Republican leaders reject Democratic health care demands for bill to avoid shutdown
WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday that they will reject Democratic demands for an immediate extension of health care subsidies, challenging Democrats to vote against a stopgap spending bill that doesn't include them but will keep the government open at the end of the month.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Democrats “have a choice to make” as the Sept.
30 deadline approaches.They can work with Republicans, Thune said, or “they can shut down the government with all that will mean for the American people.”Democratic leaders have so far shown no signs of backing off their demands, arguing that it’s Republicans’ responsibility to negotiate with them as they will need at least seven Democratic senators to move the stopgap spending bill forward.
It’s a high-stakes game of brinksmanship for the Democrats, in particular, as the party’s base urges them to fight harder and many wager that a shutdown would force Republicans to negotiate with them on health care and other issues.“Democrats don’t want a shutdown, but Republicans cannot shut Democrats out of the process and pretend like the last nine months have been business as usual,” Schumer said.
It’s a risky strategy.If the government does shut down on Oct.
1, most federal agencies will close and millions of federal employees deemed non-essential, including many in the military, won’t receive paychecks.And there’s no guarantee that the two parties could find agreement on how to end the standoff.
Democrats on both sides of the Capitol are watching Schumer closely after his last-minute decision in March to vote with Republicans to keep the government open.Schumer argued then that a shutdown would be damaging and would give President Donald Trump and his White House freedom to make more government cuts.
Many on the left revolted, with some advocates calling for his resignation.The vote in the spring caused a temporary schism with House Democr...