Chairman Aguilar: Democrats are on the side of working people
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu were joined by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar and New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider for a press conference highlighting House Democrats’ unity against the Republican Budget that cuts Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning. Pleased to be joined with my colleague Ted Lieu, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, as well as Greg Casar, the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Chair of the New Democratic Coalition, Brad Schneider.
Last week, House Democrats from every corner of our Caucus voted against the House Republican Budget, which cut Medicaid $880 billion to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. We want to make health care more affordable and more available to the American people. This is in stark contrast to Republicans who voted to kick children off their health care and to put seniors at risk.
As President Trump prepares for tonight's speech, it's clear that Democrats are on the side of working people, while Republicans are only looking out for their billionaire friends. Trump and Republicans have broken their promise to lower costs on day one, which was his commitment, to focus on tax giveaways for corporations and billionaires who don't need any more help. In fact, Trump's reckless tariffs, just announced last night, will raise prices on gas, produce at grocery stores, beer, lumber to build homes, crude oil and parts that make cars.
As families struggle to make ends meet, Democrats are united against Trump and Elon Musk dismantling the services that families rely on, while steering more taxpayer dollars to themselves and their billionaire friends. They're dismantling the VA health care and laying off thousands of veterans, as Trump stands with Putin and risks our national security. Tonight, we expect the President to put on a master class in dishonesty. We expect the President will focus not on everyday Americans, but on his friends and his ego. No matter what he says, he cannot change the damage he's done already and the fact that his agenda is going to raise prices for everyday Americans.
Vice Chair Ted Lieu.
VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar. Honored to be here with Representatives Greg Casar and Brad Schneider. I want to tell you about a meeting I had today with Vote Vets. They brought in a number of veterans who were fired, and I want to tell you a story about one of them. Her name is Eileen. She is an Air Force veteran. She then went to work for FEMA. She's in a rural part of Alabama. She was one of the first to volunteer with FEMA to deploy to Hurricane Helene. On President’s Day, she got an email firing her with no notice, and she couldn’t even go back to her office. They sent her UPS boxes saying, ‘You put your government cell phone and laptop in this box and you ship it back to us.’ A few days later, she had to go out to a field where her supervisor from FEMA had to walk out and give her her box from her items at her office. She has two kids, four and 10. She now has no job.
This is not how we should treat veterans, not how we should treat federal employees, not how we should treat any American. And this is what Donald Trump did to her. And he's done that to a large number of federal employees. And if you look at the federal workforce, about one in four are veterans. This is not how they should be treated, and most of these actions are simply brazenly illegal. We have a number of court cases being filed. We're winning a number of those cases. Others are going to go into litigation, and I call on the Administration to stop illegally firing our veterans and other federal employees.
I also now want to touch on the subject of tariffs. You've seen with the indiscriminate tariffs that the President has both imposed and threatened to impose, that not only is the stock market tanking, but also inflation is up, consumer sentiment is down, and the Atlanta Fed has now predicted that we're going to contract this quarter in terms of GDP. That is shocking, and that is all because of actions of one person, the President, who is massively harming our economy.
And then, I’d like to conclude now on Ukraine. I don't know why Donald Trump is scared of Putin. He clearly is. He acts like he's scared of Putin. And right now, with his pause in funding to Ukraine, I just want to let Ukrainians know to please hang in there. The President of the United States cannot extend that pause because it would be illegal. Congress, on a bipartisan basis, appropriated that funding to Ukraine. Ukraine is going to get that funding. And with that, I'd like to introduce our amazing Representative from Austin, Texas, Greg Casar. He has done a fantastic job as leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
REP. CASAR: Thank you so much Vice Chair Lieu and Chairman Aguilar. I also want to thank New Dems Chairman Brad Schneider, who I'm proud to call a partner in the fight to protect Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the American people.
Tonight, millions of Americans will tune in to watch the President address a Joint Session of Congress. I do not know what Trump will say, but I can guarantee you that he is going to lie to the American people and not tell the truth about what MAGA Republicans in Congress want to do to you right now. So let me say it clearly, whatever political games that Donald Trump plays tonight, whatever lies he tells and whatever show he puts on, people watching at home should know that Trump and House Republicans want to steal your health care, steal your taxpayer money and hand it over to their billionaire buddies and to their donors.
In Congress, Republicans are advancing a budget that would end Medicaid as we know it. And Elon Musk is trying to cut your Medicare and your Social Security. Social Security that seniors earned throughout their lifetime is what Elon Musk just recently called a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ I'll say it again. Elon Musk just called Social Security, ‘the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.’ That's right, a guy that makes $8 million per day from federal government contracts thinks that seniors getting $65 a day from Social Security is a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ Their plan is plain and simple: guys like Elon Musk get richer and you get screwed.
