The first glimpses of the end of the near-record federal government shutdown were seen at the US Capitol on Monday, as top Senate Republicans and Democrats spoke about a possible ‘exit’ from the shutdown.
For 34 days, a standoff between Congress and President Donald Trump has shuttered a range of federal programs, including those that provide aid to low-income Americans, U.S. soldier paychecks and airport operations.
A new fiscal year began on October 1 without any legislation being enacted to fund these activities. Thousands of federal employees have already been laid off, and the battle is on hold over $1.7 trillion in discretionary funds that represent about a third of total annual U.S. spending.
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“I’m optimistic,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, told reporters when asked about the prospects for ending the government shutdown, which has left many federal employees performing their duties without pay.
Asked if he was confident the shutdown would end, South Dakota’s Thune hesitated, saying, “Don’t push the envelope.”
The comment was a small but significant change in tone. Democrats tied government funding to the extension of a U.S. health insurance subsidy that is about to expire.
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Low-income families are seeing their food stamp benefits expire or only be partially funded.
“Based on my intuition of how these things work, I think we’re getting close to a way out,” Thune said.
The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said, ‘I feel that way too.’
But he quickly added: ‘We’re still stuck with this premise of what we’re going to do about healthcare costs.’
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins of Maine told reporters that progress had been made, with Democrats offering specific language to resolve the impasse and teams from both parties working through the weekend.
“This week feels better,” she said.
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However, Collins warned: ‘It could all fall apart again. And I don’t mean to say there is an agreement.’
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House of Representatives moderates has come up with a compromise plan.
Axios reported that a group of four House centrists — three Republicans and one Democrat — offered a plan to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expanded tax credit for two years, but with new limits for people whose incomes are at the upper limit of eligibility.
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Since October 1, groups of Senate Republicans and Democrats have held sporadic private meetings to look for ways to resolve the impasse that has consumed Washington, but have so far failed to reach the finish line.
