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Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Ranking Member Pallone, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, House Republicans ended 2025 by failing to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits causing healthcare costs to skyrocket for millions of Americans.
Since President Trump took office, electricity prices have gone up by 13 percent nationwide and 20 percent in New Jersey, leaving over 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills. Instead of addressing the affordability crisis that they have ignored, that President Trump has called a hoax, the Republicans' priority on day one is showerheads.
It is obscene that with all the work we need to do to uplift American families, to give them a fair shot at the American Dream, the Republican majority would choose instead to focus on showerheads. Why? Because it is important to one person and one person only, Donald Trump.
Not once, at any of the townhalls I have had, has anyone said that their showerhead pressure is their top concern. Housing, yes. Healthcare, yes. Childcare, yes. Not once did they say showerheads was their primary concern.
If my colleagues were serious about governing, we would be voting on protecting healthcare, lowering costs, and addressing the real issues that working families are facing. We would not be here today talking about showerheads.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to get serious and focus on the priorities our constituents sent us here to address. For all these reasons and so many more, I strongly oppose this bill.
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