ICYMI: Rep. Kiggans Admits: ‘I Don’t Have the Actual Plan in Place’ as 30,000 Of Her Constituents’ Health Care Hangs in the Balance
Virginia Beach, VA – Last week, Rep. Jen Kiggans hosted another so-called “telephone town hall”, this time only available to those who had managed to sign up well in advance. With the focus on the shutdown, she spent most of the time pointing fingers and denying responsibility.
Here are the facts:
CLAIM 1: “Right now, we are continuing to push to have that health care discussion. It's a very separate issue from keeping the government open… I don't have the actual plan in place, but I know that nothing here in Washington happens fast and that this is a very complicated issue.”
The truth: 30,000 of Rep. Kiggans’ own constituents rely on these health care tax credits, and she knows that making them permanent would immediately reopen the government. Yet earlier this month, she dismissed them by saying, “we don’t need these,” and instead proposed a one-year extension, a political gimmick that offers no real, long-term relief for those who rely on them to pay for their health insurance through the marketplace.
CLAIM 2: “I have 189,000 federal workers who are furloughed, are working without pay during a shutdown in Virginia. I've got you know, I've got people that rely on work and SNAP. And thankfully, President Trump has found a way to make sure that those benefits are covered with the tariffs.”
The truth: Many states are scrambling to make up the difference. There are nearly 800,000 Virginians who rely on SNAP, with 15,000 in Rep. Kiggans’ district alone wondering if their benefits will be cut off. Virginia is among the most impacted of any state by the government shutdown, with over 144,000 civilian employees and over 130,000 active duty military personnel based in the commonwealth.
“We have seen Rep. Kiggans turn face each time health care has been on the line this year,” said Emily Yeatts, Affordable Virginia Campaigns Director. “Medicaid, Veterans’ benefits, SNAP, and now these health care tax credits. It is beyond us how someone could acknowledge that 30,000 people in her own district rely on them to afford health care and only two weeks prior go on record saying ‘we don’t need these.’ It’s easy to say you want people to have health care, but it’s hard to actually do something about it. Seeing a doctor should be for everyone, not just billionaires, and we know that without these tax credits, working families will suffer. Rep. Kiggans, put families first and make these tax credits permanent.”