Senate Democrats reject government funding bill for tenth time over healthcare subsidies

Senate Democrats rejected a stopgap spending bill Thursday, October 16, that would reopen the government, marking the tenth consecutive failed vote as lawmakers remain deadlocked over healthcare benefits.

The vote failed 51-45, falling short of the 60 votes required to advance under Senate filibuster rules. The repeated votes on the funding bill have become a daily occurrence in Congress, highlighting the intractable nature of the standoff.

The Senate floor has at times focused solely on the funding measure while House Republicans have left Washington. The shutdown has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed and more without guaranteed paychecks.

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"As we are positioning as two sides that are seemingly dug in on this 16th day of a shutdown, real people are wondering is their government going to be there for them?" said GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Shutdown timeline extends

The shutdown is on track to surpass the 16-day closure in 2013, which also centered on the Affordable Care Act. The longest shutdown ended in 2019 after 35 days.

While the military received pay this week, the duration of that arrangement remains uncertain. The White House budget office informed Congress the payment cost $6.5 billion for one pay period, with the next due in two weeks.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly attempted to pressure Democrats to abandon their strategy of voting against the stopgap funding bill without success. Bipartisan discussions about potential healthcare compromises have not produced meaningful progress toward reopening the government.

"The Democratic Party is the party that will not take yes for an answer," Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said in a Senate floor speech.

Thune offered to hold a later vote on extending subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans but said he would not "guarantee a result or an outcome."

Healthcare subsidies deadline approaches

Democrats maintain they will not change their position until receiving a guarantee on extending tax credits for health plans. They warn millions of Americans who purchase individual health insurance, including small business owners, farmers, and contractors, will face significant premium increases in coming weeks.

With a Nov. 1 deadline approaching in most states, Democrats believe voters will pressure Republicans to enter serious negotiations.

"The ACA crisis is looming over everyone's head, and yet Republicans seem ready to let people's premiums spike," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a floor speech.

Thursday, Thune attempted a different approach with a vote to proceed to appropriations bills, challenging Democrats to vote against Department of Defense funding legislation. Democrats also rejected that measure.

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Democrats focus on Affordable Care Act credits

Democrats have centered their position on healthcare priorities while opposing the Republican bill to reopen the government. They emphasize time is running short to prevent large premium increases for many health plans.

Democrats boosted subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans during the pandemic when they controlled Congress. The enhancement pushed enrollment under former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law to new levels and drove the uninsured rate to a historic low. Nearly 24 million people currently obtain health insurance from subsidized marketplaces, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

Democrats and some Republicans worry many individuals will forgo insurance if prices rise dramatically. While tax credits do not expire until next year, health insurers will soon send premium increase notices. In most states, notices are scheduled for Nov. 1.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from "families who are absolutely panicking about their premiums that are doubling."

"They are small business owners who are having to think about abandoning the job they love to get employer-sponsored health care elsewhere or just forgoing coverage altogether," she added.

Some Republicans have acknowledged the tax credit expiration could present problems and suggested potential compromises, but the GOP lacks consensus. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., this week called the COVID-era subsidies a "boondoggle."

President Donald Trump has said he would "like to see a deal done for great health care," but has not significantly engaged in the debate. Thune has insisted Democrats first vote to reopen the government before entering healthcare negotiations. Congressional negotiations on significant healthcare changes would likely require weeks or longer to produce a compromise.

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Defense appropriations vote fails

Senate Republicans held a vote to proceed to legislation funding the Department of Defense and possibly several other government areas. The measure would have shifted Senate focus to Thune's priority of working through spending bills and potentially enabled troop salary payments, though the House would eventually need to return to Washington to vote on a final negotiated bill.

The procedural vote failed 50-44 with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, and Jeanne Shaheen the only Democrats voting in favor.

"This is politics. If anything was needed to demonstrate just how fundamentally uninterested Democrats are in supporting our troops and defending our country, just take a look at this vote," Thune yelled on the Senate floor following the vote.

Democrats argued Republicans had abandoned bipartisanship in the appropriations process, potentially excluding funding for other government areas that are Democratic priorities.

"We believe that we need a strong defense, but we believe we need strong health care, we need strong safety for the American people, we need strong programs that help them with so many other issues, mental health and education," Schumer said Thursday.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he would not vote to "move forward on appropriations bills until they're serious about stopping health care premiums from going up."

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No resolution in sight

The votes demonstrated Senate leaders are not communicating with each other, leaving Capitol Hill with a growing sense an end to the stalemate is not imminent.

"So many of you have asked all of us, how will it end?" Johnson said, "We have no idea."