Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) today introduced their bill to give the District of Columbia the same number of U.S. service academy nominations and appointments as states. Currently, each member of the House and Senate is allocated five appointments to each of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, and is allowed to nominate 15 people for each appointment. However, because D.C. has no senators, the District is deprived of 10 appointments to each of these service academies.
“This bill would bring equality to the residents of the District who choose to serve their country by applying to a service academy,” said Norton. “It is remarkable that D.C. residents volunteer to serve a country that denies them statehood, congressional voting rights and full home rule. Yet, District residents have fought in every American war, and our residents, who pay all federal taxes, including paying more federal taxes per capita than the residents of any state, deserve to have the same access to our prestigious service academies as residents of the states.”
“Every young person, regardless of their zip code, should have the opportunity to compete for a nomination to be considered for admittance to one of our nation’s service academies,” said Kaine. “I’m proud to join Congresswoman Norton to introduce this bill that will ensure all residents of D.C. who hope to pursue military service through attending a military academy have the same access to do so.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill that would make D.C. eligible for federal funding under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 and give D.C. oversight of federal agency actions that affect its coastal waters.
“D.C. urgently needs the protections of the CZMA — a federal law that provides planning and technical services to help states protect, restore and develop their coastal communities and resources. Scientists predict that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise 2-4 feet by the year 2100, causing as much as $7 billion in D.C. property to be threatened by floodwaters,” Norton said. “This includes private homes, businesses, the National Mall, federal buildings and three military bases.
“Additionally, it appears that D.C.’s initial omission from the bill was a mistake. It’s past time to correct this error.”
The House passed this bill as part of the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act in the 116th Congress.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the Introduction of the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2025
November 4, 2025
Today, I introduce the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2025. This bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to make the District of Columbia an eligible entity. The House passed this bill as part of the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act in the 116th Congress.
This bill would make D.C. eligible for federal funding for coastal zone management and give D.C. oversight of federal agency actions that affect its coastal waters. D.C. urgently needs the protection of the CZMA because of serious flood risks that affect federal assets, residents and businesses in D.C., including the National Mall and federal buildings in the Federal Triangle area.
The CZMA provides planning and technical services to assist states in protecting, restoring and developing coastal communities and resources. Once the federal government approves a state’s coastal management plan, the state becomes eligible for federal funding and federal agency actions must be consistent with the state plan.
Even though D.C. is located on two rivers and has suffered substantial coastal floods, it was omitted from the list of eligible entities in the CZMA. It is notable that under the CZMA, the term ‘‘coastal state’’ includes the states and territories. D.C. residents pay full federal taxes and therefore D.C. is usually treated as a state for federal programs. It appears D.C.’s omission was a mistake. This oversight likely occurred because the CZMA was passed in 1972, which was before D.C. achieved home rule.
Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by 2100, causing property worth as much as $7 billion in D.C. to be routinely under threat by floodwaters. This includes private homes and businesses, the National Mall, federal buildings and three military bases. The Anacostia and Potomac rivers, which surround D.C., are tidally influenced. In addition, the Maryland and Virginia coastal zones each include the tidal Potomac River, with Maryland’s zone ending at the D.C. line.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill to redesignate the D.C. Mayor as Governor, the D.C. Council as the Legislative Assembly, the D.C. Councilmembers as Representatives and the Chair of the D.C. Council as Speaker. These are the titles used in the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth constitution, which the District adopted in 2016 in anticipation of passage of a bill to make D.C. the 51st state. Norton introduced the bill to highlight that D.C. is prepared to make the transition from district to state. D.C. residents pay full federal taxes and D.C. operates as the functional equivalent of a state, providing state-, county- and city-level services, despite being denied voting representation in the House and Senate and full local self-government.
“While members of Congress from distant states have always tried to interfere in D.C.’s local laws and regulations, this bill is particularly important at a time when attacks on D.C. home rule are more happening more frequently than at any time since the 1990s,” Norton said. “Changing the titles of key governmental figures highlights the fact that D.C. already operates as the functional equivalent of a state, despite being denied voting representation in Congress and full local self-government.”
