WASHINGTON, DC (September 30, 2025) – Fair Share America and grassroots partners from around the nation rallied at the Capitol Tuesday evening, calling for lawmakers to put Healthcare Over Billionaires as the Senate completed its final vote and Republicans pushed the federal government into shutdown.

“Working people in this country pay our taxes, and what we’ve watched over the last months is this Republican Trifecta take trillions of our tax dollars and hand them away to the billionaires while creating a crisis that will increase health care costs exponentially,” said Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America. “We are going to fight like hell every day until we take back the funding that they stole from us, refund the programs our communities need and create a government that works for everyone – not just the billionaires.”

Elected leaders and impacted individuals from across the country shared their stories about how the Republicans’ billionaires-first agenda is driving up costs and jeopardizing health care for American families and small business owners.

Below are excerpts from the rally speakers. Watch the full video HERE.

Lawmakers:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries:

“House Democrats are here in the Capitol reporting for duty. Republicans are on vacation. We’re here because we understand this is an important fight to win. We’re prepared at all times to try to find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government, but it has to be funded in a manner consistent with our values and in a manner that lifts up the quality of life of the American people, that doesn’t hurt everyday Americans. Our position has been clear: We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people, not now, not ever.

“We’re fighting together for your Medicaid. We’re fighting together for your Medicare. We’re fighting together for the Affordable Care Act. We’re fighting to protect your hospitals. We’re fighting to protect our nursing homes. We’re fighting to protect our community based health clinics, and we’re fighting for the principle that in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, health care can’t simply be a privilege for the wealthy, the well off and the well connected. We’re fighting for the principle that in this country, health care must be a right available to every single American at all times.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee:

“We’ve had nine months of Trump and it’s made us sicker and poorer. Nine months of being sicker and poorer, with tariffs that are raising the cost of everything like a sales tax across America, and other provisions that are, well, the destruction of health care. The philosophy the Republicans are putting forward is families lose and billionaires win. Do we agree with that philosophy? Hell no.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering & Policy Committee:

“Republicans have created a health care crisis in this country. People are standing on a health insurance cliff … We are united on this, we are moving forward. [Republicans] need to come to the table. They run the White House, they run the House, they run the Senate, and they need to keep this government open and work with us.”

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA-05), Democratic Whip:

“Imagine sitting on a fortune built by working people and telling them you don’t deserve peace of mind. Imagine having multiple yachts and homes and telling pregnant women you don’t deserve maternity care. That is a shame, and it’s a kind of moral bankruptcy that we’re up against. … We’re here to say, let’s invest more in our future. Let’s invest more in children and people who need health care. And how about we have billionaires actually pay their taxes in full?”

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11):

“When we passed the Affordable Care Act, we did so without one Republican vote. They don’t believe in taking care of the American people. … Now, they’re taking food out of the mouths of babies and putting it to billionaires checks for stuff they don’t even need. That’s sinful, that’s shameful, that’s preying on people during the week, as they hypocritically say they’re religious people.”

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair:

“Democrats want to keep your government open and keep your life affordable. Republicans want to shut it down to cut your health care. … We’re ready to make sure that our constituents don’t have to figure out how to pay an extra $10,000 a year out of their budgets for health care, just so billionaires can get another tax break. That’s what this fight is about. This is about whether this government is for everyday people or for the billionaire class.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Member of the House Ways & Means Committee:

“Across the country, Americans want to see us protect their health care. Across the country, people want to see the premium tax credits extended. Red districts, blue districts. People want health care, and it is important if we are going to be representatives of our districts, that’s our title, that’s our job, that we are all standing up for health care for our communities. We are here and House Republicans are nowhere to be seen.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33), House Democratic Conference Chair:

“Democrats are here. We are working and we are looking out for you and the safety of your kids and your communities, and we know the real consequences of this moment. We know that coverage will lapse, hospitals will close, premiums will skyrocket if we don’t do anything. And that’s why all of us are here. That’s why all of us are speaking with one voice to protect our communities. You deserve better, and that’s what Democrats are fighting tooth and nail for.”

