MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

A Champion of Baby Bonds, Pressley Urges IRS to Ensure ‘Trump Accounts’ Don’t Exacerbate Wealth Gap, Worsen Inequality

Text of Letter (PDF)

BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, wrote to the Trump Administration calling for equitable, comprehensive guidance on the implementation of the newly created child savings accounts, known as Trump Accounts. Congresswoman Pressley, who has long championed Baby Bonds as a tool for closing the wealth gap, is urging the Administration to ensure the new savings accounts do not widen the wealth gap and worsen economic inequality.

The Congresswoman’s letter comes as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fails to issue timely guidance to families, businesses, non-profits, and local and state governments on the implementation of Trump Accounts.

“The United States of America is proclaimed as the land of opportunity where even a child born into poverty could live a prosperous life. However, for too many families, that opportunity remains out of reach, due to policy decisions that unfairly prioritize the wealthy and leave our most vulnerable families behind,” wrote Congresswoman Pressley in her letter to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent. “The creation of new child savings accounts has the potential to be a transformative tool for economic justice, but I am concerned that provisions in the Republican-passed H.R. 1 will perpetuate inequality.”

In 2019, Congresswoman Pressley introduced Baby Bonds legislation with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) that would create a federally funded savings account for every child in order to make economic opportunity a birthright rather than a privilege. The bill was purposefully and expertly drafted to disrupt intergenerational poverty, close the racial wealth gap, and give every 18-year-old support to start a business, buy a house, or pursue higher education. 

In her letter, Congresswoman Pressley urged the IRS to develop regulations to alleviate the harm Trump Accounts would cause by expanding wealth inequality, ignoring poor and low-income families in urban and rural communities, and causing children born into rich families to disproportionately benefit while others continue to struggle. The Congresswoman noted that unlike Baby Bonds, Trump Accounts increase taxes on families, lose money based on stock market decline, and provide a meager one-time contribution as part of a limited five-year program.

“It is important to deliver real benefits to the American public, which requires sharing details in a transparent manner,” the Congresswoman continued. “Absent clear implementation details, parents of newborns will not save, businesses and non-profits will not contribute, and local and state governments will not be able to support their constituents.

Congresswoman Pressley also asked Secretary and Acting Commissioner Bessent to answer a series of questions about the implementation of Trump Accounts and urged him to meet with Democrats, experts, and advocates before 2026.

A copy of the Congresswoman’s letter is available here.

In a Washington Post op-ed published in June, Congresswoman Pressley and economist Darrick Hamilton urged Congress to reject Trump Accounts and instead embrace Baby Bonds to close the wealth gap and advance economic justice. In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Booker urged the Treasury Department’s advisory committee to study the merits of Baby Bonds and embrace them in its upcoming reports to the Treasury Department about ideas that could advance greater equity in the economy.

Rep. Pressley has consistently advocated for race-conscious policies to help close the racial wealth gap in America, uplift Black, brown, and other marginalized communities.

• Building on the legacy of Black women in the civil rights movement, Rep. Pressley led a historic resolution calling for a federal job guarantee.  
• In a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Congresswoman Pressley questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the issue of full employment and the Civil Rights history of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate. Powell conceded, for the first time in Federal Reserve history and on the Congressional record, that the Fed alone cannot get the United States to full employment.
• Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker, is the lead co-sponsor of the American Opportunity Accounts Act—also known as Baby Bonds—legislation that would create a federally-funded savings account for every American child in order to make economic opportunity a birthright for every child and help close the racial wealth gap.
• Rep. Pressley introduced the Equity in Government Act to codify racial equity across federal agencies and improve government services for underserved communities.
• Rep. Pressley has also called on the five largest banks in America to provide a detailed update on the racial equity commitments the institutions made following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
• Rep. Pressley was also a leading voice in Congress urging President Biden to cancel student debt. Following years of advocacy by Rep. Pressley—in partnership with colleagues, borrowers, and advocates like the NAACP—the Biden-Harris Administration announced a historic plan to cancel student debt that stands to benefit over 40 million people.
• Congresswoman Pressley has also consistently sounded the alarm on the crisis of unemployment among Black women in America, and demanded the Federal Reserve take action.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement after the Navy announced the cancellation of the Constellation-class frigate program:

“I am disappointed to see the Administration abandon the Constellation-class frigate program, which would have a significant impact on the future of the Navy.

