Government Funding

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I often think about times when government resources played an important role in my family's life, long before I became a U.S. Senator.

When I was in high school, shortly after my father passed away, my family received a Social Security disability assistance check. That check helped send me to college. But when I arrived at Georgetown, the costs of tuition, books, and housing became more than that check could support.

Luckily, I was able to borrow money under the National Defense of Education Act of 1958. This money had to be paid back to the government, but it helped put me through college. Had the government not been there in my time of need, I may not be addressing you from the Senate floor today.

Millions of Americans have similar stories when there was a time they needed a helping hand. Maybe they needed help paying for groceries, finding safe and affordable housing, or accessing healthcare--and in all those experiences, the government was there to give them a lifeline.

But, since his inauguration, President Trump and his enablers have taken a chainsaw to the Federal Government, hacking away at the support systems that everyday Americans rely on. And at the President's direction, congressional Republicans have plunged the Nation into a government shutdown.

Rather than address a looming healthcare crisis that will cause healthcare costs to soar, the President--and Project 2025 mastermind Russell Vought--have used it as cover to settle petty political scores against Democratic-led cities and States. Don't believe me? Let me show you.

Look at this chart from the New York Times. Since the start of this Republican-led shutdown, the Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion across 87 Democratic districts. How does that compare to Republican districts? Look at this, just $738 million across 14 Republican districts.

This is petty, unfair, and wrong. The administration is using these projects as pawns in their crusade against Democrats and denying communities the benefits these projects would have provided residents regardless of their political leanings.

As part of this administration's attacks on Democratic-led States, Director Vought announced the cancellation of $8 billion in clean energy and grid enhancement grants--including almost $700 million for the State of Illinois.

Bringing down energy costs and preventing power outages are not partisan issues. But the Trump administration wants you to believe these dollars were going to radical climate policies. In Illinois, more than $150 million of the canceled awards were going to upgrade the power grid. These upgrades would have made our grid more reliable in the face of rising energy demand. Now, that work is in jeopardy. Other canceled awards in Illinois are for methane detection and leak prevention along natural gas pipelines.

When the government refuses to upgrade the grid and protect our pipelines, it does not mean utilities don't need these enhancements anymore. Instead, utility companies will pass along these costs to consumers. You will soon be forced to pay more for your electricity and heat because the Trump administration wants to punish Americans for the candidate they voted for last November.

The administration also has aggressively targeted billions of dollars of previously approved transportation funding. Wreaking havoc in Chicago neighborhoods with cruel immigration raids and sending the military in to patrol the city's streets is not enough for this President. Two weeks ago, the President further escalated his feud with Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker--whom he has called to be jailed-- by withholding $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago infrastructure projects.

The Red Line project has been decades in the making, would finally extend mass transit to the far South Side of Chicago, and would generate tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. But Donald Trump is fine with ripping this away as long as he scores a few political points.

For decades, State and local governments have been able to compete for grant awards for projects--no matter where they live or who they vote for. The Trump administration is taking that tradition and tearing it at the seams. Even some of my Republican colleagues have publicly stated how wrong this is, and I applaud them for bravely coming forward to say so.

I urge the President to stop targeting resources that help everyday Americans and negotiate a reopening of government. Every day that goes by, Americans face increased healthcare costs while the President remains hyperfixated on inflicting as much pain as possible on his political opponents and the communities they represent.

We owe it to the American people to fund the government in a manner that protects their health coverage and ensures government funding and the resources that so many rely on are there in their time of need.

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