Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked a House-passed measure that would fund the government
With the government shutdown nearing the one-month mark, the nation’s largest union representing federal workers, a close Democratic ally, is demanding that Democratic senators join Republicans in passing a House-approved resolution to reopen the government.
“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley said in a statement. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”
The union, which is closely affiliated with the Democratic Party and represents more than 800,000 government workers, is “urging Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution,” NBC reported.
Senate Democrats have blocked a House GOP resolution to reopen the government 12 times, insisting that Republicans first commit to extending Obamacare subsidies. The shutdown began on October 1, when Congress failed to pass funding legislation for the new fiscal year. While 3 senators who caucus with Democrats have joined Republicans in backing the continuing resolution, 5 more need to vote for the resolution to reach the 60-vote threshold.
An anonymous Democratic senator said last week that Democrats are refusing to support a bill to reopen the government because they are “terrified of getting the guillotine” from their left-wing base.
President Donald Trump has said he will meet with Democrats only after they vote to end the shutdown, which has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid or furloughed and disrupted government services nationwide. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and Senate majority leader John Thune (R., S.D.) have echoed Trump’s stance, criticizing Democrats for demanding negotiations over health care subsidies while federal departments remain closed.
In his statement, Kelley emphasized that “it’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve problems for the American people, rather than on who is going to get the blame for a shutdown that Americans dislike.”
“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” Kelley went on. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.”
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