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AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
The federal government is still shut down, with no clear path to reopening. Congress needs to pass either a full-year appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2026 or a continuing resolution (CR) to continue to fund the government at current spending levels for a shorter amount of time. On October 9, the Senate voted for the seventh time on the Republicans' CR and on the separate Democrats' CR. There were not enough votes for either CR, so neither one passed. These two CRs both would temporarily fund the government at fairly similar funding levels—Republicans' CR through November 21 and Democrats' CR through October 31. Democrats' CR would reverse the Medicaid cuts in H.R.1 (the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed into law by Republicans through the reconciliation process) and permanently extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits.
The only Democratic Senators to vote for the Republicans' CR were John Fetterman (PA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), as well as Independent Angus King (ME), who caucuses with Democrats. Republican Senator Rand Paul (KY) continues to vote against that CR, so Republicans need a total of eight Democrats to vote for it to pass. No Republicans voted for the Democratic CR. Democrats want a deal on the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Republicans want to open the government first.
Meanwhile, several news outlets are reporting on a draft White House memo that says furloughed federal workers aren’t necessarily entitled to back pay once the government reopens. In past government shutdowns and according to the previous interpretations of the law, federal workers are paid for the time that they were furloughed once the shutdown ends. The President has indicated that some federal workers might get paid and some might not. He said that the Administration is "only cutting Democrat programs." He didn’t specify which programs those were. The White House has started additional reductions in force (RIFs) in the federal government today—including in the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services—that are being challenged in the courts.
There is very little trust between political parties on Capitol Hill right now. There are some Republican Senators interested in extending the ACA premium tax credits who say they would work with Democrats to do so once they vote for the Republican CR and open the government. However, Democrats say they do not trust that Republicans will come back to the table to negotiate on a healthcare deal after the Republican CR is passed and that health insurance companies are currently determining 2026 rates, so an ACA tax credit extension must be in the CR itself.
The government is shut down right now. This means that government departments and agencies are not working. The government shut down because Congress did not pass a spending bill on time. The deadline was September 30. Congress needed to pass a government spending bill to make sure the government is funded in 2026, which is also called "appropriations." Appropriations means money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use.
The Senate voted seven times on two different bills. These bills are called continuing resolutions or a CR, which is a funding bill that makes sure the government has enough money for a few more months. Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced a CR that Democrats in Congress didn't like. Democrats in the House and Senate introduced their own CR, which Republicans didn’t like. That's why the Senate has voted seven times but has not voted to pass either CR. The only Democratic Senators to vote for the Republicans' CR were John Fetterman (PA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), as well as Independent Angus King (ME), who usually makes similar decisions as Democrats. Republican Senator Rand Paul (KY) is also voting against the Republican CR. No Republicans are voting for the Democrats' CR. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are blaming each other for not being able to fund the government and causing the shutdown.
The President and other people at the White House are in charge of what happens during a government shutdown. They are saying that they might not pay government workers for the time that the government was shut down. During a government shutdown, government workers don't get paid. They have to wait until the government opens up again. This time, the President and people at the White House are saying that they might not pay people at all, even when they get back. The President also said he wanted to cut "Democrat programs" during the shutdown. Government programs aren't Democratic or Republican, but sometimes Democrats like certain programs and Republicans like other ones. The White House has started firing people from different government agencies, including in the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress do not trust each other right now. Democrats really want to make sure that people can continue to save money on healthcare using something called "tax credits." Many people are able to pay less for healthcare every month by using tax credits. A tax credit is an amount of money that people can save when they file their taxes. Usually, they are a reward from the federal government. For example, if the federal government wants more people to get health insurance, they might offer a tax credit to people who get health insurance. The Affordable Care Act has special tax credits that will end on December 31, 2025. Democrats want to make sure that people can still use these tax credits in the future so they can save money and afford healthcare. Some Republicans are interested in working on this problem but they want to reopen the government first. Democrats don't trust that Republicans will still work on it after the government opens, so they want this issue to be included in a CR.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
