Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 2025 — Pressley Slams Republicans for Raising Healthcare Costs for Families, Shutting Down Government
‘More than 35,000 of my constituents are at risk of losing their coverage altogether. None of this is acceptable and 100% preventable.’
‘Republicans could work with Democrats to lower these costs, but instead they chose to shut down the government and continue their campaign of wholesale, widespread hurt and harm.’
During a House Steering and Policy Committee hearing, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) slammed Republicans for raising healthcare costs for families across the country and shutting down the government instead of addressing the healthcare crisis they created.
Rep. Pressley and her fellow Steering and Policy Committee members held an emergency hearing to hear directly from healthcare workers, family caretakers, and small business owners about how the Republicans’ shutdown and soaring healthcare premiums are threatening lives and livelihoods across the country.
A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below, and the full video is available here.
Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 2025 — Mfume, Maryland Delegation Members Urge Republican Leaders to Reopen Government, Prevent Health Care Costs from Skyrocketing and Protect Rural Health Care Access
Representative Kweisi Mfume, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Representatives April McClain Delaney, Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, and Johnny Olszewski (all D-MD) sent a letter urging Republican leadership to reopen the government and prevent health care costs from skyrocketing for millions of Americans.
If Congress does not extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs), 4 million Americans will lose their ACA Marketplace coverage and premiums will more than double for millions of Americans in 2026. Overall, approximately 190,000 Maryland residents currently benefit from these tax credits. Absent Congressional action, premiums will increase by 35% on average for thousands of Marylanders and 30,000 Marylanders will be forced to drop coverage entirely. Moreover, rural communities will be disproportionally impacted by the historic cuts in the One Big Beautiful Act (OBBBA), including thousands of Marylanders who rely on Medicaid everyday for affordable and accessible care.
‘Rising living costs continue to strain Marylanders, and health care expenses remain one of the heaviest burdens they face. The scheduled expiration of the ePTCs at the end of this year threatens the economic stability of Maryland families in every corner of our state. These enhanced tax credits substantially lower premiums for millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in Maryland,’ the lawmakers wrote. ‘The expiration of the ePTCs would deal a staggering blow to our constituents’ financial well-being and overall health, one that Maryland families simply cannot afford.’
‘The challenges presented by the expiration of the ePTCs are exacerbated by the recent passage of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Trump,’ they continued. ‘The implementation of OBBBA is projected to result in the loss of Medicaid and ACA coverage for approximately 242,000 Maryland residents.’
‘We have heard firsthand from working Maryland families who are already straining under the weight of rising prices. The expiration of the ePTCs, combined with the policy changes from the OBBBA, threatens to push many beyond their financial breaking point. We call on House Republican leadership to bring the House of Representatives back into session and we urge leadership to act swiftly to extend the ePTCs and protect access to affordable healthcare for Marylanders,’ the lawmakers concluded.
Click here to read the full letter.
Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 2025 — Elizabeth Warren on Funding Bill: ‘I Refuse to Support Trump’s Chaos and Republicans Inflicting Higher Costs on Americans’
Following her vote against proceeding to Republicans’ Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement:
‘While the Republicans shut down the government and refuse to even come to the table to make health care more affordable, I cannot in good conscience sign off on a bloated Pentagon spending bill. Democrats should not send a business-as-usual funding bill to this administration while Donald Trump and Russ Vought play king, illegally revoking funding for programs they don’t like and unlawfully firing thousands of federal workers. All of that is happening while Donald Trump sends our own military troops to occupy American cities.
‘I voted no on this Republican funding bill because I refuse to support Trump’s chaos and Republicans inflicting higher costs on Americans.’
Washington, D.C., Oct. 15, 2025 — Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker Joint Statement Condemning Trump’s Termination of Gateway Tunnel Project Funding
Today, New Jersey Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker released the following statement condemning President Trump for terminating congressionally approved funding for the critical Gateway Tunnel Project:
‘Threatening to cut funding for Gateway is a direct attack on New Jersey by the Trump Administration. It sends a clear signal that President Trump is more focused on punishing perceived enemies than serving the American people or delivering for New Jersey families. This isn’t a Democratic project. It’s a project that has had broad bipartisan support, including from his own Secretary of Transportation, who called it, “important” just days ago. We will fight to keep this funding, we will fight to keep the thousands of union jobs it supports, and we will fight to ensure that the better future that Gateway promises for our entire region ensures is fully realized.’