“Naval Station Everett (NSE), which is located in a deep water port with proximity to the Indo-Pacific, will compete aggressively to be the homeport for new Navy missions. A strong and growing NSE will create local jobs that have concrete impacts in the communities I represent – groceries on the table, school supplies in backpacks, gas in minivans and more economic activity that has ripple effects on other local businesses and workers.

“This decision demands transparency and a clear plan for filling the capability gap left by the frigate program’s cancellation. I will keep fighting for a new class of smaller surface combatant ships and the small shipyards we need to modernize and strengthen the Navy’s fleet. The Navy will need every available pier in order to reach its shipbuilding goals.

“I will continue to ensure that decisions about ship homeporting sustain jobs for Northwest Washington and keep our country safe. Northwest Washington has always answered the call to serve, and I will hold the Navy and the Administration accountable to do the same by investing in the fleet, in the workforce, and in the future of Naval Station Everett.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Riley Moore (WV-02)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Riley M. Moore (WV-02) and Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01) applauded the Trump Administration’s decision to secure the future of America’s national parks through a new fee structure that ensures international visitors are paying their fair share to keep our national heritage beautiful. The recent policy, issued by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, establishes an Annual Pass that will cost $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for nonresidents and will apply an additional $100 surcharge per foreign visitor to enter 11 of the most visited national parks while keeping the entrance fee for Americans the same.

The National Parks system faces a $23 billion deferred maintenance backlog. This America-First policy will ensure our children and grandchildren can enjoy our great natural heritage for years to come, beautify our National Parks, and secure funding to address our critical maintenance backlog. 

Congressman Moore and Congressman Zinke issued the following joint statement:

“President Trump and Secretary Burgum are putting Americans first by asking foreign visitors to pay their fair share while holding entrance fees steady for the American people. This policy ensures that our beautiful national heritage is preserved and the critical maintenance backlog is addressed so that America’s national parks will remain affordable, well-maintained, and financially sustainable for generations to come. We owe it to future generations of Americans – our children and grandchildren – to ensure our beautiful natural heritage that God created is well preserved.

Now, Congress must act to codify this America-First fee structure by passing our bill, The PATRIOT Parks Act. Our legislation is essential to guaranteeing that these reforms remain in place for generations to come, and that Americans are put First in our own parks.” 

In July, Congressman Riley M. Moore (WV-02) and Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01) introduced the PATRIOT Parks Act in the House- which codifies President Trump’s Executive Order “Making America Beautiful Agenda by Improving Our National Parks.”  Senators Jim Banks (R-IN) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) will hold his annual telephone town hall regarding Medicare Open Enrollment. Kelly will be joined by officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the call.

With Medicare enrollment season in full swing, the panel hopes the tele-town hall will answer questions for both new and current enrollees. Medicare Open Enrollment runs annually from October 15-December 7.

If a resident of Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District would like to join the call, they are encouraged to use the pin-less participant dial-in number below. A livestream will also be available on Rep. Kelly’s Facebook page.

DETAILS

Who: U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
What: Live Telephone Town Hall on Medicare Open Enrollment
When: Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 6:30p.m. ET
Pin-less Participant Dial-in Number: 855-531-1063
Livestream:Facebook.com/MikeKellyPA

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s The Lead, where he reiterated that Democrats are committed to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits and that Republicans have a responsibility to their constituents to join Democrats and stop premiums from skyrocketing.

ERICA HILL: It’s quite a menu to present to our first guest, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. He is, of course, the House Minority Leader. Good to have you with us, Leader Jeffries. I would love to start with healthcare and a reality check, frankly, given that we are now five weeks away from the expiration of those ACA subsidies. I was speaking yesterday with Republican Congressman Nick LaLota, who told me that before we spoke, he had been in meetings about a potential deal. Just how much bipartisan work is actually happening behind the scenes right now?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good evening. Great to be with you. We are in the middle of the open enrollment period, and tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles because Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It appeared as if the President and the administration was prepared to extend these tax credits for at least two years, or at least provide a good-faith proposal for Congress to consider, until House Republicans, led by Speaker Johnson, apparently intervened because they have zero interest in keeping healthcare affordable for the American people. That’s very unfortunate. These Republican extremists have been playing games with the healthcare of the American people all year, and things appear like they’re going to get worse because of Republican unwillingness to address the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue in advance of the end of this year.

