The U.S. House of Representatives was poised to vote Wednesday on legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, as Democrats expressed fury that the Senate-brokered compromise failed to extend expiring health care subsidies.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has ordered lawmakers to return to Washington after keeping the chamber out of session for more than 50 days.
On Monday, a dissident group of Senate Democrats joined Republicans to promote legislation that would fund the federal government through the end of January, without extending tax credits.
The move sparked a furious reaction among Democrats, many of whom have called the plan a betrayal. Influential progressive groups have even called for the resignation of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
All Republicans supported passage of the measure except Rand Paul of Kentucky, along with eight moderate members of the Democratic caucus, several of whom were recently re-elected or served their final terms.
The long-awaited House vote, on day 42 of the shutdown, comes as hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers do not receive their paychecks, millions of Americans risk losing food assistance and airlines warn travelers to prepare for continued disruptions.
On Tuesday night, the House rules committee voted 8-4 along party lines to advance the Senate package, setting the stage for it to reach the House floor on Wednesday.
At the beginning of the hearing, the panel’s top Democrat, Jim McGovern, welcomed Republicans to Washington, denouncing their absence during the shutdown.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked, during his opening speech, later adding: “The Republicans quit their jobs. They disappeared.”
Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the committee, blamed Democrats for causing the shutdown and clearly noted that they left “empty-handed” after insisting they would not budge until they secured an extension of enhanced health care subsidies.
While they didn’t win that concession, senators who broke with the Democratic caucus took credit for getting Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune to agree to hold a vote in mid-December on an extension of the tax credits.
If the subsidies expire, millions of Americans could see sharp increases in their health care premiums or lose their Marketplace coverage entirely.
The short-term government funding bill would extend government funding at current levels through January 2026 along with three-year provisions that will fund programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations.
The continuing resolution also includes language to halt mass federal layoffs and reverse layoffs that occurred during the shutdown, prohibiting additional reductions through the end of January and guaranteeing back pay to workers who have gone weeks without paychecks.
At a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he had “strong expectations” that House Democrats would vote against the proposal.
He joined a group of Democratic lawmakers to introduce an amendment that would extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years. The proposal was rejected Tuesday night by the Republican-controlled House rules committee.
“Due to the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, in the midst of an already existing cost of living crisis that they failed to address, health care for people across this country is on the verge of becoming unaffordable,” Jeffries said.
With a majority of 219 members assuming full attendance, Johnson can only afford to lose two votes on the bill, and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie is likely to vote against it. But Republican leaders have expressed optimism that the legislation will pass Wednesday and be sent to Trump for his signature.
Addressing a crowd at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day Tuesday, Trump congratulated Johnson and called the Senate bill a “huge victory.”
“We are opening our country,” he added. “It should never have been closed.”
(The UK Guardian)
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