The impacts on basic needs – food and medical care – have underscored how the gridlock is hitting homes across the United States. The Trump administration’s plans to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Saturday were halted by federal judges, but the delay in payments will likely leave millions of people short on their grocery bills.
All of this has added to the strain on the country, with a month of missed paychecks for federal workers and growing delays in air travel. The shutdown is already the second longest in history and entered its second month on Saturday, but there was little urgency in Washington to end it with lawmakers kept away from the Capitol and both parties entrenched in their positions.
The House has not met for legislative business in more than six weeks, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., closed his chamber for the weekend after bipartisan talks failed to achieve significant progress.
Thune said he hopes “the pressure will begin to intensify and the consequences of continuing the government shutdown will become even more real for everyone who will hopefully express new interest in trying to find a way forward.”
The impasse looks increasingly untenable as Republican President Donald Trump demands action and Democratic leaders warn that outcry over rising health insurance costs will force Congress to act.
“This weekend, Americans face a health care crisis unprecedented in modern times,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said this week.
Delays and uncertainties around SNAP
The Agriculture Department planned to hold off payments to the food program on Saturday until two federal judges order the administration to make them. Trump said he would provide the money but wanted more legal guidance from the court, which won’t happen until Monday.
The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and costs about $8 billion per month. The justices agreed that the USDA must at least draw on a contingency fund of about $5 billion to keep the program running. But that leaves some uncertainty over whether the department will use additional funds or provide only partial benefits for the month.
Benefits will already be delayed because it takes a week or more to load SNAP cards in many states.
“The Trump administration must follow the law and address this problem immediately by working closely with states to provide nutrition assistance to the millions of people who depend on it as quickly as possible,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in a statement following the decision.
Republicans, in response to Democrats’ demands to fund SNAP, say the program is in dire straits because Democrats have repeatedly voted against a short-term government funding bill.
“We are now reaching a breaking point thanks to Democrats voting no on government funding, now 14 times,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a news conference Friday.
Trump injected himself into the debate Thursday night by suggesting that Republican senators, who hold the majority, end the lockdown by removing filibuster rules that prevent most legislation from advancing without the support of at least 60 senators. Democrats used the filibuster to block a funding bill in the Senate for weeks.
Republican leaders quickly rejected Trump’s idea, but the discussion showed how desperate the fight has become.
Health care subsidies expire
The annual enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health insurance also begins Saturday, and there are big increases in the amount people pay for coverage. Enhanced tax credits that help most enrollees pay for health plans will expire next year.
Democrats mobilized to expand these credits and refused to pass government funding legislation until Congress acted.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., spoke on the Senate floor this week about constituents she said would face premium increases of up to $2,000 a month if the credits expire.
“Today I hear from families in my state who are panicking,” she said. “The time to act is now. »
If Congress doesn’t expand the credits, subsidized enrollees will face cost increases of about 114 percent, or more than $1,000 a year, on average, KFF, a nonprofit health care research organization, found.
In the days before open registration began, Democratic politicians across the country warned that cost increases would hit their constituents hard.
In Wisconsin, for example, families on the ACA Silver plan could see their premiums increase by about $12,500 to $24,500 per year depending on their location. Sixty-year-old couples could face increases ranging from nearly $19,900 to $33,150 per year.
“Whatever percentage it is, it’s a huge amount,” said Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wis.
Some congressional Republicans are open to the idea of expanding subsidies, but they also want to make major changes to health care reform passed under Democrat Barack Obama’s presidency.
Thune offered Democrats a vote on extending the benefits, but did not guarantee an outcome.
Flight delays and missed paychecks
Federal employees have gone a month without receiving full pay, and the attrition of the workforce is visible.
Major unions representing federal employees have called for an end to the shutdown, putting more pressure on Democrats to drop their health care demands. The president of the union representing air traffic controllers was the latest to urge Congress to pass legislation reopening the government so federal workers can get paid, and lawmakers can then engage in bipartisan negotiations on health care.
In a statement Friday, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said financial and mental strain was increasing on the workforce, “making it less and less safe with each passing day of closure.”
