Democrats block GOP spending extension as shutdown looms

Senate Democrats on Friday blocked Republicans' plan to keep federal funding flowing past a Sept. 30 deadline, demanding concessions on health care and other issues in exchange for their support for a measure needed to avert a government shutdown.

In a pair of back-to-back votes, each party blocked the other's stopgap spending proposal, escalating a showdown and ramping up the likelihood of a lapse in funding that would close the government at the end of the month.

Republicans have offered a plan to keep federal spending mostly at current levels through Nov. 21 and provide $88 million in emergency funding to bolster security for the members of the executive branch, the Supreme Court and Congress after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The House passed that plan on Friday in a 217-212 vote, with all but one Democrat in opposition.


Democrats have put forward an alternative that would extend funding through Oct. 31 and add more than $1 trillion to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year and roll back Medicaid and other health program cuts that Republicans included in their marquee tax cut and domestic policy law enacted over the summer.

But on Friday, neither bill could muster the 60 votes necessary to move ahead, with each party dug in against the other's measure. If they fail to break their impasse and enact at least a temporary spending plan by Sept. 30, the government will shut down.

The Democratic plan failed in a 47-45 vote. The Republican plan failed in a 44-48 vote.

All Democrats but one, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, opposed the GOP proposal. Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky, joined Democrats to oppose their party's bill.

Democrats refused to provide the votes to move forward with the Republicans' plan because, they said, the GOP has not negotiated with them on what should be included at a time when President Donald Trump has sought to usurp congressional spending power.

"Republicans cannot expect that another take-it-or-leave-it extension of government funding that fails to address health care costs is going to cut it for the American people," said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader. "What we should do instead is move forward with our Democratic proposal to work to keep the government open, to lower people's premiums, protect people's health care."

Republican leaders have said there is nothing to negotiate because their funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or "CR," keeps spending levels flat and has no policy changes attached.

"The Republican bill is a clean, nonpartisan, short-term continuing resolution to fund the government to give us time to do the full appropriations process," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader. "And the Democrat bill is the exact opposite. It's what you might call not a clean CR; a dirty CR laden down with partisan policies and appeals to the Democrats' leftist base."

Democrats argue that their plan includes vital measures to help Americans deal with health care costs.

If the "Obamacare" tax credits are allowed to lapse, around 4 million people are projected to lose coverage starting in 2026, and prices would go up for around 20 million more. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that 10 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 as a result of the health cuts in the new tax law.

Democrats' stopgap spending plan also would restrict the Trump administration's ability to unilaterally claw back funding Congress previously approved, a power that Trump has repeatedly invoked.

And it would provide far more funding to strengthen security measures for government officials than House Republicans have proposed -- $326 million in total, compared to the $88 million boost sought by the GOP.

In March, the last time Congress faced a government funding deadline, Senate Democrats agonized for days over whether to allow Republicans' stopgap measure to move forward. They ultimately allowed it to advance, prompting an outpouring of anger from liberal voters and activists who had urged their leaders to deny their votes in protest of Trump's assault on the federal bureaucracy and unilateral defunding of programs.

This time, Democrats have not hesitated to signal their refusal to go along with Trump and Republicans, arguing that they are in a much different position after passage of the tax cut and domestic policy bill.

That measure, Schumer said, "is highly unpopular with the American people.

"Democrats are unified," he went on. "We have been strong on the same message for a very long time, which is: We need to help the American people lower their costs, particularly on health care."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.