Washington, DC – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference where he highlighted that while Democrats remain willing to work across the aisle to solve problems for hardworking American taxpayers, House Republicans continue pushing an extreme agenda that hurts the American people.

LEADER JEFFRIES: From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have made clear that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues on any issue, whenever and wherever possible, in order to solve problems for hardworking American taxpayers and deliver real results. That’s exactly what we have done repeatedly in order to make a difference in the lives of the American people.

For the balance of this Congress over the next few months, extreme MAGA Republicans have a choice. We can either engage in a bipartisan partnership in order to get things done for everyday Americans or the extreme MAGA Republicans can engage in political stunts and gamesmanship. Unfortunately, in connection with the appropriations process that has just begun, the extreme MAGA Republican majority has unnecessarily decided to engage in political stunts and gamesmanship by marking up appropriations bills that have zero chance of becoming law because they will dramatically impose cuts on the American people that will hurt their health, their safety and their economic well-being. And the extreme MAGA Republicans, in connection with the sham appropriations process that they have decided to initiate, are trying to jam right-wing policy changes down the throats of the American people, including stripping away reproductive freedom from military women, attacking the LGBTQ+ community, trying to eliminate programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion and engaging in other unnecessary and extreme efforts that are all dead on arrival. What are we doing it for?

We agreed in May of last year to a topline spending number of $1.681 [trillion]. That’s the number that was connected to the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act and our effort to avoid a catastrophic default on our nation’s debt that would have crashed the economy. An agreement is an agreement is an agreement. The only thing, at the end of the day, that any of us have in this Congress is our word. There was an agreement. Top line spending number is $1.681 [trillion]. That’s the number. Nothing short of that will we ever agree to, which means that the extreme MAGA Republicans who understand that dynamic, because we’ve repeatedly made it clear, are trying to shut down the government and hurt the American people in advance of the November election.

Full press conference can be watched here.

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