As we all know, Democrats shut down the government over Obamacare subsidies, and it sounds like they are getting ready to do it again.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has been trying to get debates fired up for the next spending bill (the current continuing resolution expires at the end of January), but he is hitting a snag.
Democrats are refusing to budge on their extension of Obamacare subsidies, to the point that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) just drew a line in the sand with a take-it-or-leave-it offer.
During the negotiations for the last CR, Schumer dug in after taking heat for having allowed Republicans to pass a similar measure right after Donald Trump had taken office for the second time.
The big point of contention was the subsidies offered for Obamacare, which the GOP did not want to fund again.
The problem, as we are now finding out, is that there is legitimate fraud that needs to be rooted out and ended, so anything over a one-year extension is an unreasonable ask at this point.
And let’s not forget that it was Democrats who sunsetted these subsidies rather than codifying them when they had the chance, having used reconciliation to pass the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act when Joe Biden was in office.
Thune's hope was to have the next CR passed before the Christmas break, but that is unlikely to happen amid more posturing from the Democrats.
The Republican leader stated, “It would be great if, in fact, we could get the approps process going and actually have a package on the floor. Whether we conclude it before the Christmas holiday or not -- at least it would be queued up and ready to go in January.”
He continued, “You’ve got to understand the time standpoint and the calendar, what we’ve got to get done. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve got to deal with.”
That is not being made any easier by the fact that Schumer is digging in again.
Schumer is once again drawing a line in the sand, demanding a three-year extension on the subsidies, something the GOP will never give him.
He stated, “This is the bill, a clean three-year extension of ACA (Affordable Care Act) tax credits, that Democrats will bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Thursday, and every single Democrat will support it. Republicans have one week to decide where they stand.”
This literally has no chance of passing, as there is not a single Republican who would pass a three-year measure. I am realistic about this and am certain that there is no way the GOP is going to have a solution to the problem before the end of the year. Even with the fraud that is rampant in the program, I would say that a reasonable solution would be to pass a one-year extension with the caveat that Dems agree to a complete audit and overhaul of the system.
That would solve the issue of rising premiums and give the GOP a full year to come up with an alternative plan to replace Obamacare before the midterm elections are in the books. We need to be honest about what they can and cannot do, but right now, all anyone is doing is grandstanding to grab some easy headlines.
