U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is not revealing how he will vote on House Republicans’ short-term spending proposal ahead of a looming government shutdown deadline.
His more progressive colleague, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District, signaled she will join Democratic leaders on Wednesday to oppose the stopgap plan because it includes no extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of this year and currently help tens of thousands of Mainers.
Golden, who represents the more conservative 2nd District, generally supports deals to keep the government open and was the lone member of his party to vote with Republicans in March on the last stopgap spending deal. He is now the member of the delegation to watch on the 91-page plan House Republicans unveiled Tuesday to fund the government through Nov. 21.
A House vote may happen Friday. The Senate would then need to agree on it. The Republican-controlled Congress is working on a tight deadline to reach a deal before Oct. 1 and avoid a shutdown that carries political risks ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Though the House GOP’s continuing resolution would generally fund agencies at current levels while including more security funding for lawmakers and no partisan policy riders, it does not extend pandemic-era subsidies that Americans use to buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange.
Republicans are squabbling about the plan for the credits, with some members in battleground districts saying letting them expire may not sit well with voters. Golden has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to extend the credits through 2026.
Golden’s office would not say Wednesday if he has made up his mind on the short-term funding deal before the House. Pingree noted in a Wednesday statement the uncertainty for Mainers ahead of open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans starting Nov. 1.
“I will not support any spending bill that fails to address this health care crisis and makes life more expensive for the people of Maine,” Pingree said. ”It’s time for Republicans to abandon their partisan games, work with Democrats and govern responsibly.”
Gov. Janet Mills has called for Congress to extend the credits that help lower premiums for 85 percent of the 61,000 Mainers insured through the state-based insurance marketplace. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has said she supports an extension with certain eligibility changes that Republicans may seek to cut the number of enrollees and costs.
A group of GOP senators has reportedly worked on a plan to extend the credits with policy changes to win over conservatives, but Collins’ office has not said if she is included in that group.
Mills, a Democrat, told the delegation Mainers insured through CoverME.gov would see an “unprecedented” average increase of $258 in their monthly premiums next year and that 9,500 people in the state would lose the credit entirely if no extension occurs.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the number of people nationally without insurance would rise by 2.2 million in 2026, and by 3.7 million the following year, if Congress does not extend the enhanced tax credits.
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, in March of giving the GOP and President Donald Trump leverage along with certain policy wins after Schumer and members including U.S. Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted with Republicans on the last deal to avert a shutdown.
But Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, were unified Tuesday in opposing the House GOP’s stopgap plan. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, accused Democrats on Wednesday of risking a shutdown over the tax credit demands.
“It doesn’t make any sense, and they’re going to lose that battle,” Johnson said.
