2025 Final Priority Results Survey

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, when I am back home in the district, I make it clear that although my name is on the ballot and I am the elected Member of Congress, when I go to Congress, we all go to Congress.

Instead of assuming that I knew what mattered the most to people in my district, we sent out a survey to ask people in Ohio's 13th what mattered most to them. Thankfully, more than 2,000 people took the time to respond.

What they told us was pretty straightforward. They wanted me to protect Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. They wanted me to lower costs and make life much more affordable. They wanted me to eliminate government corruption. That is what I plan to do.

The number one issue by far was protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. People didn't talk about these programs in abstract terms. They talked about their lives, how Social Security is how they pay their bills; Medicare is how they get healthcare without going broke; and Medicaid is how their kids, their parents, and neighbors with disabilities can get the support and help they need.

These aren't government programs to them. They are lifelines promised to them after a lifetime of work and service. That is why I have been and will continue to be hyperfocused on protecting them.

I have worked across the aisle to introduce bipartisan legislation to keep Social Security offices open and services running during government shutdowns because seniors shouldn't lose access to help just because Congress can't get its act together.

I have pushed the Social Security Administration to stop clawing back overpayments when the mistakes were not the fault of the seniors.

I introduced legislation to make sure survivors of domestic violence are not punished under Social Security rules for leaving unsafe marriages.

If you have worked your entire life and paid in every paycheck, Congress should keep its promise in its Social Security program.

The second big issue that people raised was the cost of living and lowering costs. Families feel it everywhere: gas, groceries, housing, healthcare. It just costs too much to live.

People are working just as hard as they always have, but they are falling behind. That is why I have been fighting to extend the ACA's tax credits to lower healthcare costs, especially for our most vulnerable citizens. It is why I voted against the big, ugly bill that is now putting healthcare coverage at risk for millions of Americans while raising energy costs for families.

In fact, just today there is a report that came out that showed over 120,000 Ohioans chose to forgo their healthcare because they simply couldn't afford it. These are real people, and that bill had real consequences. Not only does it impact us in terms of healthcare in my district, it also impacts our number one economy, which is healthcare systems and hospitals.

Additionally, I introduced legislation to crack down on junk fees that would drain family budgets, and I have worked in a bipartisan manner to lower costs and improve clean water infrastructure in communities that need it the most.

I have stood up for homebuyers, pushing back against corporate practices that drive up housing prices and shut families out of the market.

Instead of staying focused on lowering costs, House Republicans have spent too much time protecting tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, blocking reforms that would help families, and threatening government shutdowns that only add to more chaos. I would also mention the no tax on overtime that they have so happily touted doesn't really help so many people in organized labor. We do have a bipartisan fix for that, but we haven't been able to get to it because making sure people have more money in their pockets is simply not a priority for House Republicans.

Finally, the third issue people raised with me is they wanted to fight government corruption. People are tired of feeling like the rules are different for those at the top. They want accountability that actually means something. They want ethics laws to apply to everyone, no matter their title or their party. They are seeing that this corruption is raising their costs and making it more expensive. They see the connection between the two.

That is why I have helped lead a package of reforms with a new generation of lawmakers to close loopholes, strengthen ethics rules, and bring some common sense and some integrity back to Washington, D.C.

Public service should be just that: serving the public, not helping yourself. When you look at these survey results, Mr. Speaker, the contrast is hard to miss. My constituents are asking us to protect their earned benefits while the leadership, Mr. Speaker, is keeping them at risk.

They are asking us to lower costs while House Republicans and this President get distracted by the wrong fights. They are asking us to clean up corruption while Republicans enable this President to treat accountability as optional while he is getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer.

That is not what the people sent us here to do, and it is certainly not what my constituents sent me here to do.

Mr. Speaker, listening to your constituents should not be controversial. It is our job. I will keep fighting for what the people of Ohio's 13th Congressional District made clear when they sent me here because this Congress does not belong to party leaders or special interests. It belongs to the people.

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