Democrats stake out opposition to spending bill, raising threat of a shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders lashed out Tuesday at a stop-gap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month, warning Republicans they will not support a measure that doesn't address their concerns on the soaring cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans.

House Republicans unveiled the spending bill Tuesday. It would keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to work out their differences on spending levels and policy for the coming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Republicans said that they were providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown battles — a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.

“It’ll be a clean, short-term continuing resolution, end of story,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. “And it’s interesting to me that some of the same Democrats who decried government shutdowns under President Biden appear to have no heartache whatsoever at walking our nation off that cliff right now. I hope they don’t.”

The bill would generally fund agencies at current levels, with a few limited exceptions, including an extra $88 million to boost security for lawmakers and members of the Supreme Court and the executive branch. The proposed boost comes as lawmakers face an increasing number of personal threats, with their concerns heightened by last week's assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have been asking their Republican counterparts for weeks for a meeting to negotiate on the bill, but they say that Republicans have refused. Any bill needs help from at least seven Democrats in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles and advance to a final vote.

The two Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Tuesday after Republicans unveiled the short-term funding bill, saying that by “refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country toward a shutdown.”

“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”

The House is expected to vote on the measure by Friday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would prefer the Senate take it up this week as well. But any bill will need some Democratic support and it's unclear whether that will happen.

In past budget battles, it has generally been Republicans who’ve been willing to engage in shutdown threats as a way to focus attention on their priority demands. That was the situation during the nation’s longest shutdown in the winter of 2018-19, when President Donald Trump insisted on money to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. A 16-day shutdown in 2013 occurred as Republicans demanded significant changes to then-President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in exchange for funding the government and permitting Treasury the borrowing latitude to pay the nation’s bills.

This time, however, Democrats are facing intense pressure from their base of supporters to stand up to Trump. They have particularly focused on the potential for skyrocketing health care premiums for millions of Americans if Congress fails to extend enhanced subsidies, which many people use to buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange. Those subsidies were put in place during the COVID crisis, but are set to expire.

Some people have already received notices that their premiums — the monthly fee paid for insurance coverage — are poised to spike next year. Insurers have sent out notices in nearly every state, with some proposing premium increases of as much as 50%. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the number of people without insurance would rise by 2.2 million in 2026, and by 3.7 million the following year, if Congress does not extend the enhanced tax credits.

Johnson called the debate over health insurance tax credits a December policy issue, not something that needs to be solved in September. And Thune said that almost every Democratic lawmaker voted for the short-term continuing resolutions when Joe Biden was president and Schumer was majority leader.

“I’m sure you’re all asking the question, are we or are we not going to have a Schumer shutdown?" Thune asked reporters Tuesday. “And it sounds like, from what he is indicating, that very well may happen.”