This story has been updated.
WASHINGTON – The House voted 222-209 Wednesday to approve a continuing resolution that funds the federal government through Jan. 30, ending the record 42-day shutdown. President Donald Trump signed the measure later Wednesday night.
But Maryland’s seven Democratic House members remained opposed to reopening the government because their Republican colleagues have refused to commit to heading off a massive increase in Obamacare costs.
“My Republican colleagues are unmoved, apparently, by the stories of Americans who won’t be able to see their doctor, pay for their prescriptions or continue their cancer treatment if Congress does not extend Affordable Care Act credits to help them pay their monthly premiums,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said in a statement. “Rather than come to the table to address the needs of the people, they chose to leave our people facing skyrocketing increases in monthly premiums and impossible choices between feeding their families, paying rent and getting the care they need.”
The House vote followed the Senate’s approval of the same measure Monday, when eight Democrats joined Republicans to advance the deal after weeks of disagreement.
The legislation would halt workforce reductions and guarantee back pay for furloughed federal workers, set up a future vote on health care tax credits and include a three-bill “minibus” funding military construction, veterans programs and the legislative branch. The bill is a temporary fix that keeps agencies running but raises long-term questions over federal spending and health care subsidies.
Republicans said the vote was a necessary step to restore government operations.
“We’ve reached a critical point where the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are running out, air traffic controllers are having problems, and our military is not getting paid,” said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, and chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. “I voted to keep the government open seven weeks ago and I’ll vote this week to reopen the government.”
Democrats largely opposed the bill because it failed to include their main agenda: extending subsidies for Obamacare that are slated to expire at year’s end.
“Federal workers have continued to keep our government running, even as their paychecks are frozen and their benefits are threatened,” Rep. Glen Ivey, D-Maryland, said in a statement. “Now, countless Americans are being hit again by skyrocketing health care costs.”
Ivey said Democrats would not support a bill that allows Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, calling the measure “cruel, reckless and a crisis entirely of their own making.”
“Any agreement to go forward without addressing skyrocketing health care premiums and the high cost of groceries and home electricity is no deal at all,” Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Maryland, wrote on X. “Where is Monty Hall when we need him?”
The record-breaking shutdown started Oct. 1, after Congress failed to pass annual spending bills, with the main issue being the health care subsidies.
Republicans said that they would not have any talks about health care until the appropriations bill was passed, while Democrats said that health care needed to be in the bill as health care plan renewals and enrollments opened early this month.
“As the longest government shutdown in American history — where my GOP colleagues have not even bothered to show up for work — I find the stakes too high to cave on a budget which will make Americans’ lives harder and less affordable,” Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Maryland, said in a post on X.
The shutdown has affected millions of Americans, including over 150,000 Marylanders who are a part of the federal workforce.
“We must also continue working to pass my legislation guaranteeing backpay to federal contractors – from maintenance and custodial staff to construction and security workers. Like federal civil servants, these workers had nothing to do with causing this Republican shutdown, and likewise do not deserve to bear the brunt of it,” Sen. Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said in a statement on Sunday.
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The debate over health care subsidies is expected to resume in the coming weeks, with Democrats preparing new legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits.
“Any path forward should include one simple guarantee: the commitments we make to the American people and each other will not be unilaterally undone by the administration tomorrow,” said Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Maryland.
Rep. Sara Elfreth, D-Maryland, agreed, echoing that health care was essential for her constituents.
“A handshake agreement for a future vote on health care in the Senate, but not in the House – after neighbors begin to see their health care costs skyrocket this month – is simply inadequate for the working families I represent,” Elfreth said.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Maryland, also voted against the measure Monday, saying it offered no relief for families facing rising costs across the state.
“Marylanders are struggling to pay their bills because of soaring energy costs and grocery prices,” Alsobrooks said. “Patriotic civil servants have been fired after years of dedicated service.”
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