Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia’s Democrats in Congress are furious with Senate Democratic colleagues who backed a Republican-led plan to reopen the government. Eight moderate Democrats, including Sen. John Fetterman, who has been voting with the GOP since September, agreed to a deal Sunday night that puts Congress on a path toward ending the shutdown this week. The bipartisan deal would fully reopen the government until Jan. 30. The agreement does not include the healthcare fixes Democrats had demanded but would keep some federal programs, including food assistance and veterans’ benefits, funded through next year. The bill would also provide back pay for all federal employees, including members of the military, Border Patrol agents, and air-traffic controllers. Fetterman’s support for it, though expected, rankled fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in the House, who argued the Senate Democrats had caved to pressure in a moment when the party had momentum coming off last week’s election victories. “This fight is not over, not until every one of my colleagues votes their values,” U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat who represents Chester and Berks Counties, said in a statement. “Are you for food and healthcare, or not? I know where I stand and I will not be swayed.” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, called a virtual press conference Monday to implore Fetterman, and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick to vote no on a final passage of the bill in their chamber. Democrats would only need one of the eight Democrats to change their vote to defeat the bill’s progress. “This is our last best chance to prevent these healthcare cuts from taking place,“ Boyle, who represents Philadelphia, said on the call. ”Listen to me: We cannot quit now. We need you to stay strong.” The Senate is slated to vote sometime Monday. Then the House would need to pass it before Trump can sign it into law, a process that could take a few days. It’s unlikely that House Democrats will be able to defeat the bill given the chamber’s GOP majority. Some Democrats in purple districts may feel pressure to support an end to the longest shutdown in government history. But Pennsylvania’s seven House Democrats, who all represent largely safe districts, were making it clear where they stood on the matter Monday. U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents Delaware County and part of Philadelphia, called it a “bad deal,” which she could not support. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat who is retiring at the end of this term, called it “an empty promise and a betrayal to the millions of Americans currently seeing a shutdown of their health care.” Progressive Pittsburgh-area lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, said “capitulating is unacceptable.” And fellow Western Pennsylvania Democrat, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, said he’s “not rolling the dice on constituents’ healthcare.” For Americans impacted by the shutdown, the compromise was the first significant movement toward reopening the government, since the shutdown started 40 days ago. It comes in the wake of legal battles over November funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which low-income families rely on, and chaos at airports amid temporary reductions to the Federal Aviation Administration. The result for Democrats, nationally and in Pennsylvania, is a rift within the party. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Silicon Valley lawmaker originally from Bucks County, called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign in the wake of the budget deal, despite Schumer’s vote against it. Schumer’s No. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, was among the Democrats who crossed the aisle. Boyle did not respond to a question at his virtual presser about his confidence in Schumer but said he was proud that all House Democrats were united in opposition. He said after Tuesday’s election results, he feared the move could have a “dispiriting” impact on voters who supported Democrats. “It sends a mixed message,” Boyle said. “We just had a huge victory on Tuesday.” Two current House Democrats, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, won landslide victories last week in their respective gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia after running campaigns focused on pushing back on Trump. The party also racked up major wins in local contests across Pennsylvania, including in bellwether Bucks County. The eight Senate Democrats who voted for the bill argued they were getting nowhere with Republicans on the healthcare conversation so long as the government remained closed. In the meantime, the impact on air traffic control was having a cascading effect and thousands of Americans had lost access to food benefits. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats and voted for the bill, said bargaining over healthcare had elevated the issue to national attention. Open enrollment for ACA coverage runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 in most states. “The goal wasn’t being achieved” King said on CNN, asked about pushback from Democratic colleagues. “What was your strategy? ... Keeping the government closed through Christmas?”
