☎️Telephone Town Hall Postponed; How I Voted & Health-Care Shutdown
- My Medicare open enrollment telephone town hall has been postponed to Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. You can click here to sign up to be called. (If you’ve already signed up, you’ll stay on the list.) A reminder: Medicare open enrollment for 2026 has begun and will run through Dec. 7. You can also find impartial help through the commonwealth’s PA MEDI program.
While I’m happy that the federal government has reopened and that workers will be paid after a record six-week shutdown, I voted No on the Republican funding bill because it does not address what I consider to be the other shutdown Americans are facing – the massive cost spike in health-insurance premiums for 24 million Americans that would effectively shut many of them out of health coverage.
Open enrollment for next year’s Affordable Care Act coverage has already begun – I believe the best time for Congress to act was weeks or months ago, and that the next best time is NOW! I have signed a discharge petition aimed at forcing a House vote on a three-year extension of the tax credits that make ACA coverage more affordable for nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians. I do NOT want to see their monthly premiums double or worse!
I was also disgusted by something that Senate Republicans added to the bill – a provision that allows any senator to sue to collect $500,000 from taxpayers if their phone records were subpoenaed as part of the investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
In my view, that’s wrong – and exactly the opposite of what Congress should be focusing on. My House Democratic colleagues and I remain focused on affordability, including the cost of health care and food. I continue to oppose President Trump’s tariff-taxes that have raised the cost of commonly bought items like coffee and bananas.
And while SNAP benefits are due to resume now that the government shutdown is over, I also want to remind everyone that the City of Philadelphia has a resource page for people who are looking for help to avoid hunger.
In recent days, we heard from President Trump that “I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” “groceries are way down,” and that affordability is a “con job.”
You may remember that he promised to lower prices on “day one” (he took the oath of office over nine months ago). I will keep pressing for an end to the health-care shutdown and a focus on actions that would make a real difference on affordability – as far as I’m concerned, this fight is not over!
Here to help
From issues with passports, immigration, the Postal Service, IRS, and Social Security to the Department of Veterans Affairs - my offices are here to help.
You can contact my offices at 215-276-0340 (Northwest Philadelphia) or 215-254-3400 (Point Breeze) or fill out this form that legally authorizes us to look into your case. It’s important to note that backlogs from the shutdown may cause delays in federal agencies’ ability to respond to my office for some time.
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