One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for not just yielding but for his leadership in getting us to this point.

Mr. Speaker, we are at the precipice of the new golden age of America. How do we get there? We get there by actually making the right decisions for those hardworking families who have been struggling.

If you listen to the people on the other side, Mr. Speaker, who have over and over again said they are against this bill and all the things that are in this bill for hardworking families, you would think the last 4 years things have been going great for middle America. I don't know what parallel universe they have been living in, Mr. Speaker, but we heard the message that the voters sent who said they are sick and tired of high inflation, of high gas prices, of not being able to fill up their grocery cart because of the spending in Washington, for Washington, at their expense.

What does this bill do? It says that we are finally going to turn that around and deliver a bill that focuses on families in America.

We hear a lot from the other side, Mr. Speaker, about billionaires, tax cuts for billionaires. If you go look at this bill--everybody has had an opportunity to read the bill. They actually read the whole bill on the Senate floor. It only took 14 hours. If you listened, one of the things you would find out, Mr. Speaker, is there are some new tax cuts in this bill, but not for billionaires.

It would beg the question: Why does the other side keep hiding behind billionaires as their excuse to vote no? Because they made a decision, Mr. Speaker, early on, they don't want to give people back their money. They want to keep that power in Washington. That is really what is at stake here. That is the big fight that has been going on for years.

The other side won that fight the last few years by raising taxes, raising spending, growing Washington. While they did that, families in America suffered. Inflation went up for those hardworking families while Washington grew. Interest rates went up to the point where they couldn't even afford to buy a first-time home because Washington grew.

We said that is enough. Washington has to finally start living within Washington's means so that families in America can finally start living the American Dream again. That is what this bill focuses on, Mr. Speaker.

How do we do it? We do it, number one, by locking in rates for everybody. Nobody's taxes go up, Mr. Speaker, nobody's. Now, the other side is upset about that, and I understand it. They don't want just the billionaires' taxes to go up because they know in this bill the income groups that get hit the hardest. If a ``no'' vote prevails--and we have heard them, they are all going to vote ``no,'' Mr. Speaker. But if a ``no'' vote prevails, the income groups that could get hit the hardest are the lower- and middle-income groups of America. They know that. They are watching this vote. You can say billionaires all day long, but do you know what the new tax cuts in this bill are? There are new tax cuts. For the waiter and waitress who are working maybe two, three shifts at a restaurant, at a diner, barely getting by, that is the new tax cut that we are putting in this bill.

You would say, well, then, how could the other side possibly vote against that? Mr. Speaker, they are. Maybe a focus group told them that if they curse enough and if they say ``billionaires'' enough, those families will forget what is actually happening. Those families are not going to forget because they are paying attention.

Do you know what the average pay for a worker in America who makes tip money is under this bill? It is $32,000 a year. That is right. Billionaires aren't even allowed to be eligible for that tax break, but the waitress who is working two or three shifts, barely getting by, making $32,000 a year finally gets a little bit more money.

Yes, every Democrat has bragged over here that they are going to vote against that. They don't want that waitress to get that money back in her pocket. However, we are going to make sure she gets that tax break, Mr. Speaker, because she is struggling. She maybe wants to put together a college fund for her kid. Maybe she wants to take her family on a vacation. She is going to have that opportunity when this bill passes.

Mr. Speaker, do you know who else we are going to give opportunity to in this bill? Sorry, it is not a billionaire again. It is that shift worker working overtime. The other tax cut is going not to billionaires, but to the person who is showing up at the factory, making stuff in America, and paying taxes on the overtime.

However, they are away from their family. They are looking at that check at the end of being away from their family for a few extra hours, trying to make ends meet for their family, and they think: Gee, I have got to give all that extra money back to the government, is it worth being away from my family?

We say, you know what? Yeah, normal tax rates apply on everything else, but if you work overtime, you are not going to pay taxes on that overtime. This is somebody making $60,000 a year, not the billionaire. If you say ``billionaire'' enough, maybe that shift worker won't know what you are doing, but Mr. Speaker, they do know. They do know what is about to happen because everybody is watching this vote. That is a good thing because that shift worker deserves the extra money back.

It might not seem like a lot to somebody who deals with billions and trillions of dollars up here in Washington and grows agencies by 20 to 30 percent every couple of years and just thinks if you double the size of an agency over 5 years, somebody is going to pay for that. Do you know who is paying for it? That hardworking family is paying for it.

We clean up waste, fraud, and abuse. It has been mocked by the other side. They think it is cool to mock what we are doing to finally root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Let the other party, Mr. Speaker, be the defender of waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington, but we are cleaning it up in this bill.

