Copyright The Boston Globe
A tentative deal to end the longest government shutdown in US history passed the Senate late Sunday night, but without the support of the two Democratic senators from Massachusetts. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey issued statements criticizing the agreement which does not guarantee the Affordable Care Act subsidies will be extended, as Democrats have demanded for almost six weeks. “I will not support a deal that does nothing to make health care more affordable. We are in a health care emergency,” Warren said in a post on X Sunday night. “. . . this legislation does nothing concrete to lower costs or protect health care for millions of Americans from MAGA Republican attacks, and I cannot support it,” Markey said in a statement. Advertisement The Senate voted 60-40 to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the government and hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine helpted to break the six-week stalemate, when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits. Final passage could be several days away if Democrats object and delay the process, the Associated Press reported. Both Warren and Markey vowed to fight on. “We are in a health care emergency,” Warren said. “A simple one-year extension of these tax credits would cost less than Donald Trump’s $40 billion bailout for Argentina. A vote for this bill is a mistake.” Advertisement Markey said that he is “glad” federal workers would resume pay and food assistance dollars would be funded, but the lack of health care subsidies come at a steep cost. Workers . . . “will not be able to afford their housing, their grocery bills, their electricity bills, or other day-to-day needs if they have to spend tens of thousands of dollars more because of Republicans’ decision to kill critical Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he said. Any deal to reopen the government would also need to be approved by the House of Representatives. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Revere said the bill “spikes health care premiums and everyday costs to fund tax cuts for billionaires.” “Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress own this health care crisis,” she said in a statement. “They own the pain of every American facing a premium hike.” Other members of the state’s congressional delegation joined Clark in criticizing the deal, including Reps. Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley. “I’ll be voting hell no,” Rep. Jim McGovern wrote in a post on X. “Accepting a pinky promise to maybe have a vote on lowering healthcare costs is not a compromise. It’s capitulation.” Emily Spatz can be reached at emily.spatz@globe.com. Follow her on X @emilymspatz.