ERICA HILL: So I will say some of CNN’s reporting is that a number of Republicans said that they only learned about this after those details were leaked to the press. The proposal, you’re right, did draw heavy criticism from conservatives who, according to CNN’s proposal, had panned—CNN’s reporting, rather, had panned—the proposal for including an extension of the ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. But you’re saying there are no Republicans who want to move forward on this. Can you just give me a sense, though, how much support do you believe there is among Republicans if this is, in fact, the President’s proposal? If this is what he puts forth, how much support do you think that could have?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it seems to me that the votes do exist in the House of Representatives, as well as potentially in the Senate, to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But unfortunately, House Republican leaders have zero interest in doing that. This is the same group of people who have brought us this Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across the country. Keep in mind that Republicans this year, in their One Big Ugly Bill, enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. 14 million Americans are on the brink of losing their health insurance as a result. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. Republicans in the appropriations process right now are trying to enact devastating cuts to the Centers for Disease Control, about $1.7 billion in cuts. That would be the largest cut to the CDC in American history. And at the same time, they’re going after medical research, vaccine availability and of course, they refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which provide affordable health insurance to working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans, but House Republicans could care less.

ERICA HILL: So just real quickly, so we can put a button in this. You’re saying it is Republican leadership that are responsible for killing this. Are you saying that they have that much power with the President? That they are able to go to President Trump and say don’t do this and he is listening to them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It’s a really good question because on every other issue, House Republicans have basically functioned as a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. Generally, when Donald Trump says jump, House Republicans just ask the question, how high? But when it comes to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, now all of a sudden, House Republicans want Congress to act like a separate and co-equal branch of government. That’s extraordinary. But that’s consistent with the fact that under Republican complete control of government, all we’ve seen are costs going up. The cost of living in this country is out of control. Republicans promised to lower costs on day one. They’ve done nothing to do that. So housing costs are out of control, grocery costs out of control, child care costs out of control, electricity bills skyrocketing and now healthcare costs are about to skyrocket because of the Republican unwillingness to do something about the Affordable Care Act tax credit expiration.

ERICA HILL: So, last question for you on this point, because I do have some other topics I want to get to. To get traction on this, you once mentioned using a discharge petition, which, of course, is the same strategy that forced a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. Where does that stand?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, we have over 200 signatures on our House Democratic-led discharge petition that will result in just a straight, clean three-year extension on the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And if House Republican leadership is unwilling to do anything about this issue, all we need are a handful of rank-and-file House Republicans to join us as Democrats, and we can get this done for the American people. So, we will be pressing this case upon our return to Washington next week.

ERICA HILL: All right, well, keep us posted. Let us know where you stand on getting those, that handful of Republicans. I do want to move on to what we are seeing in terms of the backlash, the reaction to this video that was put out, of course, by six Democratic lawmakers urging servicemembers not to follow illegal orders. The FBI is now seeking to schedule interviews with them in response, saying—those lawmakers saying—in response in a joint statement that ‘no amount of intimidation or harassment would ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.’ As the Democratic Leader, do you believe your Members should sit for interviews with the FBI?

LEADER JEFFRIES: There’s no basis to this FBI investigation. Unless the FBI actually presents credible evidence as to why they are seeking to interview these four Members of the House and two Members of the Senate, then I think we have to look at this whole request skeptically. Again, it was Donald Trump who ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate these Members. He accused them of treason. He threatened them with death. And so, it’s not clear why we should take this investigation credibly. This is not something where the FBI is trying to follow the facts, apply the law and be guided by the Constitution.

ERICA HILL: I do think it’s important to point out we have been told that the—that the Pentagon is looking into an investigation, and what we know about the FBI, according to our reporting, is that they’re seeking to schedule interviews. So are you saying, though—I just want to put a pin in this as well—are you saying that they should not sit for those interviews?

LEADER JEFFRIES: No, that’s a determination that ultimately will be made by these patriotic Members, all of whom serve the country, either as national security professionals, in the military or both. But what I am suggesting is that we should look at this so-called interview request and whatever investigation is underway from this extreme administration very skeptically because it was all apparently ordered by Donald Trump. Now, ultimately, the Members and their lawyers are going to make the determination as to what’s the next appropriate step in this so-called process related to the Trump administration.

ERICA HILL: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, appreciate your time. Thank you.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on Spectrum News NY1’s Inside City Hall with Errol Louis, where he reiterated that Democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living while Republican extremists will stop at nothing to benefit their wealthy donors.

ERROL LOUIS: Joining me now for a wide-ranging interview on that and a number of other topics is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He also represents parts of Brooklyn, including all or part of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Canarsie, Coney Island and Sheepshead Bay. Welcome back to the program. Always good to see you.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Great to be with you.

