TRANSCRIPT: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Delivers Remarks At Press Conference Introducing Legislation To Keep Costs Lower By Extending Vital ACA Subsidies

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke at a press conference with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NY), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) to introduce legislation to extend vital ACA subsidies passed in the Inflation Reduction Act that have lowered health care costs for American families. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

“We're here to talk about one of the biggest differences between Republicans and Democrats, and that is health care costs. It's one of the top issues, as we all know, facing American families. And for some reason, Republicans have been bound and determined for years to undercut the progress we've made in bringing costs down.

“Democrats know that the cost of healthcare is too high, and that's why bringing it down has been one of the cornerstones of our work over the past four years. The Inflation Reduction Act, which I wrote with a few other people helping, including Joe Manchin, the Inflation Reduction Act included tax credits that led to millions of new people getting affordable individual health insurance and millions more seeing their premiums drop by an average of $800 a year. Many people now qualify for $0 premium plans. It's a great thing.

“It's a life-changing experience for families who can get their health care costs provided for. And there's no reason why we shouldn't make these tax credits permanent before they expire next year. So that's why Senator Shaheen and Congresswoman Underwood are introducing legislation to do just that.

“If we don't extend these tax credits, millions of families are going to see a massive tax hike that will make their premiums far less affordable. These are everyday folks from every walk of life. A new study found that one in seven Americans — that's a lot — have taken advantage of these tax credits at some point in the past decade. This is not a niche market. This is not just some small group. Not against any small groups. But it's a major part of our health care system that ensures everyone has access to health care.

“We've made great progress in health care, ever since President Obama, and ever since Democrats have had some real say, we don't want to move backward. There are five million Americans who could lose coverage completely. Millions more could see their premiums increased by more than 50%. Many are self-employed people, farmers, small business folks, who depend on these credits to purchase their health insurance. These enhanced credits reduced the uninsured rate among farmers, for instance, by 25%. That's a lot. That's a great deal. These are people who need a bridge until they're eligible for Medicare.

“With these enhanced tax credits, a 60-year-old couple in Ohio jointly earning $80,000 a year pays $566 a month to cover two people on the average plan. If the tax credits expire, instead of paying $566 a month, they'll have to pay $1,850 a month on the same plan. What are people like that supposed to do? They don't have millions of dollars, you know, billions of dollars like these, you know, people who tend to fund the Republican, super PACs. These are black and Hispanic Americans who for too long have faced the worst health care in our country since the ACA.

“Listen to this. This is great news. The uninsured rate among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans has been cut of just about in half. This year, five million Hispanic Americans, two million black Americans, two point five million Asian Americans, 200,000 Native Americans took advantage of these tax credits to buy coverage.

“So this should be a no-brainer. Whether it's us personally, a family member, or a close friend, I doubt there are many Americans who don't know someone who's benefited from these credits if they haven't benefited themselves.

“But as we all know, Republicans have a long track record of attacking the ACA, doing everything in their power to roll back the progress we've made to bring down costs. And everyone here is well aware of Project 2025, the Trump-Vance playbook for jacking up healthcare costs, even for people with chronic conditions.

“Ensuring healthcare coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions is one of the most popular parts of the ACA, impacting about 129 million Americans. So it's just cruel, but all too typical that Republicans like Senator Vance would continue to target it.

“So make no mistake: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance may try to run away from Project 2025, but Americans know they own every single one of the proposals. It's their friends, their cohorts, people who hope to be into the government if, God forbid, Trump wins, who wrote it. And they say, that's what we're going to do.

“Democrats now believe the time is to make healthcare more affordable for middle class folks, especially people with preexisting conditions, not to impose a tax increase on them. So we'll fight to make these tax credits permanent. And just like our fight to preserve ACA, to negotiate lower drug prices and cap the cost of prescription drugs at $2,000 a year for seniors, we are going to keep fighting until we win.”

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