MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

Today, Representative Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought demanding the government release the list of laws and rules deemed to be anticompetitive compiled by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
 
In April, President Trump signed Executive Order 14267 that required agency heads to submit a list of rules and laws that may create anticompetitive barriers, along with recommendations as to whether each rule calls for rescission or modification, and a justification for any proposed action or lack of action.
 
“The FTC and DOJ ultimately deemed more than 125 laws and rules anticompetitive, and Chairman Ferguson submitted a report including these regulations to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),” Representative Nadler wrote. “On September 16, 2025, Chairman Ferguson publicly highlighted four of these rules. Despite this clear acknowledgement, the OMB has failed to release the full list and report.” 
 
“The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to provide the public with notice of proposed rulemaking and an opportunity to comment before promulgating new regulations. While the FTC and DOJ have invited public comment, restricting access to the laws and rules at issue deprives stakeholders of the opportunity for informed participation,” Representative Nadler continued.
 
Representative Nadler went on to explain that failure to provide the full report undermines transparency and trust in the rulemaking process and subverts the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement of public comment. Furthermore, releasing the report stands in line with the President’s commitment to transparency and assurance that “[t]he American people, more than any Federal official, know which regulations stifle entrepreneurship and economic growth.” 
 
Representative Nadler requested OMB provide the report promptly so the Committee can fulfill its duties to the American people by maintaining fair and competitive markets and ensuring the appropriate administration of justice in administrative bodies. 
 
Read the full letter here and below.

###

Dear Director Vought:

We write to request the immediate release of the list of laws and rules deemed to be anticompetitive by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), together with the accompanying report, regarding the President’s Executive Order 14267 on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers.

On April 9, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14267, which required agency heads, within 70 days, to submit to the FTC Chair and the DOJ Attorney General a list of rules and laws that may create anticompetitive barriers, along with recommendations as to whether each rule calls for rescission or modification, and a justification for any proposed action or lack of action.

The FTC and DOJ ultimately deemed more than 125 laws and rules anticompetitive, and Chairman Ferguson submitted a report including these regulations to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On September 16, 2025, Chairman Ferguson publicly highlighted four of these rules. Despite this clear acknowledgement, the OMB has failed to release the full list and report.

The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to provide the public with notice of proposed rulemaking and an opportunity to comment before promulgating new regulations. While the FTC and DOJ have invited public comment, restricting access to the laws and rules at issue deprives stakeholders of the opportunity for informed participation.

Failure to disclose undermines transparency and trust in the rulemaking process and subverts the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement of public comment. Withholding such information stands in direct contradiction with the President’s assurance that “[t]he American people, more than any Federal official, know which regulations stifle entrepreneurship and economic growth.”

It is therefore critical to the Committee’s interests that the report be released promptly so it may properly fulfill its duties to the American people, maintaining fair and competitive markets and ensuring the appropriate administration of justice in administrative bodies. These responsibilities fall directly within the Committee’s delegated jurisdiction over antitrust and administrative law pursuant to Rule X.

Thank you for your assistance in the matter.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) led a bipartisan delegation in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the department to implement enhanced surveillance at the California-Mexico border to help secure our country against the threat of New World screwworm (NWS). NWS is a species of parasitic fly that infects livestock and can cause significant damage to our nation’s food supply chain.

“Livestock is one of the Central Valley’s top commodities, and we can’t afford to risk an outbreak of New World screwworm in California,” said Congressman Valadao. “Strengthening surveillance at the California-Mexico border is critical to protecting our herds, and I’m committed to working to defend our producers from this dangerous threat to our food supply chain.”

“On September 21, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that New World screwworm (NWS) had been detected in the Mexican city of Sabinas Hidalgo, less than 70 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Any threat to our nation’s food supply chain is a threat to our national security, and as NWS draws closer to the border, we strongly urge USDA to establish an NWS surveillance program at the California-Mexico border and dedicate additional resources to monitoring and controlling the threat of NWS […] With relatively modest investments, we believe USDA can reinforce our nation’s defenses against the threat of NWS, ensuring that our nation’s people, pets, and livestock remain protected from this devastating pest we worked so hard to eradicate from our territory 60 years ago,” the members wrote.

