WASHINGTON – House Republicans announced Tuesday a parking spending bill that would allow federal agencies to fund by Nov. 21, and bold Democrats know that the consequences could be a partial government shutdown that will begin on Oct. 1, the beginning of a new budget year.
The bill will typically fund institutions at the current level, with limited exceptions, including an additional $88 million to improve security for legislators and Supreme Court members and the executive branch. The proposed upgrade comes as lawmakers face increasing personal threats as conservative activist Charlie Kirk raised their concerns last week.
The House is expected to vote on the measure by Friday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune Say he also hopes the Senate will accept the Senate this week. However, any bill requires some democratic support to move forward through the Senate, and it is not clear whether this will happen.
Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries have been asking their Republican counterparts to meet to negotiate the bill for weeks, but they say Republicans refused. Any bill requires the help of at least seven Democrats in the Senate to overcome procedural barriers and hold a final vote.
The two Democratic leaders issued a joint statement saying “Republicans refuse to work with Democrats to turn our country to shutdowns.”
“The House Republican spending only fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming medical crisis,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in health insurance premiums at a time when families are already squeezed by higher costs.”
Republicans say it was Democrats who solved political problems by insisting on solving part of the government fundraising bill. Republicans have been willing to engage in closing threats in past budget struggles as a way to focus on their priority needs. In the winter of 2018-19, President Donald Trump insisted on federal funding to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall, that was the longest closure in the U.S.
This time, however, Democrats face great pressure from supporter bases to stand up. If Congress fails to expand subsidies, which many people use to buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange, they are particularly concerned about the potential of health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. These subsidies were conducted during the common crisis but were due soon.
Some people have been notified that their premiums (paid monthly premiums) are ready to sublimate next year. Insurance companies have issued notices in almost every state, with some of which proposed premiums up to 50%.
Johnson calls the debate on health insurance tax credits a policy issue in December, rather than a problem that needs to be addressed in September.
“It will be a clean, short-term ongoing solution, the end of the story,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s interesting to me that some of the Democrats who condemned the government’s shutdown under President Biden now seem to be off the cliff for our country. I hope they won’t.”
Thune Republicans are just offering what Schumer has asked in the past when Democrats are in the majority – “a clean funding solution to fund the government.” He said if the House passes the measure and Trump is ready to sign it, then “only Democratic leaders stand between this country and the shutdown of the government, and it is all the means.”
