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Lawmaker says Republicans plan to fund ICE instead of using reconciliation to lower costs for Americans
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Summary
An unnamed lawmaker criticized Republican plans to use reconciliation to pre-fund ICE and CBP rather than pursue measures to reduce everyday costs, and proposed restoring ACA tax credits, reversing tariffs and cutting war spending as alternatives.
A lawmaker urged Congress to prioritize lowering the cost of living for struggling Americans rather than using the reconciliation process to pre-fund immigration enforcement agencies.
The lawmaker criticized plans he said would use the limited, once-a-year reconciliation tool to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection for multiple years. “We have this very limited tool called reconciliation, and it's a way to circumvent the filibuster,” he said, adding that reconciliation is “basically spending or tax cuts” and should be used to help constituents.
The speaker framed the argument around direct impacts on households: “Gas is at $4 a gallon nationwide, and it's $5.65 at my corner Shell station in Honolulu,” he said, adding that groceries and electricity costs are rising and “millions of Americans have lost their health insurance this year.” He argued Republicans, holding the presidency and both chambers, should use reconciliation to reduce such costs.
As alternatives to the planned funding for ICE and CBP, the lawmaker suggested policy moves he said would directly reduce consumer prices: restoring Affordable Care Act tax credits for families, reversing tariffs that act as a tax on consumers and ending what he called “this preposterous war,” which he said is costing about $2,000,000,000 a day and driving up fuel and fertilizer prices.
The speaker asserted there is money available for such measures, comparing daily war spending to a $23,000,000,000 item that was the focus of a previous budget fight over ACA credits. “Don't let anybody tell you that there's not enough money,” he said. “There is enough money. They're spending $2,000,000,000 a day on this war.”
The lawmaker said he would use forthcoming opportunities “over the next couple of days” to push for measures aimed at reducing the cost of living. He concluded by warning that current spending choices reflected a lack of moral clarity while many Americans struggle financially.
The remarks did not identify a specific vote or formal motion associated with the proposals; the speaker described priorities and possible reconciliation uses rather than introducing legislation on the floor.