Congressman Valadao was joined by Reps. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Jay Obernolte (CA-23), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Vince Fong (CA-20), Jim Costa (CA-21), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), John Garamendi (CA-08), and Young Kim (CA-40).

Read the full letter here.

###

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

WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson joined Squawk Box on CNBC to discuss the harmful effects of a Democrat-led government shutdown and urged Leaders Schumer and Jeffries to reject the calls from their far-left base and provide the votes to fund the government.

“Remember, this is exactly the same thing that Chuck Schumer voted for in March and came out and told everybody he had to, it was necessary. He was correct. He was actually being honest in March. He’s not being honest with you right now,” Speaker Johnson said. “Their position right now is pure politics. They’re doing this for Chuck Schumer’s backside, not for the American people. And they are willing to inflict pain to do that.”

Watch Speaker Johnson’s full interview here.

On the harmful effects of a government shutdown:

Chuck Schumer’s got to release a handful of people to come along to do the right thing and keep the doors open for the country. What happens if they don’t? This is really important. I mean, the markets will be rattled, I’m sure, because of the uncertainty that we don’t need to be adding into this. You’ll have a delay of the BLS jobs report which is due October 3. But, importantly, real services, real benefits that the American people depend upon.

Troops won’t be paid. TSA agents won’t be paid. The WIC program, the Women Infants and Children Nutrition program and other food services will be delayed. FEMA services won’t be provided. We have two hurricanes off the coast of the United States right now. I mean, we’re in the middle of hurricane season. This is serious stuff. And Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are playing politics with all these people and the American people’s services, and they’re willing to do it for political cover. That’s the game. They can’t face their far-left base. When they come on the program today, I think you’re having them both, ask Chuck Schumer what his real motivation is. He’ll try to tell you it’s about these issues that end this calendar year, December 31. But what it’s really about, he’s running from AOC and the socialist base of their party who are going to challenge him in his next election. They said he didn’t fight Trump when he did the right thing back in March and did a temporary funding measure. And now he’s got to fight. And it’s shameful.

On Democrats refusing to carry out their most basic duty of funding the government:

We all have a duty, a responsibility, our most basic duty to do that. AOC herself went on the House floor, that’s in the highlight reel, and she said, “it’s not normal to shut the government down when you don’t get exactly what you want.” Exactly. I mean, I never agree with them on anything, but those statements were exactly right. You should play [Leader Jeffries] own words back to him and ask him, what’s changed? The only thing that’s changed today, I’m telling you, it’s about politics.

They’re afraid of the far-Left corners of their base, and they have to show that they’re putting up a fight. At what cost? Real Americans are going to be harmed by this. And it is infuriating to me that they’re willing to do it. You know, you should ask Hakeem about that. Ask him about the people who are going to suffer because of this crazy political decision. It is reckless. And they need to come to their senses and do the right thing. They painted themselves into a corner here. They need to admit that. Keep the government open and then we’ll have all these policy debates. That’s what the process is for.

On Democrats attempting to make the funding deadline an Obamacare-COVID debate:

That provision of the ACA that they’re talking about doesn’t expire until the end of December, not September 30, December 31. That is an eternity in politics to be able to resolve something. In the meeting in the Oval Office yesterday, Leader Thune was talking to Schumer and Jeffries about the issue. And he said, if indeed there is going to be any extension of that, there has to be real reforms to it because it is a broken system. It is basically the American taxpayers subsidizing insurance companies’ premiums continue to go up because Obamacare is a flawed system, okay? There has to be reform. That’s not something you can negotiate in a couple of days. That’s going to take all the month of October or November, assuming that we could even reach agreement on that.

