House Passes Bill to End Historic US Govt Shutdown

House lawmakers made their long-awaited return to the nation’s capital this week after nearly eight weeks away. Republicans used their slight majority to push the bill across the finish line with the party’s 222-209 vote. The Senate has already passed this measure.

Democrats have sought an extension of the enhanced tax credit that expires at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health insurance obtained through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to accept a short-term spending bill that did not include this priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be fought at another time.

“We told you 43 days ago, from hard experience, that shutting down the government doesn’t work,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “They never reach the goal you announced. So guess what? You haven’t reached that goal yet and you won’t.”

The shutdown further magnified sharp partisan divisions within Congress, and that split screen was reflected as lawmakers debated the spending measure in the House.

Republicans said Democrats were trying to use the pain of the shutdown to prevail in a policy dispute.

“They knew it would cause pain, but they did it anyway,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

Democrats said Republicans raced to pass tax cuts earlier this year that they thought would mostly benefit the wealthy. But the bill introduced in the House on Wednesday “leaves families adrift in the wind with zero guarantee that there will be a vote to expand tax credits to help ordinary people pay for health care,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats won’t give up on extending the subsidy even if the votes don’t go their way.

“This fight is not over yet,” Jeffries said. “We’re just getting started.”

The House has not been in legislative session since Sept. 19, when it passed a short-term measure to keep the government open when the new budget year begins in October. Johnson sent lawmakers home after the vote and put the onus on the Senate to take action, saying House Republicans were doing their job.

Compromise to end the shutdown The legislation included support from eight senators who broke ranks with Democrats after concluding that Republicans would not agree to use government funding to expand health tax credits. Meanwhile, the cost of the closure was increasing day by day.

The compromise funds the three-year spending bill and extends the remainder of government funding through Jan. 30. Republicans have vowed to vote by mid-December to expand health care subsidies, but there’s no guarantee of success.

Sen from DN.H. “We have reached a point where many of us believe that the shutdown has been very effective in increasing concerns about health care,” Jeanne Shaheen said. The promise of a future vote “gives us the opportunity to continue to address this issue moving forward.”

The legislation includes a reversal of layoffs of federal employees by the Trump administration since the shutdown began. It also protects federal employees from new layoffs through January and guarantees that they will be paid when the shutdown ends. The bill, submitted to the Department of Agriculture, means people who rely on essential food assistance programs will see those benefits funded uninterrupted for the remainder of the budget year.

The package includes $203.5 million to improve the security of lawmakers and an additional $28 million for the security of Supreme Court justices.

Democrats are also using language that would give senators the opportunity to sue when a federal agency or employee searches for their electronic records without notifying them, allowing potential damages of up to $500,000 for each violation. Democrats have called for the provision to be repealed.

The language appears intended to help Republican senators sue for damages if their phone records are analyzed by the FBI as part of an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. These provisions were also the target of criticism from Republicans. Johnson said he was “very angry about this.”

“This was dropped at the last minute, and I didn’t appreciate it, and most members of the House of Representatives didn’t appreciate it either,” Johnson said, promising to vote on the issue as early as next week.

But the biggest point of contention was the fate of the expiring enhanced tax credit that made health insurance more affordable through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

“This is subsidy on top of subsidy. Our friends added it during COVID,” Cole said. “COVID is over. They set a definitive date when the support would end. They chose the date.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the enhanced tax credit was designed to give more people access to health care and that no Republicans voted for it.

“All they’re doing is trying to eliminate access to health care in our country. The country is catching up with them,” Pelosi said.

Many Democrats call passing the spending bill this week a mistake. New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who received backlash from his party when he voted to keep the government open in March, said the bill “does nothing significant to fix America’s health crisis.”

Without the increased tax credit, premiums would more than double on average for millions of Americans. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that more than 2 million people will lose health insurance coverage altogether next year.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont, who is meeting with Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “terrible mistake.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying voters who overwhelmingly backed Democrats in last week’s election were urging them to “stand faithful.”

The health care debate continues. It is unclear whether the parties will be able to find common ground on health care before the Senate vote in December. Johnson said he would not commit to raising the issue in his chambers.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending Covid-19 pandemic-era tax credits because premiums would rise for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies. Some argue that tax revenues for the plans should be routed through individuals rather than going directly to insurance companies.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Monday that she supports expanding tax credits with changes such as new income caps. Some Democrats have signaled they might be open to the idea.

House Democrats have expressed major skepticism that the Senate’s efforts will lead to a breakthrough.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Republicans have wanted to repeal universal healthcare for the last 15 years. “That’s where they’re trying to go,” he said.