Philly-area U.S. House members express displeasure over Senate deal to reopen federal government

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Eight Democratic U.S. senators broke rank with their party Sunday night to reach a deal with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

A total absence of government funding since Oct. 1 has pushed airports to their limits as air traffic controllers go unpaid, left SNAP recipients at the mercy of a political battle and forced countless federal employees out of work.

The compromise legislation funds the federal government and ensures backpay for furloughed workers, among other things, but notably fails to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits — meaning 24 million people nationwide will face skyrocketing premiums.

Instead, Senate Democrats were given the promise of a December vote on extending the health care subsidies that expire Jan. 1. The legislation, which is expected to move through the Senate, still must pass the GOP-controlled House before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk.

Many House Democrats, however, are upset with their Senate counterparts over what some in the party see as a betrayal on the issue of health care. Nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians buy ACA plans through the state. Here’s what Philadelphia-area Democratic House members have to say about the Senate deal.

Philly-area Democratic House Members vow to vote ‘no.’ Senate deal ‘does not make sense’

Local Democratic House members are already vowing to vote “no” on the continuing resolution unless there is guaranteed language extending the subsidies.

“I’m not happy about what eight of my Senate Democratic colleagues on the other side of the capital have done and, frankly, I don’t understand it,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Philadelphia, said Monday afternoon on WHYY’s “Studio 2.”

Boyle, who ripped the agreement online as a “pinky promise,” said the deal doesn’t make sense, especially in the context of huge Democratic wins during the recent general election, which he believes were anchored in punishing Republicans for “inflicting trillion dollars worth of cuts to health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires.”

“To have just gone through an election, to have seen those results, to have seen other polling data that also is consistent with those positive results, to then turn around and give up and get nothing in return just does not make sense to me and it doesn’t make sense to any other congressional Democrat I’ve spoken to over the last 24 hours — whether that Democrat happens to be progressive, classically liberal, or even right of center,” Boyle said.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, told WHYY News that the promise of a vote on extending the ACA tax credits doesn’t do Americans any favors.

“We know that the House Republicans are adamantly opposed to it and the likelihood of seeing any kind of vote on the House side is very, very slim,” Scanlon said. “And the deal doesn’t cover that.”

Before the deal reaches the House floor, it must first reach the Rules Committee, which Scanlon sits on. She said she is a “hard no.”

“It doesn’t address the health care issues that are impacting so many of my constituents,” Scanlon said.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, said she’s experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, including anger and frustration, but that she settled on disappointment. She’s expecting many people in her district to lose their health care coverage due to rising costs.

“I do not preview my votes, but you can imagine I’m not happy with this bill coming over to us,” Dean said. “There’s another reason I’m unhappy with it. You know what it is — it’s another continuing resolution which just means a Band-Aid, a temporary budget.”

Local Congress members stop short of calling for new Senate leadership

Some House Members in the Democratic Party have directed some of their outrage at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York. Although he voted against the shutdown deal, critics have deemed him ineffective.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, called on Sunday night for Schumer to step down from leadership. Since then, U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, and Delia Ramirez, D-Illinois, have joined Khanna in pushing for new Democratic leadership in the Senate.

Scanlon said she’s not privy to the closed-door conversations in the Senate.

“I’m pleased that Sen. Schumer voted against the deal, as I understand that he did, but is the outcome what I would like? No,” she said.

Dean also said she’s not interested in questioning Schumer’s leadership.

“What I am interested in is what has happened here,” Dean said. “Folks have figured out what Donald Trump is doing. As I said to the speaker, Donald Trump is unhinged. He is unwell. He’s also not working. He’s down at Mar-a-Lago throwing Gatsby parties when he’s not amputating the East Wing recklessly, without thought.”

She said she wants members of the public to refocus their lens.

“Let’s focus on what matters to the American people,” Dean said. “Get them health care they can afford. Get prices down and bring some sort of decency back to this White House.”