Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Steering and Policy Committee held a hearing on Donald Trump's unaffordable America. As Republicans continue to drive up the cost of living and break our healthcare system, House Democrats are lifting up the stories of hardworking Americans who are being crushed by the rising price of food, housing and insurance.

REMARKS DELIVERED BY LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you, Robin. Thanks to all the Members and certainly thankful for the panel of witnesses, Thomas, Carolina, Nicole and Brian for being here today. Thank you all for your advocacy and, of course, for sharing your stories about how the Trump administration policies are hurting everyday Americans and making it more difficult for people to make ends meet.

We know that last year, Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they were going to lower costs on day one. And of course, costs haven't gone down, they've gone up. This is day 319 of the Trump administration, and day 336 of complete Republican control of Congress. But what have we seen so far? Not a single piece of legislation, not a single plan, not even a single meaningful idea to drive down the high cost of living. Of course, in America, costs are going up. Inflation is up. Housing costs are up. Grocery prices are up. Electricity bills are skyrocketing. America is far too expensive. There are far too many people struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, as you have illustrated in such a compelling way.

Through all of the chaos and cruelty and corruption that is being inflicted on the American people by House Republicans, the American people are being hurt, and these Republicans continue to make things worse. At the start of this year, Donald Trump froze critical funding for Head Start and left families and providers under duress.

Two different federal courts forced the administration to uphold their responsibility to deliver nutritional benefits during the Trump-Republican shutdown. And yet, Republicans continued to try to weaponize the issue of hunger against the American people. And now the USDA is planning another effort to hold SNAP benefits hostage in states across the country.

We, of course, are confronting a healthcare crisis, with Republicans refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, notwithstanding the fact that they are going to expire at the end of this month, and tens of millions of Americans are going to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. In some instances, we know costs are going to increase on everyday Americans by $1,000 or $2,000 per month. This is all unsustainable. And yet, in this environment, the one thing that Republicans have done when they cut Medicaid in their One Big Ugly Bill, largest cut to Medicaid in American history, cut $186 billion in nutritional assistance from the American people, literally ripping food from the mouths of children, seniors, families and others.

In that same piece of legislation, they did find the time to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors and then make those tax breaks permanent. Yet can't even be bothered to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for working class Americans. They're completely and totally out of control. This majority and Republican governance has been a failure for the American people.

As we've repeatedly stated, Democrats are willing to find common ground with anyone, anytime, anyplace as long as we're making life better for the American people, improving their quality of life and certainly focus on driving down the high cost of living and fixing our broken healthcare system. We just need serious partners on the other side of the aisle, and they're too busy fighting each other and rewarding their billionaire donors to do something meaningful for the American people.

So we're thankful for your presence, for your compelling testimony, for your advocacy on behalf of the American people. And we look forward to our continued partnership on behalf of making life better for hardworking American taxpayers.

Full remarks and hearing can be watched here.

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