WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats made an offer Friday to reopen the government, proposing a one-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies alongside a package of funding measures in order to secure their votes.
The offer, rolled out on the floor by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., includes a “clean” continuing resolution, which would reopen the government at current spending levels, and a package of three bipartisan appropriations bills to fund some departments for the full fiscal year.
“After so many failed votes, it’s clear we need to try something different,” Schumer said, calling it “a very simple compromise.”
The short-term health care funding extension would prevent a massive increase in insurance costs for millions of Americans on Obamacare next year. In addition, Democrats proposed creating a bipartisan committee to negotiate a longer-term solution.
“This is a reasonable offer that reopens the government, deals with health care affordability and begins a process of negotiating reforms to the ACA tax credits for the future,” Schumer added. “Now, the ball is in the Republicans' court. We need Republicans to just say yes.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called the Democratic offer a "nonstarter."
"The Obamacare extension is the negotiation. That's what we're going to negotiate once the government opens up. ... We need to vote to open the government — and there is a proposal out there to do that — and then we can have this whole conversation about health care," he said.
The proposal was the idea of Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. He shopped it around to Democratic senators before it was rolled out and spoke immediately after Schumer on the floor.
Peters has been part of rank-and-file discussions with Republicans to find a way to reopen the government.
“I’m willing to compromise,” he said. “But our Republican colleagues have to be willing to compromise, too.”
The offer represents a concession from the Democrats’ earlier proposal for a permanent extension of ACA funds and a repeal of President Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts.
Still, GOP senators immediately panned the offer.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who has called for an ACA funding extension, said he opposes the Democratic proposal because it doesn’t contain any restrictions on the funds.
“No. Not on its current form,” Rounds said when asked if he could get to yes on the offer.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., slammed the Democratic proposal as “political terrorism.”
“Terrible. Horrible. I’m not going to keep giving taxpayer dollars to the five largest health care insurance companies under Obamacare to get the government open,” he said.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., called Schumer’s proposal “stupid.”
Even if the Senate passes the measure, it would have to go back to the House and gain approval before it can head to Trump's desk.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this week he cannot make any promises that the House will be a vote to extend the health care funds. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has previously panned a one-year ACA funding extension as a “nonstarter,” insisting on a longer-term solution instead.
