Schumer offers plan to end shutdown on Senate floor

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered a plan Friday to end the government shutdown, headlined by a one-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits and a short-term spending bill.

“Democrats have said we must address the health care crisis, but Republicans have repeatedly said they won’t negotiate to lower the health care costs until the government reopens,” Schumer said on the floor, with other Democrats in the chamber. “So let’s find a path to honor both positions.”

“We’d like to offer a simple proposal that would reopen the government and extend the ACA premium tax credits simultaneously, and then have the opportunity to start negotiating longer term solutions to health care costs. Let’s do all three.”

On top of the one-year extension, Schumer’s offer also called for short-term funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) and the attachment of a three-bill minibus of full-year spending bills that were a part of previous bipartisan talks.

The plan also includes the creation of a “bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on long-term reforms to address healthcare affordability,” Schumer’s office said. 

The offer came after days of intense discussions on the Democratic side about the possibility of an off-ramp. Democrats had been demanding an extension of the ACA credits as a condition of reopening the government, but as the pain being caused by the shutdown intensified, a debate emerged between progressives and moderate-leaning members over whether to accept an offer from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

That blueprint included a vote on a CR until January, and attached the minibus and a commitment to hold a vote to extend the ACA subsidies.

Talks continued until midday Thursday, when Democrats decided over lunch to unify behind a single plan by the party, which Schumer finally unveiled.

Thune has been adamant that not only will his conference not negotiate on health care until the government is open, but that he could not guarantee a result on the tax credits, given the opposition to extending them within both the Senate and House GOP conferences. 

Senate Republicans almost immediately lambasted the offer.

“It’s terrible,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who was on the way to a Senate GOP conference meeting to discuss the path forward.

“The five largest health care companies in America have had a 1000 percent increase in their stock prices since 2010. We’re flooding these people with money that’s creating inflation,” Graham continued. “The program is broken and I’m not going to keep giving hundreds of billions of dollars to insurance companies.”

House Republicans were also quick to slam the offer.

Rep. August Pfluger, (R-Texas), chair of the Republican Study Committee, called it a "nonstarter" while the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus said it was "absurd."

House Democrats, meanwhile, appeared to back the offer.

One top aide said Democratic offices have been discussing the offer this afternoon, "and most seem to think it'd be an acceptable off-ramp." 

"It would meet the promise to constituents and put us in good position going forward," the aide said. 

Up until the Schumer proposal was made, there were questions over the path in the upper chamber in the coming hours and days.

Thune was hopeful to hold a vote on the House-passed CR with an eye toward amending it with the bipartisan talks in mind.

He also indicated a vote on Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) bill aimed at paying excepted federal workers throughout the shutdown was also a possibility. 

However, Johnson attempted to pass it via unanimous consent shortly before Schumer’s offer was made. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) objected to it.

Updated at 4:30 p.m. EST

Emily Brooks and Mike Lillis contributed.