WASHINGTON. —This Wednesday, the legislators of the House of Representatives will return to the capital of the country, after almost eight weeks awayto potentially end federal government shutdown longest in the history of USA.
The House is scheduled to take up a bill to reopen the government that the Senate approved on Monday night. He President Donald Trump described the measure as a “great victory”and is expected to pass the Republican-led chamber. However, the possibility of travel delays Due to the closure it could complicate the vote. He speaker of the House, Mike Johnsonneeds near-perfect attendance from his fellow Republicans to get the measure passed.
Short-term financing measure
The House has not been in legislative session since September 19. That’s when he approved a short-term funding measure to keep the government open when the new fiscal year began in October. Johnson sent lawmakers home after that vote and put the onus on the Senate to act, saying House Republicans did their job.
Democrats took the opportunity to present to the republicans as if they were going on vacation while the federal workforce left without paycheckstravelers were experiencing delays at airports and food assistance benefits were expiring. Johnson, R-La., said members were doing important work in their districts.
The vast majority of Democratic lawmakers are expected to vote against the measure because it does not include an extension of federal tax credits. Affordable Care Act that expire at the end of this year.
“Our strong expectation is that Democrats will strongly oppose it,” declared the Democratic leader. Hakeem Jeffries of New York on Tuesday night in anticipation of the vote.
Johnson indicated that “our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we are grateful for that.”
“After 40 days of wandering in the wilderness and making the American people suffer needlessly, some Senate Democrats have finally stepped forward to end the pain,” Johnson said.
Agreement to end closure
The measure that passed the Senate included support from eight senators who broke ranks with Democrats after concluding that Republicans would not budge on using the measure to continue health care tax credits. Meanwhile, the impact of the closure grew by the day. Wednesday marks day 43 of the closure.
The compromise measure funds three bipartisan annual spending bills and extends the rest of the government’s funding through Jan. 30. Republicans also promised to hold a vote to extend health care subsidies in mid-December, but there is no guarantee of success.
“We have reached a point where I think several of us believed that the closure had been very effective in increasing concern about health care,” said the Democratic senator. Shaeen of New Hampshire. The promise of a future vote “gives us the opportunity to continue to address that in the future,” he said.
The legislation includes a reversal of the firing of federal workers by the Trump administration since the lockdown began. It also protects federal workers from further layoffs through January and ensures they are paid once the shutdown ends. Year-round funding for Department of Agriculture It means people who rely on food assistance programs will see those benefits funded without threat of interruption for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The package includes $203.5 million to increase security for lawmakers and an additional $28 million for security for Supreme Court justices.
Democrats are also seizing language that would give senators the opportunity to sue when a federal agency or employee searches their electronic records without notifying them. The language appears aimed at helping Republican lawmakers seek damages if their phone records were analyzed by the FBI as part of an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to the Democrat. Joe Biden.
“We are going to tattoo that provision, just as we are going to tattoo the Republican health care crisis, on the forehead of every House Republican who dares to vote for this bill,” Jeffries said.
Many Democrats are calling the deal a mistake. He Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, who received criticism from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday.
The independent senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who votes in line with Democrats, maintained that giving up the fight was a “horrible mistake.”
The Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, agreed, saying that voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week’s elections urged them to “stand strong.”
The health care debate
It’s unclear whether the two parties will find any common ground on health care subsidies before the Senate’s December vote. Johnson has said he will not commit to addressing it in his chamber.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19 pandemic era tax creditsas premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive subsidies.
Some argue that tax dollars for the plans should be channeled through individuals.
The president of Senate Appropriations Committeethe republican Susan Collins of Maine, said Monday that he supports the extension of tax credits with changes, such as new income limits. Some Democrats have signaled they might be open to that idea.
“We need to act before the end of the year, and that is exactly what the majority leader has promised,” Collins said.
Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or reformed.
In a possible preview, the Senate voted 47-53 along party lines Monday not to extend the subsidies for a year. Republicans allowed the vote as part of a separate agreement with Democrats to expedite a final vote.— (By KEVIN FREKING, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MATT BROWN.)
___________________________________Correspondent Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this story.
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