[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S5]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             COST OF LIVING

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, 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. The 
result: higher premiums, more uninsured Americans, greater uncertainty 
for the people back home--especially people, actually, in the red 
States.
  Democrats will not relent on the issue of the cost of living, of how 
difficult it is for Americans to pay the bills for things they 
need. The topic is not going to go away anytime soon. In fact, it will 
only grow in intensity over the year.

  But, as everyone knows, healthcare is not the only part of the story 
when it comes to lowering the cost of living. In the coming weeks and 
months, Democrats will lay out cleanly and comprehensively how we can 
lower costs for the American people on a number of different topics--
from health to housing, to groceries, to childcare, to energy costs, 
and beyond.
  In the coming weeks, for example, I will work with a number of my 
colleagues, including Senator Warren, on the many options we have to 
help Americans pay for housing. We also need to look at lowering 
grocery costs. We need to end Donald Trump's destructive tariffs. We 
need to help families afford daycare. These are the things that 
Americans care about, not invading Venezuela, not attacking Colombia, 
or dreaming of invading Greenland.
  The Democrats are focused on the things that matter to the American 
people, and we will focus on these like a laser--the high cost of 
living; affordability. Just like Democrats are dialed in on healthcare 
and brought the Nation's attention to this important issue, we are also 
focusing on costs as they relate to housing and groceries and energy 
and childcare and so much more.
  We show the contrast that, while Donald Trump and Republicans are 
spending all of their time on foreign wars, on ballrooms, on private 
jets, Democrats are the ones focused on helping people pay the bills 
for the things they need every day to live their lives decently.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Kansas.

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