Washington, D.C., Oct. 10, 2025 — Warren, Heinrich, Murray, 34 Senators Demand Trump Administration Restore $8 Billion in Funding for Energy Projects They Illegally Canceled
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Patty Murray (D-W.A.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and 34 senators in demanding the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought restore the $8 billion in funding for 223 energy projects in Democrat-led states that were unlawfully canceled. The funding for these projects was approved and appropriated by Congress.
‘For the 21 states with impacted projects, your cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, many of whom had every reason to rely on the stability of their jobs before these cancellations and all of whom will face uncertain job markets in our increasingly slowing economy,’ wrote the senators.
‘These cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, lost educational opportunities for countless students in now-cancelled university-led projects, difficulty obtaining private financing for impacted developers and utilities, and less domestic manufacturing and innovation, all while diminishing America’s competitive leadership globally. It will also mean higher energy bills for households and businesses across the country, all of whom are already stretched thin thanks to the affordability crisis instigated by this administration’s tariffs and economic policy.
‘For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding,’ the senators concluded.
All Democratic Senators from states with canceled grants and funding signed the letter: U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-I.L.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-W.A.), Richard Blumenthal (D-C.T.), Ron Wyden (D-O.R.), Richard Durbin (D-I.L.), Ruben Gallego (D-A.Z.), Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jacky Rosen (D-N.V.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-H.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (A.Z.), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-M.N.), Amy Klobuchar (D-M.N.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 2025 — Congresswoman Nikema Williams Calls for the Return of All CDC Employees Laid Off During the Republican Shutdown
Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) led 77 Members of Congress in a letter expressing deep concern to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director James O’Neill following the recent decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to lay off employees arbitrarily, including initially 1300 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).While approximately 700 were reported reinstated the next day, roughly 600 remain out of work.
On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Judge Susan Illston in the Northern District of California blocked the Administration from issuing any further reduction in force (RIF) notices or enforcing existing terminations. To comply with this ruling, Congresswoman Nikema Williams is calling for the Trump Administration to reinstate all impacted CDC employee.
The members wrote:
‘By firing these employees without cause, you have left critical projects in the lurch. While the terminations of some staff, responsible for the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, staff at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and epidemiologists have reportedly been reinstated, others, including those responsible for workplace violence and chronic disease prevention, are reportedly still separated from the CDC.’
‘This Reduction in Force comes on the heels of other steps you have taken to diminish the role of the CDC, and to undermine trust in public health.’
‘The combination of this month’s RIF, earlier decimation of the CDC workforce, and ascientifc roll-back of public health guidance undermines the critical work of the CDC, and the public health experts and civil servants who serve there.’
Read the full letter here.
Cosigners: Amo, Gabe; Balint, Becca; Beatty, Joyce; Bell, Wesley; Beyer, Donald; Bishop, Sanford; Boyle, Brendan; Carter, Troy; Case, Ed; Casten, Sean; Cohen, Steve; Craig, Angie; Davis, Danny; Dean, Madeleine; DelBene, Suzan; Elfreth, Sarah; Escobar, Veronica; Espaillat, Adriano; Evans, Dwight; Figures, Shomari; Fletcher, Lizzie; Garamendi, John; GarcÃa, Jesús; Gottheimer, Josh; Hayes, Jahana; Huffman, Jared; Ivey, Glenn; Jackson, Jonathan; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Henry; Johnson, Julie; Kelly, Robin; Kennedy, Timothy; Khanna, Ro; Landsman, Greg; Lee, Summer; Lynch, Stephen; Magaziner, Seth; Matsui, Doris; McBath, Lucy; McBride, Sarah; McClain Delaney, April; McClellan, Jennifer; McCollum, Betty; McGovern, James; McIver, LaMonica; Meeks, Gregory; Mfume, Kweisi; Moore, Gwen; Norton, Eleanor; Panetta, Jimmy; Peters, Scott; Pettersen, Brittany; Pingree, Chellie; Pocan, Mark; Quigley, Mike; Ramirez, Delia; Randall, Emily; Rivas, Luz; Scanlon, Mary Gay; Schrier, Kim; Scott, David; Scott, Robert; Sewell, Terri; Smith, Adam; Swalwell, Eric; Thompson, Bennie; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Tonko, Paul; Underwood, Lauren; Veasey, Marc; Velázquez, Nydia; Walkinshaw, James; Wasserman Schultz, Debbie; Waters, Maxine; Williams, Nikema; Wilson, Frederica
