LEADER JEFFRIES: "REPUBLICANS HAVE DETERMINED THAT THEY WANT TO SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT AND HURT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference where he emphasized that while Democrats are fighting to save the healthcare of the American people, Donald Trump and House Republicans are recklessly marching our government to the brink of a shutdown.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good afternoon, everyone. We're just five days away from a government shutdown because Republicans have decided that they don't want to fund the government in a bipartisan way and are determined to continue to gut the healthcare of the American people. The Republican healthcare crisis visited upon everyday Americans has been unrelenting this year. The facts speak for themselves. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, impacting millions of Americans all across the country. Because of Republican actions, hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing across America, including in rural parts of the country that Republicans represent. Because Republicans have refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, 90% of which go to people who make less than $63,000 a year—that's working-class Americans. Because of the Republican refusal to address the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue, at least 20 million Americans are about to experience dramatic increases in their healthcare premiums, co-pays and deductibles. Medicare is facing a $536 billion cut at the end of the year if Congress doesn't take action because of the Republican One Big Ugly Bill. And Republicans have effectively shut down medical research in the United States of America, including for children with cancer.
The Republican assault on healthcare in the United States of America has been unprecedented and unrelenting. It's an assault on the healthcare of working-class America, an assault on the healthcare of rural America, an assault on the healthcare of urban America, an assault on the healthcare of small-town America, an assault on the healthcare of middle America and an assault on the healthcare of Black and brown communities throughout America. The Democratic position is clear: we will meet and sit down any time, any place, with anyone, including the President, who canceled the meeting because the Republicans have determined that they want to shut down the government and hurt the American people. That's an unacceptable and irresponsible position.
Full press conference can be watched here.