The Senate was back in session and held its eighth vote on the House-approved CR (H.R. 5371) yesterday evening. The CR failed by a vote of 49-45. No members deviated from their previous votes, though Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) missed this vote. Other senators who did not vote include Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). The House remains out of session.
The Senate has one hearing scheduled for this week, and work has stalled on permitting reform and the Farm Bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed eight of the 12 necessary appropriations bills but has not marked up a bill since July. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has filed for a procedural vote on the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, indicating he wants to continue work on appropriations bills.
Pressure points
With President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth promising to pay the military during the shutdown, Congress has been relieved of a crucial pressure point.
Another concern is November 1, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment begins. Open enrollment, which lasts until January 15, allows individuals to select or make changes to an ACA health insurance plan without a qualifying event. The open enrollment period is crucial for individuals who rely on federal health insurance, and senators are likely to hear an increased number of health insurance concerns as the open enrollment period approaches and the issue becomes top of mind for constituents.
Air traffic controllers remain a concern as travelers across the country are impacted by long lines, delays, and cancellations.
Reductions in Force (RIFs)
Recent updates on the RIFs that began on October 10 include:
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mistakenly fired 700 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees, allegedly due to a coding error. Many of the people who were fired are now being rehired by HHS.
- Roughly 315 Department of Commerce employees have been laid off.
- 187 Department of Energy employees have been laid off.
- Of the nearly 1,500 people fired from the Department of the Treasury, roughly 1,300 were from the Internal Revenue Service.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent intent-to-RIF notices to approximately 20-30 EPA employees from the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division who work on programs related to reducing chemical pollution in manufacturing processes, promoting recycling, and recovering rare earth minerals from electric-vehicle batteries and electronics.
- Every employee of the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund received a RIF. The program is designed to support community-based lenders that serve low-income and underserved areas. The RIF memo stated the layoffs were necessary to “implement the abolishment of the CDFI.” Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), co-chairs of the Senate Community Development Finance Caucus, sent a letter to the Administration, signed by 23 senators, emphasizing bipartisan support for the CDFI Fund.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) posted on X, stating, “OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence. Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait.”
Democrats are preparing to serve the Trump Administration a lawsuit over the shutdown RIFs.
Everyday impacts
Over the last four years, the government has reimbursed more than 330 hospitals for remotely monitoring thousands of seriously ill patients at home via the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Under the shutdown, hospitals are forced to move those patients back into facilities. Hospitals are already struggling to make room for patients due to the beginning of flu season.
The Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed on October 11 due to the shutdown.
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