All four Republicans representing Minnesota in Congress have called on DFL Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to vote in favor of a GOP resolution that reopens the federal government.
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. The funding resolution proposed by the GOP would fund the government for seven more weeks at current levels.
While Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency, the funding resolution needs 60 votes in the Senate to pass. At present, the Senate is comprised of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents.
To date, Democrats have denied Republicans the seven additional votes needed to reopen the government on six separate occasions. Prior to the sixth vote on the GOP resolution, Minnesota Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach, and Brad Finstad called on Klobuchar and Smith to join Republicans in supporting the resolution.
In a letter to the senators, the Republicans said the GOP resolution being considered did not make any changes to federal policy and “has been supported on a bipartisan basis thirteen times during the Biden Administration. It was also supported by Democrats just six months ago.”
The Republican legislators noted that there are roughly 33,000 Minnesotans who work for the federal government who are currently working without pay or are furloughed.
“Every day the government is shut down is another day that federal workers in Minnesota are not getting paid, our troops and federal law enforcement are not receiving a paycheck, and low-income mothers are having to worry about their ability to feed their families,” said the Republicans.
For weeks, Democrats have said Obamacare subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year and will result in an increase in healthcare premiums. As such, they have denied the GOP votes to reopen government in an effort to get Republicans to extend the subsidies.
On Wednesday, Klobuchar and Smith voted against the GOP funding resolution. Both Smith and Klobuchar have voted for a competing Democrat-supported resolution that would fund the government and extend the subsidies.
In a statement to Alpha News about the letter from her colleagues, Klobuchar said: “We must work together to reopen the government and prevent premiums from skyrocketing. My Republican colleagues need to come back to work and negotiate a compromise that brings down the cost of health care for Americans.”
However, Republicans say negotiations on Obamacare subsidies can commence once the government is reopened and functioning normally. The Senate is set to hold a seventh vote on reopening the government today.
Smith’s office did not immediately respond to media inquiries for this story.
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.
