Katherine Clark: “I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut, The Nutmeg State, The Constitution State, for all her work and for yielding…”

“I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut, The Nutmeg State, The Constitution State, for all her work and for yielding this time. Mr. Chair, a budget is a reflection of our values, and what a low value the majority places on women and children in these bills. In the 2 minutes allotted to me, 40 Americans will be physically abused by a partner, but instead of standing with those survivors, MAGA Republicans are defunding the Violence Against Women Act and they are taking away survivors' access to legal counsel. Those are the GOP's values. MAGA ideology is about controlling people--their health, their lives, their bodies, and in these bills, they are continuing their march toward a national abortion ban, defunding family planning programs, banning providers from talking to patients about abortion care, and banning medical students from even learning how to provide safe abortions. Those are their values. Millions of parents sent their kids to school today not knowing if they will come home safe. The Republicans' response? Unleash more guns onto the streets, including untraceable ghost guns. Those are their values. In these bills, they are gutting public education and childcare. They are even defunding programs for missing and exploited children. We see the extreme values of the GOP in these bills. These values are not shared by the American people. We are here to serve people. These bills work against them. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' Ms.…”