U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) say the shutdown must continue until Republicans agree to concessions on health care.
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have made little progress on a deal to reopen the federal government, instead playing the blame game.
As the high-stakes standoff drags into a second week, Vermont’s Congressional delegation is standing firm, joining the chorus of Democrats who say they are fighting to preserve affordable health care.
“In this moment, this really pivotal moment in American history, when working-class people are struggling, when we are moving under Trump toward an authoritarian society, Democrats must hold the line,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a video over the weekend. U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) issued similar calls in recent days.
The shutdown began Wednesday, October 1, the start of the federal fiscal year, and has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal employees, in addition to shuttering some entire agencies. It has also prompted President Donald Trump to threaten to carry out mass firings in his push to downsize the federal government.
Trump met with Congressional leaders last week. But there have been no major developments since then, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear entrenched.
Democratic leaders say they cannot support any GOP spending plan until they receive concessions on health care. They are especially concerned about the pending expiration of Obamacare subsidies, which were expanded during the pandemic and have helped tamp down premiums for millions of Americans. That includes about 30,000 people in Vermont who receive a combined $65 million in assistance.
Some people could see their premiums more than double next year, and many may choose to forgo insurance, risking both their health and finances.
“This is going to drive up costs for everyone,” Balint told reporters last week.
Republicans say they’re willing to negotiate but only after the government reopens.
Such assurances aren’t good enough for Welch, who held a press conference on the topic in Burlington on Monday. He noted that people will begin signing up for insurance plans in the coming weeks.
“President Trump has directed the Republicans to not even talk to us,” Welch said. “When we have disputes, as we do in Congress about a policy difference, the only way to resolve them is by talking about them and finding that common ground.”
A compromise shouldn’t be hard to reach, either, Welch said, because the subsidies benefit people in red and blue states alike.
Who blinks first may depend on public pressure. The vast majority of Americans support extending the subsidies. A poll conducted on Thursday by the Washington Post found that nearly half of Americans primarily blamed Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 30 percent who blamed Democrats.
But Americans generally don’t support using shutdowns as leverage, polls have found, and there’s a chance the public may lose patience with Democrats — who are seeking the concessions — as the impasse drags on.
It won’t take much to overcome the Democrats’ opposition: Republicans own 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate and have support from a few Dems, meaning they’re not far from the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Sanders seems to believe that the popularity of the health care subsidies will play in Democrats’ favor. In his recent video, he spoke directly to Republicans, challenging them to “go home to your districts and stand up and be proud and tell people you voted to double their health insurance premiums — see how they respond.”
“What we are fighting for is not just right, it is what the American people want,” Sanders said.
Story Written by Colin Flanders, Seven Days
Story Link: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/vermonts-congressional-delegation-vows-to-hold-the-line-amid-shutdown/