scams; and his family is cashing in through highly conflicted foreign business deals. However, Trump’s rigged economy is not working for working families, but here is the thing: We live in a democracy. At the end of the day, Trump’s final grade on the economy won’t come from himself. The American people--the ones who are paying the price of Trump’s tariffs, the ones who are paying the price of his war with Iran, the moms and dads who are struggling to find childcare, the patients who are struggling to find healthcare, the families who are struggling to pay rent--they are the ones who will pass final judgment later on this year on Trump’s economy. I have no doubt that, in the meantime, Trump will continue making out-of-touch statements and bizarre AI videos. But here is a reminder to all of my colleagues who are afraid to stand up to this President: Even if Trump has lost touch with reality, he is going to have to face all of that this fall. I yield the floor.”

“I am voting against Todd Blanche. He is corrupt and protected Donald Trump and his family. He mishandled records about Jeffrey Epstein and mistreated victims. He also said privately that he wants to ban abortion in every state.”

“Mr. President, I was never going to come out here and support Todd Blanche for a long list of reasons. I do believe he is one of the most corrupt Justice Department officials in our country’s history, for one. He was Trump’s former personal lawyer, and it seems that he never quit. The only difference now is that taxpayers are signing his checks instead of Trump. He was the one who negotiated a $1.8 billion slush fund to pay off violent insurrectionists and who cut a backroom deal to give the President and his entire corrupt family immunity from IRS investigations, not to forget that Todd Blanche is the guy who botched the Epstein file so badly that survivors had their names and faces exposed while the names of alleged abusers were hidden. This is a man who wouldn’t meet with survivors until Senators put him under a tremendous amount of public pressure. When the meeting eventually got on the books, the survivors made it crystal clear Blanche didn’t listen to them. He was more interested in checking a box than in hearing their stories or bringing them justice. All of that is, of course, absolutely unacceptable and disqualifying, but I come here today to sound the alarm on some of the most disturbing comments I have ever heard from the Nation’s top law enforcement official. I guess Todd Blanche thought no one was listening because, on a private call with anti-abortion activists, Mr. Blanche told us all exactly what he plans to do if Senators confirm him. His goal was to make the Dobbs decision ``permanent in every single state’’--``every single state’’--not just in Texas or Idaho. He wants to ban abortion in Washington State, in California, in New York--in every State. He told them: Victory over what exactly? Victory over women who just want to make their own healthcare decisions? Victory over patients in States where abortion is legal--where voters have said over and over at the ballot box: Keep your hands off our rights? A DOJ spokesperson tried to clean up Blanche’s words, saying he was only focused on restricting access to medication abortion in all 50 States, as if that is somehow better. I am here to say: I will believe the tape. I believe Todd Blanche’s own words. So let’s be crystal clear about what this vote is. A vote to confirm Todd Blanche is a vote to endorse his fight to ban abortion in all 50 States. Whatever happened to this being a State’s decision? Every Republican who votes yes is voting for exactly that--his words, not mine--and any Republican who votes to confirm him will own that in every State, in every way. This isn’t just a confirmation vote anymore; it is a rollcall vote in which Senators endorse banning abortion in all 50 States at the Federal level. I am voting no. I yield the floor.”

“Wildfires in Washington State have forced over 65,000 people to leave their homes and destroyed hundreds of buildings. I thank the firefighters and volunteers helping them. The federal government must give our firefighters all the resources they need. I want the President to approve all of our governor's request for disaster aid. As a leader on the Senate committee that funds the government, I will make sure federal money goes to help Spokane rebuild.”

