The Senate rejected the House-passed funding patch Tuesday afternoon for the 14th time, as Congress is poised to beat the record later in the day for the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
There is some newfound hope on Capitol Hill that a bipartisan agreement can soon be reached to fund federal agencies, since private talks are ramping up among a small group of rank-and-file lawmakers. Still, the talking points of party leaders remain partisan and despondent.
“Republicans seem willing to tell their constituents: Screw you,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Tuesday.
The New York Democrat noted that millions of people who buy health insurance on the federal marketplace got their first glimpse over the weekend of how substantially their premiums will increase if Republicans don’t agree to extend subsidies set to expire at year’s end.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he’s “optimistic” a deal can be reached this week to end the funding lapse.
“Democrats’ victims are everywhere,” Thune said Tuesday. “We just need five Democrats to join the three who are already voting with us, and we could end all this pain and reopen the government. That’s all it takes.”
