Floor SpeechNeutral2025-04-30

PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST

ImmigrationHealthcareTaxesTradeAgricultureEthics

Context

On 2025-04-30, Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) delivered a floor speech titled "PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST" in the House.

Full Text

PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Page H1735] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST (Ms. Barragan of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, after 100 days of chaos and corruption, Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy in real time. The majority has hit the American people with the largest tax increase on the middle class in at least 50 years. We have watched markets around the world plummet, prices spike, and our trading partners hit back with tariffs on American goods that are attacks on the American people. Hardworking Americans are paying more for food, clothes, cars and trucks, electronics, and other essential goods. Estimates are that the Trump tax will cost the average American family almost $5,000 a year in additional costs. Our constituents' 401(k)'s, pensions, and kids' college funds have all taken a huge hit. Trump's reckless trade war has only begun to squeeze the American people. Imports at the San Pedro Bay port complex in my district are expected to plunge in May. That means empty shelves at our stores in a few weeks and further price spikes as shortages hit. Exports at the port complex have also plummeted as retaliatory tariffs by other countries hit agriculture and manufactured goods. This hurts consumers. It hurts businesses. It hurts our port workers and truck drivers who support their families, thanks to trade with other countries. Trump and his billionaire donors won't feel any of it. They don't feel it when the cost of a can of soup is up a couple of dollars because of tariffs on aluminum. They don't feel it when the cost of our constituents' kids' shirts go up $10 apiece because there is a tariff on the clothes they buy or when the cost of their next oil change goes up $20 because the parts and filters are imported. The average American will feel it. Trump has even admitted that they will have to feel some of the pain from his Trump tax, and what is the response from Republicans in Congress? The majority plans to follow Trump off the cliff and make it worse while we are on the way down. This month, Republicans plan to pass the new tax cuts for their billionaire donors and big corporations, and their giveaway to the wealthy will be paid for by cuts to Medicaid, basically healthcare, and food stamps that hardworking American families rely on. This is right as the Trump tax will make it harder to make ends meet, to save for retirement, to pay for prescriptions, or care for aging parents. House Democrats are doing everything we can to stop Trump and Republicans from destroying our economy and to keep their hands off of earned benefits. We must put hardworking Americans first. Assault on Immigration Due Process Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, as the economy is tanking, costs are going up, not down. Today, we face a new threat and danger: The Trump government is abusing its power. The Trump government ignores court orders, ignores the Constitution, and then lies to try to justify its actions. Let's talk about Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father and a husband who was literally abducted in the dark of night by the Trump government. This is not just a story about a man wrongly deported. It is a story about abuse by the government and the danger it poses to my colleagues and every American citizen in America. Kilmer Abrego Garcia lived here in the United States for over a decade. He had a court hearing where a court ruled that Mr. Garcia had a right to be here and that he would be in danger if he was returned or deported to El Salvador. Yet, despite the court order, ICE agents arrested Mr. Garcia anyway, and they deported him to El Salvador. Despite this court order, ICE agents, without a new hearing and without any process, basically made him vanish. He is just gone at the hands of the Trump government. He was sent to El Salvador to one of the most notorious megaprisons in the hemisphere. It is a prison that American taxpayers are helping to support in a foreign country. Let me be clear. Mr. Garcia had rights. The government ignored them. That is not how justice works. It is not just Mr. Garcia. We now have learned of children who are U.S. citizens who were deported by this Trump government and administration. One of those children is just 4 years old and was receiving treatment for cancer. Yes, cancer. How does deporting a sick child keep our community safe? It does not. This isn't immigration policy, but this is cruelty, plain and simple. The idea that the U.S. Government can deport children who are U.S. citizens or send immigrants to dangerous foreign prisons without a court hearing and then claim the government bears no responsibility should terrify every one of us. These cases are the most glaring examples, but the assault on due process runs deeper. This is not just about how we treat immigrants. It is about whether any of us can count on being treated fairly when accused of something. It is about whether there are still rules that protect people, or whether the government can just say: Trust us. We don't have to follow the law. It is about power unchecked and principles abandoned. Just yesterday, we also learned of a woman from Oklahoma and her children, all of them U.S. citizens. Federal agents broke into her house and took her money. They basically terrorized them and left. If we let them tear up due process for some, it is a danger to all. Mr. Speaker, I will not stand silent while families are ripped apart and while the Constitution is trampled on. My colleagues shouldn't either. ____________________

