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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21)

Today, Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22) released the following statement as the hostages in Hamas’ captivity were released.

“After more than two years of devastating captivity, the twenty remaining living Israeli hostages were released from Gaza, bringing profound relief and joy for their families and so many,” said Rep. Frankel. “Gratitude goes to the President and all whose cumulative efforts made this day possible. I give special thanks and recognition to the hostage families for their unrelenting advocacy to free their loved ones. Much work remains to secure a lasting peace and prosperity for the region. But today, our hearts must celebrate.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Costa Representing 16th District of California

FRESNO, Calif. – Congressman Jim Costa, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the release of hostages held by Hamas. 
“After two years of pain, horrific suffering, and uncertainty, the hostages held by Hamas have been released. We now have a tentative ceasefire, hopefully it lasts. The hostages have been reunited with their families, and this is good news. My thoughts and prayers are with those whose loved ones did not return but who never lost hope,”said Congressman Costa.  
Today marks a critical and important first step in this agreement. It is essential that all parties continue to honor each phase, along with increasing the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, to pave the way toward a stable and lasting peace for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

As thousands of federal workers work without pay due to the Republican government shutdown, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) requested the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to withhold his pay until the federal government is fully reopened.

“I stand in solidarity with the servicemembers, air traffic controllers, and other federal workers on the Central Coast and beyond who are now at risk of missing paychecks because Donald Trump and congressional Republicans shut down the government. If our federal workers are not getting paid, neither am I,” said Rep. Carbajal. “Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. This is their government shutdown, and I continue to call on them to work with Democrats to reopen the government, pay our federal workers, and stop health insurance costs from skyrocketing.”

Some federal workers received their last paycheck on Friday, October 10th. 

Last week, Carbajal signed onto a letter urging House Speaker Mike Johnson to protect servicemembers’ pay during the Republican shutdown. 

During past government shutdowns and furloughs both in Santa Barbara County government and in Congress, Carbajal has similarly forgone pay in solidarity with impacted workers.

Democrats in both the House and Senate have argued that any deal to reopen the federal government needs to protect the expanded tax credit subsidies for health insurance purchased through Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. Those tax credits and the eligibility for them were expanded by Democrats in 2021 under then-President Biden and are scheduled to expire at the end of December. If the tax credits are not protected in a stopgap bill, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance.

If Republicans allow these vital tax credits to expire, an estimated 35,000 Central Coast residents will face higher health care costs, and nearly 10,000 could lose coverage entirely.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — This morning, during Speaker Johnson’s daily press conference, he announced that he is joining Speaker of the Israeli Knesset Amir Ohana in an effort to rally Speakers and Presidents of Parliaments around the world to join them in nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026 following the successful release of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

Speaker Ohana announced this effort during an address to the Israeli Knesset yesterday.

ReadSpeaker Johnson’s full comments announcing the initiative:

“Today, the world’s eyes are still fixed on Israel, where President Trump is welcoming home the last of the living hostages who’ve endured 2 years in Hamas captivity. 

“I thought it was remarkable – I saw a video last night of one of the released hostages who made the point that as soon as the election was held in November in the United States, Hamas began to treat him and his fellow hostages much better. They fed them better, they respected them more, they changed the tone of how they treated them, they no longer spit upon them.

“As he said in his own words, elections have consequences. And he said or implied that Hamas was counting on Kamala Harris to win, not President Donald J. Trump. But thankfully for the whole world, that didn’t happen.

“This is a historic moment that deserves enormous credit and recognition on the world stage. It’s truly, truly historic. For generations, we have aspired to peace in the Middle East. Everyone around the world has. And now President Trump has delivered it.

“I’m going to make an announcement today; it’s the announcement in the U.S. that was made in the Knesset yesterday.

“I’m proud to announce that together with my friend Speaker Ohana of the Israeli Knesset, the equivalent of our Congress, we are going to embark upon a project together to rally Speakers and Presidents of parliaments around the world so that we will jointly nominate President Donald J. Trump for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize. No one has ever deserved that prize more, and that is an objective fact.

“As Speaker Ohana said before the Knesset yesterday, ‘Whoever saves one life, it is as though he has saved an entire world.’ That’s what some of the Rabbis there say, what some of the Sages, he noted, would say.

“It’s an indisputable fact that no president has undertaken the work of saving lives and pursuing peace with such determination – and with such remarkable success – as President Trump.

“Under his leadership, we are witnessing the dawn of a new Golden Age not just for America, but for the entire free world. The world is changed by these actions and strong leadership. American strength is good for free people around the world, as we say always. And peace through strength is maintained.

“There will be more to share on this in the weeks ahead, but today marks the start of that effort and I am honored to do it alongside our ally and my counterpart in Israel.”

Read Speaker Ohana’s full comments announcing the initiative:

“President Trump, you are the President of Peace. There was not a single person on this planet who did more than you to advance peace – no one even came close.

