On Sunday night, seven Democrats and one independent voted with Republicans in favor of reopening the government, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote “as soon as possible” after Sunday’s Senate vote opened the door to reopening the federal government.
Johnson told reporters he would notify members of the House of Representatives at least 36 hours before a final vote in the Senate, adding that members should start returning to Washington “now.”
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“I commend the seven Senate Democrats and one independent senator for doing the right thing,” Johnson said of Sunday night’s 60-40 vote, which he said could be the first step toward ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Democrats who voted with Republicans include Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. They joined independent Sen. Angus King from Maine, as well as two other Democrats who had already defected from other Democrats, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
The bill would provide funding to restart the government and fund programs including the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance. It would also guarantee back pay for federal employees who were furloughed and whose fate was in doubt.
It also includes emergency funding to keep much of the federal government running for the next several months, through January 30th. This law primarily funds government operations at current interest rates.
But there is a notable lack of a clear solution to expiring health care subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for as millions of Americans suffer from rising insurance premiums. The debate has been pushed back to a vote next month, weeks before the subsidies expire, but some experts fear Democrats won’t be able to deliver.
“If Democrats capitulate in the fight to cut costs, all the brand gains they have made over the past few months will be reversed,” Lindsey Owens, executive director of the economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement to Al Jazeera. “If we don’t do this, voters will become even more cynical. The two major parties are talking about affordability, but neither is fighting to make it happen.”
A September analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average premium cost for Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace will more than double if health benefits expire.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed to continue pushing for an extension of ACA subsidies.
“This is not a partisan fight for us. This is a patriotic fight,” Jeffries told reporters at a news conference.
He noted that registered Republicans rely on tax credits more than registered Democrats or people who don’t belong to either major political party.
“Perhaps part of this deal is that the Democrats will be able to control what the bill and the votes are about by introducing and voting on their own bills in December,” Republican strategist Adolfo Franco told Al Jazeera.
President Franco also added that there is a good chance that the bill will pass because some Republicans support extending the subsidy.
Air travel is fluid
But despite progress toward reopening the government, chaos continues to wreak havoc at the country’s airports.
Airlines canceled more than 1,000 U.S. flights for the fourth day in a row on Monday, as government flight cuts and the absence of air traffic officials continue to cause problems for the airline industry.
“The problem with air travel is that air traffic controllers are overworked and unpaid, and many are calling in sick. It’s a very stressful job, and the stress is compounded when you’re struggling to provide for your family,” House Speaker Johnson told reporters on Monday.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring air traffic controllers to get back to work.
President Trump on Monday said he would cut off the pay of air traffic controllers who do not return, while also giving a $10,000 bonus to those who continued to work during the shutdown.
On Wall Street, markets are trending higher on news that the government shutdown may be nearing an end. As of 11:00 a.m. in New York (16:00 p.m. Japan time), the Nasdaq was up 1.7% and the S&P 500 was up 0.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was relatively flat, rising only 0.04%.