This bill would not change any legal authorities.
In addition to introducing her bill to grant D.C. statehood, Norton has introduced bills to reduce the federal government’s control over local D.C. matters and to expand D.C. equality.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement after learning that the National Park Service (NPS) returned the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike to its place near Judiciary Square over the weekend. It had been in storage for five years after being pulled down by protesters in 2020.
“Over the weekend, the Trump Administration followed through on its decision to restore and reinstall the Albert Pike statue to its place near Judiciary Square. The morally objectionable move is an affront to the mostly Black and Brown residents of the District of Columbia and offensive to members of the military who serve honorably,” Norton said. “Pike himself served dishonorably. He took up arms against the United States, misappropriated funds, and was ultimately captured and imprisoned by his own troops. He resigned in disgrace after committing a war crime and dishonoring even his own Confederate military service. Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts, not remain in parks or other locations that imply honor. Pike represents the worst of the Confederacy and has no claim to be memorialized in the Nation’s capital.”
Norton introduced a bill in August to permanently remove the statue and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to donate it to a museum or a similar entity. Norton’s bill was passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources in the 116th Congress.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press availability with Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Members of the Rules Committee, where he emphasized that House Democrats are committed to protecting healthcare as they negotiate to reopen the government.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Let me first welcome House Republicans back to the Congress after their seven-week taxpayer-funded vacations. These people have been missing in action, absent without official leave, running scared, but they can no longer hide. The Rules Committee is going to meet shortly, and then tomorrow, there will be votes on the House Floor. And Democrats will continue to press the case to say to our Republican colleagues, you have another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits and make sure that tens of millions of Americans all across the country, in communities that Republicans represent, along with us as Democrats, tens of millions of Americans, rural America, working-class America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and in Black and brown communities all across America. People at risk of experiencing dramatically increased premiums, copays and deductibles because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Before the Rules Committee this evening, House Democrats, led by myself and Whip Katherine Clark, will give the Republicans another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits by introducing an amendment that will extend these tax credits for a three-year period of time, the same period of time that these tax credits were extended back in 2022. Republicans have created a healthcare crisis all across America, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers closing all throughout the country because of what Republicans did in their One Big Ugly Bill. Medicare still at risk of the largest cut it may confront in American history unless Congress acts by the end of this year. And, of course, because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis that already exists, that they failed to address, healthcare for people all across this country is on the brink of becoming unaffordable. Working-class Americans, everyday Americans, middle-class Americans, unable to afford to go see a doctor. This is in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And so, once again, House Republicans, welcome back from your taxpayer-funded seven-week vacation. You now have an opportunity to actually take some action in an area of this healthcare crisis by working with Democrats before the Rules Committee this evening to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
[…] I thank the distinguished Members of the Rules Committee, as well as my good friend Katherine Clark, for their comments, for their leadership. Democrats have been engaged in the struggle on behalf of the healthcare of the American people for a long time. FDR engaged in this struggle. Johnson engaged in this struggle. Truman engaged in this struggle. Bill Clinton engaged in this struggle. Barack Obama engaged in this struggle. House Democrats are here to continue to engage in this struggle to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis, standing on the shoulders of Democrats, who for decades have been fighting to deliver affordable, high-quality healthcare for the American people.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)
Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) published ‘Listening to Veterans in Northwest Washington,’ a report capturing local veterans’ most pressing challenges and outlining policy recommendations for Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address these concerns.
“The stories and perspectives shared by veterans in Washington state’s Second District underscore both the progress the federal government has made in serving veterans and the work that remains,” said Rep. Larsen. “The experience of veterans in Northwest Washington state makes clear that the nation’s commitment to its veterans must go beyond words and ceremonies. Congress must continue to ensure access to comprehensive health care, affordable housing, quality education and meaningful employment opportunities for veterans.”
