Teresa Leger Fernandez: “Mr. Speaker, do you remember what it was like when you were a kid, waking up on Christmas and hoping for a certain gift?…”

“Mr. Speaker, do you remember what it was like when you were a kid, waking up on Christmas and hoping for a certain gift? Maybe it was a Doctor Barbie or a new bike, but then you ran to the tree and got socks that were itchy, a knockoff Barbie whose arms fell off and shoes that didn't quite fit. Americans know what they need for Christmas as they worry about how they are going to make Christmas affordable and how they are going to make it work. Their costs are skyrocketing from the tariffs increasing costs for toys to grocery bills that are going up and up, and to those utility bills. It is hard to keep those Christmas lights on given the rising costs of utilities. However, nothing in the bill that we are considering today makes Americans' lives more affordable or merry. Americans want us to extend the tax credits so their healthcare premiums don't go from $250 to $2,600 a month. They will for my constituent's family of five. How is a parent supposed to buy Christmas gifts for the kids when they now need to spend an extra $2,000 a month for health insurance? Instead of lowering costs, what kind of lumps of coal is Congress working on this week? We have a bill that rigs the energy system to make it more difficult to use clean energy. Wind and solar energy are the cheapest forms of new electricity. The studies prove it over and over, and they are good for the planet.”