ERROL LOUIS: I wanted to get your reaction to today’s big news about the case being dismissed against Letitia James.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it was a welcome development. Attorney General Tish James is a tremendous public servant, a champion for the communities throughout New York City and New York State, as well as beyond, really, a national leader pushing back against the extremism of the Trump administration. As a result of her outspokenness, the Department of Justice filed this phony indictment against her, and I’m thankful that it was dismissed. The so-called Department of Justice under the Trump Administration is a malignant clown show. And they got what they deserve today. And we’re gonna continue to stand by Tish James until this whole matter is definitively over.

ERROL LOUIS: As an attorney, how serious was the error by the Justice Department? I was reading the decision, and I was thinking, man, you’re not supposed to make these kind of mistakes.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve seen this over and over again, but this is what happens when effectively there are no credible attorneys running the Department of Justice. They all answer to Donald Trump, who’s just using the Justice Department as a weapon against his perceived adversaries as part of him unleashing all of this extremism against the American people. And by the way, the American people are rejecting it up and down the ballot across the country. We just saw that recently with the off-year elections earlier this month.

ERROL LOUIS: Okay, we’ll get back to the elections in a minute. Let’s let’s stay local for a minute and talk about some of the local politics. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was talking today, says that Democratic leadership—and he’s, I think he was talking nationally— he says, are not prepared, are not tough enough, are not fighting hard enough in the direction that the nation and the party needs to go. I wanted to get your reaction to that.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, I have no idea what he’s talking about. By the way, Democrats literally across the country, in New Jersey, in New York, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania, in Georgia, in Mississippi, right, in California, across the country, up and down the ballot, race after race after race, have won elections. This represents a pushback that’s dramatic against the extremism of the Trump administration, and Democrats actually articulating an affirmative agenda as it relates to making life more affordable for the American people. What about winning across the country does he not get?

ERROL LOUIS: Okay, well, let’s peel it back a layer. There’s discussion locally. There was even talk about somebody wanting to challenge you. We still don’t know whether or not Chi Ossé, the City Council Member, is going to do that. But there’s some discussion about whether or not Democratic leadership, and that’s a term we’ll try and nail down in, I guess, in just a second. But your wing of the Democratic leadership is either not tough enough, not forceful enough, not engaged enough. What’s your sense of that?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think what we just saw over the last several months on the House Democratic side, partnering with Chuck Schumer and our colleagues on the Senate, is week after week after week pushing back against the Trump administration, making very clear to them that, of course, at all times we will find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government, but that there were lines in the sand, including making sure that any spending agreement actually makes life better for the American people and that we were not going to support a spending agreement that continued to gut the healthcare of the American people.Every single Democrat in the House and the Senate stood up against Donald Trump and the Republican One Big Ugly Bill. Why did we do that? Because back in July, when they jammed that bill down the throats of the American people without a single Democratic vote, they ripped healthcare away from everyday Americans, we pushed back aggressively against that. They enacted the largest cut to supplemental nutrition in American history, cut $186 billion from SNAP, literally ripping food from the mouths of children, seniors and hungry veterans. We pushed back aggressively against that. And all of that was done by Republicans so they could enact massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors.

ERROL LOUIS: Are we going to go through this all over again on January 30?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, now we’re in the middle of a fight, as we approach December 31, where we’re going to continue to make clear that we need the Affordable Care Act tax credits extended so that tens of millions of people, including over a million people here in New York State, don’t see their healthcare premiums dramatically increased. And everywhere I go in the community, in the city, across the country, people are urging us to continue to stay in that fight, which we will, until we win this fight.

ERROL LOUIS: A recent CBS poll asked Democratic voters, well, actually voters overall, to describe their party in one word. For a majority of all voters and more than 40 percent of Democrats, the word that they chose is, ‘weak.’ What aren’t you doing? Is this a messaging problem? Is there some new strategy you might want to try?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think what’s interesting is that this weak party just won elections all across the country. So, there’s a juxtaposition, and I think part of it is that Donald Trump is unleashing extremism on the American people week after week after week. This incredible, unprecedented assault on the economy, on healthcare, on nutritional assistance, on veterans, on everyday Americans, on law-abiding immigrant families, on the rule of law and of course, on democracy itself. And so, we are in a more-is-more environment, and as Democrats, we have to continue to do more. But I think what we’ve decisively seen, literally all across the country, and we’ve been winning elections, by the way, since the end of January,when we flipped the seat in the Iowa State Senate, that Donald Trump had just won by 21 points the previous November. We flipped that seat, and we’ve been winning the elections ever since. That said, we can’t take our foot off the gas pedal. We have to continue to press forward and articulate our affirmative agenda. We want to lower the high cost of living. We want to fix our broken healthcare system. And of course, we need to clean up corruption in this country so we can deliver an America that actually works for working-class folks.

