Chairman Aguilar: By failing to negotiate with Democrats to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, Republicans are guaranteeing that they are exacerbating this health care[...]

Chairman Aguilar: By failing to negotiate with Democrats to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, Republicans are guaranteeing that they are exacerbating this health care crisis.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar joined Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Vice Chair Ted Lieu, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, Caucus Leadership Representative Steven Horsford, House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern and Steering & Policy Committee Co-Chair Nanette Barragán for a press conference about the Republican health care crisis. You can watch the full press conference here and read Chairman Aguilar's remarks below.

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Thank you, Whip Clark. And thank you, Leader Jeffries, for convening us here, for your strength and asking House Democrats to be here, to be present, to be here at work. This is day eight of the Republican-led shutdown. It's the second week that House Republicans have refused to call us back to the House, the last session day being, I believe, September 19. Rather than tackling the most pressing issues facing our nation, including the rising costs of health care, Republicans are running from their responsibilities. By failing to negotiate with Democrats to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, Republicans are guaranteeing that they are exacerbating this health care crisis. Take, for example, Iowa's First Congressional District, represented by Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks. This, by the way, is the same Member who said she will hold town halls 'when hell freezes over,' just this week. A 60-year-old couple earning $82,000 a year will see their annual premiums rise by 200 percent-$13,000 a year. Or another example, Republican Congressman Gabe Evans' Colorado District, a family of four, earning just $64,000 a year, will see their premiums increase 195 percent, or $2,500 a year.

Think about that. Americans are already struggling with the affordability crisis, and they are being jammed with this health care crisis, all at the hands of Speaker Johnson and his Republican colleagues. And they're lying, claiming that they're the ones 'working around the clock to fix health care.' If that's true, where are they? Where are they while Democrats are here trying to solve this crisis that they created with their Big Ugly Bill? The American people are smart enough to know who is responsible for their health care costs going up. I hope that Republicans will wake up, that they'll do the right thing and that they'll work with us to keep health care costs down. I'll turn it back over to Leader Jeffries.

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