WASHINGTON (AP) — A crisis at the center of the world Fighting the government shutdown Things were reaching a climax in Washington on Saturday. federal food assistance program Millions of Americans will face delays, a dramatic increase. health insurance bill.
The impact on basic needs like food and health care underscored the impasse faced by households across the country. The Trump administration’s plan to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Saturday blocked by a federal judgeBut millions of people are still likely to be short on groceries due to delayed payments.
All this further increased the burden on the state, and salaries were not paid for a month. federal employee and grow flight delay. Shutdown has already taken place second longest in history Entering its second month on Saturday, there was little urgency in Washington to end the situation, with lawmakers away from the Capitol and both parties holding firm on their positions.
The House has not been in session for more than six weeks for legislative business, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S., closed the chamber over the weekend after bipartisan talks failed to make significant progress.
“I’m hopeful that the pressure will start to mount and the consequences of continuing the government shutdown will become real and expressed by everyone, and hopefully there will be renewed interest in finding a way forward,” Thune said.
The impasse looks increasingly unsustainable Republican President Donald Trump is demanding action, and Democratic leaders are warning that the uproar over rising health care costs will force Congress to act.
“This weekend, Americans are facing a health crisis that is unprecedented in modern times,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said this week.
Delays and uncertainties regarding SNAP
Department of Agriculture Scheduled to hold payment Until Saturday’s food program two federal judges order The government creates it. President Trump has said he intends to provide funding but wants further legal direction from the courts, which is not expected until Monday.
The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and costs about $8 billion per month. The justices agreed that the USDA would need to tap at least about $5 billion in reserve funds to continue the program. But that left some uncertainty as to whether the department would commit additional funding or only provide a portion of that month’s benefits.
Benefits are already delayed because many states take more than a week to load SNAP cards.
“The Trump administration must resolve this issue immediately by following the law and working closely with states to get nutrition assistance to the millions of people who rely on it as quickly as possible,” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in a statement after the ruling.
Republicans have responded to Democratic demands to fund SNAP, arguing that the program is in such dire straits because Democrats have repeatedly voted against short-term government funding bills.
“Thanks to Democrats voting against government funding 14 times, we are reaching a breaking point,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said at a press conference Friday.
playing cards he took part in the discussion himself Late Thursday, he proposed to Senate Republicans, who control the majority, to end the government shutdown by eliminating filibuster rules that prevent most bills from being considered without the support of at least 60 senators. Democrats have been using the filibuster to block the funding bill in the Senate for weeks.
Republican leaders quickly rejected Trump’s idea, but the debate showed how desperate the battle had become.
Medical subsidy expires
The annual enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health insurance also begins Saturday. rapid increase About how much people are paying for insurance. The enhanced tax credits that help most enrollees pay for health insurance premiums are set to expire next year.
The Democratic Party rallied to promote ~ extend those credits And he refuses to vote on government funding bills until Congress acts.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., spoke on the Senate floor this week about constituents who face up to $2,000 a month in premium increases if the credits expire.
“I’m hearing panic from families in my state today,” she said. “The time to act is now.”
If Congress doesn’t extend the credits, subsidized enrollees will face an average cost increase of about 114%, or more than $1,000 a year, according to a study by KFF, a health care research nonprofit.
Days before the open race began, Democratic politicians across the country warned that rising costs would hit voters hard.
In Wisconsin, for example, households enrolled in ACA silver plans could see annual premium increases of about $12,500 to $24,500, depending on where they live. A 60-year-old couple could face an annual increase of about $19,900 to $33,150.
“Whatever the percentage is, it’s a tremendous amount,” said Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Some Republicans in Congress are open to the idea of extending subsidies, but they also want to make major changes to health care reforms enacted under Democratic President Barack Obama.
Thune has suggested Democrats vote on extending benefits, but the outcome is not guaranteed.
Flight delays and unpaid wages
federal employee Currently, a month has passed without full salary payments, and employees are becoming increasingly exhausted.
The main unions representing federal employees are calling for an end to the government shutdown and are increasing pressure on Democrats to drop health care demands. The head of the union representing air traffic controllers urged Congress to pass a bill to reopen the government so federal employees can receive paychecks, and then allow lawmakers to engage in bipartisan negotiations on health care.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement Friday that the financial and emotional strain on employees is increasing and “safety is becoming less with each passing day of closure.”
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Associated Press writers Todd Richmond and Kevin Freeking in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
