Hoyer Remarks on President Trump's Illegal Impoundments
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined House Democrats to deliver remarks regarding President Trump's illegal impoundments of trillions of dollars in federal funding. Below is a video and transcript of his remarks:
Click here to watch the full video of his remarks.
"I've been here 44 years. What is happening now is unprecedented, undermining the Constitution of the United States and the laws of this great nation and ignoring the separation of powers, the balance of powers that our founders thought was so critically important. Just this week, the administration, Donald Trump, Russell Vought, and Elon Musk and DOGE took illegal action to impound trillions of dollars of funding that this Congress appropriated.
“The founders feared King George. The founders wanted to have power in the people's hands, in the People's House. Judges have deemed the actions that have been taken by DOGE and their colleagues illegal. But billions of dollars in federal funds remain frozen. The laws passed by this Congress require that these funds be invested in communities, invested in Americans, invested in families, invested in children, invested in the health care, and education of our people.
“My office has heard from numerous local businesses and organizations these past few weeks that connect people with disabilities to job opportunities, to help protect the Chesapeake Bay and the communities that it sustains. They work to keep struggling children, veterans, and families off the street, no matter what service they provide. They ask us the same thing: ‘Is the federal government going to honor its words? Will it follow through on its contracts, on its grants and its loans?’ Our Congress must ensure that the answer is now and will be an emphatic yes.
“Now we know that we're led by a president who took a number of companies into bankruptcy. Let us hope he doesn't take America into bankruptcy. Take America into not honoring its words to pay its bills. Not honor its words to support its allies. Not honor its words to act on behalf of the welfare of the American people. I urge my colleagues across the aisle not to aid and abet this administration's effort to leave our Constitution in tatters and the American people in the lurch. Do not let the people's house become a rubber stamp."