Democrats unveil funding alternative to counter GOP in shutdown brawl

Congressional Democrats released bill text Wednesday night for their own stopgap spending proposal as they dig in against a House Republican-backed measure that would fund the government until late November.

The new Democratic proposal links funding the government through Oct. 31 to two of the party’s other priorities: health care assistance and placing limits on President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally roll back funds previously approved by Congress.

The Democratic stopgap bill has virtually no chance of passing the Senate — much less getting to Trump’s desk before the end-of-the-month deadline to avert a shutdown. But it allows Democrats to rally behind a plan that will win a broad swath of support among their members in the House and Senate.

“We invite Republican leadership to finally join Democratic leadership at the negotiating table, which they have refused for weeks to do, to prevent a shutdown and begin bipartisan negotiations to keep the government funded,” Congress’ top Democratic appropriators, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, said in a joint statement.

The Democrats’ bill would extend boosted Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies that will otherwise expire on Dec. 31. It also would reverse cuts to Medicaid and other health programs that Republicans enacted as part of their party-line megabill this summer.

Schumer hasn’t explicitly demanded that an extension of the expiring health care subsidies be attached to the stopgap bill, but Democrats also believe Congress can’t wait until the end of the year because Americans will need to make decisions about health insurance before that time.

The Democratic alternative comes after House Republicans unveiled their own funding proposal to punt the shutdown deadline to Nov. 21, which they want voted on their chamber floor by Friday. That offer also would include $30 million for lawmaker security and another $58 million in security assistance requested by the White House for the Supreme Court and executive branch.

But Democrats have bristled over the GOP proposal because Republican leaders are, so far, not negotiating with them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent two letters to Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker MIke Johnson requesting a meeting but said they had been ignored.

“Democrats do not want a government shutdown. We’ve asked Republican leadership multiple times to meet with us to start negotiating,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday after a closed-door caucus lunch where Democrats discussed offering an alternative proposal.

Thune opened the door Tuesdayto meeting with Schumer. But Democrats largely brushed off his comments, accusing Republicans of bending to Trump after the president said in a Fox News interview late last week that he didn’t need Democratic support. The Senate will need 60 votes to advance the spending deal, which will necessitate help from Democrats.

Despite both Senate leaders now claiming they are willing to meet, as of early Wednesday evening nothing was on the books yet.

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.