“Your election to the presidency marked a turning point not only for the United States, but for the entire world.

“Through your strength of character and unwavering resolve, you brought an end to bloody conflicts in no fewer than eight regions across the globe. In less than nine months, you became one of the most consequential presidents in history. You saved countless lives that would have been lost without your leadership, and as our Sages teach, ‘Whoever saves one life, it is as though he has saved an entire world.’

“You have proven that true peace is achieved through strength – and that only those who are prepared to use force in the present, can prevent the need to use it in the future.

Mr. President, you – more than any other individual – are deserving of the highest recognition for your efforts in promoting peace.

“Therefore, I hereby announce that, together with our good friend, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, we will rally Speakers and Presidents of parliaments from around the world to submit your candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize next year – there is no one more deserving than you, President Trump!”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — After 13 days of the Democrats’ harmful, unnecessary government shutdown, the facts remain the same. Democrats continue to push false claims and double down on their radical political posture all to appease their Far-Left base.

But even the New York Times did not buy it. In a recent fact check, the Times made it clear: Democrats have “misused budget jargon” in their attacks to mislead the American people. 

“Republicans are insisting on a straightforward extension of existing funding. Democrats are demanding an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and a rollback of health care cuts, misusing budget jargon to deem the Republican budget proposal ‘dirty,’” Linda Qiu of the New York Times wrote.

Read the full fact check here or below:

As the federal government nears a shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline, Democrats and Republicans remain deeply divided.

Republicans are insisting on a straightforward extension of existing funding. Democrats are demanding an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and a rollback of health care cuts, misusing budget jargon to deem the Republican budget proposal “dirty.”

Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House minority leader, argued in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday morning that the Republican proposal was not “clean” because it continued funding levels enacted in March, which passed with virtually no Democratic support in the House.

Left unsaid: Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader in the other chamber, and eight other Senate Democrats voted for the March bill. Moreover, in terminology about government spending and the appropriations process, “clean” refers to budget bills that keep existing funding level without extraneous provisions or significant policy changes.

Earlier in September, Republicans in the House passed what is known as a continuing resolution, or a temporary funding bill, that would simply extend federal funding through Nov. 21.

It also includes $88 million in funding for security for congressional lawmakers, the Supreme Court and executive branch personnel after the killing of the conservative personality Charlie Kirk. Because it is relatively free of major policy or funding changes, stakeholder groups like the National Association of Counties have characterized this bill as a “clean C.R.”

“The House C.R. is just about as clean of a C.R. as you could get. They really did seem to not want to rock the boat with it,” said Chris Towner, the policy director of the nonpartisan budget hawk group, the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Congress has passed an average of 4.8 continuing resolutions every fiscal year since 1998, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and most contain “anomalies,” or provisions that make changes to existing funding language. 

These can include extending funding for a program beyond the overall funding deadline, designating additional amounts of money for a specific program, or prohibiting certain uses of funding. Some of these changes can be technical, relatively minor or apolitical, like the increased security funding in the Republicans’ budget proposal. So these bills are typically considered “clean.”

But other continuing resolutions are more politically motivated or cause significant changes in policy. For example, one passed in 1984 contained an entire bill that made sweeping changes to federal criminal law. 

The current Republican budget proposal contains no such modifications. Mr. Towner said that most continuing resolutions that contain large funding or policy changes are enacted with bipartisan support. For example, a continuing resolution in the 2023 fiscal year included billions of dollars funding for Ukraine’s defense.

Congress last passed a continuing resolution in March that contained more changes to spending, including a $6 billion increase for the military and a $13 billion cut to nondefense spending. Because of the scale of these modifications, claims that the Republican’s March proposal was not “clean” had more merit.

Mr. Jeffries’s office also argued that because the Trump administration has repeatedly revoked funding for an array of congressionally approved programs, the past understanding of “clean” no longer applied.

Under the Biden administration, Congress passed several “clean” continuing resolutions, according to the earlier understanding of the term, with Republican support. 

But Republicans also attempted, and failed, to use the budget resolutions to advance their own political aims. For example, in September 2024, Speaker Mike Johnson tried to pair the spending bill with legislation requiring people to prove their U.S. citizenship when they register to vote. A bipartisan majority rejected that plan before approving a “clean” spending proposal.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Norma Torres (35th District of California)

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

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports, where he emphasized that as the Republican healthcare crisis worsens and Republicans skip town, Democrats are ready to negotiate an end to the government shutdown and to protect the healthcare of the American people.

KATY TUR: Joining us now, House Minority Leader and New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. Thank you very much for joining us.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Good afternoon, great to be with you.