In his time in Congress, Rep. Larsen has hosted more than 70 forums to hear directly from Northwest Washington state veterans about their needs. In September, he hosted roundtables in Everett, Bellingham, Burlington, Oak Harbor and Lummi Nation, which serve as the foundation of the report.
Rep. Larsen invited representatives from Puget Sound VA to attend September’s roundtables. In past years, these forums have provided valuable opportunities for VA staff to both hear directly from veterans in Northwest Washington state and to help connect veterans with VA benefits and services. Unfortunately, VA did not attend this year’s events.
“It is unfortunate that VA did not take the opportunity to hear directly from veterans about their concerns,” said Rep. Larsen. “While the local Puget Sound VA representatives continue to be great partners in serving the veterans of Northwest Washington state, VA leadership must make a stronger commitment to engaging with veterans directly, including through forums like these roundtables.”
Today, Rep. Larsen sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins summarizing September’s meetings and sharing a copy of the ‘Listening to Veterans in Northwest Washington State’ report.
In 2022, Congress passed the Honoring our PACT Act and made the largest expansion of veterans’ benefits in the nation’s history. As a result, the number of veterans receiving health care through VA has increased by 37 percent. Instead of hiring more staff to meet increased need, the Trump administration has cut approximately 30,000 employees from the VA workforce, including 2,000 registered nurses, 800 physicians and 500 social workers.
“Congress must oppose President Trump’s efforts to slash the VA workforce,” said Rep. Larsen. “Instead, we need to invest in more health care workers, administrative professionals and employment counselors to ensure veterans can receive high-quality care and benefits support.”
You can access Rep. Larsen’s report ‘Listening to Veterans in Northwest Washington’ HERE.
The full text of Rep. Larsen’s letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins is available HERE and below.
The Honorable Douglas A. Collins Secretary Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Collins:
I am writing to share information and feedback from recent roundtables I held with veterans throughout my district. While I am disappointed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) did not participate in these productive community discussions, I am committed to ensuring VA hears the concerns of my local veterans and partners with my office to deliver the services and benefits these veterans need.
During my time in Congress, I have held more than 70 town halls and community discussions to hear from veterans in my district. These events have almost always been held in partnership with or with the participation of representatives from Puget Sound VA. My office has an excellent working relationship with our local VA leadership, who are committed to serving their community. VA’s participation in these community dialogues is essential to their success. Past events have resulted in casework success stories that have ensured veterans can access the health care and benefits they deserve. With VA’s help, I have written legislation to solve the problems I heard about at these district events.
From September 23-26, 2025, I held five veteran roundtables at Lummi Nation and in Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit, and Island counties, and invited representatives from Puget Sound VA to attend. However, not a single event had a VA representative in attendance. It is unfortunate that VA did not take the opportunity to hear directly from veterans about their concerns.
At these roundtables, veterans raised concerns about a wide range of issues, as outlined in the attached report, entitled Listening to Veterans in Northwest Washington. The topics raised included specific challenges related to transportation, health care and housing, which I look forward to working with VA to address.
In rural areas, health care access is a persistent problem. I heard from veterans about the difficulties they have accessing transportation to and from VA facilities, an issue that is especially acute for veterans living on islands and rural communities in my district. These veterans requested VA provide more mobile clinics to serve hard-to-reach areas.
While the community care system serves a great purpose in certain instances, veterans told me that they often wait for hours on the phone just to get a referral approved. Many also shared that they prefer care at VA facilities from providers trained in treating veterans. It is clear from these conversations that Congress and VA must invest in improving access to direct VA care, instead of expanding community care beyond its necessary scope.
Washington state continues to have one of the highest rates of veteran homelessness in the nation. Preventing veteran homelessness starts with keeping veterans in their homes. In the Second District, the VA Service Purchasing Program (VASP) provided a critical safety net for veterans facing foreclosure on VA-backed home loans until VA ended the program in May 2025. I heard directly from veteran service providers who helped veterans keep their homes under VASP, but are now unable to do the same for others. By ending VASP without a suitable alternative in place, especially as the cost of living continues to rise, VA has caused even more veteran homelessness, and that is unacceptable.
