What a week! The government may be shut down, but moms and our champion leaders are still working—and so am I!

I spent part of this week in Washington, D.C. testifying in Congress, partnering with our moms who were testifying too, and working alongside other leaders to help protect our health care, SNAP, child care, and more.

Again and again, I heard from leaders in Congress that your voice is powerful and needed—and that when we speak up together, we make a real difference.

This government shutdown—over Republicans' refusal to roll back devastating cuts to health care for 17 million people and refusal to stave off skyrocketing health care premiums—has reached a fever pitch. Families are hurting. Our economy is hurting. Our country is hurting. On top of that, SNAP benefits (also known as EBT and food stamps) will end on November 1, even though the administration can pull in contingency funding to continue the program.

Children are hungry. People are being pushed out of child care—and out of their jobs. Families aren’t able to get health care. And our ability to build good lives hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are playing games with our shared future by funneling more tax breaks to their billionaire besties. WE WON’T HAVE IT.

Don’t for a minute forget how powerful you are right now. YOUR stories and your priorities were in front of members of Congress this week as I testified in the U.S. House of Representatives. I was honored to be able to uplift the importance of restoring health care, SNAP, and Head Start – and of reopening the government immediately.

We’re in the middle of a national emergency – and we hear about it every day from people like Liddel in Nevada, who shared that if the ACA tax credits are cut off, then a lifeline for her family is cut too—and this is causing her great stress: Her daughter is battling breast cancer while covered by the ACA.

Liddel isn’t alone. Brook from New York shared: “I’m scared. My husband and I both don’t get insurance through our jobs. So if our ACA premiums go up, we simply won’t be able to pay them.” Their health care will be gone.

So what’s happening? Republicans in Congress followed President Trump’s demand by taking health care away from more than 17 million people through their Medicaid cuts in the Big Ugly Bill—the biggest cut to Medicaid in our history.

NOW, Republican leaders are threatening to keep our government shuttered unless they can increase (yes, increase!!!) health care costs for 24 million more people.

Our nation absolutely can afford health care, but Trump and Republicans in Congress are cutting our health care in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, separate families, and commit human rights abuses against hard-working immigrants— people who are essential to our care workforce (⅓ of the care workforce are immigrants), our families, our economy, our communities, and our futures.

This is nothing short of shameful. Our country needs a safe and orderly immigration process that balances compassion and security, NOT cuts to health care and NOT cruelty.

On top of that, CHILD CARE—which parents need to be able to go to work and children need to thrive—is ALSO being defunded by Republican leaders. In less than 2 weeks, due to the shutdown, HeadStart programs serving more than 58,000 children will face potential closure due to lack of federal funds. Child care is one of the fastest growing costs in our country—and Republican leaders are making it worse.

But make no mistake, skyrocketing child care costs hurt everyone: On average, the U.S. economy loses $122 billion dollars a year due to lost wages and revenues because parents can’t get the child care they need.

All of these rising costs are happening at the same time as vegetables are up 40%, coffee is up 33%, eggs are still expensive, health care is surging, and the list goes on. #Trumpflation is happening.

Solutions are possible. In fact there are solutions to ALL of these very real problems that open avenues for people to build good lives, contribute to their communities, raise their children, and that strengthen the economy as a whole.

Research shows that passing care infrastructure policies like Democrats have long supported (and like Republicans have long blocked) including: health care, child care and elder care, paid family and medical leave, and fair pay for care workers—lower family costs and also boost our economy and businesses alike.

And with 42 million people about to lose SNAP and have empty dinner plates, Trump’s Department of Agriculture could (and should) use contingency funds for SNAP now.

We know that when we stick together, we can build a better nation where every mom and family can access health care; where child care, food, housing, and and elder care are affordable; where paid family and medical leave is available when a new baby arrives or a serious health crisis strikes; where every pregnant woman can get high quality, caring, and affordable maternity care; where jobs are secure; where the economy is strong; and where the ONLY person wearing a crown is Lady Liberty.

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