LEADER JEFFRIES ON CBS MIAMI: "HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN SOUTH FLORIDA ARE AT RISK OF SEEING THEIR PREMIUMS, COPAYS AND DEDUCTIBLES SKYROCKET"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CBS Miami's Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede, where he reiterated that Democrats will continue to fight to protect the American people from the healthcare crisis Republicans have created and to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that millions of Floridians and people across the country depend on.
JIM DeFEDE: Florida is a red state, but Jeffries is willing to take the fight over the shutdown to South Florida because South Florida is ground zero in this battle. We spoke early Thursday evening.
LEADER JEFFRIES: There are hundreds of thousands of people in South Florida who are at risk of seeing their premiums, copays and deductibles skyrocket by thousands of dollars a year in ways that will make it unaffordable for them to be able to go see a doctor if the Affordable Care Act tax credits are allowed to expire. Unfortunately, Republicans like Representative Gimenez, Representative Salazar and Representative Diaz-Balart refuse to sit down to negotiate an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And they have no interest in addressing the healthcare crisis that they've created. We are ready, willing and able to sit down in a bipartisan way to reopen the government, to enact a spending agreement that makes life better for the people of Florida and beyond, but that also deals with this healthcare crisis that is central to the quality of life of the American people in an environment where the cost of living in Florida and throughout America is already too high. Grocery prices are too high. Electricity bills are skyrocketing. Housing costs are too high. The cost of insurance is unaffordable generally. And now the availability of healthcare is at risk because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
JIM DeFEDE: Well, the Republicans would argue that they're willing to have a negotiation, but only after the government is reopened. So it becomes almost a chicken and egg issue here. You know, Democrats say they want the negotiations to take place now during the shutdown. Republicans are arguing that they are happy to have negotiations on extending those tax credits, those tax benefits for the ACA, the subsidies, but only after the government is reopened. And why not reopen the government if basically the Obamacare subsidies don't expire until the end of the year?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Open Enrollment starts on November 1st. And right now, people throughout the state of Florida and across the country are going to begin to receive notices from their health insurance companies indicating that their premiums are about to skyrocket by thousands of dollars per year. That's unacceptable. And it's a crisis that Republicans have caused, and it needs to be addressed right now. We want to do it in a bipartisan way. We want to open up the government immediately. Unfortunately, House Republicans have literally been on vacation for the last three weeks. They canceled votes two weeks ago, canceled votes last week and canceled votes this week. In fact, since the end of July, House Republicans has worked only 15 days during the last several months, uninterested in doing the business of the people of the great state of Florida and everyday Americans all throughout the country. We can reopen the government, but we need Republicans to get back into town to do their jobs, as opposed to refusing to even show up for work at the same time when they've shut the government down, furloughed federal employees or are forcing our law enforcement officials and others to work without pay.
JIM DeFEDE: Representative Diaz-Balart makes the argument that these subsidies, these increased subsidies for Obamacare during the pandemic were always intended to be temporary. And that he says, and I'll read a quote to you from him, 'what it does prove is that Obamacare that was supposed to lower rates, keep rates really, really low and make it accessible to anybody and everybody was an absolute lie and a sad joke on the American people.' He's arguing that if these rates are going to dramatically increase without the extension of the subsidies, that the problem was, the underlying problem is Obamacare itself, not the disposition of the subsidies.
LEADER JEFFRIES: The healthcare system in this country needs to be dramatically improved. The problem is Republicans have shown no interest in making those improvements. Instead, they continue to attack the healthcare of the American people. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They are possibly triggering a $536 billion cut to Medicare if Congress doesn't act at the end of the year because of what Republicans just did, like Representative Diaz-Balart, Representative Gimenez and Representative Salazar, in voting for the One Big Ugly Bill. Of course, hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. And they are now refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. So this is an all-out assault on the healthcare of the American people that of course requires decisive action. Republicans have tried to repeal the Affordable care Act now more than 70 different times over the last 15 years. That's extraordinary. And they have no credibility when it comes to addressing the healthcare of the American people yet and still, we want to sit down with my Republican colleagues when they return to work to negotiate a bipartisan path forward toward reopening the government, enacting an enlightened spending agreement and addressing the healthcare crisis that Republicans have created.
JIM DeFEDE: How confident are you that Democrats will remain united, particularly in the Senate? Democrats have seen a history of this where the tough talk slowly fades and then suddenly some Democratic Senators get a little weak-kneed and suddenly the entire thing collapsed. Why should Democrats believe that this is going to be any different?
LEADER JEFFRIES: House and Senate Democrats have been strongly united over the last several weeks, and in fact, over the several months, in standing up to lower the high cost of living for the American people, fixing our broken healthcare system and we also, of course, know that we've got to clean up corruption in Washington, D.C. I met earlier with Leader Chuck Schumer, thanked him and Senate Democrats for continuing to stand strong in their defense of the quality of life of the American people. And that's what's driving us right now. That's what unifies us because this is a fight on behalf of working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, older Americans and everyday Americans.
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JIM DeFEDE: I ask, of all the issues Democrats could have decided to fight over, the mass firings, the use of federal troops in cities, the alleged abuses by ICE, why draw the line on healthcare?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it's important for us to push back on a whole range of issues, including the Trump tariffs, which are increasing the cost of living for people all across the country by thousands of dollars per year. And, of course, the fact that Donald Trump and his administration have unleashed extremism on law-abiding immigrant communities in ways that are breaking up families and in some cases, targeting young children who are American citizens. That's completely and totally unacceptable. And I know the pain of that extremism is being felt by so many families down in South Florida and that is extraordinary and is something that cannot be allowed to stand. At the same period of time, the healthcare crisis is ever-present. It's overwhelming the American people. And dealing with the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits has to be addressed with the fierce urgency of now, which is why we have raised the issue as something that requires immediate action.
JIM DeFEDE: I did want to raise one other issue with you as it's a critical issue. It's sort of local for us, even though it's an international issue, dealing with Venezuela. We see the President's aggressive actions in terms of striking boats off the coast of Venezuela. We now learn that he's also authorized lethal force by the CIA inside of Venezuela. How do you view this right now and what role is Congress supposed to be playing in terms of being briefed? I know you're part of the Gang of Eight, so you should be receiving those briefings. I don't know if you are, but where do—give me your overall impression of what's happening right now between the United States and Venezuela?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it's incredibly important that Donald Trump brief Members of Congress so that we can stay in close touch with the people across America that we're privileged to represent. That is the role of the United States Congress. And unfortunately, what we've seen from Donald Trump and his administration continues to be a go-it-alone, my-way-or-the-highway approach. We have called for the administration to brief the Congress immediately. It's my expectation that that should happen sooner rather than later, so that we can be fully informed about Donald Trump's intentions, what he's been doing. Are these legitimate targets, or is he potentially driving us into a war that I'm convinced most Americans do not want to see happen?
JIM DeFEDE: Mr. Leader, I appreciate your time and I don't mean to catch you off guard, but literally while we were sitting here talking, it appears that John Bolton has been indicted by a grand jury. I realize you don't know the facts surrounding that case, but this is now the third indictment against perceived enemies of the President. Do you have a general reaction that you want to share?
LEADER JEFFRIES: There are many people who live in South Florida now, enjoying the freedom of the United States of America, who know what it is to deal with a government that turns against its own people and unleashes extremism and authoritarianism. And it's unfortunate that what we've seen is the weaponization of the Department of Justice by Donald Trump and his administration against people who are perceived to be adversaries of his. And that is unpatriotic, unacceptable and un-American.
Full interview can be watched here.