During Tuesday's House Democratic leadership press briefing, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) discussed President Trump's economic policy agenda.
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00:00And now it's my great honor to introduce DPCC Chair Debbie Dingo.
00:05We came in the freshman class together.
00:07She's done a fantastic job as chair of the DPCC and look forward to her remarks.
00:13Thank you, Ted.
00:14And Pete was in our class, too.
00:16It was a great class.
00:17I want to thank Pete and Ted for bringing us together this morning.
00:22And as Pete said at the beginning, in addition to my role as DPCC Chair,
00:27I'm also a member of the Energy Commerce Committee,
00:31which is ground zero for the Medicaid cuts that you were seeing the Republicans talk about.
00:37I want to be really clear with you.
00:40I've spent a lot of time at home and in a lot of town hall meetings and a lot of rallies
00:43and in grocery stores and in union halls.
00:48Donald Trump's economic policies are making life harder for everyday Americans.
00:52Costs are increasing and every family is feeling the squeeze.
00:59And House Republicans are making things worse.
01:01Their budget cuts for Medicaid by nearly $900 billion is the largest Medicaid cut in history.
01:09The impact would be devastating in every corner of this country.
01:14And I know, believe me, the Democrats and Republicans are hearing about these cuts from constituents
01:20who are terrified about what it means for them.
01:24People like Katie in my district, whose son Nathan is six years old.
01:30Nathan was born premature and has required more than 15 procedures on his airway to help him breathe.
01:37As she told me, some of those procedures have cost $20,000 or more.
01:45And without Medicaid, there's no way that Katie and her family would be able to meet Nathan's complex medical needs.
01:53When I was at Michigan, just on the way to visit a doctor,
01:58a woman started crying in the elevator with her child in a wheelchair
02:02and said, what will I do if I can't bring my child here, if they cut me?
02:08Seventy-five percent of the children at Children's Hospital in Detroit are on Medicaid.
02:13And seniors said to me, are they going to kick my husband out on the street from a nursing home?
02:20That's the stories that people are telling us.
02:23Medicaid's a lifeline.
02:24It keeps children healthy.
02:26It helps parents work.
02:28And it cares for seniors in nursing homes.
02:31The American people cannot afford Medicaid cuts,
02:34especially as the economy is being crashed around them by President Trump.
02:40House Democrats are fighting to stop this Republican budget and save Medicaid.
02:44We have been active across the country with hundreds of local events,
02:49raising the human stories, having people understand these aren't numbers.
02:55It's human lives.
02:56And more importantly, we're raising more stories in every community
03:01so people know who it's going to be impacting.
03:04And that's what we're going to continue to do until this Republican budget is defeated.