A last-minute effort by Democratic congressional leaders and top Republican officials to negotiate a plan to fund the government past Sept. 30 failed earlier Monday.
With the federal government barreling toward a shutdown at midnight Tuesday, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego says Democrats are holding out to protect Americans’ access to affordable health care.
“Americans are hurting right now,” Gallego said. “The cost of everything is going through the roof. And this is the time and the place for us to make sure we don’t add to that by protecting health care and making sure your premiums don’t go up.”
In an appearance on Fox News, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs cast blame on Democrats, whose votes are needed in the Senate to pass a continuing resolution that House Republicans adopted earlier this month.
That legislation would fund the government through mid-November.
“It just needs a few Democrats to come over and vote for it, and right now the Democrats are trying to leverage everything they can, but they’re the ones who are gonna cause a shutdown,” Biggs said.
Democrats have insisted that a funding bill restore Affordable Care Act tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year, as well as repeal cuts to other health care programs Republicans adopted in President Donald Trump’s massive tax cut and spending package earlier this summer.
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SNAP benefits remained in limbo Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court extended an order sought by the Trump administration to block full payments.
