Press Releases

Today, Friday, October 10, Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), released the below statement in response to a letter sent from the House Republican Women’s Caucus (RWC) to Democratic women Senators. In their letter RWC members asked that the Democratic Women Senators support the very same programs that the House Republican women had voted against. 

“Since day one, the Trump administration has made life harder and more expensive for women and families. RWC members have supported and voted for these actions.

We absolutely agree that, as RWC members wrote ‘it is time to end the government shutdown,’ but the way to do that is to go beyond merely ‘discus[sing] the tax credits that expire 84 days from now,’ it is to vote to extend them now while women are getting their notices and deciding if they can afford to pay double or triple for the same coverage. This will place an especially significant burden on women who are the medical decision makers for their families 80% of the time. In total, the Medicaid cuts from the Big Ugly Bill, and the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits could lead to the death of 42,500 Americans. Let that sink in: 42,500 Americans will die because of policy choices and votes that Republican women in Congress made. The RWC members voted for a Continuing Resolution that allows the ACA tax credits to expire. Since the proportion of people in red states benefiting from the tax credits is nearly three times the rate of blue states, we would expect more Republicans in Congress to stand up for the women in their districts. 

Republican senators and representatives could support the Democratic proposal or come to the table to negotiate. Members of the RWC, we call on you to end your 20-day vacation and join us in Washington, D.C. so we can find a bipartisan solution to protect health care for women and families and end this shutdown. If you are genuinely concerned with the health and wellbeing of women and children, we will see you next week.”