Democrats blink: Capito, Justice weigh in on end of federal shutdown
By Matthew Young, RealWV
WASHINGTON, DC. – As the shutdown of the federal government has now reached a record-setting 42 days, lawmakers have reached a deal that would see the government return to full operation sooner than later.
On Tuesday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) – through a press release – stated, “I’m glad we were able to reach a solution to reopen the government.”
The “solution” which Capito referenced did not include extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has been the primary sticking point for Democrats. However, enough Democrats broke with their party Monday evening to allow for a 60-40 vote in favor of reopening.
“It shouldn’t have taken this long to do the right thing for the American people,” Capito’s statement notes. “Our goal has always been simple: keep the government open and complete our appropriations process through regular order – the way the Senate is supposed to function. I’m grateful to the Democrats who joined Republicans to do just that.”
“In addition to reopening our government, I am glad we were able to pass three full-year appropriations bills, and I look forward to passing more and completing our work,” Capito added.
The three appropriations bills also passed on Monday include fully-funding SNAP through September 30 of next year, and a ban on unregulated hemp containing THC. Some $400 million was also appropriated for the security of government officials, and “limited” protections have been established for government employees whose jobs have been threatened by the Trump Administration.
“This whole episode has been a total wreck for West Virginians and Americans alike,” Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) stated after Monday’s vote, also through a press release. “I am happy to see common sense prevail, but it should not have taken over 40 days of a shutdown to make it happen.”
Despite their claims of party solidarity, and a pledge to stand their ground until Republicans allowed for the continuation of ACA subsidies in the continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open, eight Democratic -senators abandoned those ambitions, and voted with Republicans. In exchange for their votes, Democrats were promised a Senate vote regarding the extension of ACA subsidies by the second week in December. However, as Republicans maintain a majority in the Senate, any such extension is unlikely to pass.
“I urge the House of Representatives to quickly pass this bill, and encourage my Democrat colleagues to come to the table in good faith as we move forward,” Justice added in his Monday statement. “We need to put this behind us and get back to the real work of making life better for Americans across the board.”
As if on que, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday – after several hours of heated debate – followed Justice’s urging, and passed the CR. While most House Democrats expressed their outrage over the CR’s failure to extend ACA subsidies in the form of a “nay” vote, as with the Senate, Republicans maintain a slim majority in the House.
RealWV will provide updates regarding the impact of the CR’s adoption as additional information is made available.
