Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Democrats’ fight to extend healthcare tax credits that millions rely on and to restore healthcare spending cuts made by Republicans is “righteous” even with a federal government shutdown almost certain.
On Monday, top Congressional leaders walked away from a meeting with President Trump without an agreement to fund the government. That means if a deal isn’t reached in the next few hours, funding for the federal government runs out at midnight.
Democrats have been adamant that if Republicans want their support to pass a spending bill, Congress needs to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. More than 24 million people buy their own marketplace insurance and most use the credits to afford their monthly healthcare premiums, according to health policy research group KFF. If the credits expire, premiums are likely to increase in cost for those who use them.
Democrats also want health care spending cuts made by Trump’s signature legislation — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — restored.
Speaking to NPR’s Morning Edition, Warren said Democrats don’t want to shut the government down, but found that Republicans weren’t willing to negotiate.
“Democrats are not going to stand by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are not going to stand by while moms with newborn babies can’t get care, while seniors are thrown out of nursing homes while your neighbor with a disability loses his home health aide and can no longer live independently,” Warren said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told Fox News on Monday that Democrats should not hold the federal government “hostage” and vote for a “nonpartisan” spending bill currently sitting in the Senate. He also said he was willing to work with Democrats on the ACA subsidies after the government is funded.
Warren said what Democrats are asking for isn’t part of a new negotiation, and described the looming effect of healthcare spending cuts as a “crisis” that will “cause a lot of pain to tens of millions of families.”
“Sometimes you gotta stand and fight and now is that time,” Warren added.
You can listen to the full interview by clicking play on the button at the top of this article.
This digital article was edited by Treye Green. The radio version was edited by HJ Mai and produced by Nia Dumas.
Transcript:
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
With the government shutdown increasingly likely, we’re going to go to Senator Elizabeth Warren now. She is a Democrat who represents Massachusetts. She’s a member of the Senate Finance Committee, where her work encompasses issues like tax and trade policies, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, all issues that touch on the spending dilemmas faced by Congress right now. Senator Warren, welcome back to the program. Thanks for joining us.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Thank you for having me.
MARTIN: First, let me just briefly ask you about yesterday’s talks at the White House. Any sense of whether those talks were productive? Interesting that they took place behind closed doors, which doesn’t always happen.
WARREN: Well, so far, Donald Trump and the Republicans are just not willing to negotiate. I mean, here it is, you know, really the first test of let’s sit down and negotiate together. And right now, the Republicans are saying, it’s my way or the highway. They don’t want to do anything. Republicans would rather shut down the government than roll back the Republican cuts that will take away health care from 15 million Americans and hike health insurance premiums for millions more. Democrats have come to the table and said there are ways that we can keep this health care catastrophe from just mowing down millions of people. And the Republican response has not been to say, well, we could meet you halfway or here’s a piece we could do. It’s been to just say, talk to the hand…
MARTIN: Well…
WARREN: …We won’t even talk about it.
MARTIN: Well, there’s the substance of the argument, and then there’s the politics. So it’s hard to separate them, but we can try. I mean, the argument that the Republicans are making is that this is a clean bill that preserves existing funding levels through November, that you can negotiate the health premium issue then. So two questions here, and apologies if this sounds cynical, why not let this go forward? Why not let those cost increases take place, and then let the Republicans own it?
WARREN: Oh, because this is about fighting for what is right. Democrats are not going to stand by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are not going to stand by while moms with newborn babies can’t get care, while seniors are thrown out of nursing homes, while your neighbor with a disability loses his home health aid and can no longer live independently. We’re not going to stand by…
MARTIN: So why…
WARREN: …While people’s health insurance premiums go up by hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And people across this country…
MARTIN: OK.
WARREN: …Are making a decision…
MARTIN: So why…
WARREN: …Do I pay the rent, or do I pay my health…
MARTIN: So why…
WARREN: …Insurance premium?
MARTIN: So why is shutting the government down the best way to achieve that goal of preserving people’s health care?
WARREN: Look, it’s saying to the Republicans, you own this. You are the ones who cut health care. We’re not asking for new money for health care. This is not like some new negotiation that’s come in. What we’re saying is the cuts you’ve put in place – we already had a broken health care system, but the cuts you’ve put in place is going to cause a lot of pain to tens of millions of families. And it’s going to start in October, with the rise in health care premiums. It is a crisis, and this is our chance. If we are funding the government, the Democrats are saying, if you need Democratic votes for this, you’ve got to roll back some of those cuts and at least try to keep this health care system afloat.
MARTIN: There’s been a lot of reporting that suggests that nobody really wins in a government shutdown in the sense that the public really has a hard time sorting out who really should take responsibility for this. So is it possible that this could backfire on Democrats, and all people will focus on is the services they’re not receiving?
WARREN: Look, nobody on our side wants a shutdown. That’s not the point. But this is a righteous fight to fight for people and their health insurance. Remember, a year ago right now, Donald Trump kept promising and promising that on Day 1, he would lower costs for families. Instead, now what the Republicans and Donald Trump have done is rip away health care from 15 million Americans and drive up health insurance premiums for tens of millions more. Democrats are in here fighting what – for what the American people sent us here to fight for, and that is to lower their costs.
MARTIN: Before we let you go – just 30 seconds here – the president has a very big microphone, and one could argue that so do many House Republicans. They have networks of media that the Democrats and liberals don’t have. Do you really think that the argument that you’re making is going to be heard across the country?
WARREN: Look, it is the right argument to make, and we can’t just hand a blank check to Donald Trump and say, just do whatever you want. Just hurt whoever you want. Just destroy our health care system.
MARTIN: OK.
WARREN: Just destroy our democracy. Sometimes, you got to stand and fight. And now is that time.
MARTIN: That is Senator Elizabeth Warren. She’s a Democrat from Massachusetts. Senator Warren, thank you so much for your time.
WARREN: Thank you for having me.
