Photo: Ansa
Andrea Riccardi
Donald Trump signs a funding bill to end the longest-running US government shutdown. The decision was approved by the House of Representatives with 222 votes. 209 MPs voted against. Two people abstained. The longest American government shutdown in history ends after 43 days. This bill is supported by the Republican Party and a fraction of the Democratic Party. The compromise opens the door for government operations to return to normal in January, leaving unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for the Affordable Care Act and the Obamacare health plan, which most Democrats have called for being extended in a future deal.
After being announced over the weekend, the Senate approved the compromise on Monday, and the House followed suit tonight. US President Donald Trump, while passing the law, said: “We are sending a clear message that we will never give in to blackmail, because this is what the Democrats are trying to blackmail our country.” Six Democratic Party members broke with the party by voting in favor of the measure. “This shutdown has ended thanks to the support of Republican members of the House and Senate,” the Great Old Party said in a statement. “There is no doubt that the Democratic Party is responsible for millions of American families going hungry, millions of travelers stranded at airports, and our soldiers going without pay.” The shutdown has hindered the provision of food stamps for the 42 million Americans who benefit from them, federal employee salaries and even armed forces salaries. He also stopped paying salaries to Italian employees at US military bases.
In remarks to the House shortly before the vote, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continued to push for expanded benefits. “This struggle is not over. We have only just begun,” he said. “Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year, or the American people will kick Republicans out of government next year. That’s how this fight ends.” The state spending impasse is the biggest dispute between Democratic and Republican members of Congress since Trump returned to the White House on January 21. This has caused unprecedented disruption to government services, with the government ordering a reduction in commercial air travel in the United States due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, some being laid off due to expiring contracts and others unwilling to work for free while the shutdown ends.
Shocked by last year’s election defeat, Democrats took advantage of a government funding deadline that expired in September to take a stand on health care. The Obamacare tax credit was created during Joe Biden’s presidency, and lowers the premiums paid for health plan enrollees. Democrats want an extension of the funding as part of a deal to continue funding the government. Republicans counterattacked with a bill to fund the government through the third week of November, without spending cuts or major changes in policy. They passed the bill through the lower house with only support from Democrats, but the minority used the Senate filibuster to block the bill’s passage.
The shutdown began on October 1, with layoffs of 700,000 federal workers. Hundreds of thousands of other people, from active duty military to law enforcement to airport security workers, continue to work without pay. Meanwhile, a small group of moderate Democratic lawmakers in the Senate negotiated a compromise to end the government shutdown. Extending funding through January and reversing layoffs the Trump administration ordered after the shutdown began. However, this amount does not include additional funding for the Affordable Care Act tax credit. The DPR will discuss this matter again in mid-December. With government funding set to expire again at the end of January, Democrats could seize the opportunity to again call for an extension of subsidies.
