LEADER JEFFRIES: "REPUBLICANS WOULD RATHER KEEP THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN THAN PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference with Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, where he emphasized that while Republicans remain on their month-long vacation, Democrats are ready to work on behalf of the American people to end the Republican healthcare crisis.
LEADER JEFFRIES: This is day 21 of the Trump-Republican shutdown and House Republicans remain on vacation. Donald Trump is missing in action, continues to engage in unreasonable, un-American and un-presidential behavior. And Senate Republicans still don't have a clue as it relates to what needs to be done to address the healthcare crisis that they've created. Tens of millions of Americans all across the country, as we speak, are beginning to receive notices that their premiums, copays and deductibles are about to skyrocket. They are about to experience thousands of dollars in additional expense per year and, in some cases, thousands of dollars in additional expense per month. It's unsustainable. And Republicans have refused to address it. They'd rather keep the government shut down than provide affordable healthcare and extend the tax credits for everyday Americans, for working-class Americans and for middle-class Americans.
Democrats will continue to make clear that we will sit down anytime, anyplace, with anyone here at the Capitol or back at the White House in order to reopen the government, decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis and enact a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people as opposed to continuing these Republican policies that are raising the already-too-high cost of living and ripping healthcare away from the American people. Republicans are on vacation for four weeks, and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused now for four consecutive weeks to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, depriving hundreds of thousands of people in the state of Arizona of the representation that they deserve, particularly during this challenging moment in the country. And once again on the House Floor during a pro forma session, Republicans refused to recognize the distinguished gentleman from the great state of Maryland on behalf of Representative-elect Grijalva, who should be sworn in today. It's already four weeks too late.
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It's a disgrace that Mike Johnson and Republicans continue to refuse to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. It's disrespectful of her. It's disrespectful to the 812,000 people who elected her. It's disrespectful to the great state of Arizona. And it's disrespectful to the House of Representatives, which is supposed to be the People's House, but under Republican leadership has turned into nothing but a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.
Full press availability can be watched here.