STOP THE REPUBLICAN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

On 2026-02-03, Representative Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-3) delivered a floor speech titled "STOP THE REPUBLICAN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the economy, taxes.

STOP THE REPUBLICAN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 24 (Tuesday, February 3, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 3, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1970-H1973] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] STOP THE REPUBLICAN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. Rivas of California was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material into the Record on the subject of my Special Order hour. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Jack). Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California? There was no objection. Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, just over a year ago, I was part of a talented and diverse group of 33 freshmen Members of Congress. We were veterans, doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, small business owners, and State legislators who were sent by our constituents to make their lives better. They sent us to Congress to protect their healthcare, lower the costs of their groceries, and make life more affordable. Democrats are working on bills that would meaningfully help families deal with the affordability crisis. There are bills that have been introduced that stop price gouging at the grocery store, make housing more affordable, and make healthcare accessible for all, but Republicans have yet to take up any of these proposals. We are in midst of an affordability crisis, and Republicans are refusing to work with us to address it. We are 13 months into our first term in Congress, and my colleagues and I have yet to see a meaningful piece of legislation from Republicans that makes life less expensive for our constituents. Over the past year, Republicans chose to rename the Gulf of Mexico, redefine what a showerhead is, rename the Kennedy Center, look into annexing Greenland, regulate fridges and gas stoves, and perhaps the most egregious one is to make the largest cuts to healthcare in our country's history in order to give billionaires more tax breaks. The fact that Trump and Republicans are prioritizing these bills over lowering the cost of living is insulting to our constituents. I fail to see how renaming the Gulf of Mexico, redefining the definition of a showerhead, or annexing Greenland will help families in our districts afford groceries or pay their rent. Because of Donald Trump and Republicans' policies, families across the country paid an average of over $1,600 more due in everyday expenses. Californians are paying over $2,300. However, do you know who is benefiting from the Trump administration? Billionaires. With the big, ugly bill, Trump and Republicans have implemented the largest cuts to healthcare in the history of our country and worsen the affordability crisis just to line the pockets of their billionaire donors. The big, ugly bill is also the largest cut to food assistance in American history. The bill cuts SNAP benefits by 20 percent for all participants, or roughly $200 billion, jeopardizing SNAP benefits for more than 40 million people, including 16 million children and 8 million seniors who rely on this for nutritional assistance. Republicans turn their backs on making life affordable for our most vulnerable in order to help billionaires afford another yacht. My House Democratic Caucus freshmen colleagues and I are focused on making life better for the American people and driving down grocery prices, utility bills, rent and mortgage payments, and childcare and elder care costs so that hardworking people can breathe easier. To help working families, especially multigenerational households, deal with the rising costs of living, I am introducing the Multigenerational Family Tax Credit Act. My bill gives multigenerational families a tax credit for expenses that they incur when they upgrade their houses to make them more accessible for their aging parents who live with them. This includes upgrades like grab rails in the shower, an additional bathroom or bedroom, or even assistance to go up and down stairs. This tax credit will help multigenerational families afford to make the upgrades necessary for seniors to age gracefully in one place. {time} 1440 Tonight, we will hear from some of the freshmen of the Democratic Caucus and the work that they are doing to [[Page H1971]] make life more affordable for their constituents. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Whitesides), my colleague and friend. Mr. WHITESIDES. Mr. Speaker, every time I talk with constituents, I hear the same thing: Life is getting more and more expensive. People are worried about making rent, paying for groceries, and dealing with gas prices that keep on climbing. In just the past couple of weeks, we have received more proof of what our constituents are telling us. According to a recent report, California families saw their costs go up by more than $2,000 in 2025 due to inflation. That breaks down to $482 more going toward housing, like rent or a mortgage, and another $581 toward transportation costs, from buying a car to repairs and gas. For food, families are paying even more because of the grocery tariffs from this administration. One trip through your local Stater Bros. or Vons is enough to feel the pinch. In 2025, families paid $76 more for ground coffee, $71 more for ground beef, and $51 more for eggs than they did in 2024. Simply put, our economy is not serving hardworking families and the basic promises of the American Dream, like homeownership or putting a child through college, are harder and harder to reach. Government works best when it is grounded in the needs of the people that it serves. Our constituents have been clear about what they sent us here to do, what they sent us here to fight for. We must stay focused on policies that make life more affordable. We are here to improve people's lives, and that responsibility should guide everything we do. I will continue to fight every day to lower costs and keep the American Dream alive and within reach. Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Bell), my colleague and friend. Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because working people in St. Louis and across this country are getting squeezed from every direction. Groceries cost more. Rent costs more. Childcare costs more. Healthcare costs more. For too many families, every month feels like a math problem they can't solve. For generations, the American Dream meant that if you worked hard, you could build a stable life, you could afford a home, you could raise a family, and you could retire with dignity. Today, that dream feels farther away for millions of people, not because they stopped believing in it but because it is becoming impossibly unaffordable. Affordability is not just an economic issue. It is a trust issue. People don't just feel broke. They feel shut out. Under President Trump, influence isn't just whispered behind closed doors; it is put up for sale. Money flows in and policy flows out. That is not normal. That is not acceptable. In this administration, access is bought instead of earned. If you are a billionaire or a special interest, you get a seat at the table. If you are a nurse, a warehouse worker, or a parent juggling two jobs, you are out of luck. That is how we end up with policies like tariffs that raise costs for Missouri families by $600 a year. It is how we end up with an economy that works great for the people at the top and barely works for everyone else. When President Trump talks about a great economy, it is clear he is talking about an economy he has never had to live in, one where you don't worry about grocery bills, prescription costs, or childcare, because those concerns have never touched his life, and they don't guide his decisions. When decisions are driven by money instead of the public interest, the result is higher costs, weaker protections, and a growing sense that the American Dream is slipping out of reach. It doesn't have to be this way. We can build an economy where the American Dream is affordable again, where housing is within reach, healthcare is accessible, and childcare doesn't bankrupt you. We can stop giving billionaires yet another tax break and start giving working families some breathing room. Because when government works for working people, the American Dream stops slipping away and starts feeling possible again. That is what House Democrats are fighting for, not an economy built around pay-to-play politics or shady closed-door deals but one built around dignity, fairness, and that simple idea that the American Dream should be within reach for everyone, not just the well-connected. Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Mannion), my colleague and friend. Mr. MANNION. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Rivas for her leadership on affordability and giving me the opportunity to speak today. Across central New York and the Mohawk Valley, people are worried, and they have every reason to be. Grocery prices are going up. Healthcare costs are rising. Energy bills are spiking. Too many families feel like they are being asked to absorb the hit while Washington does nothing to make their lives better or more affordable. On healthcare, the threat is real and urgent. Just this week, I met with leadership and toured Oneida Health, a rural hospital in my district that has been there for over a hundred years. They are feeling the largest healthcare cuts in the history of the country that were passed in the big, ugly bill, and they know firsthand that the deeply inadequate rural healthcare fund comes nowhere near making up for the lost revenue that happened in that bill. You cannot cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and decimate the foundation of our healthcare system, cutting at the knees our