Lawmakers Inch Toward Bipartisan Deals Ahead of Shutdown Deadline, ACA Talks Heat Up
On Capitol Hill lawmakers are racing to prevent another government shutdown, with just a few weeks to go until funding expires for a vast majority of agencies on January 30. This is also the last week of January that both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in session at the same time, with the chambers alternating weeks off until the end of the month. Still, bipartisan appropriations leaders in both chambers are confident.
On the agenda for this week: the Senate is voting on a minibus appropriations package that passed the House by a vote of 397-28. The legislation funds agencies covered under the Interior-Environment, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Energy-Water spending bills. It cleared a cloture vote and is moving toward bipartisan approval.
“This is a fiscally responsible package that restrains spending while providing essential federal investments that will improve water infrastructure in our country, enhance our nation’s energy and national security, and spur scientific research necessary to maintain U.S. competitiveness,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), chair of the Appropriations Committee.
If the legislation passes the Senate and is signed by President Trump lawmakers would have passed six of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2026.
The House is also forging ahead with funding for the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury, releasing a minibus for those two bills. It contains $76 billion in funding across the agencies, including for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
And while work remains, Democrats and Republicans are confident of passage of all 12 bills before the deadline.
“The release of this second funding package continues our work on the Appropriations Committee to fully fund the government for fiscal year 2026 well ahead of January 30. I am proud of the work that was done to produce this package, and I am eager to vote for it,” said House Appropriations Committee Ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
ACA Subsidies
The path forward is less clear on reinstating subsidies to help Americans pay for health insurance obtained through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
President Trump threatened to veto legislation restoring the subsidies after it passed the House, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the bill.
And while the Senate has already rejected a similar bill, there are signs that a compromise is in the works.
Axios reports that Senate Democrats sent Republicans a proposal to include a three-year extension of the subsidies, along with reauthorization of other health-care related issues such as funding for community health centers, and certain Medicare telehealth flexibilities.
And if that is a non-starter, a separate group is discussing including the subsidies in exchange for putting on additional restrictions that Republicans favor.
