The united Democrats in the closure of the closure, explains Senator Van Hollen: NPR

While the federal closure continues, Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen said that the Senate Democrats are united in their efforts to extend health care subsidies for more than 20 million people and limit the power of President Trump.

The federal government remains closed after the Senate failed to pass one of the two duel plans presented by the Republicans and the Democrats Last week. The Republican plan would finance the government for seven weeks.

The plan supported by most of the Senate Democrats would finance the government in exchange for the extension of subsidies to the Act respecting affordable care (ACA), to the inversion of health expenditure reductions under the major bill and limiting Trump’s ability to retain funds appropriate by the Congress.

In an interview Morning editionVan Hollen described the expiration of ACA subsidies as a “delay bomb” which could considerably increase the monthly monthly consumer premiums. Most of the 24 million people buy health insurance in the ACA markets count on subsidies, According to the KFF health policies research group.

Van Hollen also said that he expects his original state in Maryland, where federal workers are made up More than 7% of the workforceTo fight the Trump administration for its decision To cancel billions of dollars in green energy funding and possibly get much more federal employees.

The press secretary of the White House Karoline Leavitt defended the actions of the Trump administration in an interview last weekSaying that the White House is trying to “save money in a responsible way that respects the American taxpayer’s money, especially when we are in this financial respect at the moment, in the midst of a democratic closure”.

Addressing Steve Inskeep of NPR, Van Hollen discussed the efforts of the Democrats to postpone the administration.

This interview has been modified for duration and clarity.

Steve Inskeep: I just want to remind people the figures. The Republicans would need seven Democrats in the Senate in order to prevail and reopen the government. They have three (including Senator Angus King of Maine, which is an independent but Caucus with the Democrats). Are there more of your colleagues.

Senator Chris Van Hollen: Well, Steve, I think it is important that people understand that democrats have voted four times to reopen the government. We want to reopen the government without giving Donald Trump a white check to continue his activities without law, in particular, by the way, which they called a chainsaw for the federal agencies. And we want to approach the question that claimed Donald Trump, which was the increase in costs and prices in the country. And they left a time bomb on health care. And if we do not undress this bomb, people’s health care costs will go through the roof. So, yes, we put our proposal there. The Republicans voted it four times in the Senate. And as you heard, the house does not even arise.

Publisher’s note: Democratic senators John Fetterman from Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada also voted for the Republican financing plan.

Inskeep: But just to be clear, all the Democrats – apart from the three who voted for the other side – always united, as far as you know?

Van Hollen: Yes, because all the Democrats want to prevent the President of the United States to engage in an activity without law. And all the Democrats want to make sure that we do not see an explosion in health care costs for the American people.

Inskeep: I want to ask questions about the activity without law that you have mentioned. You have closed health care tax credits, most of them. But you now raise this other question, which I know that the Democrats want to face the longer term. The president does what he wants, including violating the laws and saying that the law is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has largely referred to him, at least temporarily, who leaves the Congress. Are you saying that you hope you get a restriction on congress in the coming days?

Van Hollen: Well, if you look at our proposal, the one for which we have voted, this includes provisions to fight against this unilateral illegal restraint of Congress funds. Even (the Republicans), Senator Susan Collins, and Senator Lisa Murkowski recognized that when the president unilaterally retains funds, it is illegal and we can change that. And in our proposal, we create railings and guarantees against this.

Inskeep: The administration moves to punish or retaliate against the Democrats. Last week, we heard that the administration said it canceled clean energy projects in 14 blue states – $ 7.6 billion in total for clean energy. And I noticed that one of the affected states is your condition, Maryland. Have you heard the people affected and how many damage is caused here?

Van Hollen: Yes, they threatened to do so. They have not necessarily invoked it yet. But this is another example of what Donald Trump administration has been doing since the first day. I mean, they have retained Maryland funds, FEMA projects, which means projects to help some of our communities prepare and mitigate future damages in hurricanes. They retained the funds (the National Institutes of Health). It is therefore important to recognize that they have closed certain parts of the government from the first day and threatens them to draw people in a closure shows how vindictive they are. There is nothing in the law that gives the president more power to draw people in a closure. In fact, as (the American Federation of Government employees) declares it in the trial they deposited two days ago, there is in fact less authority for a president to do so during a closure.

Inskeep: This is really interesting about clean energy subsidies, because it belonged to me that Russell Vought, the director of the president’s budget, said in an article on social networks that they had been canceled. It seems that you just thought they threatened to do it and did not really stop the flow of money.

Van Hollen: Well, they said they had canceled it. I did not hear people directly in the field that this fund was completely terminated. But I expect them to follow this threat. I also expect the state of Maryland to be part of another trial against these illegal actions of the Trump administration.

Inskeep: You mentioned the possibility of dismissing people, which they have threatened several times to do. Many of your voters are federal workers. If they start to draw people on a large scale, how, if necessary, will you answer?

Van Hollen: I will answer in two ways. The number one, supporting the dispute – the trial which has already been filed by the union of federal employees, clearly indicates that it is illegal. And also do everything I can to reopen the government – but again, without giving the president this white check – and by treating the problem of health care costs.

This digital article was published by Ally Schweitzer. The radio version was published by Lisa Thomson and produced by Nia Dumas.