Republicans in Congress Tell Democrats To Take It or Leave It in Government Funding Negotiations

Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune are telling Democrats to take it or leave it with respect to government funding, dismissing their demands for healthcare subsidies and other spending as a prerequisite for avoiding a shutdown. Senate Democrats have the power to block any government funding measure in the Senate before a deadline at the end of the month. The Democrats’ base was incensed in March when a small band of senators voted with Republicans to advance a funding agreement that kept the lights on without any real concessions from the GOP. Now, with the president using impoundment and pocket rescissions to unilaterally withhold funds appropriated by Congress, Democrats are being pressured to actually win something from Republicans this time around. GOP leaders in Congress, however, say the Democrats will get nothing. “It’s going to be by and large clean,” Mr. Thune told reporters of the funding deal that is set to receive a vote this week. He says that because the measure will be a temporary extension of funding at current levels, “Democrats ought to be willing to vote for it.”He declined to say if he is speaking to the minority leader, Senator Charles Schumer, about the short-term funding proposal known as a continuing resolution. One of the final sticking points is additional money for security measures for members of all three branches of the federal government following last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Some lawmakers believe that additional security measures are not necessary, which the speaker says is forcing some last-minute negotiations. “We’re trying to resolve this. It is kind of a late, breaking development,” Mr. Johnson told reporters Monday, referring to the newfound desire for increased security. “We’re looking at an amount that would be appropriate for a continuing resolution in the short-term to protect members.”Democrats are asking that Republicans not pass a “partisan” funding bill, the final text of which is set to be released sometime on Tuesday. The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, says Democrats need to win some kind of concessions from Mr. Johnson on expanded healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are now set to expire at the end of the year. “The piece that’s important to understand is that the discussion was to be a bipartisan discussion of the continuing resolution,” Ms. DeLauro told reporters on Monday night. “My leader — Hakeem Jeffries — and Senator Schumer have been asking all of August for a meeting with Johnson and Thune, and they haven’t come forward.”Some Senate Democrats have floated “concepts” on how to restrict President Trump’s impoundment powers, as well. “The budget … isn’t worth the paper it’s written on if the president is going to act illegally and refuse to spend the money that’s in it,” Senator Chris Murphy said last week. “If we want to make it harder on the president to ignore congressional spending directives, we can do that. If the president’s going to act illegally, he’s going to act illegally, but we could make it a lot harder for him to win in court.”Ms. DeLauro confirmed to reporters that Democrats are still pushing for such provisions, saying that Mr. Trump cannot be “stealing,” or impounding, money that Congress appropriates. “President Trump … [has] illegally stolen appropriated funds that benefit the people of this country,” Ms. DeLauro said. “That’s what we’re trying to get addressed if we’re going to go forward.”Mr. Johnson said Monday that he would not be putting any extension of certain Affordable Care Act subsidies in this bill, much to Democrats’ chagrin. The House Democratic leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, declined to tell The New York Sun on Monday night if the subsidies are a red line for him, or if the lack of their inclusion would lead him to push his members to vote against the funding deal. “We’ve been very clear. We do not support a partisan, Republican spending bill that guts the healthcare of the American people,” Mr. Jeffries told the Sun.

Republicans in Congress Tell Democrats To Take It or Leave It in Government Funding Negotiations

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