Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined repeatedly on Tuesday to say whether Democrats would risk another government shutdown next month to force an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
The non-answers came during a tense exchange with reporters regarding the upcoming January 30 funding deadline. When asked if his party plans to use federal funding as leverage for health care demands—a strategy employed during the record-breaking shutdown that ended in November—Schumer avoided a simple “yes” or “no.”
“The bottom line is very simple,” Schumer said. “The way to solve this problem, because the toothpaste is already out of the tube, is get it done by January 1. The Republicans, if they care so much and feel the heat, they should make sure they pass our bill.”
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President Donald Trump ended the previous standoff on Nov. 12 by signing a spending package that restored federal worker pay and kept the lights on through January. However, that reprieve is temporary. According to the Congressional Research Service, roughly 90% of federal spending remains unfunded beyond the January 30 expiration date.
Reporters pressed Schumer on whether the strategy that led to the fall shutdown was back on the table for the new year.
“That doesn’t sound like you’ve arrived on a strategy for how to handle January 30. So is that in play?” one reporter asked.
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“I answered the question,” Schumer replied, though he did not clarify his stance on a potential shutdown. When the reporter noted the lack of clarity, Schumer reiterated his position on the timeline.
“It’s very, very hard to put it back in the bottom,” he said, referring to the expiration of subsidies. “Once it expires, the toothpaste is out of the tube.”
The political landscape remains complicated. While Democrats ended the last shutdown without securing the extension of enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits they sought, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has agreed to schedule a vote on a Democratic ACA bill in December. However, that measure faces a steep climb to reach the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has not agreed to a matching vote in the lower chamber.
Currently, only about 10% of the federal government is funded through the fiscal year. Without new appropriations bills or a continuing resolution by the end of next month, the government faces another closure.
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