KATY TUR: So prices are going up. People are struggling. They’re struggling at the grocery store. They’re struggling to buy a home. You heard the average age of a homeowner is now 38 years old. How does this shutdown help them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It doesn’t help them at all. It’s day 13 of the Trump-Republican shutdown, and House Republicans have actually now canceled votes for the third consecutive week because they’d rather keep the government shut down than deal with the cost-of-living crisis that exists in the United States of America. And they certainly have no interest in dealing with the healthcare crisis that they have created. Donald Trump and Republicans spent all of last year promising to lower costs. In fact, they said they would lower costs on day one. But we know, Katy, that costs haven’t gone down. They’ve gone up. Inflation is going up. The Trump tariffs is making life more expensive for the American people. Electricity bills are skyrocketing through the roof. Housing costs are through the roofs. And we know grocery prices continue to go up, not down. And now, because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased healthcare costs.

KATY TUR: What is this shutdown about then? Is it about the rising costs of groceries or living, or is it about healthcare?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s about healthcare, and we’ve made that very clear. And Marjorie Taylor Greene has acknowledged that this clearly is an issue that needs to be addressed with the fierce urgency of now. Understand that what Republicans have done throughout the year, largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing all throughout the country because of what they did in their One Big Ugly Bill. We’re facing the largest cut to Medicare, $536 billion, in American history if Congress doesn’t act by the end of this year. And on top of all that, people are facing these dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republicans’ continued refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, even though Open Enrollment starts in just a few weeks. So we’ve made clear from the very beginning—we’ll sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace to find a bipartisan path forward toward reopening the government. We want to stand with our hardworking federal employees and certainly our men and women in uniform. But we have to enact a spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people, and at the same time decisively addresses the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across the country.

KATY TUR: The Republicans have put forward a clean CR. That means they’re not changing funding levels. They just want this to pass for a short and extended period of time while they work out other issues. Do you not trust that they’ll, if you signed on to this and the Senate Democrats signed on to this, that the Republicans would then come and negotiate and compromise on those healthcare subsidies?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there’s definitively no reason to ever trust the Republicans, particularly as it relates to the healthcare issue and the Affordable Care Act. These are people who have now tried more than 70 different times over the last 15 years to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And so there’s no reasonable basis to conclude that if they simply give their word as it relates to dealing with the Affordable Care Act tax credits, that they’ll actually move toward a legislative resolution. The other thing that’s important to point out is this is not a bipartisan spending bill that they’re asking House and Senate Democrats to vote on—and Senate Democrats have held the line in such an extraordinary way. This is a partisan Republican spending bill that many of us strongly objected to in March because it cut veterans’ healthcare, cut nutritional assistance, cut benefits as it relates to affordable housing programs in this country, which is desperately needed, and it also cut healthcare. And so we view this as a partisan Republican spending bill that continues the trajectory of gutting the healthcare of the American people at a time when we need to fix our broken healthcare system because of all the damage that Republicans have done to working-class Americans, rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities throughout America.

KATY TUR: It is an interesting moment with Marjorie Taylor Greene breaking with the party on a couple of issues. One of them is the Epstein files and the other one, again, are these healthcare subsidies and costs. Have you met with her?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I have not met with her, but it does seem to many of us that she’s had a surprisingly enlightened few weeks in terms of her perspective on both the Epstein files and also, Katy, we know one of the reasons why Republicans refuse to come back, why they remain on vacation all across the country, is because they don’t want to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grajava, because she would represent the 218th signature for an up-or-down vote on releasing the Epstein files. And at the same period of time, Republicans have no interest—zero interest—in trying to address the healthcare crisis that they’ve visited upon the American people, even though you’ve got Republicans now, most prominently Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s making clear this is not a made-up crisis. It’s a real thing. And the cost of living in this country is already crushing the American people. Republican policies are failing, and we need to reverse course.

KATY TUR: Have you reached out to her? Do you want to reach out to her? Do you see her as somebody that can help you bring Republicans to the table? Is there anybody else in the Republican Party that you’ve been in contact with that is upset about these healthcare subsidies?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there have been conversations informally that are taking place. I have not personally spoken with Marjorie Taylor Greene, but I know that some of my Democratic colleagues have made some outreach and we’ll continue to do that. Part of the problem, of course, is Republicans are nowhere to be found. They literally are not in Washington and have not been in Washington for the last several weeks and have no intention of being there this week. And you know, Republicans, since that White House meeting which was now two weeks ago, have basically gone radio silent, have refused to have a conversation with Leader Schumer, with myself, with Democrats in either chamber of Congress because they decided they wanted to shut down the government. They’re trying to visit pain on the American people. They continue to pursue this my way or the highway approach. And we’ve said it’s not happening. We’re standing on principle here as it relates to defending and protecting and strengthening the healthcare the American people. Republicans apparently are now starting to realize that, but we need their leadership to finally stop being divorced from reality.

KATY TUR: Have you met with Speaker Mike Johnson?

