Ranking Member DeLauro Remarks at the Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Services and General Government Funding Bill
WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2026 Financial Services and General Government funding bill:
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. And thanks to you and to Chairman Joyce for your work together and your friendships and as we try to move forward with the Financial Services and General Government Full Committee Markup.
I also want to just say a thank you and welcome back, everyone. I hope it was a good August Recess. And I am sure everybody was working, but as well as enjoying family and friends for a while before we get back to what we are doing here. I often quote Betty Davis’s comment from the movie All About Eve, “fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” So, as we move forward.
Let me just acknowledge two things before I make my remarks. And that is, I just want to welcome the Free DC advocates who are here today. And Mr. Hoyer has addressed the issues, the $1 billion that is out there, and actually to allow the D.C. government to do what is in the best interest of D.C. residents, but continue your advocacy.
The other issue I do want to mention, Mr. Chairman, because you and I have been down this road many times, on the record, I want to say on the record, that while our committee rules technically allow our full committee to markup a bill while there is a different appropriations bill on the Floor, our long-standing practice had to been to avoid it. And I know what the rules are. It says, “No subcommittee shall sit while the House is reading an appropriation measure for amendment under the five-minute rule or while the Committee is in session.” And yes, in fact, this is a full committee, not a subcommittee, but nevertheless, that is a technicality. And today, there is the Energy and Water bill that is on the Floor. People have an interest in the Energy and Water bill, both in wanting to speak or what it means for their constituents. And members are put in the position to either miss the debate on the floor or miss it in committee.
And I hope that, you know, maybe after today, and we can have the discussion that we will revert to our longstanding tradition of avoiding the conflicts when one of our bills is on the House Floor. The work that we do here, and the work of appropriations on the Floor, is critical. It should not be undermined with regard to a technicality. And I have a feeling that that is broad-based on the full committee. Democrats and Republicans feel exactly the same way about this. So, I thank you for listening to me on that.
I also want to say a thanks to our subcommittee staff, both sides of the aisle. Let me shout out, in particular, Matt Smith and Philip Tizzani.
It goes without saying, I oppose this bill. It ignores the growing cost-of-living crisis and instead provides cover for billionaires and the biggest corporations to continue hoarding and stealing wealth, while gutting protections that make the economy work for the middle class and for the working class.
Americans are struggling with rising costs of everyday necessities. They struggle every day. They live paycheck to paycheck. But the President and House Republicans are not laser-focused on the cost-of-living crisis. In fact, they are making it worse.
Since taking office, President Trump’s Administration has stolen resources, that Democrats and Republicans appropriated, for programs and services across the federal government, including many funded in this bill that make the economy work and keep the playing field level for everyday Americans, and that keep products safe for our children.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has orchestrated a lawless upheaval of the entire federal government based on his deluded and debunked views of government and of the law. He has decided that his views, his priorities, are superior to the priorities, directives, and lawful decisions of the Democratic and Republican representatives in the United States Congress. That is the fundamental issue.
Vought does not care about the law—the latest example of his disregard came on Friday with his illegal pocket rescissions request. Vought does not care about the Congress. He wants to upend the bipartisan appropriations process. And he certainly does not concern himself with the plight of the American people.
He wants to govern by illegal impoundments, by reconciliation, and rescissions – thereby getting around or eliminating the role of the Appropriations Committee, the nerve center of the government, as it is set out in the Constitution.
Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, said in 2001 he wants to shrink government to the size that you can, quote “drown it in a bathtub.” End quote. Russ Vought is pursuing Norquist’s vision.
While he eliminates agencies, fires career civil servants, and steals funding from the American people, Russ Vought is concentrating power and resources in his agency, determined to give himself unchecked control over the entire federal government.
And at the same time, Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill hands massive tax breaks to billionaires and to corporations, it also provides Russ Vought’s Office of Management and Budget with an unprecedented, unwarranted, and unjustified $100 million windfall – while he shutters and dismantles agencies that are delivering services the American people rely on. He also is looking at $129 million in this bill. $229 million. Our job is to just say ‘no’ to his budget request.
And unfortunately, the bill House Republicans have put before us goes even further to ensure that the economy works for no one – no one but the wealthiest billionaires and largest corporations.
This bill says to billionaires and price-gouging corporations: Your taxes? We are looking the other way. Your consumer products? We take your word that they are safe. Your scams and junk fees? Those are none of our business. Market manipulation and insider trading? Go right ahead.
What does this bill say to middle class and working class families? You are on your own.
On the heels of a massive $4.5 trillion giveaway to billionaires and corporations in the Big Ugly Bill, this bill guts the Internal Revenue Service.
An underfunded IRS means slower processing of Americans’ tax returns – and delays to crucial benefits like the Child Tax Credit – but it also means that those with the most resources, like billionaires and powerful corporations, can escape scrutiny, and avoid paying taxes, when the IRS cannot afford to ensure they are meeting their obligations.
On average audits, each dollar of IRS spending yields just over $2 – but for the wealthiest tenth of one percent, audits produce nearly triple the return, with each dollar yielding over $6 in revenue.
In 2021, at least 55 of the largest corporations in America – in a year where they took in over $40 billion in pretax income – paid no federal corporate income taxes. Zero. Nike, Hewlett Packard, and Dish Network paid zero federal income taxes, profiting on the backs of honest American families.
After Republicans already gave billionaires more tax breaks, now they are kneecapping the IRS, thwarting enforcement of the tax code.
This bill cuts funding for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means scam-peddling, price-gouging, and market-manipulating corporations get a green light.
Families trying to afford groceries and save for their retirement only get empty promises.
These cuts are not just numbers on a page. They have severe consequences for all of the American people.
In April, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled several products that posed a danger to toddlers in Connecticut and across the country. The children’s ride-on Tonka dump trucks were recalled due to burn risks. Wooden shape-sorter car toys sold on Amazon were recalled due to a choking hazard. No one in my district told me they voted for more dangerous toys for their children.
Yet the following month, DOGE began weakening the Consumer Product Safety Commission, firing commissioners as the Administration seeks the dismantling of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
This bill furthers their goal by cutting the Commission’s funding, putting children at risk while enabling corporations to sell dangerous products.
And while Republicans claim they are concerned with election security, they are taking steps to make elections easier to steal.
They are cutting funding for the Election Assistance Commission by 40 percent – gutting the independent, bipartisan commission that helps keep elections fair and secure.
Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas reached out to me. She expressed her extreme concern for the ramifications of such a cut to the EAC, warning, and I quote, “At a time when this administration is putting increased pressure on local election workers, they are removing the tools that help states run safe, secure, and accessible elections. By cutting the EAC’s budget, they are taking away the support our cities and towns rely on to serve voters and ensure that our election equipment is secure. Congress needs to understand that you get what you pay for.” End quote.
Weaker consumer protections? Weaker election security? Do you really believe that the American people asked for any of this?
Republicans have put forward yet another bill that favors billionaires and corporations; yet another bill that does not fight waste, fraud, and abuse, but embraces it. I cannot support this bill.
I yield back.
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