WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, top Congressional Democrats said they opposed House Republicans’ stopgap spending bill that would fund the government past the Sept. 30 deadline, and said they plan to offer an alternative bill in its place.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement that their respective chambers would not support the Republican bill unless the two parties could compromise on health care spending.
“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming health care crisis,” the statement reads. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
Democrats angered the more progressive wing of their party earlier this year when senators allowed a similar temporary spending bill to advance. This time, it appears they’re digging their heels in.
Dig deeper:
Earlier in the day, House Republicans unveiled their bill, which would fund the government through Nov. 21—current funding levels for federal agencies would be extended for seven weeks.
Their bill also includes $58 million to boost security for members of the executive branch and the Supreme Court, and another $30 million for general lawmaker security. Republicans would need at least seven Democrats to advance this bill, and more likely, as some Republican lawmakers have said they will not support it.
“We need responsible options to keep the government open while all this work continues and Republicans are committed to making that happen,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday.
Stuck on health care
Schumer and Jeffries specifically suggested that Republicans could add an extension of the Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025 to their bill. These enhanced tax credits were passed during the COVID-19 pandemic to help Americans afford coverage.
Congress has extended these subsidies twice already. And while twelve Republicans and seven Democrats are backing legislation that would extend these subsidies for one year, Johnson said on Tuesday that there was “zero chance” he would consider doing so as part of this temporary spending bill.
“Predictably and unfortunately, there are some Democrats who are openly pining for a government shutdown,” he said.
Many Democrats have also pushed to reverse cuts that were recently implemented to Medicaid funding as part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led Senate Democrats last month in introducing legislation that would repeal these changes.
Following a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters that Democrats plan to offer a stopgap bill that includes the health care language they’re looking for, as well as restrictions on Trump’s ability to rescind federal funding previously approved by Congressional lawmakers.
“We think we’re going to have…an alternative that American people will like a whole lot better,” he said.
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said she’s involved in developing this alternative Tuesday. She told reporters that the alternative bill will not only address the expiring health care subsidies, but will address “health care writ large.” This includes federal spending cuts to health agencies.
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 16: House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) appears during a House Rules Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. An emergency measure, the Continuing Appropr
DeLauro, along with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, issued their own joint statement on Tuesday saying that they’ve been working with their Republican counterparts to draft a bipartisan spending bill.
“House Republican Leadership has decided they would rather take us to the brink of a shutdown instead of working with Democrats on a bipartisan continuing resolution to keep the government funded, protect Congress’ power of the purse and improve health care,” they wrote.
The lawmakers then called on Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to join their fellow Republicans in drafting a new bill.
“Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune need to finally come to the table to negotiate with Democratic leadership on health care, lowering the cost of living and other critical issues—something they have outright refused to do for weeks.”
Schumer: ‘Things have changed’
Big picture view:
More broadly, the Democrats’ rejection of this Republican stopgap bill appears to be a rejection of Trump’s way of governing.
Recently, the president took to social media to urge Congressional Republicans to unite around a so-called “clean” continuing resolution.
“In times like these, Republicans have to stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands, and vote ‘YES!'” the president posted on his platform, Truth Social.
Sen. Chuck Schumer weathered much of the backlash in March when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open, but this time he says, “things have changed.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Schumer said that a shutdown wouldn’t necessarily worsen a U.S. political environment that already has the president challenging the authority of Congress.
“It will get worse with or without it,” he said, “because Trump is lawless.”
The Source: Information in this article was sourced from social media, several statements and pieces of legislation, The Medical Economics Journal, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, NPR, POLITICO, The Hill, USA Today and The United States Committee on Finance.