USDA has pointed out that there is about $10 billion a year in waste just in the SNAP program because of fraud and improper payments. These payments are not going to children that you hear about on the floor, and not all these other people. It is going to improper payments, to fraud, $10 billion a year.

However, Mr. Speaker, when you hear about the billionaires and you say, well, how could anybody vote against this bill? Think about what a ``no'' vote means. I am proud of the ``yes'' vote that we are about to pass to help those families. Mr. Speaker, everybody who votes ``no,'' make no mistake about it, everybody who votes ``no'' is going to be asked a question by that waitress making $32,000 a year saying: Why do you want me to pay more money on my tips so that $10 billion of fraud goes out in the SNAP program? You are voting against cleaning it up, and you voted against no tax on tips. That is the ``no'' vote.

You can't hide behind the billionaire anymore. You are going to have to face the reality, Mr. Speaker, that this bill actually delivers for the working families of this country who have been struggling. They haven't been living on easy street the last 4 years.

They went to the polls in November and said: We want to try a different approach. This is that different approach, to give them more power, to give them more opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, do you know who we are giving opportunity to in this bill? Again, if you are going to vote ``no,'' this is what the ``no'' vote will take away. We actually create something unique in this bill. It hasn't been talked about yet, but it is in the bill. I am really proud of it. We create opportunity in school choice for every--not billionaire--low-income family. Every low-income family in America will be eligible for a scholarship so that their kid can go to the school of their choice if they are in a failing school.

Now, if you vote ``no,'' Mr. Speaker, how do you tell that family that their kid doesn't have the same opportunity which they deserve that every other kid in America can have?

If somebody can afford it, they can go to a private school. If that low-income family can't afford it, we are finally giving them a lifeline in this bill, Mr. Speaker, and saying you can have the same opportunity. A ``no'' vote says you don't think that parent deserves the same opportunity, and then you hide behind billionaires.

There is going to be no hiding, Mr. Speaker. We all know when this board lights up what the consequences are.

Why do we say there is going to be a golden era in this country? We are securing our border in this bill, too. We are opening up American energy in this bill, everywhere from the North Slope of Alaska to, yes, the Gulf of America, where President Biden had shut down American energy.

He green-lighted Russia's Nord Stream pipeline so Russia could produce their energy, funding billions of dollars to go fund their war against Ukraine, but in America, we were shut down. We open it up in this bill, Mr. Speaker.

American workers get to produce American energy, not just for America. It is going to lower the price at the pump. Again, if you are a middle-income family--the billionaire doesn't care what the cost of gasoline is. Do you know who does? That waitress making $32,000 a year cares. When she saves that tip money, maybe she can go on a trip, get in her car and drive and afford the gasoline now because we will be producing more.

We actually have lease sales in this bill. For once, we can produce energy in America. We have great natural resources. We just had them shut down for 4 years by an administration that said no to American energy. They said yes to other countries' energy. Iran was able to sell their oil on world markets thanks to the previous administration. That party is over.

When America starts producing more energy, not only does it help lower the price for families here in America, not only does it create great jobs here in America, but all the bad guys around the world-- Russia, Iran, Venezuela, you name your country--they are not going to have a cartel-like exclusive license on global energy anymore because America is going to be back in the game.

Let's get this country back in the game. Let's get this country back on track. Let's actually promote opportunity and the American Dream again for anybody who wants it. Do you want to work? There is going to be more opportunity than you have ever had before.

If you are disabled on Medicaid, right now you have been crowded out of those programs by people turning down work. Able-bodied people, 35- year-olds sitting at home playing video games are going to have to now go get a job. That is right. By the way, that is a good thing for them. Their mom doesn't want them sitting in the basement playing video games anyway. Now it no longer will be crowding out Medicaid for the truly needy people who deserve it. The disabled people will not be getting crowded out of those programs by people who can actually go get a job, and there are going to be a lot of great jobs, Mr. Speaker, a lot of great jobs in this country. America is coming back.

You can vote ``no'' all day long, and you can hide behind billionaires all day long, but we are going to keep moving forward because this country doesn't sit down in the fetal position.

America is ready for a rebirth, and we are going to deliver it. President Trump is at the helm now. It is a new day. World leaders know it. The bad guys around the world know it. Those hardworking families who have been waiting for this relief for a long, long time are finally going to realize help is on the way because of Republicans in Congress. Any Democrats that want to join, Mr. Speaker, are free to, but they are bragging that they don't want to be a part of this.

Do you know what? The hardworking families of America are hungry for this kind of change. Take power away from Washington, give it back to the people, and watch what happens. Great things are ahead for this country. We are the greatest country in the history of the world. We are finally going to restore that great American Dream and that hope for those families who have been waiting way too long. That help is coming.

We are going to pass this bill. President Trump is going to sign it. It is going to be a great Fourth of July. Let's pass the bill.

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