David Trone

We need to seriously evaluate out-of-control government spending.

It is a fiscally irresponsible economic disaster.

You have got to invest in your infrastructure.

I am a capitalist through and through, as most of my Democratic colleagues are capitalists.

I applaud the President's bipartisan unity agenda with Addiction and Mental Health Priorities 1 and 2, so thank you.

The only Republican budget we have out here, which is the Republican Study Committee, which proposes to privatize Medicare.

He has been successful, I think, in essentially shaming Republicans into saying that they won't cut Social Security and Medicare.

I introduced legislation last year that was designed to extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund to 2040.

I had hoped this morning we might see some specific Republican alternatives to this budget.

I cannot understand why we would increase defense spending when the Pentagon can't even pass an audit 5 times.

We have to start this yesterday. You know, being six inches from failure is very, very serious.

Frankly, that's not your-- prioritization is not your job. It's ours.

The pandemic showed us that we were relying on the unreliable.

The chief executive of our country responded in an irresponsible, reckless, and dismissive fashion in February and in March

As General Douglas MacArthur famously said, the history of failure in war can be summed up in two words: Too late.

The U.S. is losing influence as the world's partner of choice, and the reason is all too clear.

Weakness is provocative, and this administration's weakness has emboldened authoritarians around the world.

If we are going to be serious about this and it is going to be an all-in effort, it has to start from the top, and it has to start from the administration.

This is a state sponsor of terrorism, who, by the way, is advocating for Russia. And yet, obviously, it is not that important because we are going to have them tour our seaports.

Why do I mention that? Because the strongest allies of Russia--let me just give you an example. Recently, Venezuela was given unilateral concessions by this administration.

I am hoping the President understands that this concept of just kind of totally grotesquely and grossly underfunding our defense and hoping that Congress will bail them out, those days have to be over.

I think the administration, frankly, is just missing that, has just totally blown it in that effort.

The United States must continue to be a strong partner in the fight to protect global democracy.

I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing this important piece of legislation, H.R. 6604, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 2514, and I reserve the balance of my time.