WASHINGTON (BN24) — The Senate voted Sunday on whether to advance a House-passed continuing resolution in a critical step toward unlocking a deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The measure has failed to reach a 60-vote threshold 14 times. Three senators have repeatedly crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans. But Republicans need five more Democrats to vote with them to move the bill forward.
This time, the vote marks a key change, with a GOP plan to amend the bill should it advance to attach a trio of longer-term appropriations bills that were released Sunday. The vote is widely viewed as a key to unlocking the deal to end the shutdown.
A deal has been reached in the Senate, with at least eight Democrats prepared to vote in favor of a negotiated deal, a source familiar with the deal told CBS News. The deal, led by Sens. Angus King of Maine, and Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, has been reached with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, the source said.
The group of three former governors said they would vote to reopen if the Senate passed three annual spending bills and extended the rest of government funding until late January. Thune endorsed the deal Sunday night and called an immediate vote to begin the process of approving it.
“The time to act is now,” Thune said.
The deal includes a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing regarding the Affordable Care Act, with an agreement to hold a vote on the issue by the end of the second week of December. Democrats have sought to extend health insurance tax credits under the ACA.
The deal also includes a reversal of all shutdown reduction in force notices, or layoffs, that occurred during the shutdown, the source said, and extends the stopgap funding measure through January, among other things.
The deal would also include a future vote on the health care subsidies, which would not have a guaranteed outcome, and a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers that have happened since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. The full text of the deal has not yet been released.
“We must not delay any longer,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins said in a Senate floor speech, adding that she is “relieved” that the shutdown appeared headed toward an end.
Republicans need five Democratic votes to reopen the government. In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to millions of federal workers, also said he would support the agreement.
“I have long said that to earn my vote, we need to be on a path toward fixing Republicans’ health care mess and to protect the federal workforce,” Kaine said in a statement shared on social media. “This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will.”
He continued that the negotiated deal would protect federal workers from “baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay.”
After Democrats met for over two hours to discuss the proposal, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he could not “in good faith” support it.
“I must vote no — this health care crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot in good faith support this CR that fails to address the health care crisis,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
“America is in the midst of a Republican-made health care crisis,” Schumer said on the floor just ahead of the expected votes. He said Americans would “suffer immensely” and that the crisis would only get worse.
“Democrats have sounded the alarm,” Schumer said, and “will not give up the fight.”
He added, “however this vote turns out, this fight will and must continue.”
Schumer railed against Republicans for refusing to engage with Democrats on the health care issue during the shutdown, while pledging to continue the fight on health care.
“On Friday, we offered Republicans a compromise, a proposal that would extend the ACA tax credits for a year and open up the government at the same time,” he said. “They once again said no.”
Schumer said when Republicans “said no on our compromise, they showed that they are against any health care reform.”
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said that giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.”
“It would be a horrific mistake to cave in to Trump right now,” Sanders told reporters when asked about the emerging deal.
“The American people cannot afford a doubling of their health care premiums,” he said as he headed into the caucus meeting. “They can’t afford to lose their Medicaid, which 15 million people would. And essentially, if Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism.”
Sanders added, “That would be a tragedy for this country.”
“I think it would be a policy and political disaster for the Democrats to cave,” he said.
Senate Democrats emerged from their caucus meeting after more than two hours. Many would not answer questions about how they planned to vote on advancing the House-passed funding measure, expected later Sunday, though a handful said they would vote against it.
Sens. Reuben Gallego and Elizabeth Warren also said they will vote against it.
Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, outlined why the deal came together after the Senate Democrats’ caucus meeting, telling reporters what changed for some in the party was “the length of the shutdown.”
“The question was, as the shutdown progresses, is a solution on the ACA becoming any more likely? It appears not,” King said. “And I think people are saying we’re not going to get what we want, although we still have a chance, because part of the deal is a vote on the ACA subsidies.”
King said, “in the meantime, a lot of people are being hurt.”
Final passage of the legislation could take several days if Democrats object and draw out the process.
Republicans have been working with the group of moderates as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay. But many Democrats have warned their colleagues against giving in, arguing that they cannot end the fight without an agreement to extend the health subsidies.
As Senate Democrats met ahead of a possible vote to end the shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Sunday night that House Democrats would not support legislation that does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that have been at the heart of the shutdown fight.
“As a result of the Republican refusal to address the healthcare crisis that they have created, tens of millions of everyday Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket. Many will not be able to afford a doctor when they or their children need one,” Jeffries wrote.
“America is far too expensive. We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he added.
Returning to the White House on Sunday evening after attending a football game, Trump did not say whether he endorsed the deal. But he said, “It looks like we’re getting close to the shutdown ending.”
Democrats have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they have demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have refused to negotiate on the health care subsidies while the government is closed, but they have been supportive of the proposal from moderate Democrats as it emerged over the last several days.
The agreement would fund parts of government, including food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things, and extend funding for everything else until the end of January.
The deal would reinstate federal workers who had received reduction in force, or layoff, notices and reimburse states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown. It would also protect against future reductions in force through January and guarantee all federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over.
Alongside the funding fix, Republicans released final legislative text of three full-year spending bills Sunday. That legislation keeps a ban on pay raises for lawmakers but boosts their security by $203.5 million in response to increased threats. There is also a provision championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, to prevent the sale of some hemp-based products.
Republicans only need five votes from Democrats to reopen the government, so a handful of senators could end the shutdown with only the promise of a later vote on health care. Around 10 to 12 Democrats have been involved in the talks, and sources familiar with the agreement said they had enough votes to join with Republicans and pass the deal.
Many of their Democratic colleagues said the emerging deal is not enough.
“I really wanted to get something on health care,” said Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. “I’m going to hear about it right now, but it doesn’t look like it has something concrete.”
House Democrats were also speaking out against it. Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that does not reduce health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.
“Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise — it’s capitulation,” Casar said in a post on social media. “Millions of families would pay the price.”
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota posted that “if people believe this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you.”
Even if the Senate were to move forward with funding legislation, getting to a final vote could take several days if Democrats who oppose the deal object and draw out the process. The first vote, which could come as soon as Sunday evening, would be to proceed to consideration of the legislation.
There is no guarantee that the Affordable Care Act subsidies would be extended if Republicans agree to a future vote on health care. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, has said he will not commit to a health vote.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.
Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.
“THE WORST HEALTHCARE FOR THE HIGHEST PRICE,” Trump said of the Affordable Care Act in a post Sunday.
Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown were compounding. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.
Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that air travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday will be “reduced to a trickle” if the government does not reopen.
At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as SNAP benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown. More than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” as Trump’s administration is demanding states “undo” benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings.
And in Washington, home to millions of federal workers who have gone unpaid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it is providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to this budget year, a nearly 20 percent increase.
The government has been shut down since Oct. 1 and has been shuttered for a record-smashing 40 days.
