Mastodawn

Senate Democrats, holding out for health care, ready to reject government funding bill for 10th time

https://lemmy.world/post/37428370

Senate Democrats, holding out for health care, ready to reject government funding bill for 10th time - Lemmy.World

Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed.

Good.

It’s the only power they have. Use it.

partial_accumen Oct 16

The GOP is doing a great job of building the opposition campaign slogan: “The GOP kept the government shut down for X days for the sole purpose of denying Americans access to healthcare.”

Except the people that need to hear that truth won’t believe it.

assaultpotato Oct 16

North American elections aren’t decided by changing people’s minds, they haven’t been for decades. They’re decided by getting the non-voters out for your party. 30ish % of the electorate will never drop Trump. 35ish % of the electorate will never vote R. Elections are decided by the 35% in the middle who usually don’t even vote.

They only vote when the impact on their lives is impossible to ignore, hence why Trump’s COVID inflation gift to Biden got them off the bench. “Food is much more expensive now, I blame <person currently president>”. These people can be swung, but it requires their lives to be directly and obviously impacted. Maybe loss of healthcare would do it.

Ancalagon Oct 16

Until you realize the gaming of the voting systems simultaneously being attacked and no one is talking about it.

assaultpotato Oct 16

Oh I’m with you - gerrymandering, purging of voter roles days before elections, systemic voter suppression methods, etc. are all existential threats to democracy. I’d argue that apathetic voters is a bigger issues though in aggregate, the vast majority (80%+) want taxpayer funded single payer healthcare but if you were to consider “did not vote” as a political party, “did not vote” would have won the election in 2024 by a landslide (40/30/30). Voter suppression alone cannot account for ~108 million voters.

I’ve shifted my goal of convincing my parents from trying to get them to disavow Trump, to simply trying to convince them not to vote at all.

I tried that, they cut me off.

The beatings I will continue until the truth gets through.

BarneyPiccolo Oct 17

When the Dems surrender, and health care premiums go up 5 times in a MAGA administration, the MAGA dummies will get it. They’ll try to blame Dems somehow, but it will be itching them in their lizard brains that this is only happening under the MAGA administration.

NuXCOM_90Percent Oct 16

Between this and the hell that was the chuds electing their preferred Speaker… I can’t tell if they are being intentionally obstructionary or if they actually think that just voting on the exact same thing until people give up is a valid strategy. And I am pretty sure that only worked because the number got so high that gaetz lost interest in it.

In just over two years (January 2011 to March 2013) the Republican-controlled House voted 54 times to repeal the ACA. en.wikipedia.org/…/Efforts_to_repeal_the_Affordab…

There was never any path for those votes to progress into law, but they’ve valued repetitive voting performance for decades at this point. I get doing it once - get representatives on the record with a position - but am baffled that so many voters value the repetition that Republicans keep employing this strategy.

Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act - Wikipedia

MrMakabar Oct 16

This means no pay for ICE…

slackassassin Oct 16

No it doesn’t. They were already funded and designated as “essential”.

unalivejoy Oct 16

“Essential” just means they continue to work.

slackassassin Oct 16

Yes, but they were also funded in advance.

HubertManne Oct 16

sounds like a good reason for it to go on nice and long.

slackassassin Oct 16

Doesn’t seem like ice being funded while everyone else loses their paycheck is in any way good, but sure.

HubertManne Oct 16

because funding will run out for all eventually. Thats even assuming ice has some sort of war chest as all departments get funds ahead of time. Most wind down as soon as they can as they try to float the shutdown. I can tell you they bleed money like crazy with blackhawk helicpoters, drones, literally crashing their vehicle every time they go out, and shooting all sorts of things like they unlocked an infinite ammo cheat.

slackassassin Oct 16

They’re funded through 2029 and not tied to annual appropriations.

HubertManne Oct 16

I blew by your original statement but I quick search and I think you are misunderstanding likely due to some bs articles misrepresenting things. The bill has funding through 2029 but they don’t get it all up front like that.

