By David Morgan and Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Senate Democrats moved to center stage in the U.S. government shutdown drama on Thursday, as they met behind closed doors to consider what the chamber's top Republican said was an offer to reopen shuttered federal agencies as early as this weekend.
On the 37th day of the longest shutdown in U.S. history, lawmakers said they hoped that informal talks between Democrats and Republicans would lead to a short-term agreement to reopen the government that would also
give Congress time to enact full-year appropriations bills and potentially address expiring tax credits to help lower-income Americans pay for private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
A short-term bill to fund federal agencies through November 21 has failed 14 times in the Senate, with Democrats demanding that Republicans first agree to negotiate an extension of federal healthcare subsidies and Republicans saying the government must reopen first.
In the meantime, thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or required to work without pay, food assistance subsidies for 42 million Americans have dried up along with Head Start subsidies for children, and 40 major U.S. airports are bracing for a 10% cut in flights.
“We’ve got to get the Dems’ response to the offer they have in front of them,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who told reporters he hoped there could be a breakthrough in coming days. He declined to elaborate on the offer, saying only that it involved "back-and-forth conversations" between Republicans and Democrats.
"They have a big meeting today," Thune, of South Dakota, said of the Democrats. "Hopefully, they'll come out of there with 10 or more that are willing to vote to open the government."
DEMOCRATS HUDDLE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Senate Democrats met for hours behind closed doors on Thursday but emerged without a unified position on how to reopen the government and achieve an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“We just, we have to make sure we have a deal that we can get broad support for,” said Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who has been involved in bipartisan talks. “There are a lot of things that have been kicked around as part of the deal. Nothing's really crystallized.”
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but need 60 votes to reopen the government. With one Republican opposed to short-term funding, Thune would need at least eight Democrats to break with their party. Up until now, only two Democrats and an independent who caucuses with them have been willing to do so.
Republicans said they hope that more moderate Democrats will want to end the shutdown enough to break ranks with their colleagues.
HOUSE MOVES UNCERTAIN
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives also presented a potential stumbling block. Democrats have expressed concerns that any Senate legislation to extend ACA tax credits may not see a floor vote in the House. On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to confirm those worries by saying he would not promise such a vote.
“I’m not part of the negotiation,” Johnson told reporters. “I’m not promising anybody anything.”
Asked about the remark, Peters replied: “That’s a significant problem."
If Senate Democrats and Republicans managed to reach a deal to reopen the government this week, agencies would still likely remain shuttered for days. Such a measure would require approval from the House before President Donald Trump could sign it into law.
House Republican leaders, who have kept the chamber out of session since before the shutdown began, have pledged to give members 48 hours notice before calling them back to Washington and 72 hours to review legislation before holding any new floor votes.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and David Morgan, editing by Scott Malone and Diane Craft)
