Members of Congress largely voted along party lines on a budget bill Wednesday night, Nov. 12, to end the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
The vote was 222-209, with Republicans providing near-unanimous support, while all but six Democrats opposed it.
Lawmakers from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, though, strictly voted along party lines. And, after their Wednesday night votes, they were quick to blame the other side of the aisle for the lengthy shutdown.
“Today’s vote means vulnerable children, veterans and seniors will receive vital food assistance,” said Rep. Young Kim, who represents communities in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. “It means TSA agents and air traffic controllers will be paid for their essential work, and families can get home to see their loved ones in time for the holidays. It also means that our nation’s servicemembers and law enforcement, who make tremendous sacrifices for our country, can defend our country with the certainty of a paycheck.”
Democrats, meanwhile, struck a tone of defiance, vowing that the fight to secure affordable health care for Americans is far from over. The majority of Democrats had refused to vote for a budget bill that did not guarantee an extension of health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire after this year.
“House Democrats will continue to raise our voices, amplify your stories, and use every legislative tool at our disposal to combat this Republican health care crisis,” said Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Covina.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, said the budget bill that was passed “might end the shutdown, but it lets health care tax credits expire, which means higher premiums, higher costs and fewer people able to stay insured.”
“Under Trump’s economy, families are already getting crushed by rent, groceries, and childcare,” he said. “Republicans just voted to make it even worse.”
“After spending the last seven weeks on vacation, House Republicans returned to work by voting to raise health care costs for tens of millions of Americans,” said Rep. Dave Min, D-Irvine. “After taking total control of the government, MAGAs have made their priorities clear — protect pedophiles and make life unaffordable for hardworking families.”
Yet Kim, the Anaheim Hills Republican, accused Democrats of having “dragged our troops, TSA agents, federal workers — and our economy — through the mud for over 40 days just to appease their far-left base and derail President Trump’s America-first agenda.”
The federal government is reopening after a 43-day shutdown that left tens of millions of Americans who rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance struggling to pay for groceries, led to massive flight cancellations or delays nationwide and forced federal workers to wait to be paid.
Although they recognized the consequences of the shutdown, most Democrats were adamant that they would not support a budget bill that excluded an extension of the ACA tax credits to help Americans pay for health insurance.
Yet late Sunday, eight Democrats in the U.S. Senate broke rank and voted alongside Republicans on a budget bill to end the stalemate after a deal was struck for the upper chamber to hold a separate vote in mid-December on whether to extend the ACA tax credits.
Despite the majority of Democrats saying in the lead-up to Wednesday’s vote that they would not support the budget bill, its passage in the House, where Republicans have the edge, was unsurprising.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.