WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Friday offered Republicans a deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history: Democrats would vote to reopen the government in exchange for a yearlong extension of expiring health insurance subsidies.
“After so many failed votes, it’s clear we need to try something different,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a Senate floor speech on Friday. “All Republicans have to do is say ‘yes’ to extend current law for one year.”
The offer is not much different from Democrats’ basic demand for the past six weeks — a vote for government funding in exchange for an extension of Affordable Care Act health care subsidies — but it’s significantly narrower than what Democrats have previously demanded.
The Democrats’ official alternative to the Republicans’ basic government funding bill includes a permanent extension of the expiring health care tax credits, plus a repeal of the Medicaid cuts Republicans enacted earlier this summer, plus new curbs on President Donald Trump’s ability to cut spending through so-called rescissions.
However, unlike House Democratic leadership, which ruled out a one-year extension of ACA subsidies last month, Senate Democrats have kept their demands more open-ended, insisting only that Republicans come to the table and negotiate with them on health care.
