House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries engaged in increasingly acrimonious standoff. Our primary focus right now is the upcoming government funding bill. As a potential government shutdown hangs over our nation, the clock is ticking for both Democrats and Republicans to negotiate and compromise on spending. Things are getting hot and spicy out there. Democrats are negotiating aggressively for certain health care related measures, but Republicans are still demanding a clean stopgap funding bill passed with no other stipulations.
Jeffries contended that leading Democrats have boxed themselves in. They’ve achieved this by attaching policy demands related to health care to their support of the spending bill. He concluded by making the case that the Democratic Party is committed to ensuring that everyone in this country has access to affordable health care.
“We are fighting to deal with the health care of the American people,” – Hakeem Jeffries
The need is as acute as the moment. That’s underlined by the fact that the temporary, enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits will sunset at the end of 2025. These credits greatly lower health insurance premiums for the 13 million Americans who buy their insurance on ACA exchanges. In her testimony, Jeffries cautioned that more notices are on the way. If these protections are not adopted in the continuing resolution, tens of millions of Americans will be getting notices of their impending insurance premium hikes.
In a final reaction to the impasse that continues to dog the status quo, Johnson lambasted Democrats for refusing to cave in to the bipartisan fix. He pointedly rejected the significance of their demands. The swift passage of a continuing resolution is now more important than ever to avoid a government shutdown.
“They need to come to their senses here, and do the right thing,” – Mike Johnson
Johnson’s comments unmask an escalating impatience among House Republicans. They are still determined to get a funding bill, but don’t want to get held up in health care reform negotiations. The new House Speaker recently reiterated that the House’s attention should be on emergency funding first, extended policy changes second.
In light of these tensions, Jeffries nevertheless stressed that Democrats stand ready to cooperate in a bipartisan manner with their Republican colleagues. He emphasized their willingness to find a bipartisan way forward to ensure the government remains funded and necessary healthcare protections are upheld.
“If the government shuts down, it’s their decision to do it,” – Hakeem Jeffries
Democrats have indeed made it absolutely, positively clear. They will fight against any appropriations bill which removes healthcare protections, including the ACA tax credits. They counter with the idea that these credits are the only thing keeping affordable health coverage in reach for millions of Americans.