WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Thursday rejected a stopgap spending bill to reopen the government for the 10th time, insisting they would not back away from demands Congress is working on. medical benefits.
Thursday morning’s vote failed 51-45, falling far short of the 60 votes needed to advance the Senate’s filibuster rules.
Repeated votes on funding bills are a daily occurrence in Congress, highlighting how out of control the situation has become. At times, it was the only item on the agenda for House Republicans. left Washington completely. The stalemate lasted more than two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded. federal employee With furloughs and no guaranteed pay, Congress was effectively paralyzed.
“We are in day 16 of a government shutdown, and while we are seemingly at odds, real people are wondering if the government will work together on their behalf,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska.
Senate Majority Leader John Tune Democrats have repeatedly pressed him to end his strategy of voting against stopgap funding bills. It didn’t work. And while bipartisan talks continue on a potential compromise on health care, no meaningful progress has been made toward reopening the government.
Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, also offered to vote on extending the aid at a later date. Health plans offered He said he is considering selling the drug on the market under the Affordable Care Act, but “there is no guarantee of results or results.”
Democrats say they won’t move until they can guarantee an extension of the health insurance tax credit. They warn that millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance, including small business owners, farmers and contractors, will see significant price increases when premiums are lowered in the coming weeks. That’s what they’re thinking as they look ahead to the Nov. 1 deadline in most states. voters will demand I hope the Republicans will enter into serious negotiations.
“The ACA crisis is on everyone’s mind, but Republicans appear ready to let people’s insurance premiums go up,” said Senate Democratic Leader Sgt. Chuck Schumer In the floor speech.
Meanwhile, Thune also tried a different tack Thursday with a vote on the spending bill. Democrats dared to vote against a Pentagon funding bill that could lead to payments to U.S. military personnel during the government shutdown.
Subsidy deadline for medical plans
Democrats are rallying around health care as a top priority while opposing a vote on Republican legislation that would reopen the government. But they also warn that the time has come for a preventive deal. Significant increases for many health plans I draw it briefly.
When Democrats took control of Congress during the pandemic, they increased subsidies for health plans in the Affordable Care Act. This pushes enrollment under President Barack Obama’s signature health care law to a new level. Reduced the proportion of uninsured people to historic lows. According to the healthcare research nonprofit KFF, nearly 24 million people currently receive health insurance through subsidized marketplaces.
Democrats and some Republicans worry that many people will give up on insurance if prices rise significantly. The tax credits don’t expire until next year, but health insurance companies are expected to send out notices of price increases soon. Most states will impose a curfew on November 1st.
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from “families in complete panic that their premiums are doubling.”
“These are small business owners who are having to consider whether to give up the job they love and get employer-sponsored health insurance elsewhere or give up their insurance altogether,” she added.
Murray also said that if many people decide to drop their health insurance, it could have an impact on health insurance overall because fewer people have health insurance. As a result, prices could rise across the board, she said.
Some Republicans acknowledge that expiring tax credits could be a problem and have suggested possible compromises to address it, but there is little consensus within the party.
speaker of the house mike johnsonR-La., this week called coronavirus-era subsidies “profiteering,” adding, “When you subsidize a health care system and pay more to insurance companies, the rates go up.”
president donald trump “I would like to see a deal for good health care,” he said, but did not have a meaningful impact on the debate. And Thune is insisting that Democrats vote to reopen the government first before negotiating on health care.
If Congress were to negotiate major health care changes, it would likely take weeks, if not longer, to reach a compromise.
voting on spending bills
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are scheduled to vote on a bill Thursday that would provide funding for the Defense Department and several other areas of government. That could make the Senate consider a spending bill a Thune priority, paving the way for military pay, but the House would ultimately have to return to Washington to vote on a final bill negotiated between the two chambers.
It was also an attempt to put a rift in the Democratic Party’s resolve. “If they want to block the defense bill, I don’t think that’s a very good idea for them,” Thune said Thursday.
But Democrats appear prepared to vote against the bill moving forward. They accused Republicans of abandoning their bipartisan position in the spending process, potentially leaking funding to other areas of government that are priorities for Democrats.
“We believe we need a strong defense, but we also believe we need strong health care, strong security for the American people, and strong programs to support many other issues, mental health and education,” Schumer said Thursday.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he would not vote to “move forward with a spending bill until we are serious about stopping health care premium increases.”
That created a growing sense on Capitol Hill that there was no end to the stalemate anywhere in sight.
“So many people asked all of us how this was going to end,” Johnson said. “We have no idea.”
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freaking contributed reporting.
