Chairman Aguilar: Republicans consistently put billionaires’ interests over the needs of hardworking Americans.

Chairman Aguilar: Republicans consistently put billionaires' interests over the needs of hardworking Americans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar joined Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Co-Chairs Lori Trahan and Lauren Underwood, House Democrats and Protect Our Care for a press conference highlighting the growing Republican healthcare crisis after Trump and Congressional Republicans cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and failed to extend the ACA tax credits. You can watch the full press conference here and read the transcript of the Chairman's remarks below.

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Thank you so much, Brad. Thank you to the Protect Our Care campaign, and we are truly sick of it. I want to thank the DPCC, and the storytellers and patient advocates who continue to shine a light on this urgent issue.

In this last election, Americans entrusted Republicans with their votes because they believed that they would lower their costs. But for the last 18 months, we have seen that Republicans consistently put billionaires' interests over the needs of hardworking Americans. Nowhere was that more evident than in their signature bill, the Big Ugly Law. The GOP handed tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy while ripping away benefits, healthcare and food assistance from the people that need it most. This is not what the American people voted for, and now, one year later, families are experiencing that fallout.

Working families can't afford to see a doctor when they're sick or to feed their kids when they're hungry. Hospitals, nursing homes and clinics are closing their doors. And eight million people have lost healthcare. Republicans used all of the power that they had to reward the billionaires while their constituents went broke.

House Republicans are so corrupt and so beholden to Trump and the elites, that they've ignored every chance to undo this damage. Instead of restoring healthcare, they've given a blank check to ICE to terrorize our communities. And instead of lowering costs, they've made life harder and more expensive for everyone. Meanwhile, House Democrats have worked to ensure families have the tools and resources they need to succeed. The affordable healthcare crisis is upon us and Democrats will do everything we can to make delivering on healthcare the heart of our mission. We're going to keep fighting to lower costs, fix the healthcare crisis and stop Trump and Republicans from wasting taxpayer dollars.

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