NEW YORK, NY – Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined CNN News Central to discuss Republicans’ continued refusal to prevent massive premiums hikes. Below are excerpts from the conversation:
On the Administration’s Venezuela Boat Strikes:
“We need to get the truth to the American people because we have two critical concerns. One is for the security of our troops. And one is for the security of the American people. I have talked to members of the Intelligence Committee, including our Ranking Member, Jim Himes. He has seen lots of these sort of videos over his career and service. He was very upset by what he saw.
“We should take the president up on what he said, that he’s not against releasing this video. We need to know where we stand legally as a country. That is critical to keeping the American people safe.
“What we have seen from Secretary Hegseth – from this administration – is an unprecedented withdrawal of information. They are not sharing orders that they have always shared with Congress. They are not sharing their targeting and intelligence. And this is not a partisan matter. This is a matter of national security. It is a matter of our standing. It is a matter of protecting our troops. We need to have a full investigation and be as public and transparent as possible.”
On the Republican Health Care Crisis:
“We saw the president, around Thanksgiving, put forward a plan that was completely upended by Speaker Mike Johnson. And he said very recently that the House has “no interest” in pursuing that.
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“If the Senate puts a vote up, we are going to do everything we can. We have been extending our hand of bipartisanship to the House [GOP] members since Donald Trump took office.
“We know that health care is pivotal for the American people. They are seeing not only the draconian cuts that they made to Medicaid, to Medicare, to medical research in this country, but also these ACA tax credits that so many people depend on.
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“This is up to the Republicans, and I don't know how they are not going home and hearing the same stories we are hearing. Moms filled with anxiety that they will not be able to treat their child’s disease. Cancer survivors unable to continue those lifesaving check-ins that they need to make sure they remain cancer free. People afraid they’re not going to be able to manage their diabetes.
“We have a health care crisis that the Republicans have created, and we are running against the clock.”
On Gerrymandered Map in Texas:
“Listen, this mid-decade gerrymandering is so bad for the American people.
“You can see from the election results on November 4th in special elections that the American people understand that they have been betrayed, that Republicans ran and said: ‘We’re going to lower your cost of living. We’re going to help you find your footing in this economy.’ And they have done everything to make things harder and more expensive.
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“We are we are going to be meeting them in every single district. And what we are seeing, the results, it’s the reason the Republicans are trying to choose their voters instead of having voters choose them. They’re looking at the same polls we are. And when they are taking away people’s health care in order to fund tax cuts for the very wealthy, when they are doing a tariff policy that is driving up the cost of living, instead of finding ways to make more affordable housing, to lower the cost of groceries and utility bills, they are going to pay an electoral price for that.
“We’re going to remain right where we are as House Democrats, putting people first, saying to the American people: ‘You deserve better. You deserve lower costs. You deserve a health care system that works for you. And, you deserve to get corruption out of government.’”
To view the complete conversation, click HERE.
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