LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As a midnight Tuesday deadline for a total government shutdown looms, Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on reaching an agreement that would keep the doors open.
And the Trump administration has said it will lay off nonessential workers, rather than furloughing them and awarding back pay when the government finally reopens.
VIDEO: Steve Sebelius reports the latest on the looming government shutdown
But Democrats, at least for now, are insisting that Republicans extend subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at year's end as a condition for voting for a temporary budget measure known as a "continuing resolution."
And that represents an inversion of the usual roles, with Republicans opposed to government spending threatening to withhold their votes, and Democrats trying to keep the government open.
That's raised the issue of who will get the blame if spending authority runs out at midnight on Tuesday.
"Well, nobody wants to shut down, and think about this: They [Republicans] control the White House. They control the House and the Senate and the courts to a large extent, so I don't see how they're going to put the blame on us," said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. "And it's not like we're fighting for something trivial. We are fighting for health care for the American people. They understand that very clearly."
Titus said public opinion will be on the Democrats' side if the government does shut down, since millions are at risk of paying more for health insurance or losing coverage entirely if the subsidies expire.
"They all know what's coming down the road if people aren't able to cover for health care problems," Titus said. "So it's not like we're standing out there alone."
Titus added that Democrats have a long list of other things they want to see funded — including renewable energy projects and food stamps — but have narrowed their requests to health care alone as a compromise.
But Grover Norquist, the conservative activist who founded and is president of Americans for Tax Reform, rejected that argument, saying the health care subsidies will be too costly. Republicans, he said, have no incentive to compromise with Democrats, since Democrats will surely be blamed if the government shuts down.
"It's hard to argue that the Republicans shut it down when the House, controlled by Republicans, voted to do the continuing resolution," Norquist said. "And the Senate Republicans have said, 'We will vote to continue the continuing resolution,' basically continuing spending at present levels. It's the Democrats who can filibuster, because you only need 41 votes to kill legislation, and it's the Democrats who are not providing it."
To be sure, Norquist said, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., earlier this year discouraged Democrats from doing anything to shut down the government, preferring to negotiate with Republicans instead.
But that stance led to a backlash, with the liberal wing of the party accusing their leaders of fecklessness. That may be why Schumer is choosing to stand firm now, rather than capitulate to Republicans, Norquist said.
If they lose the standoff, Democrats face more than just the loss of health care subsidies, too.
The Office of Management and Budget — in legally required shutdown plans — has said the government will permanently lay off non-essential government workers. In the past, workers have been furloughed and then received back pay once the government reopened.
Norquist said that may be a silver lining of any shutdown, because taxpayers will save money by trimming the federal payroll.
"My assumption, having talked to people, is that they will look at those areas where the government feels there's too many people trying to do the same thing, and they're not going to take a whole department apart, but they will shave it down and maybe have 10 people instead of 12 and those sorts of things that will save money and get us through this without doing damage to the economy," he said.
"When you're explaining to people how you're paying for it, we're going to pay for it — you know, there are 2 million federal employees, and laying off a relatively small number of 2 million you can save a lot of money. But you don't just save money this month and next month, you save money out 20, 30, 40 year. So this is a huge savings out and a reduction in the deficit going out decades into the future," he said.
Although Democrats are usually the ones arguing for keeping the government open, Titus said things have changed under the administration of President Donald Trump.
"Well, what we're seeing is that the Republican Party doesn't exist anymore," she said. "This group that, whether they were outliers before, now get the phone call from the White House and they just fall in line. They're afraid to do anything that Donald Trump doesn't want, and I think he does want to shut down, because less government is what he's been after the whole time, and that gives him more free reign, he thinks, to do whatever he wants to."