WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, amid substantial partisan finger-pointing, rejected two rival spending bills Friday, bringing the country closer to a government shutdown.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted against both the Republican stop-gap bill and the Democratic version. She said there’s still time to find a middle path to keep federal agencies operating beyond Oct. 1
“Today was a messaging exercise. We saw both proposals fail,” she told a throng of reporters at the Capitol after the vote. “I want to project a message of something that can actually get us through this impasse.”
Murkowski has a short list of items she wants the bill to include. At or near the top: The continuation — at least temporarily — of the enhanced premium tax credits. Those are subsidies for people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Some of the subsidies are due to expire this year. If Congress doesn’t act, Murkowski said, many Americans are going to see their premiums skyrocket.
“In less than a month, we're going to see rates announced across the country that are going to catch people, you know, beyond surprise,” she said.
At issue is how to pass a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR. Congress passes them to keep the government funded while members work on longer-term appropriations bills. Generally, a CR keeps the funding to the previous year’s level, with a few add-ons and special items that Congress members fight over.
In their CR, Senate Democrats proposed to permanently extend the expiring insurance subsidies, along with other items worth more than $1 trillion. Murkowski said theirs was a pie-in-the-sky wishlist that would never get the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate.
“That's not realistic,” she said. “Even though there are many pieces of that I would agree with … not the least of which was the support for public broadcasting.”
Restoring the full amount cut from public radio and tv isn’t feasible, Murkowski said, but she thinks including $30 million in wind-down funds is reasonable.
The Senate has already passed three of the 12 appropriations bills that would fund the government for fiscal year 2026. Murkowski wants them included in the stop-gap bill, to preserve that work.
“The approach that I'm taking may sufficiently annoy both sides,” she said, “but I think we have to have serious proposals when we're talking about serious things, like a looming government shutdown.”
After the failed votes, the Senate recessed for a week.
Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune said he plans to put the same Republican resolution up for a vote when senators return on the 29th. It has already passed the House, where Alaska Congressman Nick Begich voted for it.
Sen. Dan Sullivan missed votes on both partisan CRs Friday. A spokeswoman said he was in Fairbanks for a pre-scheduled meeting with the Labor secretary.
