Bravo Democratic House and Senate Leadership

Bravo to House and Senate Democrats for throwing the gauntlet on Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, demanding that they restore the cuts they made to the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare subsidies and Medicaid so they could pay for their unneeded tax cuts for the wealthy in the reverse Robin Hood Angel of Death Big Billionaire Bill.

In a joint press appearance yesterday, House and Senate Democratic Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer told reporters and the American People that no votes for the Trump/MAGA Continuing Resolution Bill would be forthcoming from their caucus unless they gave in to their demands to protect the health care and lives of the American People adversely affected by the MAGA-Project 2025 Draconian Budget Cuts on the nation’s social safety net.

At the event, Leader Jeffries said:

“…At this particular moment in time, we’re together as it relates to the unprecedented attack on the health care of the American people. The House and Senate Democrats are prepared to enter into a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people, Including as it relates to their health care and economic well-being. We will not support a partisan spending agreement that continues to rip away health care from the American people period.”

Senator Schumer echoed all of Jeffries sentiments, saying after the House Democratic Leader:

“What the Republicans are proposing Is not good enough for the American people and not good enough to get our votes. The American people are hurting. Healthcare is being decimated on all different fronts. People are gonna die. People are losing jobs. People are losing health care. We are fighting for that and people are just seeing their costs go through the roof. They hate it and probably the number one or number two reason for that is healthcare and what the Republicans have done in the BBB. Just as on the BBB, we were totally united. Every Democrat in the House and Senate voted against it on this issue. We’re totally united. The Republicans have to come to meet with us in a true bipartisan negotiation to satisfy the American people’s needs on health care or they won’t get our votes plain and simple.”

In a social media post earlier today (September 12,) Arizona Senator Mark Kelly also called for bipartisan talks on the funding agreement, writing:

“Premiums will spike for as many as 22 million people who get their health insurance through the ACA next year. Why? Because of Trump and Republicans. What we need to do is work together to keep health care costs down.”

Commentary from writers at the New York Times and Third Way applaud the legislative strategy the Congressional Democrats are undertaking.

Guest columnist Jonathan Alter, drawing on how Bill Clinton was able to outsmart Newt Gingrich and his band of Contract on America Republicans in the two government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996 wrote:

“…By demanding action on popular policies, Democrats could execute a delicate maneuver where they avoid blame for a shutdown while benefiting from the negotiations to end it…”

“…Yet when the shutdown ended in early 1996, Mr. Clinton had won big. How? Mr. Clinton, who had struggled to communicate a message, boiled down his dozens of wordy policy positions to what his aides called “M.M.E.E.” — Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment. Intense focus on those four popular Democratic positions powered Mr. Clinton’s shutdown comeback and his re-election that fall…”

“…Democrats have a big edge on what’s seen as the No. 1 problem in America: affordability. According to a new CBS News poll, a paltry 36 percent of Americans approve of the way Mr. Trump is handling inflation, a blaring sign of the president’s vulnerability on the main issue that brought him back to the White House…”

“…On health, Democrats should demand an extension of the popular tax credits that make Obamacare more affordable for millions of Americans, which are scheduled to expire next year. They should insist on restoring funding for popular National Institutes of Health grants, particularly for cancer research. And in the glare of a shutdown it would be tough for Republicans to resist a Democratic push to reverse at least some of the unpopular Medicaid cuts. Finally, Democrats should insist on a provision guaranteeing the availability of vaccines, a position supported by 78 percent of adults in a recent NBC News poll, including overwhelming majorities of independents and Republicans…”

Alter also called for Democrats to use their position to bargain cuts to Trump tariffs and his placement of National Guard troops in American City’s.

In the Third Way piece, their writers note the Democratic Party’s strength on health care, conveying:

“…Democrats should fight to protect middle-class health care. That is the one area where they consistently have the upper hand. Because the ACA itself is now quite popular, with two-thirds of Americans viewing it favorably. That is a higher rating than either the Pope or Taylor Swift.

Republicans are on the wrong side of both substance and perception. Their signature achievement this year is a gigantic tax cut for the wealthy, while massively increasing the deficit. Now they are effectively pushing a middle-class tax hike by blocking health care subsidies.

Polling confirms this is political quicksand for Republicans. Third Way’s recent survey found that messages about Republicans slashing $1 trillion from Medicaid—cuts that would harm children, people with disabilities, and working families—resonated strongly with Independents and even persuadable Trump supporters. Layer on top of that a looming premium increase of 20% to 30%, and the contrast between the parties could not be clearer. Trump’s own pollster warned that if a Republican lets the tax credits expire, they will trail the Democrat by 15 points. Democrats have an opportunity here to fight to extend a middle class tax credit supported by 91% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and even 63% of Republicans…”

“…Obviously, most voters do not know or care about the mechanics of appropriations bills or continuing resolutions. They are focused on whether government is delivering for them. If voters can’t afford health care next year, if they can’t see their doctor, or the quality of their care gets worse, then government surely is not working.

That’s why Democrats must draw a red line on GOP cuts to the cost protections in the ACA, access to rural and essential care through Medicaid, and veterans’ health care. If Republicans are hellbent on denying care to millions, let them fund the government alone.

If Democrats remain united around this singular goal, they either will succeed in protecting Americans from massive cost hikes or they will show the public they are the only party fighting to keep health care affordable. Both outcomes are wins.”