A partial government shutdown is entering its third week as there appears to be little urgency among lawmakers on Capitol Hill to do much of anything to end it.
No senator objected when the Senate left town last on Oct. 9 for an extended Columbus Day weekend without an agreement on a continuing resolution that would revive funding, and there’s no indication that a Tuesday evening procedural vote requiring 60 votes on the House-passed Republican-led stopgap bill will yield a different result than the seven previous attempts.
Senate Democrats are largely continuing to block the measure, citing the need to negotiate to address expiring health insurance tax credits under the 2010 health care law known as the Affordable Care Act, as well as looming Medicare cuts. Senate and House Republicans alike have said negotiations, particularly over the tax credits, should take place after the shutdown has ended.
