Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has indicated that a vote aimed at ending the government shutdown will take place Friday.
In a private lunch with Republicans, Senator Thune discussed reintroducing the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) to include a later expiration date and three-bill appropriations minibus. The minibus would consist of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act (S. 2256); the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (S. 2257); and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriation Act (H.R. 3944). The amended CR expiration date could potentially be in January and would reallocate funding to pay U.S. military and ensure federal workers receive retroactive pay.
Senator Thune said he believes that the bill could gain Democratic support; however, Democrats seem willing to hold out in hopes of a better deal. Finalizing a deal could take several days, and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) said the Senate could be in session over the weekend.
Democratic senators held a special caucus meeting yesteday where they emerged unified on a shutdown strategy focused on healthcare and helping federal workers affected by the shutdown.
The GOP threw a new proposal into the negotiation mix by offering to discuss the rehiring of federal workers who have been laid off during the shutdown. On October 28, a federal judge indefinitely extended her order barring the White House from firing federal workers during the government shutdown. Democrats are interested in including clear statutory language in the CR that would help protect workers from layoffs.
Senators Jim Banks (R-IN) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) have joined their Republican colleagues in indicating they would vote to end the filibuster. Senator Thune has not made plans to conduct a vote.
Impacts
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a list of airports impacted by the flight reduction.
- Airports in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. are on the list.
- United Airlines said it would focus the reductions on smaller regional routes that use smaller planes, such as 737s.
- United, Delta, and American Airlines have said they will offer refunds for cancelled flights.
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump Administration to release full funding for SNAP by Friday. The Trump Administration sent an updated memo to State and regional SNAP directors that adjusts the maximum allotment from 50 percent to 65 percent, meaning recipients will receive a greater percentage of SNAP benefits than originally expected.
The Affordable Care Act
The Democrats continue to indicate a plan to address the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy extensions is needed in order to make progress on shutdown negotiations.
This morning, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he would not promise a vote on healthcare subsidies, stating, “I’m not promising anybody anything.” Speaker Johnson has maintained this stance throughout the shutdown, refusing to bring the House back for a vote that is not shutdown related.
Senator Thune has been much more open to a vote on ACA subsidies but clarified that he cannot guarantee an outcome. He stated that “the clear path forward here with regard to the ACA issue is they get a vote, and we open up the government, and we head down to the WH [White House] and sit with the President and talk about it .”
Democrats appear somewhat divided on whether a separate ACA vote would be beneficial to shutdown negotiations. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said a separate vote would amount to “surrender,” while Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said she thinks “talks continue to be productive and hopefully [they] can get a resolution.”
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