It is the sixth vote that has failed in the Senate to restore government funding.
The Senate on Oct. 8 again failed to advance bills that would restore funding to the government and end the shutdown that has been ongoing since Oct. 1.
The Senate rejected a House-passed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 in a 54–45 vote.
Like in previous votes, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats, joined Republicans to vote for the bill. Sen Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the lone Republican to vote against it. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) didn’t vote.
Democrats have opposed the GOP funding bill unless demands concerning health care are met.
A competing bill from Democrats to fund the government also failed in the Senate in a 47–52 vote.
This marks the sixth time that both bills have been defeated in the upper chamber.
The government has been shut down for eight days, and no signs have emerged of a deal to end the standoff.
“It’s costing our economy about $15 billion a week to continue to have the government shut down,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Oct. 7. “This week, paychecks start being affected for federal workers, and that is going to have real consequences for them and their families.”
A White House official told The Epoch Times on Oct. 7 that when funding is eventually restored, the government may not give federal workers back pay for time spent working during the shutdown. The idea has generated alarm from Democrats and workers’ unions, who cite a 2019 law that ostensibly requires it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Oct. 8 said that furloughed workers should be paid back pay when the shutdown ends.
“I think it is statutory law that federal workers be paid,” he said.
Republicans have so far refused to grant Democrats any of their demands, which include restoring some cuts to Medicaid due to reforms enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed over the summer. They have also demanded an extension to Obamacare subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year.
President Donald Trump on Monday signaled openness to negotiating with Democrats on the Obamacare subsidies.
By Arjun Singh
