Government shutdown drags on; health care compromise is elusive
Washington – To hear the party leaders, the seventh day of government closure is very similar to the first. Democrats seek to negotiate the expiration of health care subsidies, while the Republicans claim that they will not discuss, or from any other policy, until the reopening of the government.
The two parties also offer very different visions of the affordable care law and how to manage enlarged premium assistance which will soon expire for millions of people – the Democrats want the aid to be prolonged, while the Republicans insist that the subsidized health system is broken and must be reduced.
“The position of the Democrats has not changed,” said the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer. “We want the same thing as a majority, overwhelming majority, of Americans, want to put an end to this closure and put an end to the health care crisis which will increase the premiums of tens of millions of people. »»
Chamber president Mike Johnson, R-La., Met the Senate Republicans on Tuesday and said the party was “united 100 %”, which, according to him, was “a good place to be”.
We do not know how this dead end will end, even if hundreds of thousands of federal officials are no longer paid and that many government services are slowed or suspended. Democrats believe that the public is for their part in their struggle to maintain the subsidies of the Covid era, but health care is also one of the most insoluble questions in Congress – and it is unlikely that a real compromise is easy or quick.
Some Republicans in Congress wish to extend aid, because millions of people who receive their insurance via the ACA markets should receive notifications indicating that their premiums will increase at the start of the year. But many republican legislators are firmly opposed to any extension – and see the debate as a new opportunity to try to reform the program.
“If the Republicans govern by survey and fail to grasp this moment, they will be owners,” wrote Texan Representative Chip Roy, a republican, in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal this weekend. He encouraged senators not to hesitate on this question.
“The context is over, the pandemic is over and my colleagues should not hesitate to turn in another direction,” wrote Roy.
A long history of health care struggles
The Republicans are up against the affordable Care Act, the flagship law on health care of former President Barack Obama, since she was promulgated 15 years ago. But even if they have managed to reduce it, they were not able to modify it substantially since a record number of 24 million people are now taken out for insurance coverage via ACA, largely because billions of dollars in subsidies have made the diets more affordable for many people.
Today, some of them see in the fight of the Democrats an opportunity to come back to the question, thus placing the Republican leaders of the Congress and President Donald Trump in a complicated position.
“I am happy to work with the Democrats on their failing health policies, or on anything else, but they must first allow our government to reopen,” wrote Trump on social networks on Monday evening, returning to previous comments claiming that negotiations were underway with the Democrats.
The head of majority in the Senate, John Thune, RS.D., told journalists on Monday that “there could be a path to follow” on the ACA subsidies, but stressed: “I think that will largely depend on the Blanche House’s decision on this point”.
Some Republican senators argue, however, that the only way to follow is to revise the law. “The problem in all of this is Obamacare,” said Florida Senator Rick Scott.
Johnson said discussions were underway on “fairly spectacular changes” to the law that Congress could consider once the government is reopened.
Bipartite negotiations come up against difficulties
The Senate has rejected on five times a bill adopted by the Chamber aimed at extending government funding until mid-November, Democrats refusing Republicans the right to adopt it unless they obtain concessions on health care.
While the leaders disagree, some basic senators of the two parties had private talks to try to find a way out. The Republican Senator Mike Rounds of the southern Dakota suggested extending the one -year subsidies, then gradually suppressing them. The president of the Senate of Credit Committee, Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggested moving forward with a group of bills for pending bipartite expenditure, and then obtaining a commitment to discuss the issue of health care.
But many Democrats say that a commitment is not enough, and the Republicans claim that they need deeper reforms, which leaves negotiations and the US government at neutral.
Maine senator, Angus King, an independent who participates in a Caucus with the Democrats, voted with the Republicans to maintain the government open. But he said on Monday that he could vote “no” if the Republicans do not bring “concrete and solid evidence that they will help us to face this crisis” in terms of health care.
The Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said, however, that his party “did not move”.
“Above all, before we can talk about anything, they have to reopen the government,” said Mullin.
Some Republicans call for health care action
However, some Republicans say they are willing to prolong subsidies – even if they do not like them – because it becomes clear that their voters will be confronted with an increase in costs.
“I am ready to consider various reforms, but I think we have to do something,” said Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. He said the congress should tackle the question “as soon as possible” before the start of the inscriptions opened on November 1.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA., Said that she was “not a fan” of Obamacare, but said that she could vote for her extension.
“I am going to go against everyone on this question because when the tax credits will expire this year, my own insurance premiums for adult children for 2026 will double, as well as those of all the wonderful families and people who work hard in my district,” she posted on social networks on Monday evening.
High issues for federal workers
With the intervention on both sides, the closure could last a certain time, leaving federal workers without their usual salary. And the White House now suggests that Trump could block wage arrears in the event of reopening of the government.
Trump promulgated a law in 2019 which guarantees the arrears of wages to federal workers in the event of failure of government funding. But a memo of the White House justifying the absence of salary arrears is being studied.
Johnson told journalists on Tuesday that he did not know the details of the note, but “if this is true, it should bring out the urgency and the need for Democrats to do what it takes here”.
The Democrats pushed the arguments of the White House. “The federal workers, including the technical unemployed workers, are entitled to their salary arrears following a closure,” said Senator of Washington Patty Murray, the highest democrat of the Senatorial Credit Commission.
The White House also announced Tuesday that it would use customs revenues to strengthen the additional additional nutrition program for women, infants and children, which is facing a lack of funding due to the closure.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an article on X that Trump had “identified a creative solution to transfer resources” from customs tariffs that the administration imposed on the United States business partners. It has not provided details on how these fund transfers could work.
The editors of Associated Press Matt Brown, Stephen Groves, Will Weissert and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
