LEADER JEFFRIES: "THE ONLY PATH FORWARD IS FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND PASS THE DAMN BILL"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference, where he emphasized that House Democrats know the American people deserve better, which is why we took decisive action to restore the ACA tax credits and lower healthcare costs and are demanding that John Thune and Senate Republicans pass the bill now.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Last week, House Democrats delivered a decisive victory for the American people by passing legislation to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits by three years and protecting the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans who otherwise might experience dramatically increased health insurance premiums. The bill passed by the House is now over in the Senate. It's a bill that was passed on a bipartisan basis, every single House Democrat joined by 17 House Republicans. The only path forward at this moment is for Senate Republicans to do the right thing by the American people and pass the damn bill that we sent over to you. There's no reason to do anything other than that. The healthcare of tens of millions of Americans is otherwise at risk. We're talking about working class Americans, middle class Americans and everyday Americans, who deserve the same level of certainty that Senate Republicans provided to their billionaire donors when they passed massive tax breaks for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected as part of their One Big Ugly Bill last July, yet working class Americans, middle class Americans and everyday Americans have been forced to wait month after month after month.
Enough with the partisanship, enough with the gamesmanship, enough with the foolishness at this point in time. Pass the bill that we know currently in the Senate has majority support—every single Senate Democrat and at least four Senate Republicans who've previously supported a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. From the very beginning of this fight, Democrats have made our position clear. Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save healthcare, beginning with a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We've never wavered from that position. And against all odds, we've passed the bill on a bipartisan basis. It's now over in the Senate because Democrats are actually committed to saving healthcare and lowering the high cost of living for everyday Americans. That's who we fight for—every day, every week, every month, year after year. And we're in this fight until we win this fight for the American people.
Full press conference can be watched here.