senator from Louisiana thank you MrPresident MrPresident with me today is MrJohn lry who's one of my colleagues from my office who's been a big help to me uh MrPresident as you know when uh vice president Harris and president Trump ran against each other for the presidency one of the planks in president Trump's platform was that U he was going to review every penny of federal government spending why did he say that why did he promise to do that well first there's a moral principle involved people worked hard for their money and when they give it to government they're entitled to expect government spend it efficiently number two president Trump ran on that plank because of our debt um the federal debt is 36. 5 trillion doar you know we throw this these numbers around like a trillion you know we start to take them for granted um to give you a little perspective there 36. 5 trillion dollar it grows bigger by the second it's going to increase if we just keep doing what we've been doing it's going to increase $1 trillion doll every 100 days uh if we just keep doing what we've been doing it's going to increase $10 billion a day today nothing changed we added 10 billion dollars in debt that's also $417 million an hour that's 6 .
9 million a minute I think I've been talking about a minute we just added $7 million to our debt that's why the president wants to get get rid of spending porn the reaction here in Washington MrPresident is has been breathtaking I I understand Washington is is not exactly a slice of America I get that I understand that Washington is not normal um normal in Washington DC is a setting on the dryer so I get all that we're different in Washington but the push back to president Trump's effort through Mrmusk and his team to re reduce spending has just been extraordinary I mean people are barking and and yelping and shrieking about it um they they they they they sound like they sound like the me the the game room in a mental hospital um it it's it and and I get that a lot of people don't like President Trump and I get that many people don't like Mrmusk and I I get that Mrmusk is different I kind of like that I mean I I like different um you know he's he is he's the sort of guy that would wear I don't know he'd wear Crocs to a wedding I get that I find it kind of refreshing but nobody's ever called him a dummy and he's found he's found an incredible amount of waste and and and abuse of taxpayer money what I call spending form um I'm I'm not going to repeat everything I I repeated or I said the first time we talked about this but MrPresident it it just it seems to me to be uh once again extraordinary that that people are mad at at president Trump and Mrmusk for their the process they're using but no they're not mad about this the money being wasted I mean Mrmusk whether you like him or not has found he's found for example $7. 9 million he found we spent to teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid binary gendered language he's found money that was given to uh to to an NGO to empower the LGBT community in Armenia he's U he found $1. 5 million that we spent to rebuild the Cuban media ecosystem um 2.
1 ion to the BBC to strengthen the media ecosystem in Libya $8. 3 million spent for equity and inclusion education in Nepal does no one does no one care about how the money was actually abused and wasted um MrPresident it is it's not unusual for me to be uh to be disappointed for some things I see Washington um and under the last Administration I have to admit I was disappointed just about every single day I'd almost gotten used to it uh but but last week and this is what I want to talk about MrPresident I read a story um it was a story about the abuse of taxpayer money in the last Administration and and it was so nauseating that it triggered my gaggl reflex in April of 2024 not that long ago of the EPA under President Biden gave $2 billion in taxpaying money to an organization that had absolutely no experience that was backed by a very prominent Democratic politician by the name of of Miss Stacy Abrams here's what happened in 20122 as you know Mrpresident President Biden and our my Democratic colleagues passed the inflation reduction act not a single Republican voted for it not one um either in the house or the Senate we knew at the time that spending $1. 2 trillion that's what the inflation reduction Act cost would only make inflation worse not better and even President Biden eventually admitted that the inflation reduction act did absolutely nothing to raise prices even President Biden at the end of his term admitted that so where did all the inflation reduction act money go fair question for taxpayers to ask um I mean there's nothing wrong wrong with wanting to know what they do with our money let me say that again there's nothing wrong with wanting to know what they do with our money so where did all the the inflation reduction act this $1.
