Democratic congressional representatives from California held a media briefing Wednesday to discuss the impacts of the federal government shutdown on the state’s residents.
U.S. Reps. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, Dave Min, D-Irvine, Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, Derek Tran, D-Orange County, and George Whitesides, D-Santa Clarita, participated in the briefing and spoke about how the federal administration’s proposed funding cuts will impact health care access and affordability for Californians.
The federal government has been shut down for three weeks now, after Congress failed to pass a bill that would continue to fund the government past Oct. 1. Democratic lawmakers are refusing to back the funding bill unless the administration rolls back its cuts to Medicaid — which provides health care to 70.5 million — and extends Affordable Care Act tax credits that subsidize health insurance for 24 million Americans. The ACA tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, which will result in higher premiums starting in 2026.
“2.3 million Californians will lose their health care, and it will only get worse if Republicans don’t extend the ACA tax credits,” Aguilar said. “Instead of joining us to clean up the mess they have created, Republicans have shut down the government and been on vacation.”
He urged his Republican colleagues in Congress to negotiate a deal to end the shutdown and prevent an impending “health care crisis.”
Simon said her East Bay constituents are reaching out to her, anxious about their health care bills. Over 30,000 residents in her district face increases in their health care premiums starting in 2026 if the administration does not extend the tax credits, she said.
“No one should have to choose between putting groceries on the table and going to the doctor,” Simon said.
When you’re threatening the food benefits from the most low-income residents among us, the disabled, that’s when you know this is not about politics, this is about cruelty.
U.S. REP. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland
The cuts could also shutter essential health care facilities like prenatal care centers, trauma centers, and cancer treatment centers in her district, she said, leading to anxiety among patients and health care workers. Similarly, she said that other federal workers are also unsure about whether they will receive their next paycheck.
Finally, Simon expressed support for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to deploy the California National Guard to support food banks. Earlier Wednesday, Newsom announced his decision to engage the California National Guard and California Volunteers in a “humanitarian mission” and fast-track more than $80 million in state support after the shutdown has hampered delivery of food benefits to Californians.
“What makes us nervous is the cruelty that is coming from the administration,” said Simon. “When you’re threatening the food benefits from the most low-income residents among us, the disabled, that’s when you know this is not about politics, this is about cruelty.”
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