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WASHINGTON — Nearly six weeks after the federal government shutdown began, Arkansas’ U.S. senators joined fellow Republicans and a group of Senate Democrats to pass legislation to end the funding lapse. Sens. John Boozman, of Rogers, and Tom Cotton, of Little Rock, were among the 60 senators on Monday who backed a revised proposal extending most government funding through January. The House could consider the legislation as early as Wednesday, marking the chamber’s first vote since Sept. 19. “The shutdown has been needless and harmful,” Cotton said Monday evening. Boozman and Cotton have supported the House’s spending plan, even before the government shutdown started Oct. 1. Republicans control the Senate and House, but Senate Republicans — with their 53-47 seat majority — have been unable to pass the House bill under the Senate’s rules concerning legislation. Sixty senators are required to advance most bills. Eight Senate Democrats pitched the deal to their Republican colleagues with hopes of ending the shutdown. Democrats have used the government shutdown to call for protecting enhanced tax credits for purchasing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. President Joe Biden and Congress expanded premium credits in 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic to make health insurance coverage more affordable. These subsidies will expire at year’s end without congressional action. The Senate plan does not extend these tax credits, but senators plan to vote next month on funding the enhanced subsidies. “What the Democrats received as a result of shutting the government was exactly what was on the table on Sept. 30,” Cotton said. The impact of the government shutdown increased as the Senate repeatedly failed to advance legislation to end the funding lapse. Thousands of federal employees were placed on furlough or required to work without pay. The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered a reduction in flights due to stress on unpaid air traffic controllers. Nutrition assistance for millions of Americans has been in limbo as the Trump administration has fought against providing full SNAP benefits to low-income families. “I’m one of the ones on our side that provides the votes usually to prevent shutdowns from happening,” Boozman said. “The reason being is I think holding the American people hostage while we’re up here squabbling is not the appropriate thing to do.” Cotton argued the shutdown’s cause was not the expiring health care subsidies, but rather Democrats’ fear of blowback from their supporters. He cited the frustration toward Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in March after Schumer supported a short-term GOP funding measure. “The Democrats knew those were badly flawed and wouldn’t simply be extended,” Cotton said concerning the tax credits. The legislation extends government funding across most agencies until Jan. 31, giving congressional appropriators more time to finalize spending bills for the current fiscal year. The House’s continuing resolution would only fund the federal government through Nov. 21. The plan additionally would guarantee back pay for federal workers and reverse agency layoffs during the government shutdown. Senators attached the continuing resolution to a package of spending bills addressing military construction, veterans affairs, agriculture and congressional operations. Programs within this bundle have federal funding through Sept. 30, 2026, the final day of the current fiscal year. Boozman leads the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. The Senate plan allocates $115.1 billion for medical care at VA facilities, as well as $19.7 billion for defense programs. “We’re in a dangerous world, and military construction is generally underfunded to begin with,” Boozman explained. “We need to get that out so we can continue to make it such that we are able to protect ourselves in the future, but also take care of the resources we have at bases.” The agriculture language provides funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Senate considered its plan as the Trump administration challenged judicial decisions to fully support November SNAP benefits. The Arkansas Department of Human Services has been following the federal Department of Agriculture’s recent guidance on SNAP, issuing partial benefits to 240,000 low-income Arkansans participating in the nutrition assistance program. According to Department of Agriculture statistics, the average monthly benefit in Arkansas is $172.82, which people use for purchasing groceries. The agriculture portion extends agriculture-related programs untouched by the Republican tax and spending measure from July. The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act updated the farm safety net and other farm insurance programs, but lawmakers still need to revise programs concerning rural development and agricultural research. “We were able to get most of the farm bill done in reconciliation,” said Boozman, who leads the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. “These things shouldn’t be Democrats or Republicans. Traditionally, agriculture has been nonpartisan.” As House members return to Capitol Hill to consider the Senate bill, Democrats hope they can use the upcoming weeks to address the expiring health care subsidies and rising insurance premiums. Cotton opposes extending the enhanced tax credits, describing the payments as “Biden ‘Obamacare’ COVID bonuses.” “They’ve been badly flawed from the beginning,” he added. “Republicans want to fix that underlying problem, not just continue to throw hundreds of billions of dollars at a failing ‘Obamacare’ system.” Boozman said he was open to debating the expanded tax credits, but Congress also should explore other options to lower health care costs. “Just throwing money at it really has the opposite effect,” he said.