ERROL LOUIS: Yeah, one thing about all of this. When I see a word like weak or people saying you’re not fighting hard enough, look, you come through here and I see you’ve got like a level of security you didn’t used to have to travel with. There’s been serious threats against you, at least one of which resulted in quite a bit of publicity. How are things going as far as that part of your life?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, well, you know, I appreciate you raising that. When you push back aggressively, all of us in the House and the Senate, governors, mayors, local elected officials, of course, we see extremists on the other side of the aisle who start to target you. And that’s certainly been a reality, particularly, you know, throughout the year. The particular situation that unfolded a couple of weeks ago, of course, was some individual who was pardoned by Donald Trump for attacking the Capitol on January 6, and we know hundreds of these people, violent felons, have actually been pardoned by the President on his first day in office and then released back into communities. So I’m more concerned about the impact that that has on public safety in neighborhoods throughout America. This is from a group of people, by the way, Errol, who promised that they were going to lower costs on day one. But costs haven’t gone down on day one, costs are going up. The Trump tariffs are creating life that is more expensive for everyday Americans, thousands of dollars of additional expenses per year. And that’s why we’re continuing to wage this healthcare affordability fight and pressing our Republican colleagues to do the right thing and extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

ERROL LOUIS: Among the chattering classes, the consultants and the commentators and so forth, there’s an assumption that Democrats are going to win control of the House. The polling, at least at this stage, seems to suggest that on a generic ballot, people think that they want to vote for Democrats more so than Republicans. That’s enough to win the control of the House and perhaps make you the Speaker of the House. If that should happen, how will life be different for New Yorkers?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, we’re going to continue to work hard to stop the extremism from being unleashed on the people of New York City, New York State and across the country, serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. That’s what the framers of the Constitution wanted. That’s not what we’re seeing from our Republican colleagues, who are nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. And if any of my House Republican colleagues dare to push back, even gently, against Donald Trump, they get run out of office, as we just saw with Marjorie Taylor Greene. House Democrats, in the majority, are also going to try to move an affirmative agenda that recognizes that far too many people in this city work hard, play by the rules, but can’t get ahead, can barely get by, are living check-to-check.And we actually have to do something to make life more affordable in the city, as the Mayor-elect is working hard to do, in the state, as Governor Hochul is working hard to do and of course, down in Washington, where we’ve seen no action from our Republican colleagues, but as House Democrats, we will press forward to try to accomplish.

ERROL LOUIS: Okay, speaking about affordability, Mayor-elect Mamdani publicly urged the New York City DSA not to endorse Chi Ossé in a primary against you. Did you speak with him before that? Was there an actual or implied kind of alliance that you had with him?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we actually didn’t talk about the politics related to primaries in any great detail. We spent a lot of time talking about, and continue to do so, talking about his continued emphasis on affordability and public safety. And I think, as we saw most recently when the Mayor-elect met with Donald Trump, continuing to stay focused on those issues and delivering for the people of New York will pay dividends. And everybody needs to lean in to make sure that the Mayor-elect is successful, that the governor is successful, because if that in fact is the case, if he’s successful, then the people that we represent will be successful because the city of New York will be successful.

ERROL LOUIS: What do you make of that summit or that meeting between Mamdani and President Trump the other day in the Oval Office?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, it was kind of an extraordinary thing, but Donald Trump clearly recognizes that Mayor Mamdani is committed to trying to turn things around from an affordability standpoint. And he also knows, meaning the President, that he’s failed in that regard. And hopefully, we’ll see, actually, Donald Trump try to emphasize those issues of lowering the high cost of living across the country a little more and partner with the city of New York as opposed to trying to target the city of New York. So I thought it was a great success, and—

ERROL LOUIS: Have you ever had a meeting like that with the President?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I think the most recent meeting that I had with the President was a few days before Donald Trump and Republicans decided to shut the government down. And we agreed to strongly disagree on the issues because we made clear at that moment that we were not supporting any partisan Republican spending bill as long as it gutted the healthcare of the American people. And we did not support that partisan Republican spending bill a few days later, when we hit the October 1 deadline.

