Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
Louisiana is in for a rude awakening as the U.S. Congress finally votes to reopen the federal government. Basic government functions may be funded again. Federal dollars that make up more than 50% of our state's budget may flow once again. But what's happening is quite likely going to make the lives of many more miserable as Louisianans pray "Thank you, Lord" for this temporary respite while also praying "Please, Lord," as the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits in place since the COVID pandemic will expire at year's end if Congress doesn't extend them. Let's be clear: Reducing health care benefits not only hurts the individuals who rely on them. It can cause large hospitals to reduce specialty services and can cause small, rural hospitals to close. No matter what political party affiliation you have and no matter whether you love or loathe President Donald Trump, you've got to admit that there's enough blame for the longest government shutdown in history to be widely shared. The GOP wanted to keep government open without dealing with a looming huge spike in costs to those who rely on the ACA credits, an issue that affects millions. Democrats didn't want to keep the government open without acting on those credits. What resulted was a stalemate. Strategically, the Democrats refused to agree to a continuing resolution that would have reopened the government unless Republicans agreed to extend the benefits. Pressure mounted as the weeks went by. It was weeks ago that I first heard my pastor call for our congressional representatives and senators to give up their salaries if they were going to continue to insist that federal workers give up their income to make a point. Perhaps the message reached the Lord and got bounced back to politicians. There are about 40,000 federal employees in Louisiana. I'm uncertain how many have been hurt by the shutdown, but I'm sure it's more than a few. The majority-Republican U.S. House of Representatives approved a national budget extension in September, but the U.S. Senate couldn't get a comparable approval without the support of some Democrats. Eight Democratic senators folded this week, agreeing to end the government shutdown in exchange for a promise by Republican senators that there will be a December up-or-down vote on the health care tax credits, which expire Dec. 31. The end of the shutdown also means that funding for federal offices will resume, and that all-important SNAP benefits will once more be available. It also means that federal employee layoffs will end and that those who haven't been receiving paychecks will get back pay. But these things are also true: The shutdown's resolution will only keep the government open through January. Without an extension of health care tax credits, lots of people with mid-level health insurance might see monthly increases of more than $600. And the overturning of the president's federal employee layoffs would last only through Jan. 30, so more layoffs could be coming. There are more than 24 million people who rely on the ACA for health care, including 280,000 to 300,000 on the ACA marketplace in Louisiana, yet Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, has so far refused to agree that the House of Representatives would consider extending health care benefits. We hear Democrats, Republicans, independents and others say all the time that elections have consequences. Yep, they do. Unfortunately, government shutdowns are a sign of how dysfunctional our federal government has come to be. We've had too many too often. Now, as this government shutdown comes to an end, it won't be the end of all government shutdowns. And it won't be the end of our nation's health care debate. Our government is putting too many families in Louisiana and across the nation at risk of having health care, food benefits and health insurance costs denied or significantly diminished. This "deal" is more like a Band-Aid on an open, bleeding wound. Our state is too poor to afford ongoing federal government shutdowns. And too many of our people spend way too much time worrying about whether the benefits they rely upon every day are going to become casualties of the latest political games.