LEADER JEFFRIES: No, Speaker Mike Johnson and I have not met. They’ve made the decision—

KATY TUR: Why not?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump has not given—because Donald Trump has not give them permission to meet, Katy. And we know that until Donald Trump gives them permission to meet, they’re going to continue to hide as it relates to sitting down and negotiating a bipartisan agreement.

KATY TUR: What do you say to Americans who—I mean there’s two groups of Americans. There’s a number of Democrats who say Democrats need to fight harder, they need to not give in, they were very angry at Senator Schumer for agreeing to a continuing resolution a few months ago, one that you said a lot of the Members did not agree with. But there’s also a large part of the American public, Democrats included, Independents, Republicans as well who look at Congress and see this shutdown battle as just another reason why they can’t trust Washington. They can’t trust Washington to do anything on behalf of the American public. How do you explain to them that this shutdown is you doing something?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, nobody wanted to see this shutdown take place, and unfortunately, Republicans who control the House, the Senate and the presidency decided that they were going to go it alone, adopt this take-it-or-leave-it approach, and we were very clear for weeks prior to the end of the fiscal year on September 30 that we would not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continued to gut the healthcare of the American people, but that we would sit down with any of them, anytime, anyplace, either at the Capitol or back in the Oval Office, in order to enact a bipartisan spending agreement to fund the government, but that that spending agreement needed to actually improve the quality of life of the American people, when anyone who’s paying attention knows that things haven’t gotten better in America as a result of Trump-Republican policies, they’re getting worse. Life is getting more expensive. It’s becoming harder and harder for working-class Americans and middle-class Americans to get by. Can barely survive, let alone thrive, here in this country. We need a course correction. And that’s why Democrats continue to stand on principle. We want to reopen the government. We support our federal employees, our hardworking civil servants. But we need partners on the other side of the aisle to even just be willing to sit down and have a discussion. And so far, that hasn’t been the case.

KATY TUR: I just want to put up on the screen what we should expect if this shutdown continues. Again, we’re on day 13. On day 12, that was yesterday, closures at the Smithsonian Museums, Research Centers, National Zoo. On day 15, in two days, Donald Trump is instructing the DOD to pay troops despite the shutdown, apparently using a Pentagon slush fund. That’s from all that we can gather so far. On October 17, that’s day 17, closure of federal courts. On day 31, $300 million in additional funding to stay operational will come through. On day 32, disruption to SNAP benefits. Day 35, it will be the longest shutdown in history. And if it extends to 93 days, if it gets to January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services run out of funding. Do you believe it could get to day 93, to January?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I don’t think the American people will allow it to continue to proceed much further beyond where we are right now, because the American people want us to reopen the government, they want bipartisan negotiations and they want the Congress to address the healthcare crisis that is devastating them that we know is a serious thing. You know, notices are going out right now, as we speak, to tens of millions of Americans who are going to experience thousands of dollars in additional costs because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that benefit working-class Americans. And by the way, Katy, this is a group of people, meaning the Republicans, who just enacted permanent changes to the tax code to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And now they can’t be bothered to stand up for everyday Americans, working-class Americans and middle-class Americans. So I don’t think their position is sustainable. And the fact that we see a variety of Republicans, from more swing-seat traditional Republicans who have said something needs to be done with respect to the Affordable Care Act tax credits, to further right Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene, also being vocal that their leadership has failed them, that they should return to Washington. They need to sit down and negotiate a spending agreement that actually alleviates the cost-of-living crisis in this country and reopens the government.

KATY TUR: Leader Jeffries, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate your time.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)

WASHINGTON — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement on the passing of U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman and Whippany Park High School graduate Kyle Devin Philbert James:

“Today, we mourn the tragic passing of Kyle James, a third-year midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. His dedication and drive to serve his country embodied the Navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment, and will continue to serve as an inspiration to us all. I was proud to nominate Kyle to the Naval Academy, and he will be sorely missed by both the community at Annapolis and in New Jersey. I extend my deepest condolences to Midshipman James’ family, friends, and classmates.”
 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)

Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance and the International Religious Freedom Caucus, released the following statement today in response to the historic peace agreement reached in the Middle East:

“I wholeheartedly applaud this landmark agreement, which represents a major step forward for peace, security, and religious freedom in the region. This achievement would not have been possible without the strong leadership of President Trump along with the dedicated diplomacy of Secretary of State Rubio. Their tireless efforts brought both sides to the table and helped deliver a breakthrough that many thought impossible.  The return of hostages to their families is especially moving and long overdue—a powerful reminder of what is at stake and what can be achieved through determined engagement.  My hope and prayer is that this agreement marks a true turning point, one that reaffirms the value of American leadership on the global stage and sets the foundation for a more stable and peaceful future. I remain committed to working with our allies to ensure the successful implementation of this accord and to advance the broader vision of lasting peace and mutual respect it represents.”