Horsford Pushes House Vote on RELIEF Act to Return Illegal Tariff Taxes to American Families
February 24, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) delivered the lead remarks today in support of House Democrats’ motion to defeat the previous question and force a vote on his legislation, the Restoring Economic Lifelines for Independent Enterprises and Family Businesses (RELIEF) Act.
The RELIEF Act would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to automatically refund tariffs and customs duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) since January 1, 2025, taxes imposed without proper legal authority that were ultimately passed on to American consumers and small businesses.
The legislation comes as working families and independent businesses continue facing higher prices on groceries, construction materials, inventory, and everyday goods driven in part by unlawful tariff policies.
“These illegal tariffs were taxes on working people, and American families paid the price,” said Rep. Horsford. “When the government takes money, it was never authorized to collect, that money should be returned. The RELIEF Act delivers automatic refunds no red tape, no years of litigation, and no excuses.”
While House Republicans advanced consideration of two appliance-related bills, House Democrats sought to give the House an opportunity to provide immediate financial relief to American families and small businesses by bringing the RELIEF Act to the floor.
Rep. Horsford’s remarks can be found here.
Rep. Horsford’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, below:
Mr. Speaker.
For more than a year now, working families have been forced to pay the price for Donald Trump’s illegal tariffs. And let’s call them what they are: blanket tariffs are blanket taxes. They are taxes on the American people.
And what did Donald Trump tax with these sweeping, unlawful tariffs? He taxed your groceries. He taxed your baby formula and strollers. He taxed the inventory sitting on the shelves of small businesses trying to survive.
In my home state of Nevada, families paid nearly $1,800 more last year because of these unlawful taxes. That’s a rent payment. That’s child care. That’s a car repair. That’s groceries.
In my district, we has seen the real-world consequences. A neighborhood cupcake shop. A local brewery. Coffee roasters who built their dream from the ground up. All forced to shutter their doors this past year, directly because their costs skyrocketed and their customers could no longer afford higher prices.
Now the Supreme Court has spoken. The emergency authority used to justify these tariffs did not authorize this mess. In simple terms: this administration did not have the power to do what it did. Billions of dollars were illegally taken from the American people.
But what are my Republican colleagues proposing? Nothing. They want you, a small business owner, to hire a lawyer and sue the federal government to get your own money back. Donald Trump himself said you may have to litigate for five years. Five years. That is not relief. That is a bureaucratic maze designed to exhaust you, outlast you, and ensure the little guy never sees a dime.
My bill, the RELIEF Act does something radical in Washington: it makes the government fix its mistake. It requires automatic refunds of all tariff payments within 90 days. No application. No protest process. No lawyer required.
If the government took it illegally, the government gives it back … period.
And to the businesses that receive those refunds: it’s time to bring prices down for the families who stood by you and kept you afloat.
If Republicans block this vote, they are voting to keep your money. They are telling Main Street America, “Take us to court.” They are choosing delay over relief and politics over people. Let’s return what was taken. Let’s stand with small businesses. Let’s stand with working families.
I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and support the RELIEF Act. I yield back.
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Issues:Economy