LEADER JEFFRIES ON CNN: HOUSE REPUBLICANS "HAVE ZERO INTEREST IN KEEPING HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE"
Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN's The Lead, where he reiterated that Democrats are committed to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits and that Republicans have a responsibility to their constituents to join Democrats and stop premiums from skyrocketing.
ERICA HILL: It's quite a menu to present to our first guest, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. He is, of course, the House Minority Leader. Good to have you with us, Leader Jeffries. I would love to start with healthcare and a reality check, frankly, given that we are now five weeks away from the expiration of those ACA subsidies. I was speaking yesterday with Republican Congressman Nick LaLota, who told me that before we spoke, he had been in meetings about a potential deal. Just how much bipartisan work is actually happening behind the scenes right now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good evening. Great to be with you. We are in the middle of the open enrollment period, and tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles because Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It appeared as if the President and the administration was prepared to extend these tax credits for at least two years, or at least provide a good-faith proposal for Congress to consider, until House Republicans, led by Speaker Johnson, apparently intervened because they have zero interest in keeping healthcare affordable for the American people. That's very unfortunate. These Republican extremists have been playing games with the healthcare of the American people all year, and things appear like they're going to get worse because of Republican unwillingness to address the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue in advance of the end of this year.
ERICA HILL: So I will say some of CNN's reporting is that a number of Republicans said that they only learned about this after those details were leaked to the press. The proposal, you're right, did draw heavy criticism from conservatives who, according to CNN's proposal, had panned—CNN's reporting, rather, had panned—the proposal for including an extension of the ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. But you're saying there are no Republicans who want to move forward on this. Can you just give me a sense, though, how much support do you believe there is among Republicans if this is, in fact, the President's proposal? If this is what he puts forth, how much support do you think that could have?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it seems to me that the votes do exist in the House of Representatives, as well as potentially in the Senate, to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But unfortunately, House Republican leaders have zero interest in doing that. This is the same group of people who have brought us this Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across the country. Keep in mind that Republicans this year, in their One Big Ugly Bill, enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. 14 million Americans are on the brink of losing their health insurance as a result. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. Republicans in the appropriations process right now are trying to enact devastating cuts to the Centers for Disease Control, about $1.7 billion in cuts. That would be the largest cut to the CDC in American history. And at the same time, they're going after medical research, vaccine availability and of course, they refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which provide affordable health insurance to working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans, but House Republicans could care less.
ERICA HILL: So just real quickly, so we can put a button in this. You're saying it is Republican leadership that are responsible for killing this. Are you saying that they have that much power with the President? That they are able to go to President Trump and say don't do this and he is listening to them?
LEADER JEFFRIES: It's a really good question because on every other issue, House Republicans have basically functioned as a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda. Generally, when Donald Trump says jump, House Republicans just ask the question, how high? But when it comes to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, now all of a sudden, House Republicans want Congress to act like a separate and co-equal branch of government. That's extraordinary. But that's consistent with the fact that under Republican complete control of government, all we've seen are costs going up. The cost of living in this country is out of control. Republicans promised to lower costs on day one. They've done nothing to do that. So housing costs are out of control, grocery costs out of control, child care costs out of control, electricity bills skyrocketing and now healthcare costs are about to skyrocket because of the Republican unwillingness to do something about the Affordable Care Act tax credit expiration.
ERICA HILL: So, last question for you on this point, because I do have some other topics I want to get to. To get traction on this, you once mentioned using a discharge petition, which, of course, is the same strategy that forced a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. Where does that stand?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, we have over 200 signatures on our House Democratic-led discharge petition that will result in just a straight, clean three-year extension on the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And if House Republican leadership is unwilling to do anything about this issue, all we need are a handful of rank-and-file House Republicans to join us as Democrats, and we can get this done for the American people. So, we will be pressing this case upon our return to Washington next week.
ERICA HILL: All right, well, keep us posted. Let us know where you stand on getting those, that handful of Republicans. I do want to move on to what we are seeing in terms of the backlash, the reaction to this video that was put out, of course, by six Democratic lawmakers urging servicemembers not to follow illegal orders. The FBI is now seeking to schedule interviews with them in response, saying—those lawmakers saying—in response in a joint statement that 'no amount of intimidation or harassment would ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.' As the Democratic Leader, do you believe your Members should sit for interviews with the FBI?
LEADER JEFFRIES: There's no basis to this FBI investigation. Unless the FBI actually presents credible evidence as to why they are seeking to interview these four Members of the House and two Members of the Senate, then I think we have to look at this whole request skeptically. Again, it was Donald Trump who ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate these Members. He accused them of treason. He threatened them with death. And so, it's not clear why we should take this investigation credibly. This is not something where the FBI is trying to follow the facts, apply the law and be guided by the Constitution.
ERICA HILL: I do think it's important to point out we have been told that the—that the Pentagon is looking into an investigation, and what we know about the FBI, according to our reporting, is that they're seeking to schedule interviews. So are you saying, though—I just want to put a pin in this as well—are you saying that they should not sit for those interviews?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, that's a determination that ultimately will be made by these patriotic Members, all of whom serve the country, either as national security professionals, in the military or both. But what I am suggesting is that we should look at this so-called interview request and whatever investigation is underway from this extreme administration very skeptically because it was all apparently ordered by Donald Trump. Now, ultimately, the Members and their lawyers are going to make the determination as to what's the next appropriate step in this so-called process related to the Trump administration.
ERICA HILL: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, appreciate your time. Thank you.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.
Full interview can be watched here.