U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats, voted against a bipartisan measure to reopen the federal government. Advanced by the U.S. Senate in a 60-40 vote last night, the proposal is expected to end the longest government shutdown in history.
Since Oct. 1, the federal government has been shut down because the U.S. Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government.
That resolution, which contained no policy changes and funded the government at current levels, needed 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the chamber’s filibuster rule and tee it up for final passage. However, Republicans only have 53 votes in the Senate and needed Democrat assistance to advance the continuing resolution.
Prior to Sunday, Senate Democrats voted against advancing the GOP-backed resolution 14 times and said they would not reopen the government until Republicans agreed to extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Democrat senators have warned that the expiration of the subsidies would result in healthcare premium increases.
Republicans have said negotiations on the subsidies can commence once the government is reopened and functioning normally. Minnesota’s Democrat U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, have not supported the GOP funding resolution at any point.
On Sunday, the shutdown impasse broke as several Democratic senators crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans to advance a to-be amended continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through January and fully fund several agencies for a full year.
The Democrats who voted with the GOP are Sens. Dick Durbin, Maggie Hassan, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, Jeanne Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Tim Kaine. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to advance the proposal while Republican Senator Rand Paul voted against it.
Democrats joined Republicans after being assured that Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune would schedule a vote on the Obamacare subsidies and federal workers laid of during the shutdown would be rehired.
The 60-40 vote, which ended debate on the resolution, must now be amended and re-passed by the Senate, passed by the House, and signed into law by President Donald Trump. Those steps are expected to occur in the next few days.
Klobuchar and Smith were among the 40 senators who opposed advancing the continuing resolution.
Since the shutdown began more than 40 days ago, federal workers have been furloughed or been forced to work without pay, government programs have been impacted, and U.S. airports have been greatly disrupted.
“I voted against this budget bill because it does not prevent health insurance premiums from doubling for so many in our state,” said Klobuchar in a statement. “The President and Congressional Republicans should have come to the table to work with us to lower these costs.”
“In every other budget impasse or shutdown there were negotiations and compromise with the White House. I am committed to lowering health care costs and will do everything I can to get this done,” added Klobuchar.
Alpha News reached out to Smith for this story but did not hear back. In a social media post, Smith said “Americans deserved a better deal than this one.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
