Govt shutdown predicted to drag on after funding bill fails for 8th time in Senate

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

It’s been two weeks since the federal government shut down, and lawmakers are no closer to reaching a deal after U.S. Senate Democrats voted down Republicans’ funding bill for the eighth time Tuesday.

Republicans’ Continuing Resolution would simply extend current government funding levels until Nov. 21, buying lawmakers time to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026. It also includes $30 million for additional lawmaker security and $58 million for U.S. Supreme Court judges and members of the executive branch.

Despite the nonpartisan nature of the bill, which passed the House, Democrats continue to withhold the necessary votes for it to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate.

They argue that a funding stopgap should address the expiring COVID-19 era expansion of the Obamacare Premium Tax Credit to prevent millions of Americans from seeing their health care premiums spike at the end of the year.

“Democrats have made it very clear, day in and day out, we want to open the government and have a serious negotiation to fix the health care premium crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told lawmakers Tuesday. “Like it or not, the Republican [Senate Majority] Leader needs to work with Democrats in a bipartisan way to reopen the government.”

Republican leaders have said they are willing to discuss the issue with Democrats, but only after the government reopens. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., accused Democrats of continuing “to betray the American people” and “playing politics.”

“The Democrats are playing a dangerous game, and it’s hurting all of us,” Barrasso added, referencing the shutdown’s impacts on air travel, tax services, and the U.S. economy, which has lost billions.

The last time the government shut down was in December 2018, and it lasted 35 days.