{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://jeffries.house.gov/2026/09/21/leader-jeffries-in-providence-affordable-healthcare-has-to-be-a-right-available-to-every-single-american/", "LEADER JEFFRIES IN PROVIDENCE: \u201cAFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE HAS TO BE A RIGHT AVAILABLE TO EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN\u201d", "2026-09-21", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Hakeem S. Jeffries", "J000294", "jeffries.house.gov", "jeffries", "https://jeffries.house.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "Yesterday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke to reporters following a roundtable in Providence with Representatives Seth Magaziner (RI-02) and Gabe Amo (RI-01) and local healthcare union leaders about how House Democrats are committed to ending the Republican healthcare crisis and building a healthcare system that works for everyday Americans.\n\nLEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good afternoon, everyone. It\u2019s an honor and a privilege to be here in the great state of Rhode Island. Thank you, Congressman Magaziner for convening us and for your incredible leadership in the healthcare area and in many other areas on behalf of the people of the Ocean State. And I want to thank, of course, Congressman Magaziner and Congressman Amo, just for their partnership, their tremendous commitment to improving the lives of the people of Rhode Island and the American people and for the work that they have done and will continue to do to address the healthcare crisis that exists in the United States of America right now. Certainly want to thank Jesse and Lynn and Pat, of course, SEIU 1199, United Nurses, the AFL-CIO\u2014all of the wonderful practitioners and healthcare providers who joined us at a very robust, comprehensive, thoughtful roundtable discussion where I learned a lot about the challenges that the people of Rhode Island are confronting in the midst of a Republican healthcare crisis that is worsening their ability to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to the people that they so ably serve.\n\nAnd unfortunately, it\u2019s a familiar conversation that I\u2019ve had\u2014as I\u2019ve traveled the country\u2014with people all throughout America. The Republican healthcare crisis is devastating the ability of healthcare providers to serve our families, our loved ones, our friends and our neighbors in the way that they are committed to doing, particularly in an environment now where you have so many healthcare providers who are overworked and underpaid, as well as, of course, far too often underappreciated. House Democrats appreciate the work of our healthcare heroes and are committed to making sure that we provide them with the support necessary to enable them to provide the best possible care to people here in Rhode Island and all throughout America.\n\nAs House Democrats, our core principle is that when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live an affordable life, a comfortable life and a good life. And that includes access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. It cannot be the situation where, in this country\u2014the wealthiest country in the history of the world\u2014accessing high-quality, affordable healthcare is simply a privilege available only to the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. No, it has to be a right available to every single person here in Rhode Island, every single American. That is our commitment. A lot of work that needs to be done because of the Republican healthcare crisis. So we\u2019re committed, as a top priority as House Democrats, to reversing these Medicaid cuts and extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And then getting to work together with providers, like those we had an opportunity to talk with today, to construct the best possible healthcare ecosystem, a system that the American people deserve so they can go see a nurse and go see a doctor and get high-quality healthcare whenever and wherever they need it.\n\nRepublicans have made a lot of promises to the American people, and they\u2019ve broken them all. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one, but costs haven\u2019t gone down in the United States of America. Costs have gone up as a direct result of policies, including the Trump Tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans and the people of Rhode Island by thousands of dollars per year. Donald Trump promised not to start endless wars in the Middle East, but to stop them, and then turned around and has gotten us involved in a reckless and costly war of choice in Iran that has skyrocketed gas prices on the people here in Rhode Island and beyond.\n\nIt was Donald Trump who promised to love and cherish Medicaid and then turned around, along with House Republicans and Senate Republicans, and enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, putting a target on hospitals here in Rhode Island, putting a target on nursing homes here in Rhode Island, putting a target on home care workers here in Rhode Island and putting a target on community-based health centers. Enough with this Republican assault on healthcare. We\u2019re committed, as House Democrats, to turning it around.\n\nFull press availability can be watched here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-30T10:57:52Z", "2026-09-30T10:59:04Z"]], "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://jeffries.house.gov/2026/09/21/leader-jeffries-in-providence-affordable-healthcare-has-to-be-a-right-available-to-every-single-american/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8771009743213654, "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"}