Floor SpeechBipartisan2025-03-11

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

HealthcareEnvironmentSocial SecurityVeterans

Context

On 2025-03-11, Representative Gabe Amo (D-RI-1) delivered a floor speech titled "SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the environment, Social Security.

Full Text

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)] [House] [Page H1075] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER (Mr. Amo of Rhode Island was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. AMO. Madam Speaker, I rise today because something is rotten in the state of our government. Over the past 50 days, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE have willfully spread chaos and confusion inside Federal agencies. They have gleefully fired thousands of employees. By taking out their chain saw and cutting down to the bone, this Republican administration is maliciously hurting the American people. We also know they have their sights on Social Security and Medicare, per Elon Musk's statement that it is the ``big one'' to cut. This isn't fear-mongering. It gives me no pleasure to report these facts, but we need to be honest. The speed, scope, and scale with which these bad-faith actors are disrupting lives is unprecedented. While attention has been on the impact of firings in Washington, this is not a Washington story--far from it. In fact, fewer than one in five Federal workers live in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia. That is right, the ongoing efforts to cut back the Federal Government are falling on the over 80 percent of workers who live outside the beltway. They are falling on everyday Americans who rely on our government in countless ways, big and small. Today, I would like to share some stories from Rhode Island of those being hurt by Donald Trump's callous disregard for public service. I will start with a constituent of mine from Barrington, Rhode Island, who works in international development. Since December, she has been employed by a nonprofit organization that helps children with disabilities outside of the United States. The way she explains it: ``Eliminating USAID in its entirety has hollowed out what used to be the largest bilateral aid agency in the world. When these programs stop, kids suffer. They lose access to shelter, medical care, clean water, food, and education.'' Cuts to U.S. foreign aid have forced the nonprofit to start laying off people. They have lost thousands in the field and terminated hundreds more on the international programs team. This hurts our humanitarian and national security goals. Every day, my constituent goes to work worried that their job will be next on the chopping block. Worse still, because of potential cuts to Medicaid that Republicans are pursuing in their budget resolution, she is worried whether her family, including her two young sons, will have health insurance if she loses her job. My question is: Is the cruelty worth it, Madam Speaker? It is not just those who project American influence abroad. It is also those who carry their service forward after serving in uniform. The Federal Government is the largest employer of our brave veterans. Thirty percent of the Federal workforce are veterans, including one of my constituents from Bristol, Rhode Island. As a disabled veteran with 23 years of service, my constituent was unceremoniously fired from his position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on February 27. In his letter, he had asked the Department of Commerce if he could receive a letter of displacement to acquire another Federal position versus having to apply as a member of the public. He received no answer, but then again no longer had the access to find out. Thankfully, we learned yesterday that he was reinstated and will report to work tomorrow. The question is, though, how many veterans have not been so lucky? How many are now scrambling for a job, wondering if their ``thank you for your service'' is an unceremonious pink slip? It is shameful. It is un-American. It is wrong. I want to end on a hopeful note. Recently, I heard from Stephanie, a constituent from North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Stephanie isn't a Federal employee. She is a researcher who went into the field after personally experiencing and seeing her loved ones experience diseases with few treatment options available. Stephanie earned her Ph.D. in experimental and molecular science. Today, she is a post-doctoral research fellow working to find treatments for neurofibromatosis type 1. Currently, her job is safe. Cuts to research through the National Institutes of Health have been halted by a Federal judge. I proudly led more than 150 of my colleagues in a letter to support this bipartisan--yes, bipartisan--funding priority. The overall point remains, though: Cuts to Federal funding and Federal workers affect millions of Americans across the country. Our community is lucky to have researchers, veterans, international aid workers, agricultural experts, and meteorologists. They work to find cures, promote American interests, predict the weather, and keep us healthy, fed, and safe. Their jobs aren't just a line item on a budget. They are about people. They are about Americans who care about our country and the direction of where we are going. Each one of them has done the most American thing possible. They have dedicated their lives to making our Nation a better place. ____________________

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)] [House] [Page H1075] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER (Mr. Amo of Rhode Island was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. AMO. Madam Speaker, I rise today because something is rotten in the state of our government. Over the past 50 days, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE have willfully spread chaos and confusion inside Federal agencies. They have gleefully fired thousands of employees. By taking out their chain saw and cutting down to the bone, this Republican administration is maliciously hurting the American people. We also know they have their sights on Social Security and Medicare, per Elon Musk's statement that it is the ``big one'' to cut. This isn't fear-mongering. It gives me no pleasure to report these facts, but we need to be honest. The speed, scope, and scale with which these bad-faith actors are disrupting lives is unprecedented. While attention has been on the impact of firings in Washington, this is not a Washington story--far from it. In fact, fewer than one in five Federal workers live in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia. That is right, the ongoing efforts to cut back the Federal Government are falling on the over 80 percent of workers who live outside the beltway. They are falling on everyday Americans who rely on our government in countless ways, big and small. Today, I would like to share some stories from Rhode Island of those being hurt by Donald Trump's callous disregard for public service. I will start with a constituent of mine from Barrington, Rhode Island, who works in international development. Since December, she has been employed by a nonprofit organization that helps children with disabilities outside of the United States. The way she explains it: ``Eliminating USAID in its entirety has hollowed out what used to be the largest bilateral aid agency in the world. When these programs stop, kids suffer. They lose access to shelter, medical care, clean water, food, and education.'' Cuts to U.S. foreign aid have forced the nonprofit to start laying off people. They have lost thousands in the field and terminated hundreds more on the international programs team. This hurts our humanitarian and national security goals. Every day, my constituent goes to work worried that their job will be next on the chopping block. Worse still, because of potential cuts to Medicaid that Republicans are pursuing in their budget resolution, she is worried whether her family, including her two young sons, will have health insurance if she loses her job. My question is: Is the cruelty worth it, Madam Speaker? It is not just those who project American influence abroad. It is also those who carry their service forward after serving in uniform. The Federal Government is the largest employer of our brave veterans. Thirty percent of the Federal workforce are veterans, including one of my constituents from Bristol, Rhode Island. As a disabled veteran with 23 years of service, my constituent was unceremoniously fired from his position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on February 27. In his letter, he had asked the Department of Commerce if he could receive a letter of displacement to acquire another Federal position versus having to apply as a member of the public. He received no answer, but then again no longer had the access to find out. Thankfully, we learned yesterday that he was reinstated and will report to work tomorrow. The question is, though, how many veterans have not been so lucky? How many are now scrambling for a job, wondering if their ``thank you for your service'' is an unceremonious pink slip? It is shameful. It is un-American. It is wrong. I want to end on a hopeful note. Recently, I heard from Stephanie, a constituent from North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Stephanie isn't a Federal employee. She is a researcher who went into the field after personally experiencing and seeing her loved ones experience diseases with few treatment options available. Stephanie earned her Ph.D. in experimental and molecular science. Today, she is a post-doctoral research fellow working to find treatments for neurofibromatosis type 1. Currently, her job is safe. Cuts to research through the National Institutes of Health have been halted by a Federal judge. I proudly led more than 150 of my colleagues in a letter to support this bipartisan--yes, bipartisan--funding priority. The overall point remains, though: Cuts to Federal funding and Federal workers affect millions of Americans across the country. Our community is lucky to have researchers, veterans, international aid workers, agricultural experts, and meteorologists. They work to find cures, promote American interests, predict the weather, and keep us healthy, fed, and safe. Their jobs aren't just a line item on a budget. They are about people. They are about Americans who care about our country and the direction of where we are going. Each one of them has done the most American thing possible. They have dedicated their lives to making our Nation a better place. ____________________