{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/reed-amo-met-with-rhode-island-small-business-owners-worried-about-trump-and-republicans-looming-health-cost-hikes", "Reed, Amo Met with Rhode Island Small Business Owners Worried About Trump and Republicans\u2019 Looming Health Cost Hikes", "2025-10-14", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren, RI \u2013 TODAY, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) joined small business owners in Warren to discuss their fears about Republicans' refusal to lower health costs and reopen the federal government. Approximately 7,000 small business owners in Rhode Island rely on the ACA for health insurance. Republicans are letting Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, which make ACA health insurance plans through HealthSourceRI affordable for countless small business owners, expire.\n\nThe group of business owners shared that without these tax credits, they will have to make impossible choices, and some may forgo purchasing health insurance altogether.\n\n\u201cCosts are what matters to Rhode Islanders, and it\u2019s time President Trump finally joins Democrats in preventing a huge jump in health care costs,\u201d said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI). \u201cThe Trump policy of raising tariffs, slashing investments in our future, and ignoring the everyday problems of families must end. Democrats have a plan to reopen the government and prevent small businesses and families from losing health care. This situation only ends when the Trump Administration makes it a priority.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccess to affordable health care means Rhode Islanders can operate the small businesses that are the heartbeat of our main streets,\u201d said Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI). \u201cRepublicans\u2019 refusal to lower costs will leave many small business owners unable to afford health insurance. No Rhode Islander should have to make the impossible choice between health coverage and other essential expenses like food and housing. Republicans must step up and negotiate to stop the cuts, lower costs, and save health care.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a small business owner living with cancer, I know firsthand how critical having health insurance is,\u201d said Uriah Donnelly, co-owner of arc{hive}, a used bookstore and cafe in Warren. \u201cIt was great to host Senator Reed, Congressman Amo, and other small business owners for a conversation about how important extending health care tax credits are for us and our employees.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmall business owners are working to make our communities better, but we\u2019re struggling,\u201d said Aliya Johnson, owner of Del\u2019s Lemonade of Warren. \u201cAnd many of us cannot afford a large increase in our health care costs. It was good to share our concerns with other business owners, Congressman Amo, and Senator Reed and I hope they take our stories back to Washington to continue fighting for our health care.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nSenator Reed has voted seven times to fund the federal government and protect Americans\u2019 health care, but Senate Republicans have blocked those efforts, even as some Senate Republicans begin to acknowledge they must act \u201csooner rather than later\u201d before open enrollment begins November 1.\n\nCongressman Amo has voted to protect Rhode Islanders health care since being sworn in to Congress in 2023. He voted against Republicans\u2019 Big, Ugly Law, which stripped $1 trillion from America's health care system in July after speaking against the bill at 3 am not once but twice. But Republicans remain intent on stealing from Rhode Islanders\u2019 pockets. Without action, health care premium costs will increase by as much as 200% or more for many Rhode Islanders. Since the Republicans shut down the government rather than help Americans afford their health insurance, Amo has met with impacted Rhode Islanders across the First Congressional District.\n\nAfter the event, Senator Reed flew back to Washington, DC where Senate Republicans have declared they will no longer allow Democrats to keep calling up their own stopgap spending bill funding the government, instead forcing votes only on the Republican-led alternative which lacks strong bipartisan support.\n\nCongressman Amo also returned to Washington to continue fighting for a deal that opens the government, stops the cuts, lowers costs, and saves health care.\n\nMeanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues to keep the House out of session this week. He is preventing the newest member of Congress, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), from being sworn in and preventing her from becoming the 218th signature on the petition to allow a vote on the release of the Epstein files.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/reed-amo-met-with-rhode-island-small-business-owners-worried-about-trump-and-republicans-looming-health-cost-hikes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3527820594608784, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}