Senators have arrived at Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday session, hoping to reach a deal to end the government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, told reporters on Sunday from the Capitol steps that a “deal is coming together.” He said he hoped to hold an initial test vote Sunday evening.
“We’ll see kind of where the votes are,” Thune told reporters. “This kind of stuff can drag on indefinitely if you allow it to.”
Republicans control the majority with 53 seats in the Senate, but need 60 votes to pass the funding package.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations, which drafts legislation to allocate federal funds, introduced an initial series of bills on Sunday to fund various government departments and initiatives.
Drafts of bills to address some of the key outstanding issues that have divided Congress, however, like an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a reversal of President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, have so far not been made public.
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The government shutdown, which began on October 1, is now the longest ever in US history.
Expanded Obamacare tax credits are set to expire by the end of the year, which could result in increased insurance premiums for Americans. Democrats, on their end, want to extend the tax credits. Spending for that program underwent cuts earlier this year after Trump signed his One Big Beautiful Bill in July.
The prolonged shutdown is affecting Americans in myriad ways.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been either furloughed or forced to work without pay. Air traffic controllers, who are paid through the Federal Aviation Administration, haven’t received a full paycheck since late October. Many of those workers are no longer showing up to work, prompting a staff shortage ahead of Thanksgiving. The FAA said it will reduce daily flights during the government shutdown to ensure passenger safety.
Many Americans who rely on the federal government for food aid are also feeling the squeeze of the government shutdown. The Trump administration ordered a pause to SNAP benefits beginning November 1. That order is now mired in legal uncertainty. Some 42 million Americans rely on the hunger relief program to buy groceries.
