WASHINGTON – Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) joined Laura Coates Live on CNN to discuss Chuck Schumer's government shutdown and the debate over healthcare reform in the United States.
"If the Democrats were so concerned about insurance premiums, they could have made them permanent back in 2021. They chose not to":
"We have to acknowledge the reality that ObamaCare has led us to this position that we‘re in right now. Even when you go back to when it was originally passed, we were promised that premiums were going to go down. That never happened. Premiums have risen substantially since it was passed, and that‘s even before you get to the deductibles. The deductibles now under ObamaCare are so high, people really don‘t even think that they‘re able to hit those deductibles. So it‘s really become a mirage when you bring the tax credits in, what the Democrats did when they had full control back in 2021, is they put these tax credits in because of COVID-19 because people weren‘t working. But then what also occurred is the cost structure around ObamaCare became that much more expensive. If the Democrats were so concerned about insurance premiums, they could have made them permanent back in 2021. They chose not to. They chose for them to expire at this point in time. Well let me be clear, they chose for them to expire today to wield them as a political weapon. Now let‘s talk to the shutdown. To the shutdown, we‘re not going to negotiate anything around insurance premiums during a shutdown. We're not going to do that."
"Republicans are united on this front":
"Well, let me be clear on this one. Republicans are united on this front. We‘re not going to be negotiating with the Democrats around a government shutdown. Number one, we don‘t think that‘s appropriate. Number two, if you‘re going to talk about the ACA subsidies, that‘s something that‘s done through budget reconciliation which is mandatory spending. The Democrats now arguing for making them permanent. They never made that argument at any point until they shut down the government. So let‘s be clear on this one. The Democrats first shut the government down then they came out saying they wanted them to be permanent over the long-term. They never, they never advocated for that before. So now they‘re moving the goalpost. But our position is we are not going to negotiate with them because right now what‘s happening is the military, if it wasn‘t for President Trump moving money around to pay our troops, our military officers men and women wouldn‘t be getting their paychecks because of five Democrat senators who want to hold the government hostage. Frankly, to prove that they‘re tough enough to stand up to President Trump. Not on any substantive spending matter in front of the federal government. So our position is vote to reopen the government, and then we can have those negotiations. It‘s actually a different process than what the continuing resolution is about."
