Democrats: Don't call our bluff
LIVE UPDATES: No decision yet on vote, Ryan says
Dems threaten to oppose bill to prevent shutdown if health care vote happens before Saturday
Story highlights
- President Donald Trump had demanded money for a border wall but that's out of a spending bill
- What's still being debated: Subsidies for low-income Americans on health insurance
Washington (CNN)Congressional
Democrats are saying they'll oppose a measure to keep the government
running another week if Republicans plan a health care vote between now
and Saturday, Democratic aides told CNN.
"If
Republicans announce their intention to bring their harmful TrumpCare
bill to the House Floor tomorrow or Saturday, I will oppose a one-week
Continuing Resolution and will advise House Democrats to oppose it as
well," the No. 2 Democratic leader in the House, Steny Hoyer, said in a
statement.
The battle over a
government shutdown appeared to be mostly over, with the push for border
wall funding sidelined and Democrats saying President Donald Trump's
administration will continue paying for subsidies for low-income
Americans as part of Obamacare.
The
House Rules Committee passed a rule that allows leaders to bring up
legislation at any time between now and Saturday. That rule also allowed
Republicans to bring up a vote on health care, though no vote has been
scheduled.
House Speaker Paul Ryan
said Thursday he was "confident" the government would keep running, but
placed any threat of a shutdown on Democrats.
"I
would be shocked that they'd (Democrats) want to see a government
shutdown," Ryan said during a news conference when asked about Hoyer's
comments.
The speaker blamed
Democrats for the lack of a deal, saying they were "dragging their feet"
and in some cases failed to show up for meetings about the spending
bill.
The House expected to vote on the one-week extension on Friday.
Republicans
announced late Wednesday night they will move forward with a short-term
spending plan that will keep the government open through May 5 and give
lawmakers more time to negotiate a longer-term funding package.
At
about the same time Hoyer made his threat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer was on the floor praising the talks and vowing to work to keep
the government open.
"There are a
few remaining issues to be settled," he said. "But I believe that there
we are close to a final agreement. Our side will continue to work in
good faith to see that an agreement is reached to keep the government
open by tomorrow's deadline."
Also,
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said he expected the
Senate to pass a one-week funding bill Thursday or Friday, possibly by
unanimous consent, meaning a roll call vote would not be required.
The
border wall and the health care spending had been two sticking points
for congressional and White House negotiators during the past several
weeks of discussions to avert a shutdown.
White
House officials told Democrats on the Hill Wednesday that the Trump
administration will continue making the cost-sharing payments created
under Obamacare, multiple sources tell CNN.
As
part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government pays health
insurers to reduce the out-of-pocket costs for low-income people trying
to pay for health care. These are referred to cost-sharing reduction
(CSR) payments. The payments are a major way Democrats ensured
low-income people would be covered under the Affordable Care Act, but
with a new Republican administration, their future is uncertain.
Democratic
House Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke Tuesday with White House budget
director Mick Mulvaney, telling him that the payments must be included
in the spending bill, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar
with the conversation. Mulvaney had indicated that, while the Trump
administration had continued the CSR payments, they had not yet decided
whether they would make the May payment, according to a source.
Pelosi released a statement following news that the payments would continue.
"Our
major concerns in these negotiations have been about funding for the
wall and uncertainty about the CSR payments crucial to the stability of
the marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act," she said in a
statement. "We've now made progress on both of these fronts."
She
added, "More progress needs to be made on some of our priorities, and
we continue to be concerned about poison pill riders that are still in
this legislation."
Mulvaney told
CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday that Democrats had made their request on
Obamacare subsidies too late in the negotiating process.
"They
dropped this Obamacare bailout, these insurance company payments, about
two weeks ago," Mulvaney said. "These are things they've brought to the
table very late."
Insurers are desperate to get some clarity on the issue and make sure the administration continues making the payments.
But, Republicans argued that the payments are part of mandatory spending and therefore shouldn't be part of the negotiations.
Administration
officials on Tuesday also highlighted the concession of the border wall
of sign of being reasonable and flexible negotiators to avoid a
shutdown.
"We just thought that it
would be a good first step to get these things that everybody agrees on
and take that idea of a government shutdown off the table," Mulvaney
told CNN.
White House chief of
staff Priebus said Tuesday evening that Trump is "showing some
reasonableness on the wall and border security" in an effort to avoid a
government shutdown.
"As long as
we get a significant amount of border security money for Secretary
(John) Kelly to do his job between now and September and continue the
conversation on more money for the physical wall itself, it's something
that the President made clear he's willing to talk about," Priebus told
CNN and reporters from several news organizations.
Over
the recess, Republicans and Democrats worked carefully to craft a
must-pass spending bill that all parties could agree on and could be
signed by the President, but the delicate negotiations have hit a few
roadblocks in recent days.
This story has been updated and will be updated as news develops.
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