March 11, 2025

On Senate Floor, Warren Opposes House Republicans “Non-Starter” Budget Proposal

“After months of bipartisan talks, they’re walking away from the negotiating table and offering a non-starter House bill that forces us to the brink of a full government shutdown.”

“Republicans in Congress don’t care whether the government shuts down because they don’t care about hurting working families.”

Video of Floor Speech (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. – Today, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke out against Congressional Republicans’ budget proposal. 

In particular, Senator Warren pointed out that the House’s proposed bill would 1) wipe out the guardrails that Congress wrote for how to spend taxpayer money - making it easier for President Trump and Elon Musk to pick and choose which federal programs remain funded, and 2) add $6 billion to the Pentagon while slashing funding for programs that American families rely on, and cutting funding for local projects that improve hospitals, teaching facilities, and childcare centers. 

Floor Remarks as Prepared on Republican Shutdown Bill
U.S. Senate
March 11, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Donald Trump and co-president Elon Musk are shutting down the federal government, piece by piece. 

Shutting down the agency that stops banks and payday lenders from cheating working people.

Shutting down children’s cancer research.

Shutting down key parts of the Department of Transportation agency responsible for keeping people safe when flying in airplanes. 

Even shutting down parts of the Social Security Administration.

And now, Republicans in Congress are laying out their blueprint to shut down the entire federal government.

A budget is a reflection of our values. This proposal makes crystal clear where Republicans’ values lie. After months of bipartisan talks, they’re walking away from the negotiating table and offering a non-starter House bill that forces us to the brink of a full government shutdown.

And who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans’ values are clear.

Their shutdown bill does two terrible things: 

First, it wipes out the guardrails that Congress wrote for how to spend taxpayer money. That means that Trump and Musk can hold everyone under their magic spell—they can spend taxpayer money or shut off taxpayer money however they want. 

Perhaps Trump and Musk want to shovel $75 million of ALS treatment funding to anti-vaccine research instead. That would be OK under this Republican deal. 

Or maybe they want to shift $300 million or more from the Federal Aviation Administration’s telecommunications funding bucket towards contracts with over to a fat contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The budget the Republicans sent over would permit that too. 

And if Trump and Musk decide to fire another 25,000 veterans or kick a million old people out of nursing homes, this package from the House Republicans would say “sure.”  

In addition to giving co-presidents Trump and Musk the power to spend taxpayer money wherever they want, the House Republicans also propose general cuts.  Cuts from programs that help families put food on the table, afford child care, and keep our communities safe.  Cuts from local communities for projects like improving hospitals, teaching facilities, and childcare centers – millions of funding that the House and Senate had already agreed to. 

But the House Republican package isn’t just about cutting out Veterans and old people. Nope. It’s also about spending more.  

Republican House members want to pour an extra $6 billion over the next six months—yup, a billion dollars a month—to the Pentagon. No explanation. No justification of why this money is needed. Nope. Cuts everywhere else but the one government agency that has never once passed an audit gets an extra $6 billion.  House Republicans want to give $6 billion more dollars to make sure defense contractors keep getting their fat paycheck. 

Republicans in Congress don’t care whether the government shuts down because they don’t care about hurting working families. All they care about is getting back to jamming through their true agenda: $4.6 trillion dollars worth of tax handouts for millionaires, billionaires, and giant corporations, paid for by gutting health care for millions of people. 

Donald Trump looked Americans in the eye and said he’d quote “lower costs on Day One.” We’re seven weeks in, and he’s done the exact opposite. He’s raising costs for families. More people are losing their jobs. Sky-high child care, housing, and food costs. And it’s open season for banks, credit card companies, and shady student loan outfits to scam people.

The Republican shutdown playbook is dangerous, and it will hurt working families. Democrats are right to oppose the House bill. And people all across this country are right to expect us to stand up and fight back.

###