WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) released the following statement today after voting for a bipartisan agreement that she helped broker to reopen the federal government and give Congress a way forward to protect health care for Americans:
“At a time when families desperately need relief, Washington’s dysfunction is making life harder for families, and the last 39 days are proof. A record-long government shutdown paired with record-high health insurance cost increases is not the kind of history that the American people want Congress to make.
“Over the last several weeks, I’ve heard from Granite Staters who can't afford a doubling of their health insurance costs. I’ve also heard from families about the deep pain that the government shutdown has caused, made worse by a President who illegally and repeatedly chose to cut off help for families trying to buy groceries.
“After weeks of bipartisan conversations, I voted today to reopen the government so that we can get back to the work of helping Granite Staters. This agreement funds SNAP and food assistance programs, ensures that law enforcement, air traffic controllers, and other federal workers get paid, reverses the President’s recent reckless layoffs and prevents them from happening in the future, and, crucially, gives Congress a clear path forward to protecting people’s health care.
“Our work to deliver relief for families now enters an important phase. Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expiring tax cuts for health insurance. My Democratic colleagues and I have been ready to work on this for months. With the government reopening shortly, Senate Republicans must finally come to the table — or, make no mistake, Americans will remember who stood in the way.
“I urge Speaker Johnson to finally return the House of Representatives into session and quickly reopen the government. And I urge all Americans – in communities red, blue, and purple – to continue to speak out about the importance of affordable health care so that families across America can get the care that they need.”
###