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US Government Shutdown News: US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Wednesday to end the nation's longest government shutdown. The shutdown, a historic 43-day funding lapse that saw federal workers go without multiple paychecks, travelers stranded at airports, and people lining up at food banks to get a meal for their families, has now officially ended. 

Trump's signature on the bill, which cleared the Senate earlier in the week, will bring federal workers idled by the 43-day shutdown back to their jobs starting as early as Thursday, although just how quickly full government services and operations will resume is unclear.

1. House lawmakers made their long-awaited return to the nation's capital this week after nearly eight weeks away. Republicans used their slight majority to get the bill over the finish line with a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. The Senate has already passed the measure.

2. Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time.

“We told you 43 days ago from bitter experience that government shutdowns don't work,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "They never achieve the objective that you announce. And guess what? You haven't achieved that objective yet, and you're not going to.”

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3. The shutdown magnified the stark partisan divisions within Congress, and that split screen was reflected when lawmakers debated the spending measure on the House floor.

4. Republicans said Democrats sought to use the pain generated by the shutdown to prevail in a policy dispute. “They knew it would cause pain and they did it anyway,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

5. Democrats said Republicans raced to pass tax breaks earlier this year that they say mostly will benefit the wealthy. But the bill before the House on Wednesday “leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their health care,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

6. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would not give up on the subsidy extension even if the vote did not go their way. “This fight is not over,” Jeffries said. “We're just getting started.”

7. The House had not been in legislative session since Sept. 19, when it passed a short-term measure to keep the government open when the new budget year began in October. Johnson sent lawmakers home after that vote and put the onus on the Senate to act, saying House Republicans had done their job.

What's next: Health care debate ahead

It's unclear whether the parties will find any common ground on health care before the December vote in the Senate. Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.

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Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits as premiums will soar for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies. Some argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals rather than go directly to insurance companies.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Monday that she was supportive of extending the tax credits with changes, such as new income caps. Some Democrats have signaled they could be open to that idea.

House Democrats expressed great skepticism that the Senate effort would lead to a breakthrough. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Republicans have wanted to repeal the health overall for the past 15 years. “That's where they're trying to go,” she said.

(Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Daily Jagran and has been published through a syndicated feed. Source - PTI)

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