“Mr. President, I rise today with a very heavy heart because, right now, huge swaths of my State are being confronted by some of the worst fires that we have ever seen. This weekend, three fast-moving wildfires exploded across Spokane County. In a matter of hours, entire neighborhoods were told: Leave now. This may be your only notice. Over 65,000 people I represent have been forced to evacuate their homes. At least 700 homes, businesses, and buildings have been destroyed already. Families are sleeping in the Spokane Convention Center tonight, not knowing whether they even still have a home to go back to. And as of this morning, these fires are still not contained. The photos and videos tell the story: Houses reduced to ash, families embracing outside the burned remains of what they once called home. It is heartbreaking. Smoke so thick over Spokane that the air itself has now become a health hazard. To every family in Spokane and across eastern Washington who has lost a home or a business or a lifetime of memories, hear me: I promise you I am with you today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes to rebuild. And amid this devastation, I also want this Chamber to hear about the extraordinary courage on display in my State right now. Within hours of the evacuation orders, neighbors were opening their doors to strangers. Families who had room to spare simply said: Come stay with us. Volunteers worked through the night at the convention center, handing out blankets, serving hot meals, sitting with frightened kids. Local restaurants showed up with food for evacuees and for the fire crews who are coming off the line. Churches and community groups collected clothes and diapers, pet food. Whatever people needed, someone in Spokane found a way to provide it. Firefighters have been on the lines around the clock in brutal heat against dangerous winds. Local fire crews, crews from across the State, the Washington National Guard--all mobilized within hours. Incident management teams and firefighters who actually came from out of State all the way from Florida to Alaska--there are even firefighters from Australia and New Zealand--because of them, because of the sheriff’s deputies and police officers who went door to door to get people out, because of the emergency managers and dispatchers and shelter volunteers, tens of thousands of people got to safety. These are real- life heroes, and, on behalf of the people of Washington State, ``Thank you.’’ But gratitude is not enough. The people of Spokane need action, and they deserve to know their government has their back. So here is where things stand as I see them: Our firefighters must have every resource they need to contain these fires--every aircraft, every bit of equipment, every dollar. So far our State has gotten the resources we need from the Federal Government, and I deeply appreciate that. That is how it should be. Yesterday, I led our congressional delegation in urging the President to approve the Governor’s request for an expedited emergency declaration. The President has approved part of that request; that is good, and I will be watching closely to ensure the full request is approved. The next few days will no doubt be difficult as local fire crews do their best to try and contain these fires. Looking ahead, it is important to say: Spokane’s recovery will not be measured in days or weeks; it will be measured in months and years. Rebuilding homes, rebuilding businesses--it will take a long time, and it will not be easy. But as vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I want the people of eastern Washington to know they have a voice in the U.S. Senate who will speak up for Spokane. I am not someone who will simply write letters to this administration asking for support. I help write the bills that fund the government across every Department and every Federal program, and I will make sure Spokane’s recovery is a priority at every opportunity. There is not a single dollar I won’t pursue if it means helping Spokane and communities across the State as they rebuild from these devastating fires. Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. Spokane has been hurt and is being badly hurt by these fires, but Spokane is not broken. A community that takes care of each other in the way we have seen cannot be broken. Spokane will rebuild; Eastern Washington will recover; and I will be standing with them every single step of the way. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”

“I am voting for this temporary funding bill. It keeps the government open while we work on a full budget. It protects healthcare, housing, and food aid instead of spending more money on President Trump's wars and border agencies. It also stops the administration from letting political appointees control federal science grants.”

“Madam President, we have our work cut out for us as we work to fund the government for the coming fiscal year. As costs for our families go up and up and up, the President wants a $1\1/2\ trillion war budget, and he wants to cut programs working people depend on to pay for it. No. No way. And as his disastrous war with Iran rages on, Trump is even asking for another $70 billion on top of that to bankroll the war. It is really hard to imagine more backward funding priorities, especially as so many families today are struggling and being hurt by the cuts to healthcare and food aid. Congress is not an ATM to fund Trump’s disastrous wars abroad, so, as I have said many times, we need to rip up the President’s budget and write a new one. I have been very clear from the start: We absolutely must prioritize helping families and lowering costs as we do that, and that means rejecting the President’s astronomical defense request and instead delivering significantly more funding for our nondefense budget so we can invest in helping people here at home. It is clear that we will definitely need more time to get this done and reach bipartisan agreement on the funding levels, just as we have done in the Senate for the last 3 years, which then allows us to draft bipartisan bills for fiscal year 2027. So I am very glad we were able to craft a bipartisan CR to keep the government funded and to make sure we can avert a shutdown that no one wants, while giving us time to reach a bipartisan agreement on a top line in our funding bills. Two weeks ago, House Republicans sent us an incomplete CR with several major issues. It is critical that we address those issues in any CR, and that is exactly what we have done. Perhaps most important, we closed a loophole in the House Republican CR that would have allowed the Trump administration to transfer funding provided for other programs to Border Patrol. That was a nonstarter. Until Republicans finally agree to enact desperately needed reforms to ICE and Border Patrol, we cannot approve another cent for them. This new CR that we have written includes some really important extensions and language that House Republicans did not, and that includes extensions of authorizations for important health, veterans, and infrastructure programs and language to make sure that key housing programs and a program to help feed low-income seniors can continue serving Americans. This bill also rejects requests from President Trump for even more flexibility and funding for the Pentagon, including $1 billion for Trump-class battleships. My Democratic colleagues and I pushed very hard and secured an important provision to prevent the Office of Management and Budget from implementing its corrupt new grants rule, which would have required a Trump political appointee to sign off on every last Federal grant and empowered them to terminate any grant at any point for any reason. That disastrous rule would put politics above science when determining, for example, what cancer research grants to fund. I am going to keep working to kill that rule outright as our spending talks continue later this year. Unfortunately, Republicans would not take action in this bill to protect our constitutional power of the purse and prevent Russ Vought from attempting another illegal pocket rescission, nor would they agree to our efforts to extend critical advanced appropriations for infrastructure, which were provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law. That runs out on October 1. Make no mistake--we will keep fighting to get those priorities done in the negotiations in the fall. We do have a lot of work ahead, and this CR provides us a reasonable runway to get it done. So I hope this CR sets us up to roll up our sleeves and focus on getting to a bipartisan top line so we can then write good, bipartisan spending bills. For all of those reasons, I will be voting yes tonight to advance this bipartisan bill.”

