Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press availability, where he emphasized that Democrats will continue fighting to protect the healthcare and nutritional assistance of the American people while Republicans continue to rip them away and refuse to end the government shutdown.

LEADER JEFFRIES: This is day 34 of the Trump-Republican shutdown and our position as Democrats remains the same. We will sit down with any Republican who is prepared in good faith to find a bipartisan path forward to reopening the government, to entering into a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, not worse, and that decisively addresses the Republican healthcare crisis. We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. That’s been our position week after week after week, and it will continue to be our position because the Republican healthcare crisis is crushing the American people. And now that we’re in the midst of open enrollment, tens of millions of Americans all across the country are realizing that their premiums, co-pays and deductibles are going to skyrocket, in some cases $1,000 to $2,000 more per month that working-class Americans are being asked to pay. No one can afford it and people will be unable to go see a doctor when they need one, which is why the Affordable Care Act tax credits need to be extended. It’s not that complicated, but Republicans could care less because all they do is serve the wealthy, the well-off and the well connected.

At the same period of time, it’s extraordinary that Donald Trump, his administration and corrupt Republicans on Capitol Hill are voluntarily and intentionally withholding SNAP benefits from 42 million Americans who are at risk of going hungry. This includes 16 million children. This is an intentional decision not to pay full benefits because the money exists in a contingency fund to ensure that not a single American, not a single child, not a single veteran, not a single senior goes hungry. This irresponsible behavior is the reason why the overwhelming majority of the American people are very clear that, under Republican control of the House, the Senate and the presidency, the country is moving in the wrong direction. Donald Trump’s disapproval ratings are in the toilet. The American people know that all of the promises that were made to lower the high cost of living have not been kept. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up. The situation is an ever-occurring disaster, which is why we’re going to see big victories tomorrow by Democrats across the country.

Full press availability can be watched here.

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