Stop the Republican Affordability Crisis

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because working people in St. Louis and across this country are getting squeezed from every direction. Groceries cost more. Rent costs more. Childcare costs more. Healthcare costs more. For too many families, every month feels like a math problem they can't solve.

For generations, the American Dream meant that if you worked hard, you could build a stable life, you could afford a home, you could raise a family, and you could retire with dignity. Today, that dream feels farther away for millions of people, not because they stopped believing in it but because it is becoming impossibly unaffordable.

Affordability is not just an economic issue. It is a trust issue. People don't just feel broke. They feel shut out.

Under President Trump, influence isn't just whispered behind closed doors; it is put up for sale. Money flows in and policy flows out. That is not normal. That is not acceptable. In this administration, access is bought instead of earned. If you are a billionaire or a special interest, you get a seat at the table. If you are a nurse, a warehouse worker, or a parent juggling two jobs, you are out of luck. That is how we end up with policies like tariffs that raise costs for Missouri families by $600 a year. It is how we end up with an economy that works great for the people at the top and barely works for everyone else.

When President Trump talks about a great economy, it is clear he is talking about an economy he has never had to live in, one where you don't worry about grocery bills, prescription costs, or childcare, because those concerns have never touched his life, and they don't guide his decisions.

When decisions are driven by money instead of the public interest, the result is higher costs, weaker protections, and a growing sense that the American Dream is slipping out of reach.

It doesn't have to be this way. We can build an economy where the American Dream is affordable again, where housing is within reach, healthcare is accessible, and childcare doesn't bankrupt you.

We can stop giving billionaires yet another tax break and start giving working families some breathing room. Because when government works for working people, the American Dream stops slipping away and starts feeling possible again.

That is what House Democrats are fighting for, not an economy built around pay-to-play politics or shady closed-door deals but one built around dignity, fairness, and that simple idea that the American Dream should be within reach for everyone, not just the well-connected.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source