“I want the Senate to pass my resolution to lower childcare costs for low-income families. President Trump ended a rule that stopped these families from paying more than seven percent of their income on childcare. We must bring that cap back to help parents afford to work.”

“Mr. President, while President Trump’s top priorities are $1.5 trillion in war spending and a golden ballroom, those are not the priorities that American families are focused on. Everywhere I go, I hear from families about the crushing cost of childcare, so it is no surprise to me that 80 percent of voters say the high cost of childcare is a major problem. This is at the beating heart of our economy. If Mom and Dad don’t have affordable, high-quality childcare, Mom and Dad can’t go to work. But while Trump has plunged us into an affordability crisis, a war that no one asked for, all while families are struggling to get by, he is hell-bent on making our country’s childcare crisis even worse. Right now, Trump’s HHS ended a 7-percent copayment cap on childcare costs for the very low-income families who already receive Federal childcare support. This is already a very modest Federal program that needs to be supersized in order to meet the needs of every child who needs it. Even with this program, many households are paying more than 20 percent of their household income on childcare costs. When Democrats put forward this policy, we said no family who qualifies for this subsidy should pay more than 7 percent of their income for childcare. Trump tore that up. We should be having a debate about how we increase childcare funding. How about, instead of a $1.5 trillion war budget, we make sure every working family in America can afford childcare. Well, Trump’s tariffs already tax diapers, formula, and the car seat. Now he is coming for commonsense childcare policies, taking us in the wrong direction at a time when families need affordable childcare more than ever. If Trump had simply done nothing and left the 7-percent cap in place, some of these families would have ended up saving as much as $15,000 a year for their family. This is really a slap in the face to moms and dads all over the country--and to childcare providers, who are already stretched thin to make their budgets work and keep their doors open and keep qualified employees in a field that has very high turnover. The good news: Congress can now force Trump to reverse course on this--today, right now. Very soon, we are going to be voting on my resolution to overturn Trump’s anti-childcare rule and bring back that 7 percent income cap. This shouldn’t be controversial. You are either voting to lower childcare costs or to increase them. Not too long ago, President Trump said openly that he believes--and I am going to quote him--we can’t afford daycare; we have to pay for war. We can afford childcare. Trump just wants to use our taxpayer dollars to fund war and tax cuts for billionaires. Trump says we can’t afford childcare, but he is wrong. The truth is, we can’t afford to ignore childcare. I know that investment in childcare is an investment in our families and an investment in a stronger economy. To my colleagues: If you vote to let this rule stand, own it. Go home and tell the parents in your State you voted to raise their childcare bill. You cannot call yourself pro-family while voting to make it more expensive to raise one. You just can’t. That is why I am calling on my colleagues to join me today and pass this resolution. Every Senator is going to cast a vote today on a simple question: Should working parents pay more for childcare or less? Donald Trump wants them to pay more--more at the pump, more at the grocery store, and now more to drop the child off at daycare. Now the Senate will give its answers, and I promise you this: Parents are watching and parents remember. To my colleagues: Vote for the moms. Vote for the dads. Vote for the kid in the back seat at the 7 a.m. dropoff. When childcare costs as much as the mortgage, whose side are you on? So, again, I urge my colleagues to vote yes to lower childcare costs. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”

• Reasons given
  ?

  Speech in the House

  Reasoning 100 of 100

  This statement drew 4 conclusions and gave a reason for each one.

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“I object to this resolution. It insults Canada by claiming they are not trying to fight their forest fires. Canada is already working hard to fight fires, just like we are. We should focus on fighting our own fires instead of upsetting our neighbor.”

“Mr. President, let me just say to my friend, and he is a friend, and I do hear his quiet, calm tone. I appreciate it. It is not something we all often hear here. But I will say this, in the words that you hear from this resolution, if you are a Canadian, it is that we are insulting them by saying you are not trying to fight your forest fires. And I will tell you this, I am working my tail off to help us fight our wildfires; our Canadian friends are as well. And I think, in this very heightened time--when I know I don’t live far from the border either; we have a lot of trade with our Canadian friends; we go back and forth--they feel very insulted by a lot that is going on. So I think this adds fuel to that fire. So what I say to my friend, let’s work on our country, making sure that we are fighting our forest fires, which I outlined in my response to you, of some of the things we can do, and I believe that our Canadian friends are doing the same. But that is why I object at this time.”