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee:

“If you are sick in this country, you should be able to go to the doctor, get the care you need, and afford your medicine. And that’s why we are here, because we are in a crisis. People are going to lose their health care insurance and we’re here. Republicans aren’t here. We want to sit at the table, we want a bipartisan solution. You can’t do it if you’re not here. At some point it is worth the fight, and for me, telling little children they’re not gonna die because they’ve got a right to be able to go to the doctor – it’s worth taking a stand”.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM-3), Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus:

“Women have had it hard across the country. Women cannot get their health care or their cervical pap exams because they are shutting down Planned Parenthood across the country. Women are worried about what to do with their children because there are not enough workers for child care. There are no longer the women needed to care for our elderly in our nursing homes. They are cutting Medicaid. … What Republicans are doing by ignoring the plight of women and families and people across this country who need health care is shameful.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07):

“If you have the House, the Senate and the White House, then you have to govern. You’ve got to pass a bill that gets Democrats on board. And the only way that our House Democrats and our Senate Democrats are going to get on board is if we cancel the cuts, if we save health care and if we lower costs.”

Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT-At-Large):

“We’re out here because Democrats always protect health care. That’s what we do. … Don’t ever let anyone tell you that only extraordinary people do extraordinary things. It’s ordinary people that do astonishing things every single day, and that’s what you’re all doing in this fight.”

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE-At-Large):

“Democrats are here, ready to hold the line in defense of working people, in defense of health care, in defense of the rule of law, in defense of all of our constituents….We are already starting to live under Trump care. Millions of Americans losing coverage, 10s of 1000s losing their lives, and everyone else having to pay more and wait longer to get the care that they need. The bomb is going off in the middle of the American health care system right now, and that is why Congress cannot afford to wait to address this health care cost crisis.”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07):

“Every day the cruelty of this Republican majority reinforces for me that there is no deficit of resources but there is a deficit of empathy…. This [shutdown] is as cruel and unnecessary again as it is preventable. Republicans control the House, control the Senate and the White House. Y’all keep talking about this mandate you have. will do something with it that actually helps people instead of enacting more hurt and more harm. Put forward a budget that addresses the health care crisis that you created. Democrats are ready to do just that. Ready to keep the government open, ready to protect families, and ready to mitigate the harm from this Republican-made crisis.”

Impacted Individuals:

Tony Gonzales, an adjunct professor with stage four cancer and a member of Families USA:

“If the rich and the Republicans can go out there and have money for tax cuts to buy another yacht, or to go out in space, why can’t I at least have health care to address my needs, my wife’s needs? So my message is this for the Republicans and to you, Mr. Trump, if you are watching: if you do not do this for us and millions of Americans, if this disease takes me because I am unable to maintain my health coverage, my blood is going to be on your hands.”

Kara Pitt D’Andrea, nonprofit daycare owner from Wisconsin & member of Main Street Alliance:

“I’ve been able to bridge the gap of what the private sector would provide and commit myself to my community because of the ACA. Our dedicated care providers get their health care from the ACA so they can show up for you. Healthy daycares make healthy parents, and healthy parents make great employees, and great employees make America a lot of money. So if we break it down, the interest here should be bipartisan. If they want a successful America, they should invest in us, in each and every one of us, and we show up every day because we love what we do, even when it is hard.”

Patricia Watson, a cancer survivor from Maryland who was able to receive life-saving care because of Medicaid and Planned Parenthood:

“I fought cervical cancer, breast cancer, lymphatic cancer that spread to my jaw. People like me don’t have the luxury of waiting on politics to red tape. We don’t need debate. We need care. We don’t need cruelty. We need action. I’m standing here today because Medicaid and Planned Parenthood gave me a chance to keep raising my sons into amazing men, to keep serving our community and keep living. That’s not charity, that’s humanity, that’s survival.”

Philippa Pham Hughes, a cancer survivor and freelance artist who has already received her premium increase notice:

“Health insurance has always been a priority for me, even when paying for it meant sacrifice. It’s worth paying for because it means that I don’t have to wait around too much too late to find out about a disease that could have been cured if it had been detected soon enough. It means I don’t have to forgo my entire life savings and in my home because of medical bills, I don’t have to forgo life saving treatment because I can’t afford it, and that’s all about to change. Without the tax credit, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to afford health care, the kind of health care that’s going to save my life…. It does not matter what your political party is. This will affect you. This will make your life worse.”

Fari Ghamina Tumpe of Washington, DC, a grandmother and caretaker to three children who rely on Medicaid:

“I am a caregiver of three differently abled geniuses that have diagnoses that range from autism to severe social and emotional learning disorders, because my youngest child has schizophrenia and they were born with many developmental delays. For the past two decades, I’ve dedicated my life to raising them. I am a health care hero. But I shouldn’t have to be a health care hero in the United States of America. … There are only 800 billionaires in the United States of America, yet 340 million will suffer at the hands of Republicans in Congress.”

