Chairman Aguilar: While Republicans fail to act, Democrats are offering real solutions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu held a press conference calling out House Republicans for sending Congress home early instead of working to lower costs or rein in AI development. You can watch the full press conference here and read the transcript below.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back. There's a lot of news. I’m pleased to be joined by the Vice Chair, who will take all the tough questions for today. But I want to start by mentioning the state of the economy under Donald Trump and Republicans. Last week, we received even more troubling economic data. Inflation rose 3.4 percent over the last year. Gas prices are at $4 a gallon. Diesel reached record highs of $6, making everything more expensive. Farmers who grow our food are struggling to fill up their tractors and transport crops. Small businesses are facing higher operating costs and challenges to making payroll. Deliveries for everything you order online are costing more. And companies are charging families more for groceries with increased travel expenses. The list goes on and on. And of course, these costs don't just disappear; they get passed on to hardworking consumers who are already struggling to make ends meet.
We know that since Trump and Republicans came into office, people across the country have been forced to make financial trade-offs. Wages haven't kept pace with inflation, and now Americans are left figuring out if they can afford gas or groceries, rent or health insurance. And unfortunately, under Republicans in Congress, there is seemingly no hope for financial relief on the horizon. Because instead of addressing the cost of living crisis or urgent concerns about AI, Republicans are sending the House home for six weeks. And the only real accomplishment they can claim is giving billionaires a tax break and cutting healthcare and food assistance for American families. But while Republicans fail to act, Democrats are offering real solutions. We'll extend the ACA tax credits. We'll reverse Trump's Medicaid cuts and undo his costly tariffs. We’ll hold this administration accountable for its corruption. And that's just the beginning. Democrats are on a path to take back the majority, and when we do, unlike Republicans, we'll fulfill our promise of bringing down costs. Vice Chair Ted Lieu.
VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar. Last month in August, gas prices set the highest monthly average in U.S. history. This month, diesel prices set a record and inflation increased again from last month to this month. So, what is the response of Donald Trump and House Republicans? Donald Trump played golf this weekend in Ireland. Speaker Johnson is letting Congress go two weeks early. He literally changed the House schedule to give us two more weeks of vacation time. Those are completely unacceptable responses to the American people, many of whom are suffering from high costs. November is coming, and the American people will have a choice at the ballot box to make their voices heard.
This weekend, three of the top AI frontier company CEOs essentially said we need to slow down AI development. Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk. And the reason that they came to this conclusion is because they understand that the products they are making are not safe. So until they can make their AI models and agents safe, so they don't go rogue or go hack other companies, they need to slow down their development and put in adequate guardrails. And we cannot expect the industry to regulate itself. We need Congress to act. And unfortunately, Speaker Johnson again is letting us get two additional weeks of vacation time. He changed the House schedule to do that. We should be here through the end of this month working on legislation to address AI, as well as legislation to address the high cost of living.
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