House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told ABC’s “This Week” that the DOJ’s publication of remaining documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, mandated by Congress in a nearly unanimous bill last month, was “inadequate.” “It will pass, with a bipartisan majority. And then that will put the pressure on John Thune and Senate Republicans to actually do the right thing by the American people, pass a straightforward extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, so we can keep health care affordable for tens of millions of Americans,” he said.

JON KARL, ABC NEWS: And let me turn to health care. Obviously, a central issue for Democrats as Congress leaves town. You have successfully forced a vote in the House, which will happen in January, on a three-year extension of those Obamacare tax credits. That, I assume, will pass in January, all things stay the same. But the Democratic — I mean the Republican leader in the Senate has already said it’s dead on arrival. REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Well, the Republican leader in the Senate is not serious about protecting the health care of the American people. The clock is ticking. No more excuses! Republicans have been burying their heads in the sand for the last several months. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans are on the brink of experiencing dramatically increased health insurance premiums if the Affordable Care Act tax credits are not extended. We’re talking about, in some instances, folks who are going to experience premiums that will increase by $ 1,000 or $ 2,000 per month. Ninety percent of the people who rely on the Affordable Care Act tax credits make around $ 63,000 per year. These are working class Americans, middle class Americans, and everyday Americans. And House Democrats are going to continue to fight to get this extension through the Congress on our side. It will pass, with a bipartisan majority. And then that will put the pressure on John Thune and Senate Republicans to actually do the right thing by the American people, pass a straightforward extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, so we can keep health care affordable for tens of millions of Americans who deserve to be able to go see a doctor when they need one. KARL: So, some Republicans, including my next guest, Senator Rand Paul, have argued that extending those subsidies leads to higher premiums. That the system needs to be reformed. That we have health care costs across the board that are going up, even putting aside these — these tax credits. Does he have a point? Does there need to be reforms to keep health insurance premiums down? JEFFRIES: Well, life is too expensive in the United States of America, and things have actually gotten worse under Donald Trump’s presidency. He promised to lower costs on day one. Republicans promised to lower costs on day one. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up. That’s health care costs. That’s housing costs that are out of control. Childcare costs are out of control. Utility bills, electricity costs are out of control, of course. And grocery costs are out of control. So, there are a variety of different things that need to be done. As Democrats, we’re promising to focus relentlessly on driving down the high cost of living to make life more affordable for everyday Americans and to fix our broken health care system –which Republicans have been damaging in an extraordinary way throughout the year, including by enacting the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. And because of Republican policies in their one big, ugly bill, we know hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing all across the country, including in rural America. Working class Americans are being hurt. Black and Brown Americans are being hurt. Smalltown America is being hurt. The heartland of America is being hurt. And yes, we need to fix our broken healthcare system.

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