Senate Republicans offer govt funding olive branch; Democrats refuse it

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(The Center Square) – Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ bill to reopen the government for the tenth time Thursday – even after Republican leaders agreed to hold a vote on Democrats’ health care policy ultimatums.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had previously said that his party would provide the necessary votes if Republicans promised to “come to the table” to discuss extending the pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare Premium Tax Credits.

Now, Democrats have shifted their demands, saying they will only vote on the clean Continuing Resolution to fund federal agencies if Republicans guarantee that a health policy bill will pass.

The normally unruffled House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., expressed his frustration with Democrats’ recalcitrance in a Thursday press conference, telling them to “stop holding the American people hostage for these ridiculous political games.”

“I met with [Senate Majority] Leader [John] Thune, and he offered to Chuck Schumer a vote on Obamacare subsidies, and Schumer said no … because they wanted a guaranteed outcome,” Johnson said. “That’s a very complicated issue. It’s not something that four people can go into a back room and guarantee an outcome on."

He added that the Obamacare tax credits are “not appropriate” to include in a CR that covers basic government funding, particularly since the credits will expire at the end of December. 

"[W]e were always planning to continue the debate and discussion about the issue in October and November. Ironically, Democrats are taking the time off the clock for us to do that,” Johnson said. “We require the member-driven consensus process here, and that’s what’s necessary. So it’s not possible for Leader Thune to guarantee to Chuck Schumer some outcome on that because we haven’t finished those deliberations.” 

The federal government has been shuttered for over two weeks now and is set to drag into next week since Senators are heading home for the weekend. 

With hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed and thousands more working without pay – impacting tax services, air travel, and other services – Republicans are losing patience. Democrats have hinted that they are ready to prolong the shutdown into November if their health care stipulations aren’t satisfied, a plan Republicans have labeled “shameful.”

“I don’t like being mad Mike, I want to be happy Mike, I want to be the happy warrior,” Johnson, who is well known for his geniality, said. “But I am so upset about this.”