Senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, trying to find a bipartisan resolution that has eluded them as federal workers lose their paychecks, airlines are forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits are postponed for millions of Americans.
As Congress began Saturday, it was unclear whether Republicans and Democrats could make progress toward reopening the government and breaking a 39-day partisan deadlock.
President Trump made clear Saturday that he is unlikely to compromise any time soon with Democrats demanding an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. He posted on social media that the ACA is “the worst health care system in the world” and proposed that Congress send money directly to people to buy insurance.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Trump’s proposal is not part of the solution to lifting the shutdown, but added, “It’s a discussion that the president and all of us want to have.” Thune said he intends to prorogue the Senate until the shutdown ends, saying, “Ideally, it would be great to have the Senate in place so that we could vote today.”
Senate Republican leaders expressed openness to a new proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on ACA aid.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D.H.), who is leading talks among moderates, said Friday night that Democrats “need another path forward” after Republicans rejected Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York’s proposal to reopen the government and extend subsidies for a year. “We’re working on it,” she said.
Moderates continue negotiations
Shaheen and others are negotiating with themselves and some rank-and-file Republicans on a bill that would fund parts of the government, including food assistance, veterans programs and the Legislature, and extend funding for everything else until December or January. The deal would not guarantee an extension of subsidies, only the promise of future health care votes.
It’s unclear whether enough Democrats would support such a plan. Even if an agreement were reached, it seems unlikely that President Trump would support extending health benefits. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) also said this week that he would not be involved in any health care votes.
Republican leaders need just five more votes to fund the government, with a group of 10 to 12 Democratic senators participating in the talks.
Some Republican lawmakers are open to extending coronavirus tax credits because it could lead to higher premiums for millions of people, but they want to put new limits on who can receive the subsidies. They lined up to take to the Senate floor on Saturday, arguing that funding for the plan should be provided through individuals.
“We’re going to replace this broken system with something that’s actually better for consumers,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.).
Republicans focus on new bill package
President Trump wants Republicans to quickly end the government shutdown, eliminate the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes for most bills, and bypass Democrats altogether. Vice President J.D. Vance, a former Ohio senator, supported the idea in an online post Saturday, saying Republicans who want to keep the filibuster in place are “wrong.”
Republicans have rejected Trump’s calls, and Thune is focused on bipartisan policy proposals that mirror proposals that moderate Democrats have envisioned. It’s unclear what promises Thune will make regarding health care. He has so far refused to negotiate.
The bill would replace a House-passed bill that Democrats have rejected 14 times since the government shutdown began on October 1. The current bill would extend government funding through November 21st.
Democratic Party’s Choice
If Thune decides to move forward, a test vote on the new bill could be held within days.
In that case, Democrats will have to make an important choice. Will they continue to fight for a meaningful agreement to extend subsidies that are set to expire in January, while prolonging the pain of the government shutdown? Or they could vote to reopen the government and hope for the best, as Republicans have promised an eventual health care vote, but that outcome is not guaranteed.
Schumer continued Saturday to argue that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
“Doing nothing would be remiss, because people are going bankrupt, people are losing insurance, and people are getting sicker,” Schumer said in a speech on the floor. “If Congress doesn’t act, this is what will happen.”
Earlier, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who is caucusing with Democrats, said Democrats needed to stand firm and demand an extension of the aid after Democrats won a landslide victory on Election Day this week.
Jalonick and Freeking contributed to The Associated Press. AP writers Seung-Min Kim, Joey Cappelletti, Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