• Little substance
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  Speech in the House

  Signal 41 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I want the Senate to pass this resolution to stop a new Medicare program. The program uses artificial intelligence to delay or deny care that doctors recommend for seniors. Private companies are paid based on how many claims they deny, and that is harming patients.”

“Madam President, I wanted to talk today about not just how Republicans are making healthcare more expensive but also how they are making it just plain worse for seniors. President Trump came into office saying he would not cut Medicare, but that was clearly a lie because right now his administration is trying to privatize Medicare; in part, by putting AI between Medicare beneficiaries and their healthcare. In January of this year, under Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Oz’s leadership, CMS began this pilot program that uses AI to require prior authorization in traditional Medicare for the first time ever, and it is set to run for 6 years. They call it the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction Model. Well, they got the wasteful and inappropriate part right. The WISeR Model uses AI to deny vulnerable seniors the care they need and that their doctors recommend. Not only that, but the for-profit contractors that conduct this prior authorization are paid a percentage of the cost of care that they deny. They are literally incentivized to rip healthcare away from seniors because that is best for their bottom line. When your business model relies on denials, denials are what seniors are going to get, and that is perverse. WISeR was rolled out in the beginning of this year in my home State of Washington and five other States without safeguards and without any transparency and without the best interests of Medicare beneficiaries at the heart of this program. President Trump is saying: Forget the doctors who went to medical school and took an oath to do no harm. AI knows better when it comes to healthcare decisions for our seniors. The consequences of that poor judgment are real, and they are life- threatening. I hear from Medicare patients in Washington State all the time. They are suffering debilitating pain for weeks because they are not getting the care they need, thanks to this harmful model--patients like Joanne. She is a Medicare beneficiary from Quilcene, WA. She went to her doctor for severe pain. An MRI showed that a herniated disk was pressing on her sciatic nerve. Joanne’s doctor prescribed an epidural injection to help ease that pain. This was standard, routine care--care that, before this year, she would have been able to get quickly after it had been recommended by her doctor. But because of this WISeR Model, she had to wait 6 weeks to get approval. That means, thanks to WISeR, Joanne had to deal with unnecessary, unrelated pain for 6 weeks. Because of this nonsense delay, her day-to-day life was disrupted and the burden fell on her then to fight for the care she needed. This is simply outrageous, but that is also WISeR working by design, and that is a direct impact of the Trump administration’s actions. We have seen way too many stories like Joanne’s from States that have been selected for this pilot program. No way should an algorithm decide if seniors should get the care they need. That is exactly why I join my colleagues here in introducing a resolution to overturn this model. And I want all of my colleagues to join me in voting for it so we can make sure seniors in my State and all over the country can, once again, receive their healthcare on time and without interruption. Let’s just use our common sense. It is clear as day that some AI models should never be at the wheel making healthcare decisions left and right. And it is not just patients I have heard from. I have met with healthcare providers all over my State. Whether it is a rural hospital or a doctor in Seattle, no one--no one--has had anything good to tell me about prior authorization in traditional Medicare. Now, I ran for office because I believe regular people deserve a say in how their government is run, and that is especially true when it comes to the government deploying AI technology. I don’t know any senior--Republican or Democrat--who asked President Trump to let AI decide if their doctor-recommended treatment was necessary. Of course, AI can help make things more efficient or do good things. That is not what the WISeR Model is doing. So let’s get to the crux of it. As a country, we make a promise to American seniors: If they paid their taxes throughout their careers, they earned their Medicare coverage. Full stop. WISeR breaks that promise to seniors with these senseless AI-driven prior authorizations that deny and delay care. Let me be clear, many seniors choose traditional Medicare over other options because traditional Medicare rarely requires prior authorizations. People choose traditional Medicare because they want to make their healthcare decisions with their doctor, not with a private company that is out to make a profit. Simply put, the WISeR Model--which, again, delays and denies necessary care to Medicare patients--is reckless, and it is irresponsible. I want my Republican colleagues to join us in voting to get rid of WISeR once and for all because this should not be a partisan issue. We all have seniors in our States that deserve the highest level of care without having to deal with redtape and delay. Thanks to Trump, AI is getting in between our seniors and their healthcare in Arizona, in New Jersey, in Ohio, in Oklahoma, in Texas, and in my State of Washington. We have an opportunity to stop this harmful experimental pilot program before more seniors are harmed. No senior in America should have to appeal their pain and suffering to a machine. To my colleagues, if it were your spouse or parent who needed care, whom would you want to decide if they get their treatment, their doctor or a for-profit algorithm? Would you want them to suffer in pain for weeks for care that they are entitled to? I know what my answer is. Let’s maintain the promise of Medicare. Let’s pass this resolution. I yield the floor.”

• Reasons given
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  Reasoning 100 of 100

  This statement drew 4 conclusions and gave a reason for each one.

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