WASHINGTON -- As the federal government shutdown continues with no end in sight, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro on Friday made a new plea to the Republicans running Congress: Talk to us.
DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee that writes the government spending bills, bemoaned the lack of discussions between the two parties.
"We could sit down and talk today," DeLauro, a Democrat from New Haven, said during a press conference over Zoom on Friday. "Let's go. I'm here. Let's move this ball forward. It can get done. You have to have the political will to want to get this done."
While the Senate continues to meet, the House recessed last month after passing the Republican-drafted bill at the end of September and has yet to return to Washington. On Friday, House GOP leaders canceled a scheduled return at the start of next week.
"Where are they?" DeLauro said. "Where's Waldo, for God sakes? Why aren't they here?"
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Friday on Fox News that the Democrats were to blame for the shutdown.
"It's on them," he said. "For counting, yesterday, the Democrats have now voted eight times in both chambers to stop the payment of checks to troops, federal workers. It is infuriating to us."
The issues remain the same. Senate Republicans need Democratic support to get to the 60 votes needed to pass short-term legislation keeping the government open, known as a continuing resolution.
But Democrats say they won't back the GOP-drafted bill as is, demanding that it also extend expiring health insurance subsidies and rescind previously approved Republican cuts to Medicaid.
A family of four in Connecticut making $64,000 a year and buying their insurance on health exchanges would see its premiums rise 530 percent, DeLauro said.
"People do live paycheck to paycheck and health care costs are the primary drivers of cost of living," she said. "The issue of health care and the cost of health care was not on anyone's mind. It is now the center of public discourse, as it should be."
In addition, the Democrats are demanding that any legislation guarantees that President Donald Trump will abide by any spending deal and not unilaterally refuse to spend congressionally approved funding or try to rescind any appropriations.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative and watchdog arm of Congress, has said the Trump administration is breaking the law by refusing to spend the money included in legislation signed by the president.
Republicans have offered to negotiate over health insurance subsidies once the government is reopened, but DeLauro said that was too late. She said insurance premium notices with the huge increases are going out this month.
"This is ridiculous. Let's do it now," she said. "Why do we want to believe they are going to address the issues? There's a willingness, which is pretty extraordinary, to shut down the government rather than negotiate with the Democrats. You have to have a willing partner to negotiate. We have no willing partner and they continue to break the law. And that has to stop."