EGG HARBOR CITY — With the Senate having a day off from voting on the funding bills that led to a government shutdown due to the Jewish observance of Yom Kippur, Sen. Andy Kim spent Thursday meeting with federal employees and residents at the Harbor Diner to get insight into how the current state of the government is impacting their lives.
“I’ve talked with people who are really struggling with affordability right now,” said Kim, D-N.J. “I hope we can keep that in mind and think through what comes next. We need real negotiations; the American people want adults in the room that are going to sit down with each other even if they have disagreements and stay in that room until they come up with an agreement.”
Democrats and Republicans reached an impasse Tuesday as Democrats didn’t budge on their health care demands, which would have reversed cuts to Medicaid and extended subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. A Republican-backed bill that would have kept the government open for seven weeks failed as well.
Under the Republican package, Kim estimates 4.5 million people would lose their health insurance, while another 20 million to 24 million would see their premiums skyrocket.
“A couple people I talked to get their health care through the ACA marketplace,” Kim said. “They are concerned because they are seeing all the information that their monthly premiums are going to double or potentially triple because of the expiration of the subsidies and support. That’s just outrageous.”
Theresa Luoni, of Basking Ridge, Somerset County, spoke about the difficulties she faces working a part-time job while caring for her 13-year-old autistic son.
“I want to be considered a good employee and be someone who my bosses are happy to have part of the team. But my reality is I have to be able to care for my children because child care is expensive for everyone,” Luoni said. “For a severely autistic child, I’m looking at $50 to $100 an hour in care because there’s not a daycare center or afterschool programs for a 13-year-old who needs as much support as he does. I’m fine with that, but how am I supposed to make $16 an hour and pay $75 an hour and make it work 20 hours a week? Our most vulnerable citizens deserve health care.”
Roughly 750,000 federal workers were expected to be furloughed, and some fired, by the Trump administration. Military members, airport staff and federal law enforcement are currently working without pay.
Kim, a former federal employee, worked through multiple government shutdowns and recalled the challenges that came with it. He said he is not taking a paycheck in order to show solidary with those who are affected.
“We had people at military bases that had to go to a food pantry to get some extra help because they were struggling with their bills,” Kim said. “These newer, younger employees don’t get paid a whole lot to begin with and have families. They are really nervous about what comes next.”
Kim traveled back to Washington, D.C., following his visit to prepare for Friday’s vote. While he and colleagues on both sides of the aisle had conversations Wednesday, he’s unsure when the shutdown will end.
“I was able to get a sense on where people’s heads were at,” Kim said. “We all didn’t agree with each other, but at least we were talking. While that was happening, the House of Representatives didn’t even bother to show up to work because Speaker (Mike) Johnson gave them the week off. This isn’t going to end on its own, so I’m going to stay there and engage to see if we can find an off-ramp to this. When we finally come to an agreement, we need to know that a deal is a deal and this isn’t going to be a situation where we pass this and the president doesn’t uphold it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact John O’Connor:
609-272-7247
joconnor@pressofac.com
X @acpressoconnor
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