So, they’re trying to force that in because it’s the only thing that they can come on air and argue about. But they know that that deadline is not today. They’re trying to make a December policy debate the issue of the day. And that’s not true today. All we have to do is keep the government open. When the President was in the Oval Office, he told them very simply, listen, your first and most basic responsibility is to keep the government open, and then we’ll have all the discussions. You guys can go squabble about the policy debates as you always do. But right now, that is a red herring. It really is. And everybody who’s watching this understands that. 

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (USVI)

CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT URGES RENEWAL OF U.S. TRADE PROMOTION PROGRAM FOR HAITI AS PROGRAM NEARS EXPIRY

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) and Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) reintroduced the It’s About Time Act, bipartisan legislation that changes the federal government’s funding schedule to align with the calendar year. 

Currently, the federal government starts its fiscal year every October 1st. This legislation transitions the funding schedule to reflect the classic calendar year, thus moving the start of the government’s fiscal year to January 1. Requiring the fiscal year to correspond with the calendar year increases efficiency and better aligns with industry counterparts. 

“Today, there are few Members of Congress who will defend the current fiscal year calendar, because regardless of political disagreements, there is simply too much to get done in the compressed window between the release of the President’s budget and the October 1 deadline,” said Congressman Nadler. “Since Congress shifted the start of the fiscal year to October in 1974, only four times we have completed all appropriations bills on time, the last nearly three decades ago. By aligning the federal fiscal year with the calendar year, Congress can have the time it needs to responsibly review the President’s budget and enact spending bills. This reform will reduce the risk of shutdowns, strengthen fiscal accountability, and improve the way we govern. I am proud to join Representative Turner in reintroducing the bipartisan It’s About Time Act to bring commonsense reform to our broken budget process.”

“With the threat of a government shutdown once again, Congress should modify the funding schedule of the federal government which repeatedly puts the operations of the federal government and our national security at risk,” said Congressman Turner. “The current government funding scheme, if not fulfilled, would shut down operations of all non-essential government employees, which puts our security and services all Americans use at risk. Changing the fiscal calendar to align with the calendar year would allow Congress more time to ensure all government funding continues uninterrupted with the proper funding amounts.”

Background:

When the United States Congress was founded, the fiscal year aligned with the calendar year. There was no distinction between fiscal year and calendar year prior to 1842. In 1842, Congress voted to change the federal fiscal year to start on July 1st. In 1974, through the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Congress approved a second change to the federal fiscal year, changing the first day of the fiscal year to October 1st. 

###

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

WASHINGTON — With the government shutdown deadline less than 24 hours away, House Republicans have passed a clean, short-term continuing resolution to responsibly keep the government open, protect veterans and seniors, and allow bipartisan appropriators additional time to finish full-year bills through regular order for the first time since 2019.

Democrats, meanwhile, are selling a false narrative:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.): “Democrats are united in defense of the healthcare of the American people.” (X, 09/24/25)

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.): “We are saying… let’s talk about a budget that protects health care for Americans.” (CNN, 09/25/25)

Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.): “House Democrats are doing everything we can to protect Americans’ access to affordable quality health care.” (Press Conference, 09/09/25)

But their actions prove otherwise.

What House Republicans Passed (The Nonpartisan, Clean CR):

• A clean, nonpartisan, short-term measure to keep the government open while appropriators finish their work
• Security funding for Members of Congress and federal officials
• Does not “gut” or make any change to current health care policy

Democrats’ Radical Counterdemands (The Democrats’ Dirty CR):

Health Care Programs Democrats Put at Risk by Voting Down the Republicans’ Clean CR:

• The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program
• Community health center funding
• Medicare telehealth flexibilities
• Veterans’ suicide prevention grants
• Nursing home care for disabled veterans
• Medicare hospital and physician payments
• Rural veterans’ mental health programs

The Bottom Line:

Democrats insist they are “defending the health care of the American people.” But their plan strips $50 billion from rural hospitals, diverts taxpayer dollars to illegal aliens and able-bodied adults who refuse to work, and risks shutting down veterans’ care, Medicare payments, and community health centers.

