Pallone: Democrats Care and We'll Continue to Fight for You

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following remarks on the House floor today in opposition to Republicans' funding bill:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want my colleagues to understand that when the Affordable Care Act was adopted, it was adopted for middle class people who could not afford health insurance. They had no other option. They had nowhere to go. You just would end up without health insurance.

I have constituents coming to me now crying because their insurance is going from $500 a month to $1,500 a month. That's an increase of $1,000 a month. Who can afford that? No one in the middle class.

At the end of 2024, last year, during a Democratic Administration, the number of insured Americans was at a record high of about 95%. Democrats worked for that.

Then Trump comes in, the Republicans come in with their Big, Ugly Bill and they make cuts to Medicaid, cuts to hospitals and nursing homes, and no funding to extend the ACA tax credits.

So, what's going to happen? More and more people have no health insurance. That's the bottom line. They will not have health insurance. And the Republicans don't seem to care. But I want you to know that the Democrats care and we'll continue to fight for you.

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