CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING

On 2025-03-11, Representative Laura Friedman (D-CA-30) delivered a floor speech titled "CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare.

CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)] [House] [Page H1129] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING (Ms. FRIEDMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. FRIEDMAN. Mr. Speaker, the power of the purse belongs to Congress, not to the President, and this has nothing to do with our current President Donald Trump. This is in the Constitution, and it is clear as day, and it has been affirmed over and over again by the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to have it both ways. They want to let Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, wreck our government with illegal cuts, but they seem to lack the courage of their convictions to actually vote on these cuts. They lack that courage because they know how toxic these cuts are, deep cuts to healthcare, cuts to childcare, cuts that help the most vulnerable among us. They won't even allow a vote on my amendment when all it would do is force the President to follow the Constitution. I am here with a simple request for my Republican colleagues. Abide by your oath. Stand up for the Constitution. Allow a vote on this amendment. Stand up for your own constituents. Stand up for your own constitutional authority. That is what we are elected to do. That is why we are here. It is one of the main reasons we are here. Do not give our authority as Congress away to an unelected bureaucrat. ____________________