WASHINGTON — With hours to go before government funding expired, the U.S. Senate reconsidered competing stopgap measures from Republicans and Democrats. Both failed mostly along party lines and came amid finger pointing about which side should bear the blame for the shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff, who is facing a tough reelection fight, and Raphael Warnock both voted with Democrats in favor of their proposal to fund agencies through mid-November. That plan also included language reversing Medicaid cuts and extending Affordable Care Act subsidies scheduled to expire at the end of the year. But that proposal failed without support from a single Republican.
Ossoff, in a video recorded after the vote, said he hoped that, even with the shutdown, both sides would continue to talk.
“More than 20 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums double next year if we do not act,” he said. “And that’s why I urge the president and Republicans to work across the aisle to reopen the federal government and to prevent these huge increases in health care costs for Georgia families.”
Warnock also joined Democrats in supporting their proposal and opposing the plan backed by the Republican majority that funded agencies for seven weeks without any health care language.
The effects of a shutdown will be felt gradually among federal workers and everyday Americans.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Federal employees will receive regular paychecks on Wednesday, representing the pay period that ended before the shutdown began. But they will not be paid during the shutdown, even if they are deemed essential workers and told to continue to show up on their jobs.
Meanwhile, federally operated museums and parks, including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta and the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, could be closed to the public.
If the shutdown extends over many weeks, airports could see delays. Air traffic controllers forced to work without pay may begin to call in sick or resign. Wait times at government agencies like the IRS or passport processing could grow.
If the shutdown lasts more than a few months, programs that dole out direct benefits could begin to dry up. That means subsidies for farmers, Medicaid and food stamps could eventually run out of money.
Meanwhile, there is little hope for a quick resolution to the impasse. House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled scheduled votes on Monday and Tuesday.
Georgia Republicans in Congress have been quick on social media to blame Democrats for allowing the shutdown to occur.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is among the Republicans hoping to challenge Ossoff next year, accused the incumbent of turning his back on service members and federal employees because of his votes against the GOP funding bill.
“Billions in federal funding for our state will also be put at risk,” Collins wrote on X. “All because our do-nothing senator cares more about representing the left-wing lunatics in his party than the citizens of Georgia.”
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