Stop the Republican Affordability Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANNION. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Rivas for her leadership on affordability and giving me the opportunity to speak today.

Across central New York and the Mohawk Valley, people are worried, and they have every reason to be. Grocery prices are going up. Healthcare costs are rising. Energy bills are spiking. Too many families feel like they are being asked to absorb the hit while Washington does nothing to make their lives better or more affordable.

On healthcare, the threat is real and urgent. Just this week, I met with leadership and toured Oneida Health, a rural hospital in my district that has been there for over a hundred years. They are feeling the largest healthcare cuts in the history of the country that were passed in the big, ugly bill, and they know firsthand that the deeply inadequate rural healthcare fund comes nowhere near making up for the lost revenue that happened in that bill.

You cannot cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and decimate the foundation of our healthcare system, cutting at the knees our rural hospitals, and pretend that a one-time Band-Aid of $50 billion will hold the system together.

Many of my Republican colleagues continue to tout their votes in support of the largest healthcare cuts in our history while letting critical subsidies expire.

We should be doing the opposite. There is bipartisan support to extend the ACA premium tax credits. We should be working together to prevent premium spikes and make sure seniors and working families aren't forced to choose between prescription drugs, groceries, and keeping the heat on.

Healthcare should provide peace of mind, not financial anxiety, because when essential services are gutted, community health centers and rural hospitals face shortfalls, and people are forced to drop coverage. It impacts everyone through higher premiums, and all of us will be paying more and are paying more to get less. The House has wisely voted to extend the subsidies, and the Senate needs to do the same.

The same affordability crisis is playing out with energy costs. I hear it every day from families and small businesses who simply cannot afford another rate hike. That is why I helped found the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, to push real, practical solutions that put consumers first.

Upstate New York knows extreme weather--long winters, hot summers-- but weather alone doesn't explain why utility bills have become unmanageable. Families in my district are projected to pay hundreds more each year, even when usage stays the same. I have heard from constituents whose bills jumped hundreds of dollars and more in just a matter of months. That is not sustainable, and it is not acceptable.

Part of the problem is growing demand from energy-intensive data centers. Regular Americans should not be forced to subsidize massive corporate energy use.

Another part of the problem is this administration's decisions that undercut long-term affordability, such as blocking transmission, canceling low-cost energy products--some of which are green energy projects--and slowing investments that would expand supply, stabilize prices, and give consumers the options they need and demand.

Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House, and it seems like big energy corporations control them. We see every day that their actions demonstrate that they are not interested in lowering the costs for hardworking Americans.

The good news is that solutions do exist. We need smart investments in generation and transmission, expanded energy-efficiency programs that help families use less and pay less, and a balanced approach to create more affordable energy options, including renewables and clean, reliable nuclear power. We also need accountability, including keeping utilities local and making sure profits aren't shipped overseas while families here struggle to keep the lights on.

Consumer affordability, not corporate profit, has to be the priority. Paying for groceries and healthcare, keeping the lights on, and heating your home are the basic expectations that should exist in the wealthiest country in the world, Mr. Speaker. They should not be luxuries.

This affordability crisis isn't just hitting hardworking families across central New York and the Mohawk Valley. It is squeezing our small businesses, our hospitals, and our schools. I will keep fighting to make sure Washington treats this crisis with the urgency that it demands.

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