2 trillion go well president Trump and Doge the uh the the the uh group appointed by President Trump um and the and the the EPA under new leadership under MrLee zeld had begun to follow some of that money now this is where Miss ABS Miss Stacy Abrams come comes in um I think it's fair to say that Miss Abrams is um I don't know I would call her um controversia um she has the right to believe what she believes this is America and she has the right to free speech I'm not criticizing that even though I disagree with some what she says but I think it would it would be fair to uh to describe her as controversial she's probably best known for the fact that she ran for governor of Georgia twice and she lost um in her career Miss Abrams has said the following I I don't want want to just just uh uh articulate hyperbole here I want you to read her words not mine on April 20th 2024 Miss Abrams appeared on MSNBC with with Reverend Al Sharpton and this is what Miss Abrams said quote what we know is that the attack attack on diversity equity and inclusion Dei is an attack on Democracy on September 20th 20 22 during a panel discussion in Atlanta Miss Abrams said this about a baby's heartbeat a fetal heartbeat the heartbeat of a baby in a mother's womb this is what Miss Abram said about a fetal heartbeat she said it is quote a manufactured sound a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman's body in book my word your her words not mine on uh in May of 2022 during a Georgia gubinatorial ba debate she's running for governor of Georgia now miss Abrams called Georgia quote the worst state in the country to live in in October of 2022 during another Georgia gubinatorial debate misss Abrams accused the sheriffs all of the sheriffs in G Georgia who who endorsed her opponent Governor Brian km of wanting quote to be able to take black people off the streets um in October of 2022 misss Abrams appeared on MSNBC uh she suggested that abortion is a solution to inflation here's what she said she said quote let's be clear having children is why you're worried about your price of gas it's why you're worried about how much food costs close quote her words not mine let me say again miss Abrams has the right to her opinion this is America you're not free if you can't express yourself but I I do think any fair-minded person would have to conclude that Miss ABS is controversial so um in in March of 2023 not that long ago Miss Abrams went to work for an organization nonprofit called rewiring America you've probably seen that name in the news rewiring America Miss Abrams title she went to work for rewiring America her title was senior counsel she was paid for her work for rewiring America we don't know how much though there'll probably be an investigation to find out now nonprofits like rewiring America Miss Abrams group they have to file documents with the IRS and one of the documents they have to file is called form 990 this this form by the IRS asked a number of questions about nonprofits one of the questions IRS asks is where uh is for uh for the uh the organization the nonprofit to list its accomplishments rewiring America Miss Abrams group told the IRS in 2023 on this form 10 uh 990 that rewiring America was quote this was rewiring America's quote startup year for the organization and the Forum goes on to say that the only accomplishment rewiring America listed was that it had quote joined a coalition of other National organizations to apply for a grant from the inflation reductions Act greenhouse gas reduction Fund in other words Miss Abrams organization told the IRS that that this this filing was their first ever tax filing in 2023 that the organization was a startup and its purpose was exclusively to seek a grant from President Biden's inflation reduction act fair enough so what do we know about this coal Coalition that Miss Abrams group group wanted to form rewiring America Miss AB Abrams group announced on October 12th 2023 that it was joining Habitat for Humanity it was joining United Way worldwide and two other organizations and these four organizations were going to form another nonprofit a coalition of nonprofits called power forward communities so you got power forward communities up here you got rewiring America and some other organizations down here and allog together they make up power forward communities and they also announced that a gentleman by the name of Tim uh Mayo May polus um a former Obama administration appointee would lead the Coalition now as a as a nonprofit I told you that rewiring America had to uh file forms with the IRS well so did this new group power forward it had to file form 990 as well with the IRS according to its filings power forward had just $100 in total revenues in 2023 according to the IRS filing it didn't list a single accomplishment I I've seen Girl Scout Troops with more business credentials yet power forward communities of which Miss Abrams rewiring America was a part had the audacity to ask the federal government for a $2 billion grant for what you ask it was supposed to be for quote to expand access to clean energy by prioritizing housing equity and resilience power forward Community said it wanted to take this taxpayer money and help people install energy efficient upgrades to their homes what are we talking about heat pumps get rid of gas stoves now it's it's good to dream big in America I'm all for that but under any reasonable standard MrPresident under any reason aable standard one is entitled to ask how these organizations Miss Abrams rewiring America and power forward communities brand new organizations no business experience $100 in the bank are qualified to receive $2 billion do from of taxpayer money from the Biden Administration now now that didn't stop the bid Administration from cutting a check though they took our money and gave power forward communities in rewiring America $2 billion you want to know how we ran up $36 billion in debt that's out now the EPA announced in 2024 under President Biden just 6 months after power uh uh forward was formed power forward was formed and six months later uh President Biden and his team announced they were giving them $2 billion doll and that's as I said that's B with a billion now look I try to see the world from other people's bell towers as much as I can but I cannot come up not for the life of me with a single rational justification as to why the EPA under the B Administration thought it was appropriate to give power forward and rewiring America to brand new business brand new nonprofits with no business experience no accomplishments according to the IRS forms and only a hundred bucks in the bank to give them $2 billion doar of taxpayer money especially to the exclusion of every other qualified applicant for that money if there were any other qualified applicants we don't know I don't know I don't know if there was a competitive bid now I do know that the EPA under President Biden gave Miss Abrams group her two groups $2 billion cash um in the grant approval President Biden's EPA said that power for would had to had to uh allocate this money to to get rid of stoves and to uh um to to put in heat pumps they had to allocate the money they had to spend it in 21 days now that me meant that Miss Abrams group rewiring America which was part of uh of the larger group likely received or was supposed to receive a check for $490 million about a quarter of the total 2 bilon by the end of May 20 uh 24 and the other organization within 21 days President Biden directed were also supposed to receive their share of the money but get this President Biden and his team directed uh these NOS to distribute $2 billion in 21 days but the Biden Administration also told power forward within 90 days to go take a course you know what the course was the name of the course was how to develop a budget how to develop a budget so President Biden gave power forward 21 days to spend the money but said you've got 90 days to go take a course about how to put together a budget and why would anybody in the Milky Way give $2 billion of taxpayer money to two organizations that had just been formed that according to the IRS filings had no accomplishments and one of them only had a 100 bucks in the bank I think I know why I certainly know what it looks like I mean this would be comical if it wasn't so odious $2 billion you know the last four years under the last Administration have been very difficult for America um the cost of everything gone up cost of many things have gone up by 20% and our wages didn't keep up the average electricity bill in America went up 19% the average Louisiana in because of President Biden's inflation I had to spend an extra $890 a month extra for food and clothing and car notes and they didn't get $890 a month raise President Biden and my Democratic colleagues told us that the inflation reduction act I remember when it was passed they said if you if you spend $1.
