There have been no notable developments since our last update. The House is out of session this week, and the Senate returned Monday.
October 6, the US Senate voted for a fifth time on the two competing continuing resolutions (CRs). As expected, the Democrat-backed CR (S.2882) failed. The Republican-backed clean CR (H.R. 5371) also failed, with the same three Senators crossing party lines to support it.
Until an agreement is reached on how to address Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, the stalemate is expected to continue. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated his members are working on a legislative solution, which he does not view as imminent. He stated it is a “December 31 issue.”
Republicans continue to indicate they will not work on extensions until the CR is passed. Individuals in the White House are reportedly working on ACA subsidy extension proposals, including the potential for grandfathering current beneficiaries and cutting off boosted subsidies for new enrollees. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not confirm the existence of such a proposal. However, President Trump said, “We have a negotiation going on with Democrats that could lead to very good things … with regard to health care.” Republicans have stated that until there is direction from the White House, there is unlikely to be a solution.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said the shutdown will not end until the Democrats vote for a clean CR. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has expressed skepticism that an ACA agreement can be reached without cutting a deal on the CR.
The House is out of session this week, and Speaker Johnson does not have plans for them to return soon and stated, “We’ve done our work. Let the Senate do theirs.” This past weekend, House GOP members held a conference call in which Speaker Johnson said the House will return when Senator Schumer decides to reopen the government through the clean CR. He also indicated to Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, that he would commit to expeditiously moving spending bills if the government reopens, including the three-bill minibus with Military Construction-VA, Agriculture-FDA, and legislative branch bills.
Senator Murray responded on social media that, “Premium hikes are going out THIS MONTH.”
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