Congressional Democrats on Wednesday proposed adding well over $1 trillion for Medicaid and other health programs to a stopgap spending plan needed to fund the government past Sept. 30, laying out steep demands in a showdown with Republicans that is threatening a shutdown within weeks.
Democrats put forward a bill that would fund the government through Oct. 31 and permanently extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. It would reverse cuts to Medicaid and other health programs enacted this year as part of Republicans’ marquee tax and spending cut legislation.
The measure would also restrict the Trump administration’s ability to unilaterally claw back funding Congress previously approved, a power that President Trump has repeatedly invoked.
And it would provide far more funding to strengthen security measures for government officials than House Republicans initially proposed — $326 million in total, compared to a $30-million boost sought by the G.O.P.
The proposal only deepens the impasse that is paving the way for a shutdown at the end of the month. It emerged the day after Democrats announced their opposition to Republicans’ plan to fund the government, which would largely extend spending at current levels through Nov. 21. The Democratic plan amounted to a term sheet for what it would take to win their votes and avert a shutdown, but its contents included proposals that the G.O.P. has already ruled out.
In order for any funding bill to move forward in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for major legislation to advance, it must win at least some bipartisan support. Democratic leaders on Tuesday said they would not provide the votes to move forward with Republicans’ plan because the G.O.P. had not negotiated with them or offered concessions.
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The post Democrats Outline Spending Demands as Shutdown Looms appeared first on New York Times.
