As the federal government appears headed toward its first shutdown since 2013, congressional leadership and Trump administration figures have engaged in an increasingly public back and forth over which side should be held most responsible for the high-stakes stalemate. Major sticking points remain around immigration, specifically Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as well as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which has now gone more than three months since its long-term funding expired (and after Congress kicked the can down the road before the holidays late last year).
While the House of Representatives was able to pass a short-term funding bill by a slim margin, Senate Democrats refuse to support any legislation that does not include long-term CHIP funding and a solution on DACA, which the President unilaterally decided to end last year, a move ANA condemned at the time.
While the House spending bill included a long-term funding solution for CHIP, it did not address DACA, and the President rejected a bipartisan immigration deal earlier this week. With 49 Democrats currently serving in the Senate, and any funding bill needing to enjoy filibuster-proof support of 60 votes, Democratic buy-in is necessary to keep the government open.
Additionally, while inclusion of long-term CHIP funding in the House bill is heartening to see, House Republican leaders have had ample opportunity to address CHIP long before this week. Moreover, due in part to the repeal of the individual mandate as part of last year’s tax reform legislation, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) earlier this month revised its estimate of CHIP’s cost to the federal government and showed that it now stands at $800 million, down from $8.2 billion.
The President, largely via his Twitter feed, has repeatedly attempted to pin responsibility over a potential shutdown on congressional Democrats. Polling released Friday indicates he’s enjoying little success: 48% said they would blame the President and Republicans (who control every branch of government), with just 28% placing the blame on Democrats.
On Friday afternoon, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) visited the White House to meet with President Trump, a meeting at which Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were not present. Following the meeting, Schumer indicated that progress was being made but that no agreement had yet been reached; nor was it clear what deal the President could reach with Schumer that would be acceptable to more conservative House Republicans, particularly those in the Freedom Caucus.
Regardless of the outcome, this episode is just the latest reminder for congressional leadership and the administration that a bipartisan, long-term budget is sorely needed, and that any such budget should include input from experts, including America’s nurses. Families who are affected by DACA or reliant on CHIP deserve better than what Washington has so far failed to deliver.
