N.J. Sen. Andy Kim talks to Garden State residents about the federal shutdown at a South Jersey diner

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

The U.S. government remains shut down because Democrats and Republicans have been unable to reach a deal to extend federal funding.

The shutdown began at midnight on Oct. 1 because the two sides could not agree on the cost of health care premiums for people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”

Senate Democrats, including New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, have refused to vote for the Republican short-term funding bill because it does not include provisions to extend enhanced premium tax credits used by 24 million people who don’t get their health insurance through their jobs or public programs like Medicare.

Kim was in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon, speaking with residents about the situation at the Harbor Diner in Egg Harbor City.

Many people are worried

He said many people raised concerns about not being able to afford health insurance if the tax credit subsidies aren’t renewed.

“I talked with a mother that has two kids with disabilities and has real challenges,” he said. “She was talking about just how overwhelmed she is when it comes to health care costs, and how it’s hurting her ability to be able to provide for her family.”

He added that others he talked with expressed similar worries and concerns.

“This is a real crisis right now, and I wanted to make sure I heard directly from people in New Jersey, and make sure that they know I’m keeping them in mind as we’re going through these negotiations right now,” he said.

KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization, says if Congress allows the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year, ACA enrollees would see their premium payments more than double.

A message to lawmakers

Kim asked one woman he was speaking with what she would want him to pass along to President Donald Trump and other federal leaders about the shutdown.

“She said she wants us to be adults in the room that are willing to engage and talk to each other,” he said. “And not get engaged in performative politics and the theatre that so often seems to surround shutdowns.”

He said a group of senators held a meeting in Washington, D.C., yesterday and discussed priorities in a bipartisan manner.

“Did it solve everything? Of course not,” he said. “But it was important for us to hear each other and get a sense of where the disagreements are and where the potential agreements are, so that was encouraging.”

Kim said he was discouraged by the fact that the doors to the House of Representatives were closed this week.

“They didn’t even bother to show up to work this week,” he said. “That is something I put squarely at the feet of Speaker [Mike] Johnson, and I hope he changes his mind.”

Kim said he believes it’s offensive that military service members and other essential federal workers are not getting paid even though they are continuing to work.

“I decided that I’m not going to take a paycheck during this shutdown,” Kim said. “I’m going to stand in solidarity with the federal employees that are not getting paid.”

During the shutdown, most essential federal employees in New Jersey and across the country, including military personnel and air traffic controllers, must work without pay. Meanwhile, members of Congress and Trump continue to receive their salaries. Once the shutdown ends, Congress typically passes a bill to grant back pay to affected workers.

Keeping the government responsive

Kim said he fully supports efforts to bring the shutdown to an end and ensure that residents in Jersey and across the nation can maintain their health insurance.

“We need a government that is responsive to the needs of the American people,” he said.

Kim said another person he spoke with at the diner said, “Don’t forget, this is our money, the budget of the United States government is the American people’s money and this needs to be focused on the needs of the American people.”

In a national survey conducted by The Washington Post on Oct. 1, 47% of respondents said they blamed Trump and Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, 30% blamed Democrats and 23% said they were not sure who was responsible.