By Mark Valentini, Vice President of Legislative Affairs
Over the weekend of Nov. 8-9, the U.S. Senate remained on Capitol Hill to hash out a deal to end the government shutdown, securing enough Democratic support for it to pass on Sunday evening, Nov. 9 on a 60-40 vote. It went to the House where it passed on a mostly partisan basis. The main details of the agreement are as follows:
- A three-bill “minibus” is attached to the Continuing Resolution (CR) will fully fund Congressional operations, in addition to the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs.
- The CR will fund the rest of government at FY25 levels until Jan. 30, 2026.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised Senate Democrats a vote in December on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
- Government employees laid off during the shutdown will be re-hired and given backpay. Furthermore, there will be no further reductions in government payroll until at least Jan. 30, 2026.
While Senator Thune has promised a vote on health care tax credits, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has made no promises to hold a similar vote in the House. President Trump was anxious for a deal and signed off on it within hours of its passage, ending the longest U.S. government shutdown in history at 43 days.
The agreement has divided Congressional Democrats, who were hoping to use the shutdown as leverage to secure an extension of ACA healthcare tax credits. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) urged his caucus to oppose the deal, though enough moderate Democrats joined with Republicans to pass it regardless.
The deal will keep government funded through the holidays into the new year, alleviating concerns about air travel during the holidays as the Federal Aviation Administration was expected to cancel up to 20% of flights at the forty busiest U.S. airports.
However, the Jan. 30 deadline leaves open the possibility Democrats may force another shutdown should they not get the concessions they want out of Republicans on healthcare or otherwise perceive that Republicans have not upheld their end of the bargain. Under the current CR, veterans and low income families will continue to receive benefits through FY26, and with expected passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) military operations will continue unabated: therefore, a subsequent shutdown would be partial though without a funding vehicle for the FAA we could expect a repeat of flight delays that plagued U.S. air travel prior to Thanksgiving. The pressure to act to resolve a subsequent shutdown may come down on Republicans as health care costs for millions of Americans are expected to rise substantially, especially for those Republicans who vote to continue with expected cuts to ACA tax credits and other health care subsidies in the run-up to midterm elections this November. PHCC will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates.
