Senate Democrats reject government funding bill for tenth time over healthcare subsidies
The vote failed 51-45, leaving fewer than the 60 votes needed to advance under the Senate’s filibuster rules. Repeated votes on the funding bill have become a daily occurrence in Congress, underscoring the intractable nature of the dispute.
As House Republicans left Washington, the Senate floor at times focused solely on the funding measure. The shutdown lasted more than two weeks and resulted in hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed and many more missing out on guaranteed paychecks.
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“As we situate ourselves as two sides seemingly at loggerheads on this 16th day of the lockdown, real people are wondering whether their government will be on their side?” said GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Closing timeline is getting longer
The shutdown is on track to surpass the 16-day shutdown that also focused on the Affordable Care Act in 2013. The longest shutdown ended in 2019 after 35 days.
Although the military received salaries this week, the duration of this arrangement remains unclear. The White House budget office notified Congress that the payment costs $6.5 billion for one payment period and that the next payment is due within two weeks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly tried to pressure Democrats to abandon their strategy of voting against the stopgap funding bill, without success. Bipartisan discussions about potential health care compromises have failed to yield meaningful progress toward reopening the government.
Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said in his speech in the Senate, “The Democratic Party is the party that will not take yes for an answer.”
Thune offered to hold a vote later on expanding subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans but said he “wouldn’t guarantee a result or outcome.”
Health subsidies deadline approaching
Democrats argue they won’t change their position until they get a guarantee on extending tax credits for health plans. They warn that millions of Americans who buy individual health insurance, including small business owners, farmers and contractors, will face significant premium increases in the coming weeks.
As the Nov. 1 deadline approaches in most states, Democrats believe voters will pressure Republicans to begin serious negotiations.
“The ACA crisis is looming in front of everyone’s eyes, and yet Republicans seem ready to let people’s premiums go up,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech.
On Thursday, Thune tried a different approach with a vote on appropriations bills, forcing Democrats to vote against Defense Department funding legislation. Democrats also rejected the measure.
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Democrats focus on Affordable Care Act loans
Democrats have focused their positions on health priorities as they oppose the Republican bill to reopen the government. They emphasize that time is running out to avoid large premium increases for many health plans.
Democrats increased subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans during the pandemic when they control Congress. This increase pushed enrollment numbers to new levels under the health law signed by former President Barack Obama and pushed the uninsured rate to its lowest level in history. About 24 million people currently buy health insurance from subsidized marketplaces, according to KFF, a health research nonprofit.
Democrats and some Republicans worry that many people will give up insurance if prices rise dramatically. With tax credits set to expire next year, health insurers will soon be sending out premium increase notices. Notifications are scheduled for November 1 in most states.
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from families “who are absolutely panicking that their premiums have doubled.”
“They are small business owners who are having to consider quitting the job they love or giving up coverage altogether to seek employer-sponsored health care elsewhere,” he added.
Some Republicans have acknowledged that expiring the tax credit could be problematic and have suggested possible compromises, but there is no consensus in the GOP. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., this week called COVID-era subsidies a “favor.”
President Donald Trump has said he “wants to see a deal get done for major health care” but has been less involved in the discussion. Thune insisted Democrats hold an initial vote to reopen the government before starting health care negotiations. Congressional negotiations on major health care changes will likely take weeks or longer to reach consensus.
Defense appropriations vote fails
Senate Republicans held a vote to move forward on legislation that would fund the Department of Defense and possibly several other areas of government. The measure would shift the Senate’s focus to Thune’s priority of working on spending bills, potentially making military pay payments possible, but the House would eventually have to return to Washington to vote on the final negotiated bill.
The procedural vote failed 50-44, with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Jeanne Shaheen the only Democrats voting in favor.
“This is politics. If anything needed to show how disinterested Democrats are in supporting our troops and defending our country, look at this vote,” Thune shouted in the Senate chamber after the vote.
Democrats argued that Republicans had abandoned the bipartisan approach to the appropriations process, potentially excluding funding for other areas of government that are Democratic priorities.
“We believe we need strong defense, but we believe we need strong health care, we need strong security for the American people, we need strong programs to help them with a lot of things like mental health and education,” Schumer said Thursday. he said.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he would not vote to “move forward on appropriations bills until we get serious about stopping health premiums from rising.”
No solution in sight
The votes showed that Senate leaders are not communicating with each other, and there is a growing sense on Capitol Hill that an end to the deadlock is not imminent.
“Many of you have asked all of us, how will this end?” “We have no idea,” Johnson said.
