The following is a report from the Associated Press.
House lawmakers made a long-awaited return to the nation’s capital on Wednesday after nearly eight weeks away to potentially put an end to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
The House is scheduled to take up a bill to reopen the government that the Senate passed on Monday night. President Donald Trump called the measure a “very big victory.” The prospect of travel delays due to the shutdown could complicate the vote. Still, Speaker Mike Johnson said the GOP was “very optimistic” about the outcome.
“We think this is going to happen and we’re sorry it took this long,” Johnson, R-La., told reporters.
The House has not been in legislative session since Sept. 19, when it passed a short-term measure to keep the government open when the new budget year began in October. Johnson sent lawmakers home after that vote and put the onus on the Senate to act, saying House Republicans did their job.
Democrats seized on the opportunity to cast Republicans as going on vacation while the federal workforce went without paychecks, travelers experienced airport delays and food assistance benefits expired. Johnson said members were doing important work in their districts helping constituents navigate the shutdown.
The vast majority of Democratic lawmakers are expected to vote against the bill because it does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of this year and make coverage more affordable. They gathered on the Capitol steps to denounce the measure.
“We cannot support the Republican effort to gut the health care of the American people,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
But Johnson said of the pending legislation that “our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that.”
“After 40 days of wandering in the wilderness and making the American people suffer needlessly, some Senate Democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain,” Johnson said.
The compromise to end the shutdown
The legislation included buy-in from eight senators who broke ranks with the Democrats after reaching the conclusion that Republicans would not bend on using a government funding to bill to extend the health care tax credits. Meanwhile, the shutdown’s toll was growing by the day. Wednesday was Day 43.
The compromise funds three annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through Jan. 30. Republicans promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend the health care subsidies, but there is no guarantee of success.
“We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. The promise for a future vote “gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward.”
The legislation includes a reversal of the firing of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over. The bill for the Agriculture Department means people who rely on key food assistance programs will see those benefits funded without threat of interruption through the rest of the budget year.