BlameTheAntifa Oct 16

I wish someone with some name recognition and clout would start calling for a general strike. The pressure needs to go up, and that means hitting the oligarchy where it matters — their bank accounts.

generalstrikeus.com

The General Strike

The General strike -the people united shall never be stopped. If we strike together we can make true real change. Sign the strike card today.

The General Strike

Bring that message to your local No Kings rally.

WHARRGARBL Oct 16

Also contact our Democrat Senators to let them know you support their stand.

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people.

No Kings

“Democratic” is the adjective. “Democrat” is the noun.

Using “Democrat” as an adjective is a Republicanism, because supposedly it sounds worse.

PowerCrazy Oct 17

Well yea because democrats are feckless losers who care about Israel and insider trading and nothing else. so surely you can see how bad it sounds identifying as one.

ape_arms Oct 16

I was thinking of what a good opportunity to strike to show solidarity with Government workers.

Double commenting here to give you an update: Chicago, IL, Mayor Brandon Johnson called for a general strike

"Hands Off Chicago" Mayor Brandon Johnson On "No Kings Day" Calls For National General Strike

YouTube

robocall Oct 16

The ACA subsidies mostly benefit people in Republican districts, which is not being stated enough.

Doomsider Oct 16

Don’t worry, they are willing to suffer so their heroes can get richer.

This is 100% on Replicans who proudly claimed they were not negotiating and that democrats just had to sign it.

nymnympseudonym Oct 16

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), starring Alec Guiness

But don’t you see? It’s a matter of principle.
If we give in now, there’ll be no end to it. No.
We’re under the heel of a man who’ll stop at nothing to get his way.
[…] Here is where we must win through

The Bridge on the River Kwai - Wikipedia

ArtVandelay Oct 17

Madness… Madness

blattrules Oct 16

If the republicans wanted the government open, they’d just have to negotiate with the people who can provide the votes to open it back up again. Instead, they’re refusing to negotiate and either expecting the democrats to cave and give them what they want by passing the bill or just figuring they’ll leave the government shut down which also benefits them.

LifeInMultipleChoice Oct 16

The could also reconcile the budget, break it into parts and they could have had the government portions that are shut down back up by October 2nd. Only 4 budgets have passed without reconciliation since 1974. They just reconciled the “big beautiful bill” on July 1st, so they know the process

gAlienLifeform Oct 16

I don’t think that’s right, I’m pretty sure any kind of budget resolution (continuing or no) has to have 60 votes under current Senate rules. Once they’ve got that bottom line resolution passed then they’re able to use reconciliation on individual components of the budget to move monies around (so long as they end up at the same bottom line) and pass those with only 50 votes, but establishing that bottom line still requires 60.

Best source I could find at the moment for this is a publication I haven’t heard of before tbh, but it’s being rehosted by MSN so it’s most likely somewhat legit, and this all sounds like stuff I’ve read before,

First, the House and Senate must agree to a budget resolution, which sets overall spending and revenue targets. Then, bills advanced in the name of “reconciling” tax and spending practices with that budget resolution need only a simple majority vote to win approval in the Senate. There are limits on what qualifies for reconciliation and on how many bills can be deemed as reconciliation each year.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/…/ar-AA1y4YRk (arc)

MSN

LifeInMultipleChoice Oct 16

It’s been true since the budget reconciliation act of 1974 was put into place: www.congress.gov/crs-product/R40480

The year year started October 1st. 20 hours later they could have passed it through the senate

Budget Reconciliation Measures Enacted into Law Since 1980

PowerCrazy Oct 17

60 vote “requirement” isn’t real. It can be overturned with a simple majority. It exists to give an excuse to democrats to not do anything. The republicans have and will create an exception whenever it is convenient for them. But they are perfectly fine with furloughing the services part of the government. But worry not, ICE and DoD contracts will still be paid.

QuoVadisHomines Oct 16

The Democrats ate not keeping the shutdown going. The GOP is.

