House passes bill to end longest government shutdown in history

Geoff Bennett:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

The House of Representatives has returned to Washington for the first time in nearly two months, set to vote to end the nation's longest ever government shutdown. This is a live look at the House floor as they debate the shutdown deal ahead of votes expected later tonight.

Our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, is back from Capitol Hill and joins us now.

It's always good to see you.

So, Lisa, the big question, does Speaker Johnson have the votes?

Lisa Desjardins:

Most Democrats will be no, but House Republicans say they do have the votes. Here's how Speaker Johnson put it earlier today:

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):

I just want to say that we're very optimistic about the vote tally tonight. We think this is going to happen, and we're sorry that it took this long. So Republicans are going to deliver for the people. We're ready to get back to our legislative agenda. We have a very aggressive calendar for the remainder of this year.

Lisa Desjardins:

Helping him is Johnson has committed to allow a vote later on to take out an unpopular provision in this deal. That's that provision that allows senators who were not notified, but investigators accessed their phone data, allowing those senators to sue for up to $500,000.

That is very unpopular in the House, and Speaker Johnson is going to allow a vote to take that out later. But — so that kind of quelled some dissent on that end. But, otherwise, it does look like, for now, this is on a glide path to track, to be signed by the president tonight, and then government would open fully tomorrow.

Geoff Bennett:

Democrats, as you well know, made this about health care, this spike in the Affordable Care Act subsidies. We know that many Americans are about to see their premiums increase. What are Republicans saying about that?

Lisa Desjardins:

Right.

Our congressional producer Kyle Midura has been talking to people with me today about this. I want to talk about the landscape in general. The House is really the heavy lift here when it comes to dealing with health care problems.

Now, we spoke with some key members today. There are many who don't just want these extended, but instead want broader reform in the system. One of those, for example, is South Dakota's Dusty Johnson.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD):

Well, the Democrats have been asking for the subsidies to be extended as they're in law today. That's not going to work. It doesn't make any sense when we're $38 trillion in debt to borrow more money from the Chinese so we can help out Americans who are making $500,000 to $600,000 a year. I think they can afford their own insurance.

Now, if this comes down to, all right, how do we target some relief to working-class families, I think there's a far higher likelihood there of some bipartisan agreement.

Lisa Desjardins:

That was pretty clear by congressional language, but let me translate a little bit.

We're hearing about he's worried about income, wants to lower the income of people who get benefits. And also what he's saying there is he doesn't like these subsidies. He wants something else altogether. There are some moderate Republicans in the House who want to continue the subsidies in some form. One of those is California's Kevin Kiley.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA):

I don't have any clear lines in the sand. I mean, we chose two years in our extension, which I think makes a lot of sense. But there's going to need to be a compromise. And I think that's going to need to include the length of the extension, as well as the reforms like preventing fraud, like placing some cost controls in place in terms of eligibility.

Lisa Desjardins:

He's someone who's an example of a Republican who sees urgency now, who wants to get talks going right now. Other Republicans in the House, I don't think are as likely.

There's a political issue in the House. This is one reason Johnson was happy to not have this vote, because there are some House Republicans who just want to eliminate the Affordable Care Act altogether. So what's happening here is that, while Senate Democrats may want to get something done by December, talking to these Republicans and another one, Stephanie Bice, who's in leadership, it's hard to see that happening in the House by that timeline.

Geoff Bennett:

So after this vote, Lisa, what's next for Congress? Is this it for the rest of the year?

Lisa Desjardins:

Well, you and I are waiting along with members to find out what happens in the House. You heard the speaker say it's going to be some long weeks ahead. There is talk of maybe another budget bill. We're waiting for that schedule, but I think the next month supposedly is going to be busy. We will hold them to it.

Geoff Bennett:

And maybe something on the Affordable Care Act. We will see.

Lisa Desjardins:

Talk about the Affordable Care Act. We will see what happens.

Geoff Bennett:

Lisa Desjardins, our thanks to you, as always.

Lisa Desjardins:

You're welcome.