“What we are bearing witness to is not only a lack of political courage—but it is a fundamental betrayal of the people. Incompetence and indifference to the suffering of our constituents and our neighbors.”

“You the people deserve better. We the People deserve better. And I won’t stop fighting until you get it.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Tonight, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) delivered a floor speech in which she assailed the Republican spending bill, which would cause healthcare costs to skyrocket and force families to choose between healthcare and food. Congresswoman Pressley vowed to keep fighting to save healthcare for communities in the Massachusetts 7^th and across the country.

The Congresswoman’s remarks came during debate on the bill and ahead of the House’s vote on final passage.

A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s speech is below and video is available here.

Transcript: On House Floor, Pressley Assails Funding Bill, Vows to Keep Up Fight for Healthcare
House of Representatives
November 12, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of every elder who can’t afford their prescription, every parent who went to work hungry so their child could eat. 

In the United States of America, there is no lack of resource—only a deficit of empathy, political will, and courage.

At its best, government is a backstop, a compassionate steward of the public good.

At its best, government catches people when they stumble in a moment of hardship. 

At its best, government does right by the people, all the people.

Struggle does not discriminate, Mr. Speaker.

Hardship is not a character flaw. It has zero to do with work ethic. 

Every single person is one diagnosis, one lay off away, from hardship. 

Life can change at an instant. 

What we are bearing witness to is not only a lack of political courage, but it is a fundamental betrayal of the people. Incompetence and indifference to the suffering of our constituents and our neighbors.

The shame and the sham of it all. 

Any member of Congress who would vote to deny a child a meal or medication, it is child abuse and neglect. I ought to file a 51a on you for that.

Every person in this chamber, every person in our country, has lost a loved one to cancer. And yet you would vote to deny people life-saving cancer treatment and research.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and with the majority, you have chosen to enact harm to make people hungry, poorer, sicker and less safe.

The shame and the shame of it all.

You the people deserve better. We the People deserve better.

And I won’t stop fighting until you get it. 

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Amid the Republican-manufactured government shutdown, Rep. Pressley has continued to fight to defend healthcare, reopen the government, and protect federal workers and the essential services they provide.

• Rep. Pressley slammed Republicans for harming families across America by shutting down the government, unlawfully cutting food assistance, and jacking up healthcare costs. Congresswoman Pressley also questioned witnesses about the harmful, misleading stereotypes pushed by Republicans about who relies on federal programs like the Affordable Care Act, SNAP, and Medicaid.
• Rep. Pressley held an emergency convening and press conference with SNAP-dependent food retailers to make plain how the Trump-Republican shutdown and ongoing uncertainty over November SNAP benefits is harming Massachusetts families and our local economy.
• Rep. Pressley and the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) convened to demand Donald Trump fund SNAP, with the authority and money he has readily available, to keep 42 million people in America fed—63% of whom are women and over 1 million of whom reside in Massachusetts.
• Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Jahana Hayes, Angie Craig, and 211 House Democrats on a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge the agency to use contingency reserve dollars to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown. 
• Rep. Pressley joined Senator Ed Markey and leaders from Massachusetts food banks to sound the alarm on the growing crisis of food insecurity under the Republican government shutdown and its impact on Massachusetts families.
• Rep. Pressley urged National Grid and Eversource to issue an immediate moratorium on utility shutoffs for households impacted by the government shutdown, including federal workers, federal contractors, and the people who depend on them.
  • Following the Congresswoman’s letter, National Grid of Massachusetts announced specific support and a payment plan opportunity for federal employees, contractors, and active military personnel in Massachusetts who are impacted by the government shutdown and concerned about paying their energy bill.
• Rep. Pressley participated in a House Steering and Policy Committee hearing in which she slammed Republicans for raising healthcare costs for families across the country and shutting down the government instead of addressing the healthcare crisis they created.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues on the Democratic Women’s Caucus to call attention to the impacts of the Republican-manufactured health care crisis and government shutdown on women, families, and workers in the Massachusetts 7^th and across the country.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning Republicans after they chose to shut down the government rather than work with Democrats to protect families and save healthcare for millions.
• Just days into the government shutdown, Rep. Pressley held an emergency convening in Boston to highlight the harm of the shutdown to MA-07 constituents – federal workers, patients, advocates, and more.
• Amid government shutdown, Rep. Pressley and Senator Tina Smith reintroduced bill to provide back pay for federal contract workers, including low-wage food service and janitorial staff.
• Just hours before the Republicans shut down the government, Rep. Pressley rallied with advocates, colleagues, and impacted folks to demand Republicans protect healthcare and keep the government open
• Congresswoman Pressley stood in solidarity with workers and families who would be impacted by the government shutdown.
• Rep. Pressley also joined an all-day event with House Democrats to hold the line against Trump and Republicans’ efforts to rip away healthcare from millions of Americans.

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