Pelosi’s Claims on Republican Funding Bill Challenged
On Wednesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was unable to provide evidence supporting her assertion that the Republican continuing resolution (CR) for government funding is not “clean.”
Democrats have consistently opposed the idea that Republicans have introduced a “clean CR,” which would allow government funding at current spending levels without modifications. During her appearance on “Inside Politics,” Pelosi didn’t clarify how the bill fails to meet the criteria for a clean CR.
“First of all, this is not a clean CR,” she stated, questioning CNN host Dana Bash on why it isn’t classified as such. She continued, “This is not a clean CR. There’s no reason to go into it. The point is, Democrats created programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Now they’re being put in a position to reject them just to give tax cuts to the wealthy. We won’t do that. It’s not about coming together to discuss. They had their opportunity. For now, we will only open the government under those conditions.”
However, a bipartisan group known as the Committee for a Responsible Budget contends that the resolution is, in fact, “as clean a CR as possible,” as reported in the New York Times. Democrats argue they opposed the CR because it did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies from the Biden administration, which they claim has contributed to the current shutdown.
An estimate from the former Congressional Budget Office suggests that permanently extending these tax credits could increase the budget deficit by $350 billion between 2026 and 2035.
The only lawmakers supporting the reopening of the government were Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Senator Angus King of Maine, who aligns with the Democrats. Fetterman remarked that he voted “for our country,” indicating that the shutdown was “a sad day for our country.”
Interestingly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed a similar CR back in March, asserting that he would not welcome a government shutdown. Vice President J.D. Vance claimed Schumer is capitulating to the progressive wing of his party for fear of a primary challenge from Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. When asked by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes if she had threatened such a challenge, Ocasio-Cortez did not provide a clear answer.
