The government shutdown has gone on for more than four weeks, with no sign the impasse will end soon. Here’s what lawmakers told CBS News they’re doing.
The government shutdown has dragged on for more than four weeks, and there are no signs that Congress will resolve the impasse soon, as members of both parties continue to blame each other and push their opponents to fold.
Senate Democrats want to extend a slate of expiring health insurance subsidies in exchange for their votes to reopen the government, but Republicans have pressed to end the shutdown with no strings attached before negotiating on health care. Meanwhile, thousands of federal employees are missing out on paychecks, and tens of millions of food aid recipients are set to lose their benefits starting this weekend.
With both sides still dug in, CBS News spoke with lawmakers and politicians about what they’re doing to resolve the second-longest funding lapse in modern U.S. history.
Schumer: «There will be increased pressure on Republicans»
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, believes pressure will build as bills come due at the start of next month.
Open enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act begins on Nov. 1, which is when the disappearance of enhanced Biden-era insurance subsidies could first show up for many American households.
«On November 1», Schumer told CBS News on Tuesday, «people in more than 30 states are going to be aghast when they see their bills and they’re going to cry out, and I believe there will be increased pressure on Republicans to negotiate with us.»
Vance: «We just need five more reasonable Democrats»
During a visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance put the onus on Senate Democrats to vote to end the shutdown. «We just need five more reasonable Democrats to do what the American people want us to do, to open up the government», he said.
In recent weeks, three moderate Senate Democrats have voted with almost all Republicans in favor of a House-passed stopgap measure that would extend government funding at existing levels until mid-November, allowing the shutdown to end.
But that bill is still five votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the Senate, and after more than a dozen rounds of voting, no additional Democrats have budged.
