Thread by @SenatorDurbin

My statement on the Continuing Resolution:

For months, Democrats have warned that health care premiums would skyrocket because the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits will expire on December 31—and that this will affect everyone. But Republicans have done everything in their power, while controlling both Congress and the Presidency, to shut down the government rather than help Americans afford to go to the doctor and access cancer treatment or life-saving prescriptions.

For 40 days—the longest shutdown in U.S. history—federal workers went without paychecks. This includes our air traffic controllers, whose towers were already understaffed. They continued to work 10 hours days, six days per week to keep our airspace safe, with this additional stress at a life-saving job. All while the President has been fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying SNAP benefits to our nation’s hungry, while he builds himself a golden ballroom and perfects his golf game.

At Democrats’ urging, today’s bill is not the same one we’ve voted down 14 times. Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to end. This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt. Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the shutdown.

Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford health care in January.