Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Congressman Tim Moore (R-N.C.) to discuss how the budget resolution vote is the first step in unlocking President Trump’s agenda. Leader Scalise slammed Democrats for their lies about the bill and outlined how, by not supporting this bill, Democrats are voting for a massive tax increase on American families, workers, and small businesses.
 
On delivering on the mandate from voters through House Republicans' budget resolution:

“It's a really important week. When you think about what we've laid out in our agenda, the culmination of months of work has gone into what we are doing this week to finally start delivering on the mandate that President Trump, House Republicans, and Senate Republicans were given by voters across the country in November. Voters said they want a secure border. We deliver in this budget that we're going to pass this week. Voters said they don't want a tax increase. And believe me, that was on the ballot because Donald Trump said, I want to keep the 2017 tax cuts in place. We don't want an increase for anybody, and we want to build on it. He added more things. Kamala Harris said she wants those tax cuts to expire, resulting in a multi-trillion dollar tax increase on the American people. The voters decided very clearly with President Trump, they don't want that tax increase to hit. We deliver that in this budget. The American people said in November, they want more American energy to be produced. We deliver in this budget, and we do a lot of other things, too. But it all starts by getting this budget passed.”

On Democrat lies:

“As you watch this process start, you would think the Democrats would want to be joining with us in recognizing that the American people asked for all these things that we're going to be doing. But what are the Democrats doing? They're all going to vote no. Every Democrat will vote no on this budget. Now, they're not going to go to the American people and be truthful and say why they're voting no. They want Washington to keep more of your money so that you don't get that money back. They want a multi-trillion-dollar tax increase. They said it during the campaign and they lost, but they still want that tax increase so they will all vote no. They don't want a secure border. They said it for the last four years, they still haven't accepted the results of the election. So what do they do if they can't deal with the truth? They've got to lie. Just listen to what you've been hearing the last couple of days. Some of you have even been reporting it. 

“I'm going through the budget. This is the House Republican budget that was passed unanimously by Republicans. Every Democrat voted no. Go through this entire bill. Do you know that for every Democrat talking point where they talk about the horrible things that this budget's going to do – they talk about Medicaid cuts. Everybody's going to be thrown, according to Democrats, into all these horrible situations. There's only one problem. The word Medicaid is not even in this bill. This bill doesn't even mention the word Medicaid a single time. And yet all Democrats are doing is lying about what's in the budget because they don't want to talk about the truth of what we're voting to start. 

“We're voting to start a process. This doesn't end the process. This allows 11 committees in Congress to go in open view on C-Span, to have hearings in March where you can all watch, you can all hear the debate, you can watch the amendments fly back and forth where we're going to be debating how government can work better for the people of this country, how we will deliver as Republicans on the promises that were made and the mandate was given by the voters in November. Democrats are against all of that. Instead of just sitting back and licking their wounds that they're completely out of touch with the American people, their only choice is to resort to lying about what's in this vote today. There is no Medicaid in this bill. There are no Medicaid cuts in this bill. Yet that's all they're saying.”

On avoiding tax hikes for hardworking Americans: 

“[Democrats] are talking about millionaires and billionaires. Now, they're just talking about Elon Musk. Democrats are so infatuated with Elon Musk that they will vote against low tax rates for hardworking middle-class families. Do you know that the last time we checked, Elon Musk does not work for tips. But you know who does? Millions of hardworking Americans that will get the no tax on tips promise that President Trump made that we will deliver on starting with the passage of this budget. Millions of Americans will benefit from that provision that we're going to add into our reconciliation bill. Do you know the average pay for a tip worker in America? The average pay is $32,000. We will be helping millions of those families who average $32,000 so that they don't have to pay tax on tips or they don't have to have the 87,000 new IRS agents that Biden added going after them, trying to get them to pay thousands more in taxes when all they're trying to do is put food on the table for their families, working two or three jobs. Again, that's not Elon Musk we're talking about. That's millions of families who average $32,000 a year that Democrats will be voting against helping.

“[Democrats] will be voting against helping millions of small businesses in America. Over 130 million families in America will see their individual tax rates go up when Democrats hit the red button and vote no on this budget. But House Republicans are committed to defending those families, to standing up for those families, to stopping a tax increase from hitting those families. The corporate rate is already locked in – it's a permanent rate at 21%. We're not talking about the big multinational corporations. [Democrats] are. They're lying, talking about millionaires and billionaires, when millionaires and billionaires aren't even 1% of who benefits. 99% of the people that would see a tax increase with a no vote are people that make less than a million dollars. Less than a million dollars. That's who Democrats want to see a tax increase on. While they lie and use the names of billionaires, they're going to be kicking in the gut the hardworking people of America. We don't want that to happen.”

On the importance of House Republicans unifying around the budget resolution: 

“That's why we're going to move this budget and start this process and start delivering on the mandate that we were all given. The man who's been the most patient person I know, listening to everybody who's got every issue, and I know a lot of you are saying, ‘Oh, gee, whiz, do you have the votes? Are you going to vote? I've heard this guy's a no.’ Every big vote we've taken, and I've been the whip before. I've been the minority whip, majority whip, majority leader. Every time we've had a big vote on the House floor, we're talking to members all the way up until the moment the vote closes. During the vote, we're talking to members. Go look at every big vote we've had. Today is no different. Sure, we're still talking. We talk to – the Speaker and I were in a meeting last night for over an hour talking to a lot of members that had questions. We ended that meeting with every one of them finishing as a yes vote. We still have more conversations to have today, just like we do on any day of any big vote. We're not going to stop working because millions of people are counting on us to deliver for them the mandate they gave us.”

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