Protecting Healthcare for Millions of Americans

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman yielding and thank both Congresswoman Luz Rivas of California and Congresswoman Emily Randall of Washington State for hosting us with this Special Order hour. I know with them being two freshmen Congresswomen, and I know at least one other freshman Congresswoman that will be joining in the discussion, that it just reflects the tremendous amount of talent and passion to make a difference in this freshman class. We are so blessed to have them in the Caucus. It is so important to witness the efforts that the two congresswomen hosting us have made in regard to accessibility and affordability. It is most appreciated.

After months of pushing, Democrats succeeded in forcing a vote to extend ACA subsidies that offer lifesaving healthcare benefits to millions of families. That extension passed the House just hours ago, but the fight isn't over to secure these benefits and meaningfully lower costs for Americans. The Senate must act at once to restore these benefits and ease the burden of rising costs for people like Mekhiya, one of my constituents from New York's 20th Congressional District.

Mekhiya was born and raised in Schenectady, New York. She recently turned 26 and was bumped off of her parents' health insurance plan. She made the smart and responsible choice to switch to an ACA plan. Because Republicans let vital ACA subsidies lapse last year, she no longer knows how she will afford coverage. This is at a time when she and her wife are thinking about starting a family together.

So often I hear the reaction from those on the right saying: Just get a job. Well, Mekhiya already works at a job, in fact two jobs; one for her local school district and one as a manager at McDonald's. All told, between both jobs, she works some 16 hours a day. Neither position offers affordable or comprehensive enough healthcare, so an ACA plan is her only real option.

In this, the richest country in the world, the richest country in the history of the world, this is simply unacceptable. No one should be spending nearly all of their waking hours working multiple jobs and still unable to afford basic healthcare coverage for themselves and their family members. Yet this is the painful reality for millions of Americans.

Faced with this impossible scenario, Mekhiya said that she may try to work even more hours to make ends meet, but there are simply not enough hours in the day to work much more than she already does.

We have the chance here in Congress to ease the immense burden being carried by Mekhiya and the tens of millions more seeing a spike in healthcare premiums. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to do right by families and act without delay to lower healthcare and help working family people breathe a little easier.

Make no mistake, the fight to lower costs is far from over. We have got to put our foot on the gas when it comes to driving down those healthcare costs and making life much more affordable for the American people.

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