Copyright NBC10 Boston
Three senators from New England spearheaded a deal Sunday that could bring an end to the lengthy U.S. government shutdown, but it contains a major health care concession from Democrats that has several local politicians sounding off. The deal -- negotiated by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Angus King, I-Vt. -- would fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and reverse President Donald Trump's attempted layoffs of federal workers through "reduction in force" notifications, but it does not include an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, meaning insurance premiums would go up for millions of Americans, three sources with direct knowledge of the agreement told NBC News. Shaheen explained her reasoning in a statement posted to X, saying of affordable health care, in part: "There is no one in the Senate who wants to see these tax credits extended more than me. But weeks of negotiations with Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talks -- and that waiting longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling because of the shutdown." At least eight Democrats will reportedly provide “yes” votes in addition to the 52 Republicans who have been voting for a stopgap funding bill. The Senate could start voting on the bill as early as Sunday night. Final passage through the Senate could be quick, but any one senator who opposes the deal could drag it out for days. Ahead of the vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed the agreement on the Senate floor as "horrific": “I understand that the way the process has been developed, it is impossible to delay the votes that are going to take place. And if that were not the case, that is certainly what I would do, because I think it is important that the American people fully understand what is being voted on today… I know, as part of this resolution that the Majority Leader is going to say, well, Democrats can create, put together their own bill that will come to the floor here in the Senate for a vote. As everybody here knows, that is a totally meaningless gesture." Here's more reaction from local members of Congress, including Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren. Local In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston and New England area. Sunday night's tentative agreement comes a few days after Republicans emphatically rejected a proposal by Democrats to reopen the government alongside a one-year extension of the ACA funds. If the agreement does in fact have the necessary 60 votes to clear the Senate, it would then need to pass the House and move to Trump for his signature in order to become law and reopen the government. The process is expected to take days. Frank Thorp V and Sahil Kapur of NBC News contributed to this report
