Late Sunday night, seven Democratic U.S. senators, including Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, and one Independent, joined their Republican colleagues to overcome the filibuster and move forward on a vote to reopen the government. It’s a signal that the ongoing shutdown, which has now lasted a record 40 days, may be coming to an end soon.
But Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) is calling on his colleagues to reject the current proposal should it make it to the House.
“This bill that does not in any way address the health care crisis, and only includes a vague reference to a promise of a senate vote a month from now, is wholly insufficient to address the health care crisis facing the American people,” Boyle said at a press conference Monday.
The shutdown was initiated by Democrats, who demanded Republicans restore what are known as enhanced premium tax credits for people receiving health care through the Affordable Care Act. Without the Premium Tax Credits, nearly 22 million Americans, including around 500,000 Pennsylvanians, could see their monthly health care premiums rise by more than double the current rates on average.
For nearly 40 days, Democrats refused to join Republicans in voting to fund the government without a deal in place to restore the Premium Tax Credits before they expire at the end of the year. But on Sunday, they agreed to fund the government through January, with only a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) that the chamber will vote on extending them in the coming month.
“We have a pinky promise of a possible future vote with no guarantee of passage and no commitment from House Republican leadership or the White House,” Boyle said. “So what we essentially have is a promise about nothing.”
Boyle was joined by Vicki Miller, the leader of Indivisible Philadelphia, an organization that advocates for progressive causes.
Miller said Democratic senators who voted to move forward with a vote to reopen the government were effectively turning on voters across the country who handed the party a series of wins in local and statewide elections last Tuesday, including maintaining a liberal majority on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.
“We succeed in giving the Democrats a huge victory,” she said. “We are just surprised that they would give in this easily.”
Fetterman, who has opposed the shutdown since it began, was one of the Democrats who voted with his GOP colleagues to move forward with a vote to reopen the government.
“After 40 days as a consistent voice against shutting our government down, I voted YES for the 15th time to REOPEN,” Fetterman wrote on the social media platform X. “I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks. It should’ve never come to this. This was a failure.”
As a result of the shutdown, access to food assistance funding for millions of Americans has been threatened, delayed or stopped, and many government employees, including some members of the military, have gone without pay.
The proposed deal to end the shutdown, however, would restore federal workers who were laid off in the last 40 days and ensure backpay for furloughed federal workers, which the Trump administration has argued they aren’t required to do, despite 2019 legislation signed in the president’s first term requiring it. It would also fund the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program through September 2026.
Maureen May, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, joined Boyle on Monday in opposing the move by Fetterman, six of his Democratic colleagues and Sen. Angus King of Maine (an independent who caucuses with Democrats) to accept the deal and help Republicans overcome the filibuster.
From her perspective, the issue of ensuring that health care is affordable, is worth the temporary pain of a federal government shutdown.
Working as a nurse before the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2008, she said she’s seen what happens when patients can’t afford health insurance.
“Patients will end up in the emergency room. People will skip their meds. They’ll ration. Our patients will be sicker coming into the ER,” she said. “These are the consequences of 150,000 people losing their premium cuts and being able to take care of them and their families.”
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has estimated that 150,000 Pennsylvanians may lose health insurance altogether if the enhanced premium tax credits expire and the monthly premiums on their marketplace plans increase.
To pass the proposed bill the Senate will still have to take a formal vote on it, which is expected as soon as Monday night. Then, the House would have to agree to the bill before it goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
While only simple majorities in the House and Senate are required, and both chambers controlled by Republicans, Boyle says he will continue to fight to keep the government shutdown without a firm agreement to extend the enhanced premium tax credits.
“We have total unity among House Democrats from our leader all the way down,” Boyle said. “We had a couple of House Republicans vote against this the first time. There are going to be a number – maybe a couple dozen or more – Congressional Republicans facing very challenging reelections next year. They have every interest to work with us on this issue and solve this health care crisis now.”
Yet it’s unclear if any Republican will relent.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Cumberland), a member of the Freedom Caucus who represents one of Pennsylvania’s most competitive districts — the 10th, has said he will hold firm.
“After 41 days of ‘leveraging’ people’s lives, at least 8 Democrats seem to be getting the message that the attempt to force through their most radical demands onto the backs of the American People isn’t going to work,” he wrote on Facebook. “WE NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK.”
