Senate Blocks Defense Vote; Shutdown Enters Third Week

The government shutdown has entered its third week with repeated failed stopgap votes and rising public concern; most measures require 60 votes so Republicans need Democratic support to reopen the government. Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a procedural vote to advance an $852 billion full-year Defense appropriations bill, which failed 50-44 after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted it not be considered without also voting on Labor, Health and Human Services and other nondefense appropriations. Majority Leader John Thune had teed up a bipartisan committee defense bill (which passed 26-3) in an effort to shift the debate to national security and dare Democrats to oppose military funding. Separately, the Senate last week approved a $925 billion version of the NDAA by 77-20, setting up House-Senate negotiations even as the shutdown continues. Democrats continue to demand an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and Medicaid protections as conditions for reopening the government, while Republicans seek to reopen funding without those provisions and have proposed attaching other funding bills to the Pentagon measure and offering a guaranteed vote on the expiring ACA subsidies. The impasse has led to furloughs and missed paychecks for many federal employees and visible disruptions at institutions such as Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo.