we're not talking about building walls at a time when we should be talking about building bridges. instead, we're having sensible plans that will have a deferred action for childhood arrival program, the daca program. we preserve funding for sanctuary cities, and we prohibit any funding whatsoever to go to president trump's wall. . those are just a few of the things we have in this budget. when uconn draft those deep, deep cuts to programs that help middle class families and those aspire to be in the middle class as cross the country, when uconn draft it with the -- when you contrast it with this budget, i think people will see there truly is a significant difference in why we don't have to settle for something that's out there, that's not going to take care of the working families in this country. a lot of people across the country talk to our members of congress. we see these huge attendances right now at town halls and

every must be shut -- every member should be out having those town halls. whoo we're hearing from people is they're not happy about proposals offered by the trump administration and the republicans in congress. the health care proposal that they've put forward, that we could be voting on as early as tomorrow, the second attempt at this, i'll tell you, i've always learned something very interesting. when someone doesn't want to put their name on something in this place especiallyy, it's usually not very good. i found people really like to put their names on things in this town. it's funny that the trump administration was calling their health care bill ryancare. congress is calling it trumpcare. people at home, back home, call it i don't care. in the end, what we're find something this is a bill that's going to cut access to 24 million people, give tax breaks of $600 billion-plus to the wealthiest in this country, the top 1% and 2%, to insurance companies, to big pharma. and other big entities. and that's often what it seems like it's really about.

it's going to increase fiveholdfold, people are going to be paying five times at much for their healt care and it cuts medicaid to so many people who need it in had country. medicaid is not just people who will poor, and -- who are poor and trying to get health care and trying to get work, it's also people with disabilities, seniors in nursing homes. it's, quite honestly, incomprehensible that the republicans think it's all right to cut those programs. that's their tax plan. but here's the best part. they're making it now even worse, the words we're hearing and that they're bragging about are amendments to make it so that state by state they can turn down things like coverage for pre-existing conditions and turn down other essential health benefits, things like prediction drug care, maternal care, emergency room visits. that's what health care is all about. if you gut everything out of health care, all you have is a shell of what you can call health care, but doesn't provide any of the benefits. they're doing this to bring in the tea party. the most conservative element of

their kay cuss, that fundamentally doesn't believe in the functioning of government, they're going to do that. make sure government doesn't have any say in what health care is and you'll have no guarantees. i guarantee, with what they're doing, you're going to have -- this is according tomorrow estimate, not our estimates, the official nonpartisan estimates by the c.b.o., the congressional budget office, at least 24 million people lose care under the old proposal. take the new proposal, if you start adding the states being able to make those decisions, more and more people will lose access to their health care. so, that -- we'll see what happens. whether or not they can get this done. i think they're having a difficult time. when we had a little conversation on the floor about it today, we noticed they didn't quite have answers about when the bill will come up. so we'll see what does happen with that. when uconn draft that sort of a health care proposal with the fundamentals that we have in the progressive caucus budget, you see a stark difference. we take and expand upon the progress of the affordable care

act. that's allowed tens of millions of people to have access. when you look at that proposal that we put forward, there was a piece in the "the washington post" today and i just want to, if i can, mr. speaker, read a little bit from this document. i'd ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: no ox. mr. pocan: thank you. "the washington post," this new budget points the way forward for democrats. what this specifically is addressing the progressive caucus budget. it's looking at it and saying, democrats should recognize its ideas as an inspiration for the party going forward. the people's budget starts by acknowledging a problem that most leaders acknowledge, but few have addressed. the country's crumbling infrastructure. it provides $2 billion over 10 years to repair bridges and tunnels, revitalize mass transit, replace contaminated water systems, rebuild public schools and more. that's what we talked about. those are the very provisions that we put forward in that $2

trillion investment in our infrastructure. then i'll go back to reading this. the economic policy institute projects that the people's budget would add $2.4 million -- 2.4 million jobs and increase the gross domestic product by 2% in the near term. that's 2.4 million people with a good, family-supporting job, while we're rebuilding you are -- rebuilding our nation's infrastructure and increasing to our nation's gross domestic product. what does that mean? i've been a small business own for 29 years. it's the rising tide that lifts all boats. the more people that have money in their pockets, that can spend is it , puts money right back into the economy. if we make sure that more people are working, and more people have a family-supporting wage that they can buy a sofa, they can take their family out to dinner or to a movie, that creates more economic activity and that creates even more jobs. that's exactly what we need in this country. so that's, again, the economic policy institute projecting what our budget would do. let me go back to the document. while republicans struggle to

