Congressional Democrats on Wednesday evening introduced their own proposal to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month. The Democratic bill would extend federal funding through the end of October, permanently extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits and reverse recent Republican cuts to Medicaid and public broadcasting. It also seeks to push back on Trump administration efforts to rescind or exert more control over congressionally approved funding and calls for the creation of an inspector general for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
As lawmakers scramble to address heightened security fears in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the bill includes $326.5 million in security funding for members of Congress, judges and other government officials, far more than Republicans have proposed.
In all, the Democratic demands would add significant costs, including $350 billion over 10 years for extending the Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year and about $1 trillion over a decade for restoring the GOP’s healthcare cuts.
The deadline dynamics: Democratic leaders say they won’t accept a Republican plan to pass a “clean” stopgap spending bill that would extend federal funding largely at current levels to November 21. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have insisted that any short-term funding bill should also address what they call a looming healthcare affordability crisis. With 12 days to go before the shutdown deadline, Democrats say they are prepared to negotiate and argue that it is Republicans who now face a choice.
“For weeks, Democrats have been ready to sit down and hammer out an agreement, but Republicans are following Donald Trump’s orders not to even deal with Democrats instead of doing their jobs,” Schumer said in a statement. “Families are already stretched thin by rising costs— including healthcare costs—and hospitals are warning of crisis. Democrats are fighting to protect healthcare, lower costs, and keep the government open — because that’s what hardworking people expect and deserve.”
Some Republicans have expressed an interest in extending the higher Affordable Care Act subsidies and avoiding a sharp jump in the cost of coverage, but GOP leaders have dismissed Democratic demands to address the issue in a stopgap spending bill, arguing that policy issues should be dealt with separately once federal operations are funded. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Democrats “are trying to take a hostage here to do a whole bunch of stuff that can’t be done on a short-term funding resolution.”
A new CBO analysis: The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that permanently expanding the Affordable Care Act tax credits would add $350 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years — and would boost the number of people with health insurance by 3.8 million as of 2035. Rolling back other recent GOP moves to tighten the rules for the Obamacare marketplaces would add $312 billion to the deficit and raise the number of people with health coverage by 3.2 million.
What’s next: Democrats’ proposal has little chance of going anywhere. With both sides dug in and insisting that the blame for a shutdown will lie with the party across the aisle, House Republican leaders are planning to pass their stopgap measure tomorrow, assuming they can avoid more than two defections, and force Senate Democrats to once again decide whether to back that “clean” bill or allow the government to shut down. Once the stopgap passes, House Republican leaders are reportedly considering allowing members to leave town until after the shutdown deadline, leaving the Senate with no alternative path to keep the government running.