DAYS TO A SHUTDOWN; ACETAMINOPHEN (PAIN RELIEVER) CONTROVERSY

The following information was released by the office of Pennsylvania Rep. Dwight Evans:

Unless things change, our country is 6 days away from a federal government shutdown current funding runs out at the end of Tuesday, Sept. 30. (You can click here for my office's page on shutdown resources and frequently asked questions. The page will be updated as new information becomes available.)

So I was pleased by news earlier this week that President Trump had agreed to meet with Democratic leaders about keeping the government open and preventing a huge hike on health insurance prices for 22 million Americans. (Click here for a website that calculates how much the price spike could affect you.)

And I was disappointed when Trump canceled the meeting at the request of congressional Republican leaders.

As one media outlet put it, "Trump shuts down the shutdown talks."

Trump and his conservative allies control the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. I believe it's common sense that this means they have the responsibility to prevent a shutdown.

Yet, as of this writing, Speaker Mike Johnson plans to keep the House of Representatives OUT of voting session until Wednesday, Oct. 1 when a shutdown could already be in progress. I'm in Washington this week with many of my House Democratic colleagues, ready to work together on preventing a shutdown and the massive health insurance price spike.

And on Monday, I and more of my House Democratic colleagues will be back in Washington, again ahead of the budget deadline. We want action now on the health-insurance price spike otherwise, 22 million Americans will be faced with the spike this fall when they look into open enrollment for next year's coverage. Health insurers are already setting new rates I believe Congress can't wait!

I'm listening to doctors on acetaminophen and vaccines

I believe that President Trump and his health secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., were wrong when they told pregnant women this week not to take acetaminophen, the pain reliever also known as Tylenol. They based this on an unproven link to autism. However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said, "Acetaminophen is one of the few options available to pregnant patients to treat pain and fever." You can read more here.

In my view, government officials should advise people to check with their doctors about health matters like acetaminophen or vaccines especially when those government officials, like Trump and Kennedy, don't have a medical degree.

And I thank Gov. Josh Shapiro for taking steps to protect Pennsylvanians' access to vaccines.