Schatz urges focus on soaring prices, air safety, public health

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday, underscoring congressional Republicans’ efforts to cut taxes for billionaires. He said this comes while working families are footing the bill as they struggle with soaring prices from inflation, air safety concerns, and threats to public health.

“The price of eggs has gone up by 15%, which is the single biggest monthly increase in 10 years. Price of coffee is up 25% since the start of the year, and everything from gas to housing to car insurance is getting more expensive,” said Schatz. “Their solution to every problem, big or small, domestic or global, complex or simple, is to cut taxes for billionaires,” he concluded.

“We are nowhere near a defense bill, but the only thing that Republicans are focused on right now immediately, urgently is cutting taxes for billionaires,” he said.

Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump publicly endorsed House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington’s (R-Texas) Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. 

“It’s pro-growth, pro-energy, and pro-working family. It cuts taxes, cuts regulations, and cuts waste. It gives our heroic border patrol agents and troops the tools they need to keep us safe. Republicans in both chambers should follow Trump’s lead — endorse it, unlock the most consequential legislation in modern history, and Make America Great Again,” said Arrington in a news release.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) weighed in on the budget resolution saying: “It’s time to act on ALL of the powerful mandates the American people gave to President Trump in November: Securing the border, opening up American energy to lower costs, keeping tax rates low (including no tax on tips), strengthening our national defense, a two-year extension of the debt ceiling, and passing into law DOGE’s identified waste in government.”