Democrats aren’t protecting American health care — they are weaponizing these critical services as an excuse to shut down the government and protect themselves from their radical base.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District of FLORIDA)

MIAMI, FL – Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Dean of the Florida Delegation and member of the Defense Subcommittee on House Appropriations, hosted his 18th Annual Service Academy Day on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at U.S. Southern Command.

Academy Day offers high school students and their parents the opportunity to learn more about pursuing a military career. Attendees have the opportunity to speak with representatives from the U.S. Service Academies and learn more about the application, nomination, selection, and appointment processes. This year’s event welcomed more than 100 students and their families.

Díaz-Balart said, “It is always a source of pride for me to host young men and women from Florida’s 26th District interested in serving their country. Preparing future Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Guardians to become dedicated, disciplined leaders with a strong understanding of core military values and institutional knowledge ensures a steady supply of capable officers for one of our country’s most important missions: protecting our national defense.

I am especially grateful to Admiral Alvin Holsey for hosting us, and to the representatives from the United States Service Academies for sharing valuable insights with those eager to serve our great nation.

I look forward to nominating outstanding candidates for appointments and to following their continued success.”

Additional Information:

A service academy is a four-year, tuition-free college that admits a select number of qualified candidates and provides them with a world-class education, rigorous leadership training, and physical training, resulting in a commission as an officer in a specific branch of the U.S. military.

The honor of attending a service academy comes with the obligation and commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation. For more information, please click here.

###

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

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s The Last Word where he emphasize that despite the unacceptable bigotry coming from the White House, Democrats will continue to stand firm in support of the healthcare of the American people as Republicans march us toward a government shutdown.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Thank you very much for joining us tonight, Mr. Leader. And I’m not showing this video that Donald Trump put out about you and Chuck Schumer today. This fake video. People are going to see it. They’ll see it in other ways. It’s easy to find, but it is absolutely disgusting in every way. It is a lie. The man you met with has now lied about what you said after that meeting. Could you give us your reaction to that Trump-posted video tonight?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It’s a disgusting video and we’re going to continue to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere. We are fighting to protect the healthcare of the American people in the face of an unprecedented Republican assault on all the things—Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act. Republicans are closing our hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics and have effectively shut down medical research in the United States of America. Clearly, Donald Trump and Republicans know that they have a very weak position because they are hurting everyday Americans while continuing to reward their billionaire donors, just like they did in that One big Ugly Bill with massive tax breaks. Democrats are united in the House and the Senate, and the point that we’ve made will continue to be clear. We are fighting to lower the high cost of healthcare, prevent these dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles that will take place in a matter of days unless Republicans are willing to act in terms of renewing the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: I see as you’ve been speaking, on social media, just after I started this program tonight that you posted on social media, something that’s real. You simply, apparently in replying to Donald Trump, you posted what’s up on the screen now simply saying ‘this is real.’ There’s Donald Trump with his arm around the guy who said he was Donald Trump’s best friend for 10 years, a sex trafficker and raper of children, Jeffrey Epstein. Is that going to be your full reply to Donald Trump on the fake video he put out about you and caricaturing you in that video?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, Leader Schumer and I will have more to say about this issue. But again, this is all designed to be a malignant distraction from people who are determined to continue to rip healthcare away from the American people, and Democrats are resolved to stand up for it. They are lying about what we’re asking to do. We’ve made clear that federal law currently prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving comprehensive healthcare paid for by federal American tax dollars. And no one is asking to change that law. But what we are doing is making it clear that we need to protect the healthcare of the American people, which has been under relentless assault by the Republicans throughout this year. It’s an assault on the healthcare of working class Americans, on rural America, on urban America, on small town America, on the heartland of America and on Black and brown communities all throughout America. And it’s unacceptable. It’s un-American. And that’s why Democrats are holding firm. We will not back down. We will continue to defend the healthcare of everyday Americans.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: I want to get your reaction to something that Senator Schumer said today about possibly passing a short-term, a bill to fund the government for a week or 10 days. Let’s listen to what the Senator said about that.

