LEADER JEFFRIES ON CNN: "HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE ON VACATION RIGHT NOW. HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE HERE."
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to make clear that Democrats will continue to work for a bipartisan spending agreement that protects the healthcare of the American people.
JOHN BERMAN: Leader, thank you so much for being with us. You walked out of that meeting just a couple hours ago. How much closer are you to averting a shutdown?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we're under 30 hours until a government shutdown. And it's unfortunate if Republicans decide that they want to shut the government down because of their unwillingness to deal with the healthcare crisis that they themselves have created. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics closing as a result of what they've done with the One Big Ugly Bill. The Republicans' refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits which will impact working-class Americans all across this country who are about to experience dramatically-increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles at a time when the cost of living in the United States of America is already too high. We are willing to find a bipartisan path forward and reach a spending agreement that keeps the government open. But that agreement has to meet the needs of the American people in terms of elevating their quality of life, as opposed to continuing Republican efforts to cut their healthcare.
JOHN BERMAN: You use the words 'has to.' In this deal, do you have to extend Obamacare subsidies or bust? How non-negotiable is an extension of Obamacare subsidies for you?
LEADER JEFFRIES: This is not simply a negotiating tactic. This relates to the well-being and the health of the American people. More than 20 million Americans are on the verge of experiencing increased healthcare costs because of the Republicans' refusal to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits that benefit working-class Americans. The overwhelming majority of the people who rely upon these tax credits make less than $63,000 a year. These are people in rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities all throughout America who are already being victimized by the Republican all-out assault on their healthcare and being victimized by the fact that these tariffs are actually increasing costs on the average American family by thousands of dollars a year. We are ready to find a bipartisan agreement, but that bipartisan agreement needs to address the healthcare crisis that exists in the United States of America and the cost of living crisis that exists in the United States of America right now.
JOHN BERMAN: Leader Jeffries, but what specifically could they offer you on Obamacare subsidies in the next 36 hours that would get you to agree to a deal?
LEADER JEFFRIES: In the conversation, we made clear—the Republicans have a position, and that position is that they're uninterested in addressing the healthcare needs of the American people, and that our position with respect to the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a permanent extension. And we're waiting to hear back from Republicans after that meeting as to whether they are willing to actually sit down over the next 30 hours or so and find a bipartisan path forward. House Republicans are on vacation right now. House Democrats are here—here, ready to do the work of the American people. Senate Democrats and even Senate Republicans are here in the Capitol. And it appears, at least to me, the decision has been made by House Republican leaders, perhaps blessed by the administration, to shut the government down. Why did they cancel votes? Why are they on vacation, spread out across the country and the world, when we're on the brink of a government shutdown?
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Full interview can be watched here.