Chuck Schumer: “now, on cost of living, if Donald Trump refuses to focus on the one thing Americans want most, which is to lower the…”

“now, on cost of living, if Donald Trump refuses to focus on the one thing Americans want most, which is to lower the cost of living, Democrats are happy to do it for them. As we begin 2026, Democrats enter the new year on our front foot. The cost of living will remain the No. 1 focus for this week, this month, this year, and beyond. The tip of the spear for so many people when it comes to costs, of course, is healthcare. It is now January 5, 2026. For tens of millions of people, the reality of sky-high premiums has now been locked in, thanks to Republicans who let the ACA premium tax credits expire last year. Millions more no longer have healthcare at all. Many others have switched to lower quality plans and can no longer see the doctors they have gone to for years and years and years or afford the medicines that their children have been taking to cure deadly diseases. Parents without insurance now don't know what to do if their kids get sick. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to extend the premium tax credits at the end of last year. And a number of Republicans--a small number, unfortunately, of Republicans--in both Chambers say they want to do it. But instead of listening to the vast majority of Americans who want these tax credits rendered, Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson have sided with rightwing extremists who are happy to see these credits die.”