Schatz Condemns Trump’s $1 Billion Ballroom Funding Request As Americans Struggle With Rising Costs

WASHINGTON – Ahead of a vote to consider Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) condemned the inclusion of $1 billion in funding for President Donald Trump’s ballroom. “A billion dollars goes a long way, especially in a state like Hawai‘i,” said Senator Schatz. “With a billion dollars, we could cover the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for every person in the state who relies on it for almost 20 years. We could help provide healthy meals to women, infants, and children in need for almost 40 years. We could cover the cost of child care for nearly every child under 3 in Hawai‘i for an entire year. Or we could cover tuition for every in-state undergraduate student at the University of Hawai‘i for close to a decade. But instead of doing any of that, this week, Republicans are voting to give Donald Trump a billion dollars for – of all things – a ballroom. Senator Schatz continued, “This is a priority for one person and one person only. Why are we spending $1 billion on a ballroom when gas is $4.53 nationally and $5.64 in Hawai‘i? What possible justification is there for, on the one hand, ending subsidies that help 22 million Americans afford health care and then turning around and bankrolling a new building just so Donald Trump can throw fancy parties for his rich friends?” A transcript of Senator Schatz’s remarks is below. Video is available here . $1 billion goes a long way, especially in a state like Hawai‘i. With $1 billion, we could cover the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for every person in the state who relies on it for almost 20 years. We could help provide healthy meals to women, infants, and children in need for almost 40 years. We could cover the cost of child care for nearly every child under 3 in Hawai‘i for an entire year. Or we could cover tuition for every in-state undergraduate student at the University of Hawai‘i for close to a decade. But instead of doing any of that, this week, Republicans plan to give Donald Trump a billion dollars for – of all things – a new ballroom. Now, let’s be perfectly clear: I have no problem investing in our great capital city or its infrastructure. I was the top Democrat on the Legislative Branch Appropriations subcommittee when we provided funding to restore this Capitol Dome. We’re the greatest nation on earth, and our physical infrastructure should reflect that. So if you want to clean up the parks or turn on the fountains or restore our monuments, count me in. But that’s not what this is. This is not a normal beautification project in the district. This is a president who is about to turn 80 and nearing the end of his political career. And all he can think about is building monuments to himself. Other leaders in his position might be thinking about their legacy in policy terms, but not this president. He’s single-mindedly focused on building ballrooms and arches and golf courses while the rest of the country struggles to put food on the table or to even see a doctor. The ballroom started out, in Trump’s own words, as “taxpayer-free.” I will fund it, he said, I’m not going to ask the government for money. A year later, and he’s realized he needs government money, taxpayer money. And because the administration lost a court case on the basis that this project was never authorized by Congress, they’re now looking for any statute that they can use to defend themselves in the future. This is a priority for one person and one person only. And I know my colleagues are in a very tough spot because it's their president and they agree with him about a bunch of stuff, and it's really important to him. But I can tell you, I have not met a Republican senator who likes this idea. I have met lots of them who are going to vote for it anyway. Why are we spending $1 billion on a ballroom when gas is $4.53 nationally, and $5.64 in Hawai‘i? What possible justification is there for, on the one hand, ending subsidies that help 22 million Americans afford health care and then turning around and bankrolling a new building just so Donald Trump can throw fancy parties for his rich friends? And that sounds like something that I'm making up. But that's literally what this is. It's a $1 billion ballroom, so he can throw fancy parties for his rich friends. People in Hawai‘i and all across the country are struggling just to get by right now. Grocery prices are rising at the fastest rate in years because Trump’s war in Iran is driving up shipping and fertilizer costs. Electricity bills continue to outpace inflation with no end in sight, leaving 1 in 3 Americans struggling to pay their utility bills. More than 900 hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities are at risk or have already reduced services or shut down altogether because Republicans gutted health care last year. And because of those very same cuts, 1 in 5 Americans who used to get health insurance through the ACA Marketplace no longer have coverage and millions of others are paying thousands more for the same plan. We could be working to solve any of those issues. But we are not. Now here’s the thing: the way this weird place works is that in order to enact most statutes, you need a combination of Democrats and Republicans. You need 60 votes. However, there's this weird thing called reconciliation where basically twice a year, if it's budgetary, if it adds to the deficit or reduces the deficit – so spending counts – you get to do something without the other party. The majority party basically gets to ignore the minority and pass what it wants. And so when we were in power, we used this unique tool to reduce the cost of prescription medicine. We enacted a corporate minimum tax. We took historic climate action. We gave people cash benefits so they could survive during COVID. And look, you can argue about what we did or how we did it – that’s fine, that’s fair. But it certainly reflected the priorities of the day. But given the chance to do the same – you get these two kind of golden tickets where you get to ignore us. You would think that when you're passing major legislation, one of your two big opportunities, that it would address the cost of health care, or the cost of fuel, or the cost of food, or the cost of prescription medicine, or the cost of gasoline. But they are using this golden ticket, this twice a year opportunity, to increase funding for ICE at nearly four times their normal levels and give the president a ballroom. People are struggling everywhere, in red states and blue states. But there's not a dime for you in the bill they're about to pass tomorrow. And it's not by accident. ###