Senators take first step toward reopening the government after historic shutdown : NPR

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on September 30.

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A bipartisan group of Senate Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, voting on the first procedural step of the measure.

The deal would fund the government through Jan. 30 and include full-year funding for a trio of appropriations bills, including full funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, through Sept. 30, 2026, or the end of the fiscal year.

The vote Sunday night was 60-40, with seven Democrats and one independent joining most Republicans to advance the measure.

This was the first, but crucial, step toward passing the measure in the Senate. Once the bill has the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, the remaining votes in the Senate need only a simple majority. However, the legislation must still pass the House before the shutdown ends, which will, among other things, allow air traffic controllers and other federal workers to be paid and federal food benefits to resume.

Senate Democrats previously voted against more than a dozen short-term spending measures in their fight to preserve health care subsidies. But as the consequences of the shutdown continued to be felt, some accepted more modest changes in the latest framework.

The resolution to fund the government through the end of January would also include provisions to reverse any federal employee workforce reductions that occurred during the shutdown, as well as protections against further such layoffs through the end of the fiscal year and back pay for all federal employees during the shutdown.

“I have long said that to earn my vote, we must be on track to fix the Republicans’ health care mess and protect the federal workforce,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in a statement. “This deal guarantees a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, something Republicans were unwilling to do.”

The government reopening deal is also expected to include a Senate vote on health care by the second week of December, on a bill chosen by Democrats. This informal agreement is not part of the legislative text.

Democrats are deeply divided over the compromise measure, which was opposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“I think it’s a terrible mistake,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said of the deal. “The American people want us to fight for health care.”

Democratic divisions over legislation

Several leading Democrats in the House have also pledged to vote against the bill.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the deal in a statement before the Senate vote.

“We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to expand the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries said in a statement. “We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be forced to end the seven-week, taxpayer-funded Republican vacation.”

And Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas called the deal a “betrayal” and a “capitulation” because it does not reduce health care costs.

The House has not held a vote since Sept. 19 and already passed a government funding measure without Democratic support.

The Senate’s deal on government funding comes after Democrats scored a string of election victories last week, giving some in the party new political confidence to continue fighting for expanded health care.

Many Democrats believed that maintaining the government shutdown gave them their only legislative leverage, with Republicans still maintaining control of Congress and the White House.

Moderate Democrats defended their votes, with some telling reporters it was the best deal they could make.

Kaine, one of the Democrats who voted in favor of the measure on Sunday, defended his support, saying Democrats would be able to bring important health care legislation to a vote.

“Legislators know that their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the polls by someone who does,” he said in his statement.