Going forward, I sincerely hope that VA recognizes the importance of partnering with Members of Congress to listen to veterans about how VA can better deliver world-class health care and benefits to the women and men who have served.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I stand ready to work with you to serve the veterans of Northwest Washington state and look forward to your timely response.
Sincerely,
Rick Larsen U.S. Representative Washington State, Second District
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Pete Aguilar (31 CD Ca)
By delaying SNAP benefits, Donald Trump forced 42 million Americans to go hungry and created unnecessary stress for working families
Recently, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) visited the Redlands Ranch Market, where he heard from an Inland Empire grocery store owner about how the ongoing Republican government shutdown and Trump’s decision to delay SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh in California, have impacted their operations and the families they serve.
“There is no reason that it should take multiple court orders to get the Trump Administration to follow the law and fully fund SNAP,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar. “It’s clear that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more focused on the well-being of their billionaire and corporate donors than the well-being of the American people. By delaying SNAP benefits and using millions of Americans as political pawns, Donald Trump put the health, safety and sanity of countless working families at risk.
“On top of this, small businesses like the Redlands Ranch Market have been struggling to get by and have lost profits every day that the Trump Administration delayed SNAP benefits. Trump has caused unnecessary chaos, confusion and suffering for countless people across the country. It’s time for Trump and Republicans to do the right thing for our country for once: put an end to this confusion, open the government and save health care.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room, where he made clear that House Democrats will oppose the partisan Republican spending bill that continues the GOP healthcare crisis and will keep fighting for the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people.
WOLF BLITZER: I’m joined now by the House Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, thanks so much for joining us. What are you hearing about when the House will vote on this bill to reopen the federal government?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning. Great to be with you, Wolf. Great to be with you, Pamela. Great to be back on The Situation Room. Let me first just say we express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all of our veterans, our men and women who have worn the uniform, thankful for their service, their sacrifice and continuing to give us the freedom that we cherish here in this country. It’s our expectation that the House will vote at some point tomorrow and House Democrats will strongly oppose any legislation that does not decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. We want to reopen the government. We’ll continue to stand by our hardworking federal employees and civil servants. But we have a responsibility to make sure that we extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so that tens of millions of Americans don’t experience dramatically-increased healthcare costs that’s going to prevent them from being able to see a doctor when they need one.
WOLF BLITZER: As you know, the bill that will be on the House floor would fund the federal government until the end of January, some key agencies through the end of next year. What do you see happening on January 30th?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think what’s going to be important over the next few weeks, once this issue is resolved relative to this particular piece of legislation, is that on December 31st, the Affordable Care Act tax credits expire and dozens of House Republicans have been claiming over the last few weeks that they know that is something that needs to be addressed. And now we’re going to have to see some action or whether it was just talk from these House Republicans because Democrats are going to continue to stay in the arena as it relates to dealing with the healthcare crisis that Republicans have visited on the American people. Understand that this year, Republicans have enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. This is after Donald Trump promised in late January to ‘love and cherish Medicaid.’ And we know that hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. And now because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, there’s a risk over the next few weeks thattens of millions of Americans will not be able to afford their healthcare. We’re talking about working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans. That’s why Democrats are continuing to fight hard on their behalf.
WOLF BLITZER: But as you know in the Senate seven Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, they actually broke ranks to advance the funding bill, a 60 to 40 vote. They needed 60 votes, they got the 60 votes. The Republicans with one exception all voted for it. We spoke with one of those Democrats who caucuses—with one of those Democrats Angus King about why he decided to accept the Republican plan.
RECORDING OF SEN. KING: A lot of collateral damage was happening. People’s lives were being hurt. If the tactic isn’t working, and there were no prospects that it was going to work, then let’s move on, not make a lot of other people suffer in order to get a goal that wasn’t attainable.