But here's the good news, Democrats are united and fighting back to protect your Social Security, your Medicare and your Medicaid. New Democrats, Congressional Progressive Caucus Democrats, the two biggest ideological caucuses here in the Congress, have put out a joint letter that includes 100% of our members from our two Coalitions saying we will not vote to cut your Medicare, your Medicaid and your Social Security. Over 200 House Democrats showed just in a matter of days that we are united with the American people in this fight. So while we may not all agree on every single issue, we are saying with one voice, hands off Medicare, hands off Medicaid and hands off of Americans' Social Security.
So now the question becomes: will any three House Republicans grow a backbone? Will any three House Republicans do the right thing and act like U.S. Representatives instead of like Trump employees, and join us? Because if three Congressional House Republicans join together with Democrats to do the right thing, there will be no Social Security cuts. We can prevent cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and to Social Security. But if House Republicans choose instead unanimously to come after Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare, then they will own the terrible consequences for working people.
Thank you so much. And now I'd like to hand this over to my partner, the Chairman of the New Democratic Coalition, Brad Schneider.
REP. SCHNEIDER: Thank you Chair Casar, Chairman Aguilar, Vice Chair Lieu. It's good to be standing here with you in one common voice.
Before I read my prepared remarks and talk about our joint letter, I want to touch on what Vice Chair Lieu talked about, veterans. I have the privilege of representing Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, Illinois. Every single sailor, recruit, who enlists in the Navy shows up in North Chicago for 10 weeks of basic training. I've had the privilege of attending those graduations. I see those 17-, 18-, and 19-year-old young people, men and women, who say, ‘I want to serve my country. I want to put on the uniform of the United States, go to places I do not know, do things I have no idea if I'll be able to do, to protect the American people and the American way of life.’ Many of those people serve two years, four years. Many serve 20 years or more. All of them, committed and dedicated to bettering our country. And many of them, when they finish their service, are not done serving our country. They go to work with the federal government.
They're dedicated federal workers who are serving their nation in their local communities, many here in Washington. They're the people who work in Social Security, the Forest Rangers in our national parks, the folks who provide care at VA hospitals, and they are the ones who are getting the letters from Elon Musk and DOGE in the middle of the night saying, ‘Your service is no longer desired and we no longer value your performance.’
This is wrong, and this is weakening our country, and this is why we are standing before you united to say it has to stop. I'm very proud that the CPC, Congressional Progressive Caucus, New Democrat Coalition, others have come together. We've made a very strong statement. I'm proud to lead 110 members of the New Democrat Coalition in joining in that statement, saying, ‘We cannot allow dangerous cuts to programs that Americans have actually paid for out of their hard earned dollars.’ Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.
The headline is and should be, House Democrats are united, in deep contrast to what we're seeing from our Republican colleagues. While the Democrats are focused on lowering costs, Republicans are pushing a budget that will result in cuts to health care and benefits that have been earned by hard working Americans. While Democrats are focused on making our community safe, Musk and DOGE are firing thousands of employees who help keep planes in the sky, prevent diseases like bird flu and measles from spreading and serve our veterans after they complete their service to our nation.
Democrats are working tirelessly to bring down prices of everyday products, while President Trump, just today, levied 25% taxes on the American consumer that will raise costs for groceries, for cars and trucks, gasoline, new construction for houses and many other everyday products. Meanwhile, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are doing everything they can to give a free ride to oligarchs like Elon Musk and his wealthy billionaire friends, and they're putting the burden for all of this on our seniors, our children, our first responders, on people who educate our children, build our houses, work on the factory floor, who take care of our communities and tend to us when we are sick. It is these hard working people who are in the crosshairs of the Republicans’ actions.
One of these people is my guest tonight. Adam Mulvey is a 20-year Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He's one of 6,000 of these veterans we've talked about who was fired between February 13th and 24th. He works, or worked, at Lovell Federal Health Care Center. James A. Lovell Center is the only hospital in our country that serves both veterans and active military and every one of those recruits I just mentioned. His job was to help provide emergency management services, planning and preparing in the case of a tornado or another emergency or even an active shooter. He served 35,000 veterans in our area, tens of thousands of active duty sailors and other military members and the 40- to 50,000 people each year who go through Naval Station Great Lakes.
We all believe government should be efficient, but Trump and Musk are taking a sledgehammer to Americans' lives and our livelihoods. And I am proud to stand with all of my colleagues here today saying it has to stop. Thank you, and I am proud to yield back to Chairman Aguilar.
Video of the full press conference can be viewed here.
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