WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined MS NOW's The Weeknight to discuss Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to adjourn the House without a vote to extend the ACA tax credits. Below are excerpts from the conversation:

On Republicans' Sham Health Care Plan: 

"This bill sets health care for the American people even back further.

"It's a return to all the failed plans they had in the past. Where people pay a lot of money for very little coverage, and many things are just not included.

"When we saw similar plans in 2017, there was no maternity care coverage. There was no addiction services for people. Very limited mental health – the things that people need for their families.

"And what it really was saying is: 'We are going to ignore the entire health crisis that we've created. We are going to ignore the fact that premiums are skyrocketing for people $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000 more a month. And we will just proceed with our plan, which is to take people's health care funding – whether it's Medicaid, the ACA subsidies, veterans' health benefits, Medicare, medical research – and use that money for the permanent tax cuts for the very wealthiest.'

"That's their plan. And it is just a disgrace and a huge disservice to families who need to be able to afford and access care."

On Democrats’ Discharge Petition to Extend ACA Tax Credits:

"We knew the right thing was a clean extension of these tax subsidies for three years.

"That gives people time to be able to afford and access care.

"It's this cliff effect that they set up that within a few days from now, the end of the month, these tax credits disappear overnight. They talk a lot about reforms, but they haven't implemented any. And they haven't come and tried to negotiate a solution.

"And so we stuck with what we knew was the right plan.

...

"We can't forget the three year was actually a bipartisan vote in the Senate. So we already knew that we had Republican senators, that we could build on that number if we can get it through the House in now what looks will be a vote in January because Speaker Johnson has sent us home without putting this before the House."

On the GOP’s Own Constituents Being Hurt by their Health Care Crisis:

"Some of the states that are most impacted by these tax credits expiring are red states. They're the states that never expanded Medicaid.

"They are our small business owners. Half of our family farmers are on the ACA and looking at an incredibly challenging economic environment.

"I have some very small farms in my district, but I am hearing from farmers across the country saying, 'Not only is it the tariffs that have totally disrupted my markets, but I'm also on the ACA. And I also have a rural hospital that is closing, or scheduled to close, because of the cuts to Medicaid that they've enacted.'

"How can you go home and talk to the people that I've been talking to across my district and across the country who tell you stories of their deep anxiety?

On Republicans’ Billionaire First Agenda:

“Health care is more than just a regular benefit. More than a bill that is quickly moving out of reach.

"It is about that fear that you're not going to be able to get a treatment your child needs. That a spouse who's recovered from cancer will no longer be able to have those routine preventative checkups they need to survive. That you may not be able to manage your chronic disease like diabetes.

"That is an issue that is just emotionally important to people. And the indifference which the American people are being treated when you say, 'You are not entitled to health care, and in fact, we are going to take it to fund tax cuts for extremely wealthy people.'

"Just watch this split screen of them going along as Donald Trump builds a ballroom and they refuse to help build the middle class. They refuse to say to working families, 'We see you. We understand what is happening with the cost of living, of housing, of groceries, of utility bills, and especially health care. And we're going to help.'

...

"We're saying, 'Just prevent this cliff coming at the end of December where, ironically, the tax cuts for the wealthiest become permanent on the same day.' And we haven't even begun to say, 'You have to put back money to Medicaid.'

"We need to overhaul our health care system. There are reforms and efficiencies and ways that we can help people access care when and where they need it. But none of that is being discussed. And it is this outright dismissal of the American people who are really struggling to make ends meet."

To view the complete conversation, click HERE. 

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