U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks at a press conference following the weekly policy luncheon, more than a month into the ongoing U.S. government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 4, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Friday offered a new plan to Republican lawmakers that would allow the U.S. government to reopen from a shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Schumer’s proposal calls for Democrats to agree to pass a so-called clean resolution that would provide short-term funding for government operations.
In exchange, the New York lawmaker said, Republicans would agree to a separate one-year extension of existing enhanced tax credits that are used to reduce the cost of health insurance purchased on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
The other leg of the deal calls for the establishment of a bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on long-term reforms to address the issue of health-care affordability.
Schumer’s offer drops the long-standing Democratic demand that the short-term funding resolution include an extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies, which are due to expire at the end of December. That demand has prevented a Republican House clean resolution bill from reaching the 60 votes it needs to pass in the Senate.
“Democrats have said we must address the health care crisis, but Republicans have repeatedly said they won’t negotiate to lower the health care costs until the government reopens,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Friday afternoon.
“So let’s find a path to honor both positions,” he said.
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