Rep. DeLauro Slams Rescissions Act as 'Stealing from the American People' for Billionaires

Opposition to the Rescissions Act

• ❌ Representative Rosa DeLauro expresses strong opposition to H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, calling it a bill that aids and abets billionaires in stealing from the American people.
• 💡 She argues the bill does nothing to help Americans with the cost of living.

Allegations of Unlawful Impoundment

• 🏛️ DeLauro accuses President Trump and Elon Musk of unlawfully stealing congressionally appropriated funds, upending the separation of powers and constitutional order.
• 💰 The purpose of this action, she states, is to provide massive tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations who already pay little to no taxes, totaling $4.5 trillion.
• 📉 This strategy, she contends, aims to make the government broken and dysfunctional, paving the way for privatization and unchecked corporate power.

Constitutional and Historical Precedents

• 📜 DeLauro asserts there is no inherent authority for a president to impound funds, citing agreement from late Justices Scalia and Rehnquist, Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Kavanaugh, the Department of Justice, and the Government Accountability Office.
• 📜 She references Alexander Hamilton's principle that "the power of the purse resides in the United States Congress."

Consequences of the Rescissions Bill

• 💸 The bill is described as codifying the right of billionaires to steal from vulnerable communities, children, and the global poor.
• 📺 It threatens to shut down rural television and radio stations, cutting off local news and emergency information like severe weather alerts, and jeopardizing access to children's programs like Sesame Street.
• 🌍 The bill rescinds life-saving support for the hungry, displaced, and sick in developing countries, ending programs that treat deadly diseases and prevent pandemics.
• 🇺🇦 It abandons the people of Ukraine and cuts $400 million from PEPFAR, a program credited with saving 20.6 million lives.

Broader Economic and Geopolitical Impacts

• 📉 The bill is framed as a Republican reconciliation bill to enrich billionaires, increase the national debt by $3 trillion, and rip health insurance away from at least 16 million Americans.
• 🌍 DeLauro warns that retreating globally forfeits American leadership, undermines national security, and benefits adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran.
• 🗣️ She concludes by urging colleagues to oppose the bill, stating it steals from Americans to benefit billionaires and does nothing to lower the cost of living.