ERROL LOUIS: So, you know, something that across both sides of the aisle, that I’m hearing from you is that there’s actions being taken by the Republican majority at the behest of the White House that have nothing to do with winning elections, right? That it’s clearly not going to be popular. We see the effects that are going to hit even Republican districts when the cost of healthcare premiums goes through the roof. We know that it’s not popular. The polling suggests that. You have hard evidence in the form of these elections, like you said, from coast to coast, up and down the ballot. How does this continue to sort of go in a destructive path that just not only hurts individual families, but is politically just not working for anybody?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, it’s incredible to me, first and foremost, that my Republican colleagues are actually hurting the people that they represent. Like, when you enact the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, they’ve now set in motion hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers closing in their communities, rural America and all across the country. And apparently they could care less, because they were ordered by Donald Trump to do so. When you are on the verge of allowing the Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, the 10 states that are most impacted are all Republican-run states. Everyday Americans throughout the country are going to get hurt, but it’s West Virginia, it’s Wyoming, it’s Alaska, it’s Tennessee, it’s Mississippi, it’s South Carolina, I believe, Alabama, Texas, these states, North and South Dakota, who are most impacted by the Affordable Care Act tax credits expiring. And my Republican colleagues could care less.

ERROL LOUIS: Well, I mean, if this is part of your messaging for the fall elections, and it’s happening about a year from now, can you wait that long? Is that what the message is going to be, or are people going to have to endure all of this pain, or is there kind of another way to sort of set up a Democratic alternative?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, one of the reasons why we’ve waged a fight and we’ve launched the discharge petition, as was most recently done successfully with the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, we as Democrats in the House have launched a discharge petition to try to force an up-and-down vote on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And all we’ll need at the end of the day is just a handful of our Republican colleagues to join us. And if that, in fact, is the case, then we can save healthcare in terms of affordability for the people that I’m privileged to represent throughout the 8th Congressional District in Brooklyn, for people in New York City, for people in New York State and across the country. All we need is a handful of Republicans, including a handful from New York State, like Mike Lawler and others. Just join us.

ERROL LOUIS: Okay.

LEADER JEFFRIES: And if you’re willing to do so, we can actually get something done for the people they represent.

ERROL LOUIS: Where are the seats that you’re targeting, that you are planning to flip between now and next year?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, you know, we believe that in this environment,we’ve got 25, 30, 35 different seats that we actually are in position to win. Now, we only have to win three. But they’re all across the country, a handful here in New York. We’ve got at least one, maybe two, in New Jersey. We’ve three to four in Pennsylvania, three to four in Michigan, one or two in Wisconsin, at least two in Arizona, several opportunities now in California. We’ve got some seats that we’ve got to hold in Texas, but maybe a handful that we can pick up as well. So, coast to coast, across the country, north, south, east and west—

ERROL LOUIS: Okay.

LEADER JEFFRIES: —we’re gonna work hard to take back the House.

ERROL LOUIS: Who’s the leader of the Democratic Party, if I asked you? Everybody’s got their own opinion about this.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s my honor to be the House Democratic Leader, and I have a job right now to lead about 215 Democrats in the House of Representatives. It’s a big job, and I’m working hard to do the best that I can.

ERROL LOUIS: Okay, we’ll let you get back to it. Thanks so much for coming by.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

ERROL LOUIS: Happy holiday to you.

Full interview can be watched here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference in Brooklyn with Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman and local leaders making food more accessible and affordable in Brooklyn and across the country.

LEADER JEFFRIES: These are very challenging times that we confront, and we know that people are struggling with the high cost of living in our community, in our city and across the country. And no one in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, should ever go hungry. No one. But we know, unfortunately, that the reality is very different. And that we’ve got some forces within the government who, instead of addressing the fact that there are millions of people in our country who are food insecure, are making things worse.

Earlier this year, there were a group of people who passed what we refer to as the One Big Ugly Bill. And in it, not only did they rip away Medicaid from 14 million people, triggering a wave of hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers closing, setting that painful reality in motion. In the same toxic piece of legislation, they enacted the largest cut to SNAP in American history, ripping $186 billion in nutritional assistance from hungry children, seniors, families and veterans. It was a shameful thing, and we’re working hard, and we’ll continue to do everything possible until we get those toxic SNAP cuts reversed. Until we get them reversed.

