WASHINGTON ― Senate Democrats have a critical decision to make this week: will they vote for a stopgap spending bill averting a federal government shutdown if Republicans don’t agree to their health care demands?
Earlier this year, 10 Democratic senators voted to advance a GOP-crafted bill funding the government, paving the way for its passage: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), John Fetterman (Pa.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.). Along with Angus King (Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to advance the bill.
All eyes will once again be on those same Democrats ahead of the Sept. 30 funding deadline.
The Senate will vote on Monday evening on a House-passed bill keeping the government running until November. That measure does not include a key Democratic demand: the extension of expanded subsidies for people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. If those subsidies lapse, premiums will skyrocket for millions of Americans next year.
For the moment, Senate Democrats are united in their strategy. Asked Monday how many senators in their caucus are potentially considering voting with Republicans on the bill, a Senate Democrat who requested anonymity told HuffPost, “Fucking zero.”