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PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Page H1735] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PUT HARDWORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST (Ms. Barragan of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, after 100 days of chaos and corruption, Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy in real time. The majority has hit the American people with the largest tax increase on the middle class in at least 50 years. We have watched markets around the world plummet, prices spike, and our trading partners hit back with tariffs on American goods that are attacks on the American people. Hardworking Americans are paying more for food, clothes, cars and trucks, electronics, and other essential goods. Estimates are that the Trump tax will cost the average American family almost $5,000 a year in additional costs. Our constituents' 401(k)'s, pensions, and kids' college funds have all taken a huge hit. Trump's reckless trade war has only begun to squeeze the American people. Imports at the San Pedro Bay port complex in my district are expected to plunge in May. That means empty shelves at our stores in a few weeks and further price spikes as shortages hit. Exports at the port complex have also plummeted as retaliatory tariffs by other countries hit agriculture and manufactured goods. This hurts consumers. It hurts businesses. It hurts our port workers and truck drivers who support their families, thanks to trade with other countries. Trump and his billionaire donors won't feel any of it. They don't feel it when the cost of a can of soup is up a couple of dollars because of tariffs on aluminum. They don't feel it when the cost of our constituents' kids' shirts go up $10 apiece because there is a tariff on the clothes they buy or when the cost of their next oil change goes up $20 because the parts and filters are imported. The average American will feel it. Trump has even admitted that they will have to feel some of the pain from his Trump tax, and what is the response from Republicans in Congress? The majority plans to follow Trump off the cliff and make it worse while we are on the way down. This month, Republicans plan to pass the new tax cuts for their billionaire donors and big corporations, and their giveaway to the wealthy will be paid for by cuts to Medicaid, basically healthcare, and food stamps that hardworking American families rely on. This is right as the Trump tax will make it harder to make ends meet, to save for retirement, to pay for prescriptions, or care for aging parents. House Democrats are doing everything we can to stop Trump and Republicans from destroying our economy and to keep their hands off of earned benefits. We must put hardworking Americans first. Assault on Immigration Due Process Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, as the economy is tanking, costs are going up, not down. Today, we face a new threat and danger: The Trump government is abusing its power. The Trump government ignores court orders, ignores the Constitution, and then lies to try to justify its actions. Let's talk about Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father and a husband who was literally abducted in the dark of night by the Trump government. This is not just a story about a man wrongly deported. It is a story about abuse by the government and the danger it poses to my colleagues and every American citizen in America. Kilmer Abrego Garcia lived here in the United States for over a decade. He had a court hearing where a court ruled that Mr. Garcia had a right to be here and that he would be in danger if he was returned or deported to El Salvador. Yet, despite the court order, ICE agents arrested Mr. Garcia anyway, and they deported him to El Salvador. Despite this court order, ICE agents, without a new hearing and without any process, basically made him vanish. He is just gone at the hands of the Trump government. He was sent to El Salvador to one of the most notorious megaprisons in the hemisphere. It is a prison that American taxpayers are helping to support in a foreign country. Let me be clear. Mr. Garcia had rights. The government ignored them. That is not how justice works. It is not just Mr. Garcia. We now have learned of children who are U.S. citizens who were deported by this Trump government and administration. One of those children is just 4 years old and was receiving treatment for cancer. Yes, cancer. How does deporting a sick child keep our community safe? It does not. This isn't immigration policy, but this is cruelty, plain and simple. The idea that the U.S. Government can deport children who are U.S. citizens or send immigrants to dangerous foreign prisons without a court hearing and then claim the government bears no responsibility should terrify every one of us. These cases are the most glaring examples, but the assault on due process runs deeper. This is not just about how we treat immigrants. It is about whether any of us can count on being treated fairly when accused of something. It is about whether there are still rules that protect people, or whether the government can just say: Trust us. We don't have to follow the law. It is about power unchecked and principles abandoned. Just yesterday, we also learned of a woman from Oklahoma and her children, all of them U.S. citizens. Federal agents broke into her house and took her money. They basically terrorized them and left. If we let them tear up due process for some, it is a danger to all. Mr. Speaker, I will not stand silent while families are ripped apart and while the Constitution is trampled on. My colleagues shouldn't either. ____________________