Congressional Democratic leaders called on Thursday for a meeting with Republican leadership to discuss the pending government funding deadline — and warn that health care could be a major sticking point in negotiations.
The government funding deadline is set to hit on Sept. 30, and by all accounts, negotiations have not gone far. In a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer requested a so-called “Big Four” meeting next week to discuss how they can agree on an approach to keeping the government open.
“It is past time you reveal your plans to meet the needs of the American people,” Jeffries and Schumer wrote. “Otherwise, it is clear that you have abandoned bipartisanship altogether and are preparing to shut down the government.
The letter specifically pressed Republicans for “clarity” on their plans to address health care, bashing the changes made to Medicaid in the GOP’s recent reconciliation bill.
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“Unfortunately, it appears the Republican-controlled Congress lacks a plan to address the mounting healthcare crisis your budget reconciliation bill has set in motion,” the Democratic leaders added. “Hospital closures and staffing reductions are wreaking havoc on everyday Americans, particularly in rural communities. This Fall, millions of people will confront dramatically increased health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles.”
Schumer and Jeffries also asked Republican leaders whether the Trump administration has indicated another rescissions package is coming. Republicans’ previous rescissions package, which passed out of Congress in July, unilaterally clawed back about $9 billion in government funding that was appropriated on a bipartisan basis. At the time, numerous Democrats warned rescissions could taint their trust in the appropriations process going forward.
Neither Johnson nor Thune responded immediately to the letter from the Democratic leaders.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a fellow Democrat, has previously said she won’t vote for this round of government funding unless the cuts to Medicaid in the reconciliation bill are reversed.
Suffice to say, this is heavily unlikely. Republicans carefully negotiated that bill for months, and the president signed it into law in July. There is hardly an appetite to undo that work.
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