WOLF BLITZER: Angus King of Maine, he’s an Independent, as you know Leader Jeffries, but he caucuses with the Democrats. What’s your response to his comment and his vote?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the suffering that has been visited upon the American people over the last several weeks is very consistent with, unfortunately, the suffering that Donald Trump and Republicans have visited upon the American people since day one of his presidency, where we’ve seen these Republicans unleash extreme levels of aggressive behavior that does not make life better for these Americans. It makes life worse. And we’ve seen it—an all-out assault on the economy, an all-out assault on healthcare, an all-out assault on nutritional assistance, an all-out assault by these Republicans on veterans and farmers and law-abiding immigrant families and the American way of life and, of course, democracy itself. And so our fight obviously is going to continue through whatever happens this week because as House Democrats we’re committed to driving down the high cost of, to fixing our broken healthcare system and at the same period of time cleaning up the corruption that exists in Washington D.C in the Congress, at the Supreme Court and, of course, with the Trump administration, the most corrupt administration in American history, so we can actually deliver a country of the people, by the people and for the people.
WOLF BLITZER: I just want to be precise. You say the Supreme Court has been corrupt. Is that what you’re saying?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, what I’m saying is that the outrageous behavior by individual Justices like Clarence Thomas and Justice Alito and the failure to have an ethical code of conduct is corrupt. These are the only people in the country who can operate above the law. And so what I am suggesting is that as we focus on delivering a country that actually works for working-class Americans, we’ve got to make sure that every single branch of government is working in a manner consistent with lifting up the quality of life of everyday Americansand holding themselves to the same standards that working-class Americans are expected to live by, work hard and play by the rules.
WOLF BLITZER: The Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the deal last night, but he’s being severely criticized for not having enough control over his Caucus to stop those eight from defecting. Your colleague, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, says the time has come for a change. Listen to this.
RECORDING OF REP. KHANNA: He’s the Leader of the Senate. This deal would never have happened if he had not blessed it. It’s time for him to be replaced. He is not meeting the moment. He’s out of touch with where the party’s base is.
WOLF BLITZER: What do you think, Leader Jeffries, do you agree with Ro Khanna? Do you think Schumer should be replaced?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Leader Schumer did not bless this agreement. He voted against it. And, of course, Senate Democrats who voted no have made that clear. And what we’ve seen from Senate Democrats over the last seven weeks has been part of a valiant fight that we have waged together to stand up in defense of the health, the safety and the economic well-being of the American people. And we know Senate Democrats voted down the partisan Republican spending bill that gutted the healthcare of the American people 15 or 16 different times. And listen, it’s unfortunate that you had eight or so Democrats, seven Democrats, who made the decision to vote in a different way than the overwhelming majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus and what you’ll see from the overwhelming majority of House Democrats when the bill comes over to us, but they’re gonna have to explain themselves. This fight continues, and over the last several weeks, we have successfully elevated this healthcare issue such that the American people are demanding action. And now, it’s going to be on Mike Johnson and House Republicans to demonstrate, are they willing to actually do something for someone other than the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected? And there’s an opportunity to do it by making sure that the Affordable Care Act tax credits are extended. Every single Democrat stands behind that proposition in the House. Let’s see what the Republicans decide to do tomorrow.
PAMELA BROWN: Well, let’s listen to Speaker Johnson for himself because he was asked about that by our Jake Tapper last night and here’s what he said.
RECORDING OF JAKE TAPPER: So you’re not committing to bringing up a bill that deals with the Obamacare subsidies before they expire?
RECORDING OF SPEAKER JOHNSON: I’m not committing to it or not committing to it. What I’m saying is that we do a deliberative process. It’s the way this always works and we have to have time to do that. And we will, in a bipartisan fashion.
PAMELA BROWN: So how do you see this playing out?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well let’s understand, this is the same group of people who rushed back to Washington in early July to enact their One Big Ugly Bill—the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, ripping health insurance away from about 14 million Americans. At the same period of time, they enacted a $186 billion cut to nutritional assistance. These people literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans. And all of this was done—the attack on healthcare and the attack on SNAP—all of this was done so they could reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks that they made permanent. Yet they haven’t found the time to even bother considering extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits so that tens of millions of working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans don’t experience dramatically increased healthcare costs in an environment where the cost of living is already too high. Perhaps one of the reasons why they’re not dealing with this with any degree of urgency is because their leader, their puppet master Donald Trump, apparently believes that the affordability crisis in this country is all made up. And maybe that’s why we’re not seeing any action from Republicans—because they’re just taking orders from their boss.
PAMELA BROWN: Well, we have had Republican Congress[woman] Marjorie Taylor Greene on who actually has expressed the concern about affordability in America and the continuation of those ACA subsidies. As you know, she has been a fierce defender of President Trump, but recently she’s run counter to the White House message, and her change of tone has not escaped the President’s notice. I want to take a listen to this.
RECORDING OF REP. GREENE: I truly believe that’s an utter failure. And you can’t expect people to show up and be passionate about voting for you when you’re not even going to work, and they’re going to work every single day and struggling to pay their bills. I think domestic policy should be the most important issue that the President and the Republican-controlled House and Senate are working on. And that showed up in the election on Tuesday.
RECORDING OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don’t know what happened to Marjorie. She’s a nice woman, but I don’t know what happened. She’s lost her way, I think. So when somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s now catering to the other side, I don’t know what, you know, I guess she’s, you know, got some kind of an act going, but I’m surprised at her. But when somebody like Marjorie goes over and starts making statements like that, it shows she doesn’t know.
PAMELA BROWN: Do you think she’s lost her way?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think Marjorie Taylor Greene has correctly indicated that Donald Trump and Republicans have spent more time focused on bailing out their right-wing dictator friend in Argentina—they found $40 billion to bail out Argentina, but can’t find a dime to make life more affordable for the American people. Yeah, that’s a problem. It’s a problem that in the middle of this government shutdown—the longest Trump-Republican shutdown in American history—Donald Trump has spent more time on the golf course than he has actually talking with Members of Congress or Democrats on Capitol Hill who represent half the country as part of an effort to do what we’ve been saying from day one we should be doing, which is lowering the high cost of living. Donald Trump, in fact, promised on day one to lower the high cost of living, but in America costs aren’t going down, costs are going up. Housing costs under Republican policies through the roof. Grocery prices through the roof. Electricity costs through the roof. And now, tens of millions of people facing these unprecedented dramatic increases in health insurance costs. And Republicans don’t give a damn about it.
WOLF BLITZER: The Democratic Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries always good to have you in the Situation Room. Thanks very much for joining us.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (USVI)
CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT ANNOUNCES OFFICES CLOSED ON NOVEMBER 11TH IN OBSERVANCE OF VETERANS DAY
U.S. Virgin Islands, November 10, 2025
For Immediate Release Contact: Alayah Phipps
November 10, 2025 202-813-2793
PRESS RELEASE
CONGRESSWOMAN PLASKETT ANNOUNCES OFFICES CLOSED ON NOVEMBER 11TH IN OBSERVANCE OF VETERANS DAY
U.S. Virgin Islands— The offices of Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett will be closed on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C., St. Croix, and St. Thomas in observance of Veterans Day. All offices will reopen on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
My office looks forward to participating in Veterans Day events on St. Croix and St. Thomas to honor the men and women from the Virgin Islands and across the nation who have bravely served our country. Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by our service members and to express our deepest gratitude for their dedication to protecting our freedoms.
For non-urgent matters, please email the offices or call after Tuesday, November 11, 2025. For assistance, please call 202-225-1790 (Washington, D.C.), 340-778-5900 (St. Croix), or 340-774-4408 (St. Thomas). Messages left will be responded to when the offices reopen on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)
WASHINGTON — This afternoon, Speaker Johnson made a trio of television appearances on Fox Business’ Kudlow, Newsmax’s The Record, and CNN’s The Lead to discuss Senate Democrats finally finding the courage to end the government shutdown. Speaker Johnson also addressed Republican efforts to drive down the cost of living following four failed years of Bidenomics.
