WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 To hear party leaders talk, the seventh day of the government shutdown sounded a lot like the first. Democrats are seeking negotiations on expiring health care subsidies while Republicans say they won\u2019t discuss it, or any other policy, until the government reopens. <\/p>\n
The two sides are also offering starkly different visions of the Affordable Care Act and how to deal with the expanded premium assistance<\/a> that will soon expire for millions of people \u2014 Democrats want the aid extended, while Republicans insist the subsidized health care system is broken and must be cut back. <\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats\u2019 position has not changed,\u201d said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. \u201cWe want the same thing that a majority, an overwhelming majority, of Americans want, which is to end this shutdown and halt the health care crisis that will send premiums spiking for tens of millions of people.\u201d<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a>, R-La., met with Senate Republicans on Tuesday and said the party is \u201c100% united,\u201d which he said is \u201ca good place to be in.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how the impasse will end, even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers are going unpaid and many government services are slowed or suspended. Democrats believe the public is on their side<\/a> as they fight to keep the COVID-era subsidies, but health care is also one of the most intractable issues in Congress \u2014 and a real compromise is unlikely to be easy, or quick. <\/p>\n There are some Republicans in Congress who want to extend the aid as millions of people who receive their insurance through the ACA marketplaces are set to receive notices that their premiums will increase at the beginning of the year<\/a>. But many GOP lawmakers are strongly opposed to any extension \u2014 and see the debate as a new opportunity to try to reform the program. <\/p>\n \u201cIf Republicans govern by poll and fail to grab this moment, they will own it,\u201d wrote Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, in a letter published in The Wall Street Journal over the weekend. He encouraged senators not to go \u201cwobbly\u201d on the issue. <\/p>\n \u201cThe jig is up, the pandemic is over and my colleagues shouldn\u2019t blink in any other direction,\u201d Roy wrote. <\/p>\n A long history of health care fights<\/p>\n Republicans have been railing against the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama\u2019s signature health care law, since it was enacted 15 years ago. But while they have been able to chip away at it, they have not been able to substantially alter it<\/a> as a record 24 million people<\/a> are now signed up for insurance coverage through the ACA, in large part because billions of dollars in subsidies have made the plans more affordable for many people. <\/p>\n Now, some of them see the Democrats\u2019 fight as their chance to revisit the issue \u2014 putting Republican congressional leaders and President Donald Trump in a complicated position. <\/p>\n \u201cI am happy to work with Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to reopen,\u201d Trump wrote on social media Monday night, walking back earlier comments<\/a> saying there were ongoing negotiations with Democrats. <\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune<\/a>, R-S.D., told reporters Monday that \u201cthere may be a path forward\u201d on ACA subsidies, but stressed, \u201cI think a lot of it would come down to where the White House lands on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Some GOP senators argue, though, that the only path forward is to overhaul the law. \u201cThe whole problem with all of this is Obamacare,\u201d said Florida Sen. Rick Scott. <\/p>\n Johnson said there were ongoing talks about \u201cpretty dramatic changes\u201d to the law that Congress might consider once the government reopens. <\/p>\n Bipartisan talks face difficulties <\/p>\n The Senate has now rejected a House-passed bill to extend government funding until mid-November five times, with Democrats denying Republicans the votes to pass it unless they win concessions on health care. <\/p>\n With leaders at odds, some rank-and-file senators in both parties have been in private talks to try to find a way out of the shutdown. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota has suggested extending the subsidies for a year and then phasing them out. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, has suggested pushing ahead with a group of bipartisan spending bills that are pending and then securing a commitment to discuss the health care issue.<\/p>\n But many Democrats say a commitment isn\u2019t good enough, and Republicans say they need deeper reforms \u2014 leaving the talks, and the U.S. government, at a standstill. <\/p>\n Maine Sen. Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted with Republicans to keep the government open. But he said Monday that he might switch his vote to \u201cno\u201d if Republicans do not \u201coffer some real solid evidence that they are going to help us with this crisis\u201d on health care. <\/p>\n Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said his party is \u201cnot budging,\u201d however. <\/p>\n \u201cFirst and foremost, before we can talk about anything, they need to reopen the government,\u201d Mullin said. <\/p>\n Some Republicans urge action on health care <\/p>\n Still, some Republicans say they are open to extending the subsidies \u2014 even if they don\u2019t like them \u2014 as it becomes clear that their constituents will face rising costs. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m willing to consider various reforms, but I think we have to do something,\u201d said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. He said Congress should address the issue \u201csooner rather than later\u201d before open enrollment begins Nov. 1. <\/p>\n Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she is \u201cnot a fan\u201d of Obamacare but indicated she might vote to extend it. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children\u2019s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district,\u201d she posted on social media Monday evening. <\/p>\n High stakes for federal workers <\/p>\n With both sides digging in, the shutdown could go on for some time, leaving federal workers without their regular paychecks. And the White House is now suggesting that Trump may block back pay if the government reopens<\/a>. <\/p>\n Trump signed legislation into law in 2019 that ensures back pay for federal workers during any government funding lapse. But a White House memo with the rationale for no back pay is under consideration. <\/p>\n Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he doesn\u2019t know the details of the memo, but \u201cif that is true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats pushed back on the White House rationale. \u201cFederal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their back pay following a shutdown,\u201d said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. <\/p>\n