We know in the midst of this affordability crisis, people are struggling with housing, people are struggling with healthcare and people are struggling with food, and having to make decisions about whether to put food on the table, pay the rent, get access to the medicine that they need to live a dignified life. That’s unacceptable in this great country. It’s also one of the reasons why we’re so thankful for St. John’s Bread and Life, for the Food Bank and for the work of these great organizations that we will continue to support. Thankful for what they do during the holiday season, but this is work that is done each and every day, each and every month, year after year. And as the Member of Congress from this great community, I pledge to continue hard to support it.

Last thing that I’d mention is that in this community—proud to have grown up in Crown Heights, continue to go to church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, right down the block where my grandmother lived for a long period of time—that we’ve seen tremendous progress as it relates to some of the violence issues that our community has suffered throughout the years, homicides and gang-related violence and things of that nature. And we know there’s still progress to be made in those areas. But it’s always been the case that in our community, right here in central Brooklyn, that more people have always died from drive-thrus than drive-bys. It’s always been the case. More people in our community have died from drive-thrus than drive-bys because of the lack of access to affordable, healthy food, triggering a wide variety of illnesses, from hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, other forms of heart disease, obesity that creates all sorts of health complications. More people in our community continue, and it’s always been true, have died from lack of access to healthy food, fruits and vegetables, nutritious meals that is affordable, than they have from gun violence or other things that have plagued our neighborhoods. That’s why making sure that we continue to support organizations like St. John’s Bread and Life, Food Bank for New York City and others will continue to be a high priority until we can bring about the moment in this great community, in the city, in this country, where not a single family ever goes hungry. 

God bless you, and Happy Thanksgiving. 

Full press conference can be watched here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, where he highlighted that Democrats are dedicated to making life more affordable rather than prioritizing the interests of the wealthy, well-off and well-connected:

BRIAN LEHRER: So, on the Affordable Care Act, I don’t have to tell you that the extended subsidies will expire at the end of the year, and premiums are projected to double without those. The Senate Republicans primaried a vote, the Senate Republicans, but not House Speaker Mike Johnson. Now I see reporting that President Trump will propose a two-year extension with some other changes. Have you seen details of that yet?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Not seeing details, and Donald Trump has not had any conversation with any Democrats on Capitol Hill, as far as I know, about moving forward. For weeks, we made clear that on December 31, tens of millions of Americans were going to experience dramatically increased healthcare premiums because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. The same group of people who, back in July, with great urgency, enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. As a result of their actions, hospitals, nursing homes, community-based health centers are closing. We know in that same [One Big Ugly Bill], what they did was also rip food away from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans by enacting a $186 billion cut to SNAP, the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American History. And they did all of that in order to pass massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors, which they made permanent. And now, at the 11th hour, Donald Trump purportedly has a proposal. Here’s our view as House Democrats. We’ve put forth a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits to make sure that working-class Americans, everyday Americans and middle-class Americans can have the same level of certainty as it relates to their health insurance costs that Republicans just provided to their billionaire donors in enacting massive tax cuts for them and then making those tax cuts permanent.

BRIAN LEHRER: Well, what could House Democrats support? The reporting I cited said Trump will propose a two-year extension. You just said a three-year expansion of the extended ACA subsidies. Reportedly, the President wants a few things, like lower income limits for getting any subsidy and no version of Obamacare policies that have premiums of $0. Can you confirm that or say if you’re open to those? Maybe you’re not so far away if you’re talking about a two-year extension versus a three-year extension.

LEADER JEFFRIES: We’ll have to look at the details of President Trump’s purported proposal and its impact on small business owners, on entrepreneurs, on working and middle-class individuals in an environment where life in this country is already too expensive. And it’s interesting to me that the President and Republicans seem interested in taking things away from folks as opposed to being additive. That said, you know, if there’s a proposal that is offered up, we’ll evaluate it on the merits, look at the four corners of it, and then figure out, you know, how to proceed. It’s unfortunate that though Democrats started aggressively making clear as soon as early September that we needed to deal with this prior to October 1, when notices were going to go out to tens of millions of people about their health insurance, that Republicans have delayed and delayed and delayed. And now at the 11th hour, let’s see, you know, whether their proposal has any merit.

[…]

CALLER: Good morning. Yes, thank you. And I’d like to thank you for all that you’ve done for the New Yorkers, for all of us. And I actually wanted to know what your plan is in terms of making housing more affordable, specifically for our young people. I have two sons who are born and raised in New York. And they are college graduates, they work hard, and they cannot afford to live in the City. So I want to know if there’s a proposed plan for there really to be affordable housing. I know we use that term lightly, but unfortunately, it has not actually manifested.

