A CONFESSION OF OUR VALUES

On 2026-01-09, Representative Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) delivered a floor speech titled "A CONFESSION OF OUR VALUES" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered defense, veterans affairs.

A CONFESSION OF OUR VALUES

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 7 (Friday, January 9, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 7 (Friday, January 9, 2026)] [House] [Page H607] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] A CONFESSION OF OUR VALUES (Ms. SIMON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about betrayal. Nearly 14,000 veterans who served this Nation will sleep unsheltered tonight, not in beds. They will sleep on concrete, in cars, and under bridges. There are 37 million American children who depend on Medicaid for their healthcare, and this Congress just signed $1 trillion in cuts to that lifeline. Also, 12 million Americans will lose their health insurance, the largest rollback of healthcare in American history. Meanwhile, the Pentagon just failed its eighth consecutive audit. There are over $4 trillion in assets that they cannot account for. They are the only Federal agency who has failed to ever pass an audit, not once. We have got money for war, but we can't feed the poor. We refuse to fully fund cancer research. We refuse to house low-income elders in their final years, and we refuse to shelter the very soldiers we sent to die in wars that we keep funding. This is a confession of our values. ____________________