The Senate convened on Friday, November 7, to once again discuss ending the government shutdown and paying federal workers. However, the first issue—ending the shutdown—did not even come to a vote. The second issue, paying federal employees, did come up for a vote but failed, just as it has each time before.
Now, however, Republicans have introduced a new plan aimed at enticing Democrats—or at least some of them—to help fund the government. Notably, this plan does not include extending the Obamacare subsidies. Instead, another proposal may take their place. The big question remains: can the Senate actually make progress this weekend? Ultimately, it comes down to how urgently Democrats want to break the shutdown cycle and achieve affordable, effective health care.
### A Brand-New Plan
After six hours of debate and yet another failed vote on the Shutdown Fairness Act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) set the stage for the next day’s repeat cycle: reconsider the bill, have more comments, and adjourn after another failed vote. This routine has persisted for more than a month without success.
The bill to pay furloughed employees was rejected again, with a vote of 53-43. Meanwhile, the continuing resolution to fund the government—which had already failed 14 times—did not even earn a vote this time.
That’s when Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) took to the floor and proposed a different path forward.
> “I’m gonna try to present a way forward for Democrats, Republicans, and Americans out of our current situation with a different proposal than people have already thought of,” Cassidy said.
> “Now the government shouldn’t have been shut down for 38 days, and tomorrow we’re going to vote again, and the vote will again fail. But Americans—Congress—is frustrated. We need to open the government, so, if to open the government we need to talk about health care, let’s talk about health care.”
### Rethinking Health Care Subsidies
Cassidy critiqued the Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguing that while it aimed to make health care affordable by funneling more money to insurance companies, this actually drives up costs for those not receiving subsidies.
Instead, he proposed a pre-funded flexible savings account that would provide individuals with as much funding as the enhanced premium tax credit they would receive under Obamacare. The idea is to send billions of tax dollars directly to Americans for health spending, rather than to insurance companies.
What difference does it make if the money goes to individuals instead of insurers? According to Cassidy, it’s about cutting out the middleman and creating incentives to reduce health care prices. Currently, insurance companies get paid regardless of how expensive a patient’s bill is, removing any motivation to lower costs.
If the money goes directly to patients, however, those patients theoretically gain more control over their health care spending and costs.
Moreover, Cassidy’s proposal envisions these accounts as more flexible than traditional insurance plans, covering a broader range of services including eye exams, glasses, dental work, and more.
In essence, it’s the same amount of money—just redirected to the individual rather than to insurance companies.
### New Steps to End the Shutdown
It’s important to note that Cassidy’s health care proposal is separate from the continuing resolution intended to end the shutdown. This new bill would be considered after the shutdown is resolved and is likely intended to replace the ACA COVID-era subsidies extension bill that Democrats have demanded.
For the immediate goal of reopening the government, Senate Republicans have proposed a new resolution to fund the government through sometime in January. This resolution would also fund the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Congress through September 30, 2026.
However, it remains unclear whether the resolution can garner enough Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to end a filibuster.
On one hand, the consequences of the shutdown—such as disruptions to welfare funding, air traffic control, and increased flight delays—are troubling enough to pressure some Democrats to vote in favor. On the other hand, any move to reopen the government without guaranteed extensions of ACA subsidies could be seen by progressives and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as a betrayal.
### What’s Next?
A vote to invoke cloture (ending debate) on this new plan could happen Saturday afternoon if Senate leadership believes there are enough votes. If cloture passes, a final vote—which requires only a simple majority—could take place as soon as Sunday or Monday.
After Senate approval, the resolution would then move to the House of Representatives. So far, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not indicated whether the GOP-controlled House will follow the Senate’s lead.
### A Glimmer of Hope
While Friday’s Senate session accomplished as little as all those during the shutdown, some lawmakers now see a potential light at the end of the tunnel. With new proposals on the table and a mounting desire—on both sides—to end the impasse, there is cautious optimism that progress could finally be made soon.
https://www.libertynation.com/senate-fails-to-end-shutdown-but-new-plans-rise-from-the-ashes/