Padilla and Schiff opposed Senate plan

By David Lightman
The Sacramento Bee

(The Sacramento Bee) California’s senators said Sunday they will oppose a new Senate plan to reopen the government — a plan that does not extend Obamacare-inspired health care premium subsidies right away.

“This does nothing to stop the Republican-made health care crisis. It does nothing to stop premiums from doubling for millions of Americans,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

“We can’t end this fight now. I will be voting no,” he said.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., had much the same thought.

“I have heard from countless Californians who are at risk of losing their health insurance, and my position has been clear from the beginning: I would not support a government funding bill that did not fund health care tax credits,” he said.

“The current Republican funding bill leaves this crisis unaddressed, and I am adamantly opposed to it.”
Reopening the government

Padilla and Schiff opposed Senate plan

The bill would extend government funding through January 30, and assure Democrats of a vote on the health care subsidies next month.

Without the subsidies, which began in 2021 as a way of easing Covid-triggered economic downtown, California consumers would see their premiums doubled and in some cases go even higher.

The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1, as Democrats insisted on extending the premium subsidies.

On Sunday, Senate Republicans and a handful of centrist Democrats agreed on a reopening plan. If it passes the Senate, it still needs to go to the Republican-controlled House.

The agreement would also provide for a vote later this week for a package of spending bills that would keep some agencies open until the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction projects, and Congress.