After 40 days of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the Senate voted Sunday night to advance a stopgap deal to reopen the government through the end of January. The measure passed 60-40, with seven Democrats and one independent joining Republicans.
The agreement restores pay and jobs for nearly a million federal workers fired during the shutdown and fully funds SNAP and other food aid programs. But it does not address rising health insurance premiums, a central issue for Democrats, prompting several to oppose it — including Georgia’s two senators.
Ossoff: ‘Catastrophic increases in health insurance premiums’
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff criticized the lack of action on health care in his statement following the vote.
“Premiums are set to double for 1.4 million Georgians and nearly half a million Georgians could lose health insurance altogether,” Ossoff said. “The President refuses to fix it and withholds SNAP benefits while the House has not even come to work for six weeks. With health care votes ahead, the question is whether Republicans in Congress will join us to prevent catastrophic increases in health insurance premiums.”
Warnock: A ‘terrifying vision of America’
Sen. Raphael Warnock also voted against the deal, saying it forced an impossible choice between reopening the government and protecting affordable health care.
“I voted ‘NO’ on tonight’s proposal because it doesn’t provide relief to the 1.2 million Georgians who are about to see their health care premiums double and more. People cannot afford that,” Warnock said. “At the same time, I understand the overwhelming pain that has been inflicted on people in my state by President Trump and Republicans, from needlessly firing federal workers, including 600 CDC workers last month in Georgia, to forcing some of our most vulnerable families and children to go hungry by eliminating SNAP benefits.”
Warnock continued, “Choosing between making health care affordable and stopping the endless chaos and damage of this President should never be a decision we have to make in the United States.”
What’s next
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has pledged a separate vote on health insurance subsidies by mid-December, though it remains uncertain whether that measure will gain enough bipartisan support to pass.
The temporary funding package now heads to the House, which has not been in session since September 19. If approved, the legislation would keep the government open until January 30 and guarantee back pay for furloughed and terminated federal employees.
