Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
Sen. Tim Kaine was among the eight Democrats who broke ranks Sunday night to begin to move a funding package forward that would end the government shutdown. Sen. Mark Warner voted no. Virginia’s senators often speak with one voice on issues and vote in lockstep. Warner has also in the past typically been a reliable participant in bipartisan Senate talks on thorny issues. Not this time. Democrats in the Senate had previously held out on voting to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Jan. 30 without an extension of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, which make health care affordable for people who purchase their health insurance through the ACA marketplace. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year without congressional action. “We wanted to fix the ACA tax credit issue, but we had no path to do so because the Republicans at President Trump’s direction had said they would not even entertain any discussion about health care until the government was reopened,” Kaine told reporters Monday morning. “And second, the shutdown of government was imposing significant pain on Virginia’s federal workers, missing paychecks. SNAP beneficiaries were starting to get their benefits cut.” Kaine said he would not have voted for the resolution without protections for federal employees, including back pay for all federal workers, rehiring people who were terminated during the shutdown, and a pledge from the White House that there would be no future mass layoffs for at least the length of the continuing resolution. The deal Senate Democrats struck also promises a vote on ACA tax credits sometime in December. The vote was controversial even among Virginia congressional Democrats. Warner said he appreciated that the proposal includes language that would prevent further mass layoffs of federal employees. “That’s a critical step in protecting our public servants from this administration’s campaign of retribution, and something I’ve long pushed for,” he said in a statement Sunday night. “But I cannot support a deal that still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick. We owe the American people more than a short-term fix that leaves working families staring down a health care crisis, and simply kicking the can down the road is not good enough.” Democrat Bobby Scott, who represents Virginia’s 3rd District, said during a Monday business forum that Democrats have essentially handed President Donald Trump a “blank check” on government spending, and have allowed Republicans to take a “my way or the highway” approach by presenting bills Democrats don’t want to pass, leaving Washington to limit negotiation, and waiting for Democrats to eventually give in to their demands. “It just emboldens them to take that kind of position because, ultimately, Democrats will cave,” Scott said. “I hope that’s not what we learned from this, but regrettably, that’s what has been happening.” Scott added he’s concerned Democrats are caving for a bill that will only offer short-term relief for people affected by the government shutdown, and Congress could be staring down yet another shutdown when the continuing resolution period ends in January, as it did during Trump’s first term. Kaine said he did not fault anyone else, including Warner, for their vote. “Somebody once told me, if the choices are between a good option and a bad option, pick the good option, and if they’re between two good options, you can pick either option,” he said. “But if they’re between two bad options, then you can’t be too judgmental if somebody reaches a different conclusion than you about what bad option to take. This was a very tough 40 days, and the decision was very tough.” Staff reporter Devlin Epding contributed to this report. Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881, kate.seltzer@virginiamedia.com
