Democrats refuse to end shutdown for 13th time, drawing GOP ire

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(The Center Square) – Despite opposition from major federal labor unions, Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ Continuing Resolution to reopen and fund the government for the 13th time Tuesday.

The ongoing shutdown, having now lasted 28 days, is the second-longest in American history. Thousands of federal workers – including law enforcement and air traffic controllers – are working without pay, while hundreds of thousands are on unpaid furlough.

Americans are experiencing flight delays and complications as fewer air traffic controllers report to work and instead take odd jobs to hold out until the government reopens. Small businesses are unable to access federal loans. In four days, tens of millions of low-income Americans on food stamps will not receive SNAP benefits for the month of November.

“This wasn’t my plan for the month of October,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday. “My plan was to get the government funded with as little drama as possible. That’s why Republicans put forward a clean Continuing Resolution – no partisan policies, nothing new. Who could possibly have a problem with that? It would give us more time to continue progress on full-year appropriations bills – the way we’re supposed to fund the government.”

Thune’s comments echoed widespread Republican frustration with Senate Democrats for their refusal to help advance the nonpartisan House-passed CR. The bill would merely reopen the government and place agency funds on cruise control while lawmakers finish regular appropriations and refresh federal funding levels.

But Democrats won’t agree to any funding deal that doesn’t also include extending the pandemic-era expansion of the Obamacare Premium Tax Credit, set to expire Dec. 31. 

Since millions of Americans’ health care premiums could skyrocket if the credits aren’t extended, Democrats say Congress should address the policy issue now. They refuse to back down unless Republican leaders promise not only a vote on extending the subsidies, but also a guarantee that the vote will succeed.

“We are in a healthcare crisis, and Republicans don’t even want to talk about how to fix it,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted on X following the Tuesday vote. “This Republican healthcare crisis will be felt in nearly every community and by nearly every single household[.]"

Thune and other Republicans have condemned the demands as unreasonable.

“We’re running out of time. And every day Democrats say no to reopening the government is another day lost,” Thune said. “We’ve given Democrats a lot of opportunities to work in the best interest of the American people. But Democrats seem more interested in getting the upper hand in their partisan games.”