VIDEO OF REPORTER: Now that you’ve presented these issues directly to the President, would you propose or would you support a seven-to-10-day CR—

VIDEO OF LEADER SCHUMER: No.

VIDEO OF REPORTER: —so there’s more time.

VIDEO OF LEADER SCHUMER: No. We have to do it now. It’s—the time is a-wasting. We have to do it now. We’ve delayed and delayed and delayed. As I said, as Martin Luther King once said, later means never.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Congressman Jeffries, we frequently see as these crises go on, that as we get to the midnight hour, someone comes up with a proposal of let’s just keep the government running for a week. Something like that. And to hear Senator Schumer at this stage say absolutely no to that is a level of no that I’ve never heard before from Senator Schumer. Are you united on that? Is there no possibility of any short-term, get-them-through-the-week funding that you might agree on?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Leader Schumer was very strong in his opposition, and House Democrats strongly agree with that position. Republicans are trying to get away with this notion that they understand, or at least some of them, like Leader Thune, seems to understand, that something has to happen with respect to the Affordable Care Act tax credits, because tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased healthcare costs in an environment, Lawrence, where we know Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living, they failed, and America’s too expensive and we have to do something about it, particularly as it relates to these healthcare premiums. But we can’t simply accept an IOU and believe that these people are going to act in good faith when the reality is, for the last 15 years, Republicans have put a target on the back of the Affordable Care Act. They’ve tried to repeal and displace millions of Americans. And so, if we’re going to move forward, we need to move forward with the fierce urgency of now, get something done over the next day or so to ensure that the healthcare of the American people is protected.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Mr. Leader, last question before you go. I know you have to go. It’s a very busy night. How do you do it? How do you talk to that man? How can you possibly go back in any situation and talk to that man again after what he did tonight?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s completely unacceptable and un-American what happened. But we’re in this fight until we win this fight on behalf of the American people.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you, Lawrence.

Full interview can be watched here.

###

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

WASHINGTON — Tonight, Speaker Johnson joined Hannity on Fox News to discuss the Congressional Leadership meeting at the White House today, and Democrats’ refusal to drop their $1.5 Trillion in partisan spending demands in exchange for carrying out their basic responsibility of keeping the government open. 

“Chuck Schumer is now arguing exactly the opposite of what he has always said in his career… and he’s doing it out of political desperation,” Speaker Johnson said. “He is willing to force the government to shut down just to oppose President Trump for temporary political cover for himself, and he will abandon the American people just to do that.”

Watch Speaker Johnson’s full interview here.  

On the harmful effects of a government shutdown:

Remember this, Sean. We passed the clean, simple CR out of the House two weeks ago. Every single Democrat in the House except one voted to shut the government down. I mean, they’re willing to do it. They’re willing to exact all this pain. And by the way, while you mentioned some of the things that will continue, defense and all that, troops don’t get paid during the shutdown. And very importantly, health care. 

They want to talk about healthcare. If they don’t fund the government, guess what does stop? The WIC program, that’s Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program, won’t be funded. We won’t have FEMA funded, and we’ve got hurricane season. We’ve got two off the coast of the United States right now. FEMA service is not funded. Telemedicine, mental health services, all these things that the American people need, and they won’t be able to access if the Democrats go through with this. So, I certainly pray they don’t. They have another chance because Leader Thune is going to put the House bill on the Senate floor again tomorrow and probably again on Wednesday. And we’ll see if Chuck Schumer goes along with this.

On Democrats shutting down the government just to satisfy their far-left base:

I fully expected that they would come into the White House today and be reasonable, but they weren’t. They dug their heels in. It’s painfully obvious that he’s got to watch his back because the young socialists are coming for him, AOC and the others who want to challenge him for his seat. And that is 100% what Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries by extension, are watching for. Their own political cover. And they will exact all this damage – that we just heard them say in their own words in previous years – they’re willing to do it just so they get political cover. They haven’t backed off on any of those demands, Sean, you had it right. 

