It’s hard to see Democrats winning policy victories in this month’s shutdown fight. But that might not be the point.
By placing health care at the center of their argument, they’re using the attention-grabbing spectacle of a congressional brawl to spotlight a policy difference in ways that sleepy press conferences never could.
And they’re highlighting a topic that has historically played in their favor, including when they swept to power in the House during the 2018 midterm wave. Returning to that issue again, Democrats appear to be laying the groundwork for a critical political message they could carry into next year’s midterm campaigns for House and Senate.
“Republicans have put forth a partisan spending bill that fails to address the fact that tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatic increases in their health care premiums,” House Minority Leader
It sounded a lot like a campaign message.
Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader
An alternative CR unveiled last night by Democrats would permanently extend additional pandemic-era subsidies (more below).
Usually it’s hard to draw attention to something that hasn’t happened yet, especially as President Donald Trump dominates the national narrative. But a shutdown creates its own drama, and even if Democrats can’t get the subsidies extended now, they’re laying down a marker. If millions of people get notices of premium hikes in November, Democrats want them to know who to blame.
One senior Democrat, Rep.
Some 7.3 million Americans could lose tax credits next year that help them afford health coverage through the ACA, with 4.8 million losing coverage, according to a report released Wednesday from the Urban Institute.
Congressional Democrats are also under intense pressure from their supporters to show a pulse. A shutdown is one way to do it.
Their health care message has echoes of 2018, when they also focused on the ACA after Republicans tried to repeal the law.
But the move toward a shutdown still comes with risks.
Such fights rarely end with the recalcitrant party getting its way. And once a shutdown begins, policy demands are often overshadowed by reports of closed national parks and shuttered federal offices, shifting the focus and making it hard for the minority party to win concessions.
Yet another scrap over the ACA is among the most prominent examples of the challenge. Sen.
Democrats cite that standoff as a demonstration of the failure of shutdown politics. Still, Republicans made gains in the 2014 midterm elections the next year.
Republicans are daring Democrats to try the same thing. The House plans to vote this week on a funding patch (
“All these other issues they want to litigate can be litigated later,” Senate Majority Leader
Republicans are aware of the potential political dangers of allowing health premiums to rise on their watch. Some have said they’d like to find a solution.
But Thune said they could talk about major policy shifts when debating a long-term funding plan, not a brief fix meant to keep the lights on for a few more weeks.
That opposition gives Democrats few avenues to get the changes they want. In this case, though, the fight might be more valuable to them than the win.
News From the Hill
What Dems Want: Expiring health-care subsidies would be permanently extended, the Trump administration would be forced to spend money it’s blocked, and federal agencies would be funded through Oct. 31 under the long-shot bicameral spending proposal released by Sen.
Deep Dive on Cuts’ Impact: Trump’s plans to overhaul US health agencies, which include deep budget cuts, may make it harder for local communities to combat opioid and other substance use disorders, Erin Durkin and Jon Meltzer report. Their story combines on-the-ground reporting in West Virginia with analysis of how proposed cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration could resonate around the country. Read More
Registration Proposal: The National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics is ready to unveil a pitch for updating federal disclosure rules to make them also apply to paid social media influencers, Kate Ackley reports first. “These folks are having as big, if not bigger, impact on policy than a lot of the stuff we have done or are trying to do,” said Paul Miller, a registered lobbyist and the group’s founder. “The public should be aware of it, just as they’re aware of how much I get paid.”
Miller, through his firm Miller-Wenhold Capitol Strategies, reported fees from federal clients, including the Transportation Alliance and the Chamber of Marine Commerce, totaling about $150,000 in the first half of the year, lobbying disclosures show. It’s a level of information that isn’t available about the online posters. Read More
DC Police: Legislation allowing police to pursue criminal suspects more easily despite potential dangers to the public won passage in the House, Zach Williams reports. The measure (
- The chamber also passed, 218-211, a bill (
H.R. 5125 ; BGOV Bill Analysis) to terminate a commission that makes recommendations for appointments to DC courts, giving presidents the sole authority to nominate judges.
On Omar: Four House Republicans joined Democrats to kill a resolution that would have stripped Rep.
House Security: House leaders are continuing and boosting a member security pilot program amid growing safety following Kirk’s assassination, Sheehey reports. Lawmakers can use up to $10,000 a month for monitoring, maintenance and personal security from Oct. 1 to Nov. 21, according to an email sent to members from House Administration Chairman
TikTok Reaction: Lawmakers who pressed for the ban on the social media app TikTok expressed doubts about a deal the Trump administration is preparing for outside investors to acquire a half-interest in the Chinese company’s US operations, Jamie Tarabay reports. Speaker
Today’s Floor Agenda
Energy legislation is set for action in the House, with votes planned on bills to:
- Overhaul the approval process to build oil and gas pipelines or electric transmission equipment across the US-Canada or US-Mexico borders (
H.R. 3062 ; BGOV Bill Analysis). - Permanently reauthorize the Energy Department’s advisory committee on the coal industry (
H.R. 3015 ; BGOV Bill Analysis). - Allow electric grid operators to submit proposals for prioritizing connecting new power generation projects using “dispatchable” energy sources to the grid, ahead of intermittent sources such as wind and power (
H.R. 1047 ; BGOV Bill Analysis).
The chamber also plans to honor Charlie Kirk, condemn his assassination and all forms of political violence, and call on all Americans to recommit to respectful debate under a resolution (
For more on the bills scheduled for floor action, see the House Agenda for the Week of Sept. 15 prepared by BGOV’s legislative analysts. Click here for the official schedule from Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
The Senate is set to complete action on a group of 48 nominees, after using the nuclear option yesterday to allow them to move forward with a simple majority. The positions packaged together by
A vote is planned today after the remaining debate time is used up or yielded back but hasn’t been scheduled.
The Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (
Off-the-Floor Highlights
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), District Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb appear before the House Oversight Committee.
Artificial intelligence is the focus of two House hearings, with applications in the financial system on tap at House Financial Services and a House Judiciary subcommittee discussing the choice between a nationwide AI strategy or “Californication.”
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is weighing bills that would impose first-in-the-nation restrictions on the technology as congressional Republicans and the White House weigh a “light touch” approach, Titus Wu reports. Read More
- A new BGOV OnPoint from John Woolley explores the Trump administration’s AI strategies, actions in Congress, and efforts across key states. Read More
Defense Department nominees for inspector general, chief information officer, deputy undersecretary and assistant secretary are due at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The House Problem Solvers Caucus will unveil a bipartisan framework to overhaul the federal permitting process. Reps.
The state of K-12 education is on the agenda for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Other House hearings will focus on:
- Broadband permitting, including discussion of more than two dozen bills, at an Energy and Commerce subcommittee;
- Bills to enhance seniors’ access to breakthrough technologies at another Energy and Commerce subcommittee;
- Bills including a funding authorization for the National Law Enforcement Museum at a Natural Resources subcommittee;
- How China is “using illegal marijuana to build a criminal network” in the US at a Homeland Security subcommittee;
- Delivering services to rural America at an Agriculture subcommittee;
- The promise of fusion power at a Science subcommittee;
- Financial threats from fraud at a Financial Services subcommittee.
The Inaugural Congressional Pickleball Match will be held this evening on the National Mall.
For more on today’s events, click here. Follow committee votes on nominees and bills here.
Editor’s note: Yesterday’s edition listed a hearing on access to breakthrough technologies scheduled for today.
— With assistance from
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