Hoyer: This Bill is Obviously a Distraction
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered remarks on the House Floor regarding H.R. 276, the so-called "Gulf of America" Act. Below is a video and transcript of his remarks:
Click here for a full video of his remarks.
“Live from Washington, D.C., Saturday Night Live! You can't make this up. Mr. Speaker, I rise in perplexion. I first want to say how much respect I have for Mr. Westerman. He is my dear friend and one of our best Members. My, my, my. Doing a lot of work this time, Bruce.
“Is this infantile bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico really this House's top priority? I heard the gentlelady say it's going to solve all the problems, of course, if we name it the ‘Gulf of America.’ Golly day, why didn't we think of that? The economy is shrinking for the first time since Covid 19, costs are going up [phone rings] – I think Saturday Night Live just called me, they want me on –costs are going up, small businesses are going under, American families are worried they won't be able to keep the lights on, keep food on the table and keep the roof on their head. They're happy about, of course, ‘Gulf of America,’ that'll do it. Millions of Americans risk losing their health insurance if Republicans' Medicaid cuts go through. Yet Republicans think this juvenile legislation is the best use of this House’s time. This is the only thing we're doing today, folks! What a sick joke this is.
“Republicans worry about 400-year-old words on a map. I worry about families in every community in America who's struggling to get by. This bill is obviously a distraction, a joke. Where is Trump's one big, beautiful bill that we keep hearing so much about? The one that cuts taxes for the wealthiest among us, threatens health care for millions, and pulls the rug out from under working Americans? The majority still hasn't been able to put it on the Floor. That's how divided, dysfunctional, and divisive they are. My dear friend, the late Elijah Cummings, with some with whom some of you served, said, ‘we're better than this.’ The American people are counting on us to be better than this.
"We ought to be debating legislation to bring down costs, to pay our debts, to fix our broken immigration system. Instead, MAGA Republicans waste our time with this childish drivel. Not only that, they give it a prime spot on the Floor schedule. This is the only thing we're doing for America today: renaming the Gulf of Mexico – may I have one minute? Renaming the Gulf of Mexico as if that's going to solve the problems. Very frankly, my self-confidence in America does not need that. I don't need Canada to be the 51st state, I don't need to invade Greenland, and I don't need the Gulf of America to have confidence in the greatest country on earth. Are we so small? Do we feel so belittled by the rest of the world that we have to do this silly, silly, silly step? We are made smaller –hear me – we are made smaller by this effort. Vote rationally. That will be a no."