Indian American members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Pramila Jayapal, Suhas Subramanyam, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, and Shri Thanedar, voted against the Senate-passed deal to reopen the federal government, criticizing it as inadequate and laden with provisions they deemed corrupt and ineffective in addressing pressing national issues.

Jayapal: “A Crisis of Cruelty and Corruption”

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal denounced the agreement, saying that when Republicans shut down the government on October 1, House Democrats had one simple demand — to protect health care for millions of Americans struggling with skyrocketing premiums.

“For 43 days, Democrats held the line to demand that Republicans cancel the cuts and lower healthcare costs for Americans, who are seeing their health care premiums double and triple, nursing homes set to close, and massive cuts to Medicaid and food assistance,” Jayapal said, adding that Republicans “showed exactly what extreme cruelty looks like.”

She criticized the legislation for doing “absolutely nothing to address rising health care costs,” while including “a provision that allows eight Republican Senators to get a million dollars each from a giant slush fund at the same time that Americans face higher costs on everything from groceries to healthcare.”

Jayapal further condemned what she called “the crisis of cruelty and corruption that Donald Trump and his cult party of Republicans are inflicting on the American people.” She emphasized that “health care is not a Democratic or Republican issue — it affects everyone,” and vowed, “I will never give up the fight for every single American’s health care. That’s exactly why I voted Hell NO.”

Subramanyam: “Promises Aren’t Enough”

U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) expressed frustration with what he viewed as the bill’s lack of substance.

“While I am glad that the shutdown is ending, and believe it never should have happened, I voted no because this bill makes a lot of empty promises,” he said. “I’ve heard promises about lowering health care costs and supporting federal workers and contractors. But promises aren’t enough.”

He noted that “there’s nothing concrete here in this bill, not on making health care more affordable, not on protecting the federal workforce after months of chaos, firings, and uncertainty.”

Subramanyam also raised concern over “a provision in this bill that will essentially provide kickbacks to a handful of Republican Senators — millions of taxpayer dollars headed straight into their pockets because they didn’t like being investigated after January 6th. That’s corruption, plain and simple.”

Krishnamoorthi: “It Fails the Basic Test of Protecting Health Care”

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also voted against the deal, calling it a failure to safeguard Americans’ health care.

“I voted against this deal because it fails the basic test of protecting Americans’ health care. Too many families in Illinois are already stretched thin, and this agreement does nothing to stop premiums from skyrocketing even higher,” he said.

He added, “The American people shouldn’t have to trust Donald Trump’s promises to keep their coverage affordable. We need real action that lowers costs and restores stability for working families, and I will continue to fight for it.”

Khanna: “America at a Moral Crossroads”

Congressman Ro Khanna described the current situation as a “moral crossroads,” criticizing growing inequality and misplaced spending priorities.

“Our country is at a moral crossroads. Just today, it comes out that billionaires are worth $8 trillion more than 50 percent of Americans combined,” he said. He further added that the President decides he doesn’t have the money for the American people, noting “He’s going to starve the American people.”

Khanna pointed to U.S. aid abroad, arguing, “$40 billion [was] given by the President to the corrupt libertarian leader in Argentina, adding that $9 billion would have fed the American people. How is that America first?”

He called for systemic change, stating, “We need national health insurance in this country. We need to tax billionaires in this country. We need to fund SNAP in this country, and we need to stop funding Argentina and corrupt foreign leaders.”

Thanedar: “We All Have Eyes, Ears, and Bank Accounts”

Congressman Shri Thanedar echoed his colleagues’ frustration with the state of the economy, saying, “Americans know the economy is bad. Trump is trying to cover up the numbers, but we all have eyes, ears, and bank accounts.”

Related posts:

How the Shutdown Began and How it Ended with a Bipartisan Approach  Democrats End 43-Day Shutdown Battle as Political Blame Game Shifts to the House Historic Milestone: Largest Ever Indian American Representation in U.S. Congress Indian American Lawmakers Applaud the White House-Brokered Israel-Hamas Ceasefire and Hostage Deal