SoftestSapphic Oct 16

Honestly they should keep it shut down until Trump is out of power

bluemellophone Oct 17

This is a monumentally dumb and deadly idea. Want to watch the US cease to exist as a global super power? Good luck maintaining our nuclear arsenal without paying people.

Worstdriver Oct 17

The US already has died as a global superpower. Only it’s military keeps it going.

PowerCrazy Oct 17

There are a lot of people still being paid. ICE for example. Much like everything involved with the US congress, the rules aren’t real and can be changed on a whim.

Healthcare is an excellent place for democrats to hold the line, especially now when so much is lost.

Usually I blame republicans for shutdowns but now I blame republicans, and cheer on the democrats.

LifeInMultipleChoice Oct 16

The number of people I know of that are wondering why their e-filing for taxes with the IRS haven’t gone through yet (deadline was the 15th) is pretty high. “They normally go through in a couple hours”

There have been massive cuts to the federal government, and something like half the IRS is furloughed apparently at the moment. I have no evidence that’s why something that normally runs fairly smooth is delayed… But it sure as hell would make sense.

ButteryMonkey Oct 16

Oh man hearing that I’m super glad I got the hell out of the SaaS support job I had.

It was for a business-end tax filing company. I bet they are deep in the shit this year.

DoGeeseSeeGod Oct 17

Wait what… Taxes are in April I thought. Don’t tell me they moved when taxes are due and I just completely missed it

LifeInMultipleChoice Oct 17

If you filed an extension in April, it extends your due date to Oct. 15th. Sorry for the worry, lol

DoGeeseSeeGod Oct 17

Ahhh ok ty I’m good then

Have they finally figured it out?

quick_snail Oct 16

Let’s make it indefinite!

HubertManne Oct 16

I still thing they should add a demand everyweek. do the classic trump double down and make that gulf larger. the way america is now its fine for it to be shut down permanently.

minorkeys Oct 16

If Congress does not agree with how the executive spends money, then it is their responsibility as Congress to refuse to allow it to spend money. It’s their job to control the purse, explicitly designed that way, to do exactly this. It isn’t a broken system that government is shut down, it’s the intended result when Congress and the executive can’t agree on how to govern the nation. If there is no agreement, there is no governance. It’s working as intended.

aesthelete Oct 17

Totally agree. Folks talking about health care is understandable to explain to the public, but the executive is just spending and impounding money any fucking way Trump wants right now and that runs counter to the constitutional order.

It may be an unpopular position if Repubs eventually cave on health care (at least on paper) but I think the Democrats should hold out for some type of actionable promise from the executive to return to the constitutional order, or force Repubs to nuke the filibuster and completely own this pile of shit.

invertedspear Oct 17

Last time the government shut down due to a lack of budget, Trump 2018, it was because republicans demanded the federal government pay for a bigger border wall, and Democrats said no. Now it’s because Republicans want to cut healthcare spending and Democrats are saying no.

I will say both sides are part of this shut down, same as the last, but I agree with the reasons of the democrats so much more.

Katana314 Oct 17

Same. I never bought the “They control the government” reasoning, and I doubt MAGA does either. But the key bit is what they’re fighting over.

Good.

PowerCrazy Oct 17

Of course media and liberals overlook the fact that the government being “shut down” is part of the kabuki theater. There is nothing stopping the government being funded at previous levels unless a consensus was agreed to for the current year. It only takes a simple majority to make that change. The Dems could have done that during Obama, and also in 2020. But they didn’t because a shut-down leading to lots of employee attrition and smaller government benefits the capitalists.

scaredoftrumpwinning Oct 16

Npr did an interview recently . I thought the host did well until the Republican said they would re haul health care.

I wish the host asked if the Republican’s position was to let the credits expire while they try to overhaul the system.

That’s the exact reason the Dems are protecting the American people from unaffordable healthcare. If something isn’t done now it won’t be done

Pup Biru Oct 16

remember when trump ripped obamacare to shreds and said their healthcare plan was weeks away for months?… that was yeeeeears ago