House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Ending the Government Shutdown

Ending the Government Shutdown

• 🎯 House Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirms the House will vote on a continuing resolution to end the government shutdown around 7 p.m. ET today.
• 💡 The process will begin with debate around 4-5 p.m., with the final vote expected later in the evening.
• ⚠️ Scalise criticizes Democrats for allegedly playing games and inflicting pain on American families, citing impacts on airports, SNAP benefits, and air traffic controller salaries.
• 🤝 He emphasizes the need to end the shutdown to allow people to return to their lives, while acknowledging that differences still need to be negotiated.

Criticisms of Democratic Stance

• 🗣️ Scalise expresses puzzlement over Democratic leaders' stated desire to keep the government closed, questioning their justification given the known negative impacts.
• 📉 He argues that Democrats are inflicting pain on low-income families and essential workers, calling their stance "madness."
• 🏥 Scalise points to Democratic efforts in the Rules Committee to gut a $50 billion rural hospital fund, questioning its relevance to the shutdown debate and its negative impact on rural communities.

Obamacare and Healthcare Debate

• 🏥 Scalise asserts that the shutdown has exposed the flaws in Obamacare, which he claims Democrats created and which has led to rising costs and limited options.
• 💰 He criticizes Democrats for wanting to continue funding insurance companies through Obamacare subsidies rather than focusing on lowering premiums for families.
• ✅ Republicans have proposed solutions like CSR cost-sharing reductions, PBM reform, health savings accounts, and association health plans to lower premiums and increase choices, but claim Democrats have blocked these efforts.

Future Legislative Agenda

• 🗓️ Scalise outlines a busy agenda for the House following the shutdown, including policy items, reconciliation, permitting reform, and initiatives to boost energy production and lower crime.
• 🚫 He supports bills, like one proposed by Senator Ron Johnson, aimed at preventing future government shutdowns by disincentivizing hostage-taking over funding disagreements.
• 🇺🇸 The goal is to get the government back on track and address other important issues for the country.