On Senate Democrats finally finding the courage to reopen the government(CNN):
The long national nightmare is almost coming to an end now, the beginning of the end. As I said this morning in my press conference, it was long overdue. And the irony is it really was a shutdown about nothing. I mean, what we’re voting on is effectively exactly what we offered them several weeks back. We’ve added some appropriations bills now, which we’re in favor of because it’s getting us back to the regular order. We’ll take care of some other details, but I don’t think Chuck Schumer got anything out of this other than a political show. And sadly, I think that’s what he was after the whole time.
I’d like to vote tonight after the Senate is done, but it takes everybody a while to get back. We have people come from the west coast. We have a Member flying in from Guam, so he has 20 hours just to get to the west coast and then get here. So, yeah, we’ve got to get everybody back. We’re praying that they can make it through the chaos that all the other American people have been made to suffer through because of this needless political show that the Democrats have been engaging in.
On the Republican affordability agenda (Fox Business):
Remember, we have the headwinds of the mainstream media that are always parroting the talking points of the other side. And it’s not always based on fact; in fact, it usually is not. But we are the party that is delivering on affordability. And the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Working Families Tax Cut, was geared and written for lower- and middle-class earners in this country. And they’re going to feel the positive effects because as you know, Larry, that bill is full of pro-growth policies that are going to make all boats rise. All the aspects of that bill have not yet been implemented, but they will be. And as we go into the new year and we glide into the election cycle, people are going to be feeling that. And I think they’ll reward the people who put that in place. Remember, the Democrats solution to everything is more government, and that is not the answer. That will only make it worse. They grow government, they spend more money, they would spend us into oblivion. So you need common sense back and that’s what the Republican Party and President Trump are delivering.
Bidenomics was a disaster for the country. They spent far too much. And that’s the reason inflation was up. The cost of living is up so high because of the policies of the previous administration. Now, we’re working to root those policies out and implement our own. But as you know, it takes a little time. You don’t just flip a switch right after the election, and everything transfers over. So, the more time that goes by, the more they’ll feel the positive effects of what we’ve done. We are restoring common sense and fiscal responsibility to government. And that’s long overdue. And thank goodness we won that election in November because the country would’ve crashed into bankruptcy by now.
On Democrats refusing actual solutions to drive down health care costs (Newsmax):
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about [health care]. And some of that’s intentional by our Democrat colleagues because they’re trying to make this into something that it isn’t. This is what’s really important. We’re not just talking about it on the Republican side. We’re actually doing it. In the Working Families Tax Cut, in the Big Beautiful Bill, the version that passed the House, we had a provision in the bill called the cost sharing reduction provisions. And that would’ve driven down premiums on average by 12.7% for every person who has insurance. But the Democrats fought to take it out of the bill. So, if they cared so much about health care costs, they shouldn’t be fighting provisions like that. We’re putting together some ideas that will drive the premiums down because health care is too expensive in this country. It’s too expensive because the Democrats built a system that doesn’t work. So, we need to look at the root causes of the costs that have skyrocketed and address that for the people. Merely subsidizing something is not the answer. When the government subsidizes something, it almost always means it’s not working, and that’s the problem.
There are a lot of ideas on how to drive the cost down, and we have November and December to work on that. We’re going to have to get a bipartisan consensus on some of this. And so, we’ll be presenting our ideas and putting them on the table. The Democrats, this is very important to point out, they don’t have any reform ideas at all. Their argument is they want a completely unreformed continuation. They would do it permanently, most of them in government, just subsidizing the insurance companies. And that is not the solution. And we’re going to be educating the population along the way as we do this and come up with reforms that will actually solve the problem and not make it worse.