Dems oppose short-term spending bill
Government shutdown looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders lashed out Tuesday at a short-term spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month, warning Republicans they will not support a measure that doesn’t address their concerns on the soaring cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans.
House Republicans unveiled the spending bill Tuesday. It would keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to work out their differences on spending levels and policy for the coming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Republicans said that they were providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown battles — a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.
“It’ll be a clean, short-term continuing resolution, end of story,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. “And it’s interesting to me that some of the same Democrats who decried government shutdowns under President Biden appear to have no heartache whatsoever at walking our nation off that cliff right now. I hope they don’t.”
The bill would generally fund agencies at current levels, with a few limited exceptions, including an extra $88 million to boost security for lawmakers and members of the Supreme Court and the executive branch. The proposed boost comes as lawmakers face an increasing number of personal threats, with their concerns heightened by last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have been asking their Republican counterparts for weeks for a meeting to negotiate on the bill, but they say that Republicans have refused. Any bill needs help from at least seven Democrats in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles and advance to a final vote.
The two Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Tuesday after Republicans unveiled the short-term funding bill, saying that by “refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country toward a shutdown.”
“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
The House is expected to vote on the measure by Friday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would prefer the Senate take it up this week as well. But any bill will need some Democratic support and it’s unclear whether that will happen.
In past budget battles, it has generally been Republicans who’ve been willing to engage in shutdown threats as a way to focus attention on their priority demands. That was the situation during the nation’s longest shutdown in the winter of 2018-19, when President Donald Trump insisted on money to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall.