Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, for yielding and for her steadfast leadership on behalf of working families and hardworking American taxpayers in the great State of Connecticut, and all across America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this woefully inadequate spending bill that fails to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis and fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for tens of millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, before I say anything further, let me thank our men and women in uniform, our Active-Duty troops, our hardworking Federal employees, our civil servants, our TSA agents, our Capitol Police, our staff here in the House of Representatives, and our air traffic controllers for their service, their sacrifice, and for the work that they do on behalf of the American people each and every day. It is our promise to all of them that we will continue to work hard to make sure they are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve in a year in which the Trump administration has gone after hardworking Federal employees relentlessly, including firing more than 200,000 Federal employees prior to the start of the Trump Republican shutdown.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. Donald Trump and Republicans made the decision to shut the government down, the longest shutdown in American history. They would rather do that than provide healthcare that is affordable to working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and hardworking American taxpayers.

All across the country, I am certain that there are people in America asking the question: Where do we go from here?

House Democrats have a simple answer. We will continue to fight to lower the high cost of living. House Democrats will continue to fight to address the healthcare crisis that Republicans have created, and House Democrats will continue to fight to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for tens of millions of Americans.

This fight is not over. We are just getting started. We will fight today. We will fight tomorrow. We will fight this week. We will fight next week. We will fight this month. We will fight next month. We will fight until we win this battle for the American people. That is our commitment as House Democrats.

There are only two ways that this fight will end. There are only two ways, Mr. Speaker, that this fight will end: Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the speakership of Donald J. Trump once and for all. That is how this fight ends.

Mr. Speaker, during this painful Trump Republican shutdown, what we have seen is two different philosophies in terms of how to govern for the American people. The Democratic Party philosophy is clear. We are ready, willing, and able to find bipartisan, common ground, anytime, anyplace, to enact spending agreements that actually make life better for the American people.

However, in order to do that, we need to have partners on the other side of the aisle who are actually willing to find the bipartisan path forward. What we have seen from Republicans from the very beginning of this Presidency is a my-way-or-the-highway approach. That has been the Republican philosophy. Jam your extremism down the throats of the American people. That is what we have seen from day one of this Presidency. That is the reason why the government has been shut down by Republicans and Donald Trump for the longest period of time in American history.

What have we seen from Donald Trump and Republicans during this shutdown? A consistent unwillingness to actually find common ground in order to make life better for the American people. Donald Trump, during the shutdown, found the time to play golf week after week after week. Donald Trump found the time to pardon serial fraudsters like George Santos and Rudolph Giuliani. Donald Trump found the time to meet with the Chinese Communist Party. Donald Trump found the time to destroy the east wing of the White House. Donald Trump found the time to extort $230 million from the Department of Justice so he could line his pockets. Donald Trump found the time to bail out Argentina with $40 billion. Donald Trump found the time to rip away SNAP benefits from 42 million Americans.

Mr. Speaker, these extremists are not like us. They are not like us. They have zero interest in fighting hard to make life better for the American people. Their philosophy: My way or the highway. Our response: Get lost.

We are going to continue to fight hard on behalf of the American people in the midst of a healthcare crisis and a cost-of-living crisis that is very real, despite what Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, has to say. He claims there is no affordability crisis in the United States of America.

However, why would anyone believe anything that Donald Trump or Republicans have to say on this issue? Throughout 2024, before the election, Republicans in the House and the Senate and Donald Trump on the campaign trail spent all of their time saying that costs were going to go down on day one.

Mr. Speaker, costs haven't gone down. Republicans haven't done a damn thing to lower the high cost of living. Costs haven't gone down in this country. Costs have gone up. Inflation is on the way up. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Electricity bills are out of control. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and out of control.

In the midst of this affordability crisis, seeing this, Democrats said we have got to fight to make sure we extend Affordable Care Act tax credits so that tens of millions of people--working-class folks, middle-class folks, people in rural America, working-class America, small-town America, the heartland of America, Black and Brown communities all throughout America--don't experience premium increases that in some cases will go up by $1,000 or $2,000 per year.

In many cases, month after month after month, it will go up $1,000 or $2,000 per month. That is tens of thousands of dollars per year. It is unacceptable in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. This is in the midst of a Republican healthcare crisis.

Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They ripped health insurance away from 14 million Americans. As a result of Republican policies, hospitals, nursing homes, and community- based health centers are closing all across America including in rural parts of this great country of ours.

Now because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, tens of millions of Americans are at risk of being unable to afford to see a doctor when they need one. It is happening in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world.

It can't be the case that healthcare is simply a privilege for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. Mr. Speaker, that is the Republican perspective.

As Democrats, we believe that healthcare has to be a right and a right that is affordable and available to every single American in the United States. That is what this fight is all about, and that is what the fight will continue to be about as we move forward.

Many of my Republican colleagues have suggested that they want to deal with the healthcare affordability issue. They want to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across this country. We have an opportunity for them to do so.

There is a discharge petition connected to legislation that House Democrats have introduced to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for 3 years. We believe that working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and everyday Americans deserve the same level of certainty that Republicans always provide to the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected donors. Working-class Americans deserve that level of certainty.

We ask our Republican colleagues to join us in extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It is not too late. We are in the midst of open enrollment. The tax credits expire on December 31. We will stay on this issue until we get this issue resolved for everyday Americans.

Mr. Speaker, as I close, I have had the opportunity, as many of us do, to serve in the United States Congress with legendary figures, too numerous to mention. Some of those legendary Members include, of course, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, the great Jim Clyburn, Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings, and Charlie Rangel.

Our own Marcy Kaptur is the longest serving woman in the history of the United States House of Representatives. We have all had the opportunity to serve with legendary Members like John Dingell. As I said, they are too numerous to mention.

Mr. Speaker, one can't call that roll without calling the name of the great John Lewis. I had the distinct honor of serving with John Lewis for several terms. Many of us here in the House of Representatives did.

I will never forget on my first day in Congress that I had the opportunity to meet John Lewis for the first time in person. He called me over to see him on the House floor. He just asked me a simple question. He said: Are you the new guy?

I said: Yes, sir, Mr. Lewis, I am.

He said: Well, we are colleagues now. You don't have to call me Mr. Lewis. You can call me John.

I said: Yes, sir, Mr. Lewis, I understand.

Then he said to me: You are from Brooklyn, right?

Mr. Speaker, I have to be honest. I was tempted to say that Brooklyn is always in the House. Instead, since my mother, Laneda Jeffries, raised me with some sense, I said: Yes, sir, I am from Brooklyn.

Then he said something to me that I have never forgotten. He said: Well, I hear some positive things about you from your predecessor, but Washington, D.C., young man, can be a rough place. I don't want you to get into any trouble unless it is good trouble.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to stop by on the House floor to make sure it is clear to the American people that the spirit of John Lewis lives amongst House Democrats. We will continue to get into good trouble to make their lives better. That is our commitment to every single American all across this country, from this day and for every day, moving forward.

It was John Lewis who said to us that ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime and maybe even many lifetimes. Each one of us in every generation must do our part.

Mr. Speaker, we love Mr. Lewis. We were blessed by our opportunity to serve with him. House Democrats are here to do our part. We are in this fight until we win this fight for the American people.

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