reconcile repealing obamacare with keeping health care affordable, the congressional progressive caucus puts forward ideas, actual ideas, to bring the cost of health care down. the public budget --er people's budget introduces a public option which would lower premiums and ends the ridiculous prohibition on medicare negotiating drug prices. can you believe that, we don't use our purchasing power right now to negotiate for cheaper prices for prescription drugs? there's a reason why we pay sometimes eight more, 20 times more than other countries for the exact same drug. it's because we're not allowed to use that purchasing power in a way that will help create that economic savings. go back to the document. this document also recognizes the dangers of climate change, putting a price on carbon and elip nating tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry. think about it. we still subsidize gas and oil,

which is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet. and we're subsidizing them with tax subsidies. we get rid of those tax subsidies, go back to the document. it funds universal pre-kindergarten and strengthens anti-trust enforcement, fighting back the oligarchys in health care, cable and other industries that are hurting america's pocketbooks. these are the things that we have in our progressive caucus budget to make sure that real families, as you're sitting at your kitchen table, trying to decide, can you afford to pay your mortgage, can you send your kids to college, can you take a family vacation this year, can you maybe have that one luxury of a camper or a snowmobile, only if you live up north, or a boat, those are the things, that's what i grew up -- i group in kenosha, wisconsin. a lower middle class family. that was the existence of almost everyone i knew. we're trying to make sure that that can be the existence again for every single person. while wages have been largely flat as comet's come back, we've just recently had a little bit of bump in the last year or so of the obama presidency.

we need to do more for those families. let me go back to this document. with all this spending, people may wonder what happens to the national debt. but the people's budget reduces the debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product. in addition to the savings and the carbon pricing mentioned above, the budget raises trillions while making the tax system more fair. is budget actually reduces overall debt by $4 trillion between now and 2027. you down the see -- you don't see that out of almost every other budget proposaled. yet our budget, while investing in america and americans, we also help to turn back that crushing debt that this country has so often had and that we need to address. let me just finish with reading a little more of this document. the people's budget, by contrast, is built around sound policies that are also politically pon popular. it reflects americans'

longstanding desires for fixing the country's infrastructure, strengthening entitlements, lowering the cost of health care, and making the wealthiest pay their fair share. these ideas if adopted could be the foundation of a rebuilt and resurgent party and by embracing the goals of the people's budget, the democrats can reorient toward the future. that's, again, an opinion out of "the washington post" today. about the budget that we released yesterday. i encourage people to go to the progressive caucus website, to learn more about this budget, to look at the work that the economic policy institute has done in working the numbers of this budget. and see what the contrast can be. you don't have to settle for second or third best. we don't just have to make sure the top 1% and 2% have even more and we hope that some of that trickles down on the other 9 % of us. instead -- 98% of us. instead we can have a budget that invests from a infrastructure and creates good job, that invests in our public education system from pre-k to higher education.

we can have a budget that expands our health care opportunities so even more people can have affordable health care, and helps lower the cost of prescription drugs. we can have a budget that does these things and we've put that forward in the people's budget, which is the product of the progressive caucus here in congress. so, mr. speaker, i appreciate the time to be on the floor of congress, to present this on behalf, again, of the 74 members of the progressive caucus, the largest values-based caucus in the democratic party. we are proud to present this budget. this should be coming to the floor as we debate all budgets in the coming months. but we're proud to put ours out first. let's set the standard and see how we can see what the republicans in this house will put forward and we'll see what details the president puts forward. but i can guarantee, no one will have more in place for the middle class in this country and those aspiring to be in the middle class than the people's budget that's put forward offensive coordinator by the congressional pro-- forward by the congressional caucus. with that i yield back, mr.

speaker.

pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the house stands in recess subject to the call of the chair.

congressmen fred upton of michigan and congressman murray said they threw their support behind the plan to support those with pre-existing medical conditions. they were trying to round up enough votes to push the bill through the house this week.