GOP Leaders Reject Dem Health Demands  09/18 06:11

   Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday that they will 
reject Democratic demands for an immediate extension of health care subsidies, 
challenging Democrats to vote against a stopgap spending bill that doesn't 
include them but will keep the government open at the end of the month.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday 
that they will reject Democratic demands for an immediate extension of health 
care subsidies, challenging Democrats to vote against a stopgap spending bill 
that doesn't include them but will keep the government open at the end of the 
month.

   Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Democrats "have a choice to 
make" as the Sept. 30 deadline approaches. They can work with Republicans, 
Thune said, or "they can shut down the government with all that will mean for 
the American people."

   The House could vote as soon as Thursday on a Republican stopgap measure to 
keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to 
work out their differences on spending levels. Republicans argue they are 
providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown 
battles -- a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.

   But Democrats said it wasn't enough, releasing a counterproposal late 
Wednesday even as Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they wouldn't 
consider it. The Democratic proposal would extend subsidies for low- and 
middle-income individuals who purchase health insurance through the Affordable 
Care Act and reverse Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans' "big 
beautiful bill" enacted earlier this year.

   "We will sit down and negotiate if they will sit down and negotiate," said 
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "We don't have a red line, but 
we know we have to help the American people."

   Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to vote with them to pass the 
short-term measure. Without Democrats, Schumer said, "they're going to end up 
shutting down the government."

   It's a high-stakes game of brinksmanship for the Democrats, in particular, 
as the party's base urges them to fight harder and many wager that a shutdown 
would force Republicans to negotiate with them on health care and other issues. 
If the government does shut down on Oct. 1, most federal agencies will close 
and millions of federal employees deemed non-essential, including many in the 
military, won't receive paychecks. And there's no guarantee that the two 
parties could find agreement on how to end the standoff.

   Democrats on both sides of the Capitol are watching Schumer closely after 
his last-minute decision in March to vote with Republicans to keep the 
government open. Schumer argued then that a shutdown would be damaging and 
would give President Donald Trump and his White House freedom to make more 
government cuts. Many on the left revolted, with some advocates calling for his 
resignation.

   The vote in the spring also caused a temporary schism with House Democratic 
Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the GOP spending bill and said he would not 
be "complicit" with Schumer's vote.

   The two Democratic leaders now say they are united, and Schumer says that 
things have changed since March. The public is more wary of Trump and 
Republicans, Schumer says, after the passage of Medicaid cuts.

   Democrats' top demand has been an extension of the health care tax credits 
that expire at the end of the year. Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have 
indicated that they are open to extending the subsidies, which made health 
insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. 
But many Republicans would like to see changes that Democrats are likely to 
oppose, and both Thune and Johnson have made clear that they need more time to 
work on the issue.

   "They're trying to insert unrelated matters into the middle of a clean 
government extension. And I don't think that's going to work," House Speaker 
Mike Johnson said on CNBC Wednesday morning.

   The GOP bill would generally fund agencies at current levels, with a few 
limited exceptions, including an extra $88 million to increase security for 
lawmakers, the Supreme Court and members of the executive branch. The proposed 
boost comes as lawmakers face an increasing number of personal threats, with 
their concerns heightened by last week's assassination of conservative activist 
Charlie Kirk.

   The Democratic alternative introduced by Schumer on Wednesday would include 
more than $180 million for congressional security and another $140 million for 
the Supreme Court and other federal courts.

   Trump, so far, has been dismissive of the Democrats' threats of a shutdown, 
saying last week to not "even bother" negotiating with them.

   "If you gave them every dream, they would not vote for it," Trump said.

   Democrats have tried to use those words against him and insist the president 
would take the blame if the government shuts down.

   "Unless he's forgotten that you need a supermajority to pass a budget in the 
Senate, that's obviously his signal he wants a shutdown," said Wisconsin Sen. 
Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat.