Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) on Friday offered a plan to end the government shutdown, headlined by a one-year extension of enhanced health care tax credits and a short-term spending bill.
“Democrats have said we must address the health care crisis, but Republicans have repeatedly said they will not negotiate to lower health care costs until the government reopens,” Schumer said in the chamber with other Democrats in the chamber. “So let’s find a way to honor both positions.”
“We would like to present a simple proposal that would reopen the government and expand the ACA’s premium tax credits simultaneously, and then have the opportunity to start negotiating long-term solutions to health care costs. Let’s do all three.”
On top of the one-year extension, Schumer’s offer also called for a short-term funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) and attaching a minibus to three full-year spending bills that were part of previous bipartisan talks.
Schumer’s office said the plan also includes creating a “bipartisan commission to continue negotiations on long-term reforms to address health care affordability.”
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