After a 40-day government shutdown, a critical number of Senate Democrats have joined Republicans to advance a funding bill, setting the stage for the government to reopen. The breakthrough, which materialized late Sunday night, comes despite Democrats securing few concrete concessions beyond a promise of a future Senate vote on extending the expiring Obamacare subsidies.
A procedural vote saw eight Senate Democrats—including Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.)—siding with Republicans to move forward with a House-passed funding measure. The expected final bill would combine three bipartisan, full-year spending bills with a stopgap continuing resolution to fund the rest of the government through January 30th.
The only new additions to the deal are provisions to fund backpay for federal workers (already required by law) and language preventing new layoffs through the stopgap’s duration. Notably, the agreement provides no guarantee that the Obamacare subsidies will be extended.
Senators backing the deal argued that extending the stalemate would not yield a better outcome. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a negotiator, stated, “Waiting another week, or another month, wouldn’t deliver a better outcome… It would only mean more harm for families.”
However, several Democrats, including Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), criticized the deal for failing to take concrete action on healthcare, specifically to prevent premiums from doubling for millions of Americans, with one senator calling the health care promise a “vague promise of a vote.”
Despite the dissent, the bipartisan support appears sufficient to eventually end the longest government shutdown in history, although the House must still pass the measure. The short-term nature of the funding, however, means Congress could face another potential shutdown standoff as early as January 30th.
READ: West Virginia Activates National Guard, Commits $13M To Food Banks Amid Federal Shutdown
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