Sparkle Edwards, a home care worker from Virginia and member of SEIU:

“Home health care should not be unattainable in this country. Quality health care is something that every American should have access to. It helps to improve our self esteem. It helps to improve our quality of life. It helps the economy – helping citizens who can support the economy as we all work at jobs within this country, pay taxes within this country.”

Catharyne Henderson, a surgical oncology nurse from Ohio:

“No one will be spared from this hurt if Congress fails to act. Republicans control Congress and the White House so if the government shuts down, it’s because there was a choice made: one that prioritizes politics over health care and keeping costs from rising. Our country, our patients, nurses, and families deserve stability, health care and dignity, and we’re going to fight for it.”

Dr. Heidi Appel, a Pediatric Critical Care Physician from Virginia:

“When we cut Medicaid we are not trimming a budget line we are cutting into a child’s chance to survive. The same is true for the ACA tax credits that are set to expire. Without those credits, families I see everyday will face impossible choices. Do they keep their insurance or keep a roof over their heads? Do they buy the medications their child needs or do they buy groceries for the week? No parent should ever have to make those choices, and yet that is exactly what will happen if these tax credits disappear. … No matter how hard I fight in the ICU, I cannot fight policy decisions that strip away their right to care.”

Steve Gomez of Arizona, gets insurance through the ACA marketplace, father to a son who was born with a heart defect who needs ongoing support through Medicaid:

“Like so many others we are not looking for a hand out. We’re looking to provide and to do our fair share unlike all these damn billionaires. … Everybody is afraid at the letters that they have been receiving saying their kids’ services are being taken away or being reduced. It’s a real life nightmare in Arizona.”

Laura Packard, small business owner and cancer survivor who got care through the ACA:

“The worst part was the day after the first chemotherapy session, when I was on my couch trying not to die. That’s when Republicans in the US House voted to take away my health care and the health care of millions of other Americans and then they held a party to celebrate. That was 8 years ago and now they’re doing it again.”

Julia Tilley, of Harrisburg PA quit her job to become a full time home care worker for her daughter, who relies on Medicaid:

“Our family is facing a double whammy of cuts to both Medicaid and the ACA. These cuts would absolutely devastate our family and the health and the economic security of people across our state and across our nation.... If billionaires just paid their fair share in the richest country in the history of the world, we could so easily fund what we need and more.”

Bernita Richardson of Virginia, a full-time caretaker for her parents and son, all of whom rely on Medicaid to receive the care for a fulfilling life:

“Republicans chose billionaires over the rest of us. They had a choice. They could have let billionaires pay their fair share. Instead they gutted programs that working people depend on and still added trillions to the national debt. With a fair tax system we could afford the care, the education, and the opportunities that every American family deserves, if only billionaires paid their fair share.

Paul Osadebe, a whistleblower at HUD’s Fair Housing & Civil Rights Office, union steward with AFGE, and organizer with the Federal Unionists Network (FUN):

“None of us want a shutdown. I just want to be able to do my job and to serve you. But when we can’t do that, it becomes a time to fight instead. Whether we have to organize as working people all over the country, as federal workers, as Members of Congress — all of them need to do their jobs and let us do ours.”

Josh Feldmark, Senior Vice President at CI Renewables, which develops commercial and industrial solar projects:

“The result of the chaos and destruction from the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled congress is that every single American resident and business is going to continue to have skyrocketing energy bills. ... This government shutdown is Republican created and is meant to create the destruction and the loss — it is the whole point of what is happening here.”

Rally Co-Sponsors:

314 Action

Accountable.US/Accountable.NOW

American Federation of Teachers

Americans for Tax Fairness

Care Can’t Wait Action

Care In Action

Coalition on Human Needs

Committee To Protect Health Care

Community Catalyst

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

Economic Security Project Action

End Citizens United

Fair Share America

Families USA

Federal Unionists Network (FUN) Action

Free & Just

Groundwork Action

Indivisible

League of Conservation Voters

Main Street Alliance

MoveOn

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund

People for the American Way

Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Popular Democracy in Action

Progressive Change Institute

Protect Our Care

Public Citizen

Reproductive Freedom for All

Roots Action

SEIU

Unrig Our Economy

Women’s March

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Contact: Ashley Woolheater (ashley@fairshareusa.org) or Kristin Sosanie (kristin@fairshareusa.org)