| Over the weekend, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes joined NewsNation to discuss her push for health care tax credits that allow Ohioans to afford care and provide stability for her community’s hospital systems, and her priority of lowering costs for Northeast Ohioans.
Congresswoman Sykes also discussed Republicans’ efforts to cheat by rigging Ohio’s congressional maps because they can’t beat her fair and square.
Key highlights from Rep. Sykes’ interview:
On her work to protect access to health care through Affordable Care Act tax credits while Republicans play political games:
Sykes: “Well, for districts like mine, we will be held hostage if the Obamacare subsidies are not extended. We’ve already heard health care insurers cancel 6,000 people’s health insurance. Not just individuals, but these are the plans that small businesses use so that they can employ people, pay them a good wage and continue to be the backbone of our economy.”
“The largest employer in my district is our health care providers, health care systems. And so we need them to have some predictability about how they’re going to be reimbursed, so that they can continue to employ people; keep our economy strong.”
“But one thing I do know is my constituents and people all across this country are still trying to figure out how they’re going to feed their families, between gas and groceries, housing and health care. There’s a lot of expenses that people are struggling with in this budget that we have seen so far. The conversations that we’ve heard from our colleagues from the other side of the aisle do not address those really basic needs.”
On her priority of lowering costs for Northeast Ohioans:
Sykes: “Well I’m thinking about ‘green.’ I’m thinking about the ability for people to afford a comfortable way of life in Northeast Ohio.”“… People are concerned about how much money they can bring home, how much they can invest, how much they can save or pay for very basic necessities: gas, groceries, housing and health care. So that’s what matters to me.”
On Republicans trying to rig the maps through redistricting because they can’t win without cheating:
Sykes: “Well [Republicans] drew the map already for there to be only two or three Democrats, and what they failed to realize is they were not fielding candidates who were good enough to beat Democrats, in spite of the fact there’s so much red and so now they’re just resorting to cheating.”
“I’ve been in two very difficult election cycles in places, in a district where folks thought I had no chance. And I’ve won twice…decisively.”
Host Chris Stirewalt: “This is basically a neutral, this is an even district.”
Sykes: “This is as 50-50 as you get. And so these are the kinds of districts that people have been asking for, and we are in one. And so instead of putting up better candidates, they’re resorting to cheating. And I think that’s pathetic.”
“We’re the birthplace of champions. We have LeBron James and Steph Curry and the Football Hall of Fame. We’re athletes, we’re competitors, and if we win, you [Republicans] don’t change the game in the middle when you’re losing, you fight harder, you do better, you train more. And that’s what WE have done, and that’s why I’ve been able to be successful twice.”
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