They want to take hard earned taxpayer dollars, and they want to give new benefits to illegal aliens. We eliminated that in our big, beautiful bill. They want to bring it back. They want to prop up NPR and PBS, they want $500 million. That’s their demand and their counteroffer to prop up the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Again, we’re not doing that. Left-leaning media outlets don’t need to be funded by taxpayers. They want to spend one $1.5 trillion on a simple seven-week stopgap funding measure so our appropriators can get back to the job of just funding the government.

On the Congressional Leadership meeting today at the White House:

Their hypocrisy is just breathtaking and it’s shameless. And it was on display in the Oval Office and credit President Trump showing real leadership. He’s operating in good faith. And that was on display by bringing the leaders in. He heard the arguments and the debates. They’re baseless.

[President Trump] wanted to give them a forum in the Oval Office to come in and try to be reasonable. And they weren’t, they wouldn’t back off on any of these crazy demands. So let me tell you something, there is zero daylight between the White House, the President of the United States and Republicans in the Senate and in the House. We are all united on this. We are going to do the right thing.

###

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

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 to make clear that Democrats will continue to work for a bipartisan spending agreement that protects the healthcare of the American people.

JOHN BERMAN: Leader, thank you so much for being with us. You walked out of that meeting just a couple hours ago. How much closer are you to averting a shutdown?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we’re under 30 hours until a government shutdown. And it’s unfortunate if Republicans decide that they want to shut the government down because of their unwillingness to deal with the healthcare crisis that they themselves have created. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics closing as a result of what they’ve done with the One Big Ugly Bill. The Republicans’ refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits which will impact working-class Americans all across this country who are about to experience dramatically-increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles at a time when the cost of living in the United States of America is already too high. We are willing to find a bipartisan path forward and reach a spending agreement that keeps the government open. But that agreement has to meet the needs of the American people in terms of elevating their quality of life, as opposed to continuing Republican efforts to cut their healthcare.

JOHN BERMAN: You use the words ‘has to.’ In this deal, do you have to extend Obamacare subsidies or bust? How non-negotiable is an extension of Obamacare subsidies for you?

LEADER JEFFRIES: This is not simply a negotiating tactic. This relates to the well-being and the health of the American people. More than 20 million Americans are on the verge of experiencing increased healthcare costs because of the Republicans’ refusal to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits that benefit working-class Americans. The overwhelming majority of the people who rely upon these tax credits make less than $63,000 a year. These are people in rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities all throughout America who are already being victimized by the Republican all-out assault on their healthcare and being victimized by the fact that these tariffs are actually increasing costs on the average American family by thousands of dollars a year. We are ready to find a bipartisan agreement, but that bipartisan agreement needs to address the healthcare crisis that exists in the United States of America and the cost of living crisis that exists in the United States of America right now.

JOHN BERMAN: Leader Jeffries, but what specifically could they offer you on Obamacare subsidies in the next 36 hours that would get you to agree to a deal?

LEADER JEFFRIES: In the conversation, we made clear—the Republicans have a position, and that position is that they’re uninterested in addressing the healthcare needs of the American people, and that our position with respect to the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a permanent extension. And we’re waiting to hear back from Republicans after that meeting as to whether they are willing to actually sit down over the next 30 hours or so and find a bipartisan path forward. House Republicans are on vacation right now. House Democrats are here—here, ready to do the work of the American people. Senate Democrats and even Senate Republicans are here in the Capitol. And it appears, at least to me, the decision has been made by House Republican leaders, perhaps blessed by the administration, to shut the government down. Why did they cancel votes? Why are they on vacation, spread out across the country and the world, when we’re on the brink of a government shutdown?

[…]

Full interview can be watched here.

###