Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on NCS News Central, the place he made clear that Democrats will proceed working to guard the healthcare of the American individuals and push again towards the corruption and extremism being unleashed by this administration.
JOHN BERMAN: With us now’s the House Minority Leader, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries. Congressman, thanks a lot for being with us. So it does appear like this vote shall be subsequent week. What do you assume it’s going to inform us? Where are their numbers proper now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning, nice to be with you. It’s my expectation that the laws will move, probably move decisively. Democrats within the House, in fact, will strongly help it. We consider in transparency. We consider it’s been far too lengthy that this data has been hidden from the American individuals. And it’s extraordinary that moderately than give attention to making an attempt to really prolong the Affordable Care Act tax credit, drive down the excessive value of dwelling or make life higher for the American individuals, Donald Trump and his people have spent this week pressuring Republicans to not again the trouble to launch these Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata to the American individuals.
JOHN BERMAN: Now, this week, Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, as soon as it was clear that the discharge petition would get sufficient votes, Tim Burchett tried to really get a vote on the House flooring this week. And by way of House procedures, apparently, it might have required management on each side to signal on. House Speaker Mike Johnson says you wouldn’t signal on to having a vote this week. Why not?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, that’s truly inaccurate. It seems to me Mike Johnson didn’t attain out. He spent seven weeks stopping Representative Adelita Grijalva from being sworn in. And the explanation why they had been on trip, a taxpayer-funded trip for seven weeks, is as a result of that they had no solutions for the American individuals on the healthcare disaster that Republicans have created, they usually had been unwilling to swear in Representative Adelita Grijalva as a result of they knew she can be the 218th signature to set off this up-or-down vote. So I do not know what Mike Johnson is speaking about.
JOHN BERMAN: It is attention-grabbing to me that, as we’re speaking about this, you retain on turning the dialogue again to healthcare and affordability. What dangers are there, do you assume, for Democrats in spending an excessive amount of time on Epstein versus these bread and butter, , kitchen desk points for the American individuals?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we have now to give attention to a wide range of totally different points that we all know are necessary to the American individuals. And the American individuals deserve higher than the extremism that has been unleashed on them from day certainly one of this presidency. And it definitely is the case that we’re going to proceed to give attention to driving down the excessive value of dwelling on this nation. America is much too costly. The American individuals all throughout the nation have made that clear repeatedly. Housing prices too excessive. Grocery prices too excessive. Child care prices too excessive. Electricity payments by way of the roof. And, in fact, healthcare premiums about to skyrocket for tens of thousands and thousands of Americans due to Republican inaction. But on the identical time period, we’ve made clear we additionally want to deal with the rampant corruption that we see in Washington, D.C., popping out of the Trump administration and enabled repeatedly by Donald Trump’s sycophants within the House Republican Conference. And as a part of that—transparency, daylight, in fact, is one of the best disinfectant. And we’ve maintained from the very starting that the American individuals simply deserve the reality, the entire reality and nothing however the reality because it pertains to the Epstein recordsdata that Donald Trump and his minions made a giant deal about for years, however now unexpectedly that they’re in workplace, they’re making an attempt to bury this data.
JOHN BERMAN: The authorities clearly now open. It had been shut down for a while, Democrats making an attempt to get an extension of the Obamacare subsidies. When this persevering with decision runs out on the finish of January, if there may be not an extension of the Obamacare subsidies, what would you like Democrats to do? More importantly, what would you like, I suppose, the Senate to do?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, let’s take one step at a time. The Affordable Care Act tax credit are scheduled to lapse on December 31. And so, we have now about 45 days to get this accomplished. House Democrats have launched laws to increase the Affordable Care Act tax credit for 3 years to supply working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and on a regular basis Americans the understanding that they want that they’ll be capable to truly go see a health care provider when they should see one for themselves, their households or their kids in an setting the place Republicans have launched an all-out assault on the healthcare of the American individuals, the most important lower in Medicaid in American historical past. Hospitals and nursing houses and community-based well being facilities are closing all all through America. Now they refuse to increase the Affordable Care Act tax credit, John. So we’ve set to work on this subject over the subsequent 45 days, and we’re going to proceed to press the case.
JOHN BERMAN: And in the event you don’t succeed?
LEADER JEFFRIES: The appropriations course of goes to proceed on a separate observe, and that’s being led, in fact, by our appropriators, Rosa DeLauro on the House Democratic facet, who’s doing an excellent job, working with our Senate colleagues. And we’re going to attempt to enact bipartisan spending agreements that really meet the wants of the American individuals, centered on bettering their high quality of life and, in fact, driving down the excessive value of dwelling to take care of the Trump affordability disaster that exists in America proper now.
JOHN BERMAN: I imply, politics. You’ve been in it for some time, and that is the kind of query that does get requested after a shutdown like this. Who gained the shutdown?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the American individuals misplaced as a result of Republicans decided, decided deliberately—they management the House, the Senate and the presidency—that they’d moderately shut the federal government down than truly present inexpensive healthcare to on a regular basis Americans all throughout the nation, together with within the states which might be going to be most affected, which occur to be states like West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, North Dakota and South Dakota. Those are the ten states most affected by the failure to increase the Affordable Care Act tax credit. And Republicans have been capable of do all the things else, together with discovering $40 billion to bail out Argentina, however unwilling to discover a dime to really present inexpensive healthcare to on a regular basis Americans. And so, hopefully, they’ll undertake a special method. And we’re going to proceed to press the case on these core points of constructing life higher for on a regular basis Americans in a rustic that’s far too costly, far too many individuals struggling to reside paycheck to paycheck. They can’t thrive and may barely survive. This shouldn’t be the case within the wealthiest nation within the historical past of the world.
JOHN BERMAN: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, we do respect your time this morning. Thank you.
Full interview could be watched here.
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