No matter what comes over to us from the United States Senate to the House of Representatives at some point this week, our position as House Democrats has been crystal clear: we will sit down with any Republicans, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, in order to find a bipartisan path forward, but we're not down with their my way or the highway' approach to governance that's failed the American people, he said.
Schumer, who has led the Democratic caucus in the Senate since 2017, voted against the resolution. However, the group of Senate Democrats who voted for the deal had conferred with Schumer through the negotiation process, and thus had his tacit approval. The deal, which many other Democrats have denounced as "terrible" and a betrayal, was advanced in a vote on Sunday evening, in one of the first steps to reopen the government after a historic shutdown.
It's the right thing for the American people. You should not be negotiating important issues, in this case, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid under an extortionary situation where you're holding the government hostage.
Senators in the United States have voted to move forward with a stopgap funding package aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in the country's history. In a procedural vote on Sunday, some eight Democrats broke rank and voted in favour of advancing a Republican measure that will keep the government reopen into January 30. The measure would also fund some parts of the government, including food aid and the legislative branch, for the next year.
In the past week, I have had three clients tell me that they have received letters from their insurance companies stating that their premiums will increase in the new year due to the changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, if ACA premium tax credits expire at the end of the year, which seems more likely as the government shutdown continues, "premiums are predicted to increase for 2026 by an average of 75 percent."
Let me just conclude by saying right now, millions of Americans are wondering what is happening in Washington, D.C., and watching this hearing where the chairman is trying to muzzle a ranking member who is simply calling attention to the facts of the ACA, and the real-life stories of peopleindicates to me we need to shine a light on what this effort is to repeal the ACA and we need to stand strong in favor of affordable health insurance in the United States.
"It doesn't matter what we do in the House," GOP Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a press conference this week. While it's tempting to give the MAGA leader grudging points for candor, that churlish admission speaks volumes about a once-robust legislative branch now relegated to inert duty as a satellite Trumpian messaging complex: a glorified Fox News set with gavels.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) told CNN that he had a recent phone call with President Trump who made it clear he doesn't want to hurt people. His concern is, is there something better we can do? Van Drew said, adding that he told the president, I don't think we're going to get it done in a matter of weeks.
For hundreds of thousands of people across Massachusetts, the fight at the center of the government shutdown carries frightening and immediate consequences: Can they continue to afford government-backed health insurance, or will they face skyrocketing premiums that could shatter their financial security? Since 2021, expanded federal subsidies have made it possible for 337,000 people in Massachusetts to more easily afford health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector,the state's version of the Affordable Care Act marketplace.