BRIAN LEHRER: Linda, thank you very much. Well, we know that’s one of the reasons Mayor-Elect Mamdani was elected. How about a federal role in that? Do you see one?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, absolutely. And Linda, thank you so much for calling in and for that very important point that you made. I think there are far too many young people in this city, and certainly that’s the case throughout the country, who don’t believe that the American dream, which has always been largely anchored in homeownership, can be achieved. And that’s a shame because in this great country of ours, when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live a comfortable life and live what I’ve sometimes referred to as the good life. Good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education and ultimately a good retirement. And there are far too many people, particularly young people, who are working hard and playing by the rules, doing what they were told to do, but are unable to get to that last step. Living the good life. Achieving the American dream. And so it’s important for us to lean in on this question of the high cost of living aggressively and across every level of government—city, state, and federal. And so your question, Brian, certainly the federal government needs to get into the business of affordable housing. Now there’s several things that can be done. Use the tax code to incentivize the construction of housing that people can afford. That means a dramatic expansion of the low-income housing tax credit. That means making sure that we are incentivizing and making it more affordable for people to pay a down payment on their first home, similar to what President Obama did in the aftermath of the Great Recession. That’s a program that I think we can consider, too, reviving, which is a significant tax credit that can be used to defray the down payment costs, which often prevent people from being able to purchase homes. We can also look at portability in terms of how you can transfer mortgage rates that are lower, as opposed to them basically fluctuating, depending on whatever the moment that exists, and that locks housing into place and prevents young people from being able to take over mortgages that might otherwise be affordable. So there’s a variety of different things that we will propose over the next year and work hard to implement if the American people give us the privilege of serving in the majority after the midterm elections.

[…]

BRIAN LEHRER: You know, lots of people have theories about why President Trump was so complimentary to Mamdani at the White House on Friday. Do you? And then we’re out of time.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, I think Republicans are on the run in terms of their failure to deliver policies that actually make life more affordable for the American people. And we saw that decisively in their electoral defeats that took place. The American people are running away from Republican extremism and running toward the Democratic values that we’ve been articulating, fighting to drive down the high cost of living, fighting to fix our broken healthcare system and fighting to clean up corruption and making clear to the American people that you deserve better than what they’ve gotten from Donald Trump and Republicans since January 20. And perhaps it was an acknowledgement, of course, that the vision that was articulated throughout the campaign and continues to be articulated as Mayor-elect Mamdani transitions from where he is now to taking over the city on January 1 is one that New Yorkers embraced, and it’s one that was embraced by the people of New Jersey with Mikie Sherrill and her decisive win. It’s one that was embraced by people of Virginia when Abigail Spanberger won a historic victory, and Democrats swept across the state up and down the ballot as we did throughout the nation. So maybe it’s part of a retreat that we’re seeing from Donald Trump, recognizing that they better start embracing and addressing the issues that matter for the American people, or they’re going to get wiped out in the midterm elections next year.

Full interview can be listened to here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)

Headline: Newhouse, Daines Urge House Leadership to Pass Legislation to Build More Hydropower

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) sent a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise urging swift passage of their “Build More Hydro” bill – S. 1020/H.R. 2072.

“We write to you to urge the passage of S.1020 (H.R. 2072), our ‘Build More Hydro’ bill, a bipartisan bill that authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend construction deadlines for critical hydropower projects nationwide. On July 9, 2025, S.1020 passed the Senate by unanimous consent and the House received the bill on August 1, 2025, where it remains held at the desk awaiting action.  

If S. 1020 is not enacted, 37 unconstructed, FERC-licensed hydropower projects across 15 states, representing more than 2.6GW of baseload power and $6.5 billion in investment, are at risk of termination…

…Since the introduction of this bill, approximately 100MW of hydropower has been put on hold with an additional 36MW forced into limbo by the end of the year because of congressional inaction. Hydropower supplies baseload electricity to over 30 million homes, provides 96% of utility-scale energy storage, and remains vital to flood control, water storage, irrigation, and grid reliability services… 

Losing these projects would undermine grid reliability at a time when we can least afford it. Advancing S.1020 before the end of the year is an essential step to protect American energy security, ensure reliable power to communities across the nation and prevent the loss of billions in investment,” Newhouse and Daines wrote in the letter.  

Senator Daines’s S. 1020, which passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous consent in July 2025, would extend construction deadlines for critical hydropower projects nationwide and increase American energy production. Rep. Newhouse introduced the companion legislation, H.R. 2072, earlier this year.

Read the full letter here. 

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