Senate returns to work as government shutdown nears longest in US history over Obamacare fight
The Senate returns to Washington, D.C., this week as the government shutdown nears a record-shattering milestone and as lawmakers remain entrenched in their positions.Come late Tuesday night, the government shutdown...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Senate returns to Washington, D.C., this week as the government shutdown nears a record-shattering milestone and as lawmakers remain entrenched in their positions. Come late Tuesday night, the government shutdown will officially become the longest on record, at 36 days, smashing through the previous record etched into the history books in early 2019. And while that record approaches, and payday deadlines are missed and federal benefits dry up, the Senate is still largely in a holding pattern. Still, there was newfound optimism among some lawmakers as bipartisan talks increased last week, and many hope that same momentum carries into this week. TRUMP'S 'NUCLEAR' DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN But for now, neither side is budging from the positions they’ve maintained since Oct. 1, when the shutdown officially began. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., and his Democratic caucus want a deal on expiring Obamacare premium subsidies before they agree to reopen the government. Saturday was when open enrollment officially began nationwide. They’ve long warned that unless a deal was made before open enrollment, Americans that rely on the subsidies would see their premiums spike, despite the subsidies not expiring until the end of this year. "People are going to see drastic, drastic increases in their healthcare costs," Schumer said last week. "People are going to sit at the dinner table Friday night with a pit, with a hole in the pit of their stomach, and say, ‘How are we going to do this?’" FOOD STAMP BENEFITS FOR 42 MILLION AMERICANS IN JEOPARDY TODAY AMID SHUTDOWN Senate Republicans largely agree that there needs to be an extension of some kind to the subsidies, but they also want a host of reforms made to the program that was enhanced under former President Joe Biden . And Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has offered Senate Democrats a vote on the Obamacare subsidies, but they say that’s not enough and demand that Preside…