Wasserman Schultz invites small business owner as her guest for D.C. State of the Union address
By Carlton Gillespie
February 24, 2026 at 6:00 AM EST
Davie small business owner Steve Reyes will accompany U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D- Weston) to Washington Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address.
Reyes says he has been severely impacted by the repeal of tax credits for the Affordable Care Act.
Last year, he paid about $1,000 a month to provide health insurance for his family of four. Now, he says, he pays around $3,400 a month.
"I've got two kids in college and you're trying to figure it out, you gotta make another, $20,000 more just to cover the expenses for the healthcare just alone," he said.
Wasserman Schultz says Reyes’s story illustrates the affordability struggle faced by many of her constituents.
"Healthcare costs have exploded. And I mean, people are really struggling to make ends meet. And Donald Trump promised on day one that he would bring costs down while the opposite has happened," she said.
She expressed a desire to work with Republicans to alleviate healthcare costs, but is discouraged by the current state of bipartisanship in Congress, saying she feels she has to "put battle armor on to take on the Republicans in Congress."
" We should sit down and work together and hammer out a compromise because if we were all singularly focused on making life more affordable for all Americans, then there's a lot of problems that we could solve together," she said.
The State of the Union address begins at 9 p.m. Tuesday. WLRN 91.3 FM will provide live, anchored special coverage of Trump’s State of the Union address.
Reyes says he has been severely impacted by the repeal of tax credits for the Affordable Care Act.
Last year, he paid about $1,000 a month to provide health insurance for his family of four. Now, he says, he pays around $3,400 a month.
"I've got two kids in college and you're trying to figure it out, you gotta make another, $20,000 more just to cover the expenses for the healthcare just alone," he said.
Wasserman Schultz says Reyes’s story illustrates the affordability struggle faced by many of her constituents.
"Healthcare costs have exploded. And I mean, people are really struggling to make ends meet. And Donald Trump promised on day one that he would bring costs down while the opposite has happened," she said.
She expressed a desire to work with Republicans to alleviate healthcare costs, but is discouraged by the current state of bipartisanship in Congress, saying she feels she has to "put battle armor on to take on the Republicans in Congress."
" We should sit down and work together and hammer out a compromise because if we were all singularly focused on making life more affordable for all Americans, then there's a lot of problems that we could solve together," she said.
The State of the Union address begins at 9 p.m. Tuesday. WLRN 91.3 FM will provide live, anchored special coverage of Trump’s State of the Union address.