By: Michael Achterling
WASHINGTON (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak said Democrats have the “ball in their court” to prevent a government shutdown.
Fedorchak, who hosted a virtual town hall Monday with North Dakotans, said the Republican-led House passed a continuing resolution last week to keep the federal government open past Tuesday night’s funding deadline.
“This is something that Democrats have supported in the past,” Fedorchak said. “They are working in the Senate and have some demands that they are asking for.”
Senate Democrats are demanding any continuing resolution to keep the government open would need to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. Without the tax credits, individuals and families receiving assistance for plans covered under the ACA marketplace could see their premiums increase by thousands of dollars, according to KFF.
The Senate requires a 60-vote threshold to advance legislation. Republicans control 53 seats, which means they will need support from at least seven Democrats or independents.
In an interview with the North Dakota Monitor after the virtual event, Fedorchak said she does not see funding the government and the health insurance subsidies as the same issue.
“I tend to think they are just using this as a cudgel and I strongly believe that we should just pass the clean CR (continuing resolution) like we provided,” she said. “A government shutdown is really damaging to Americans and benefits nobody.”
If the Senate passes the continuing resolution, Fedorchak said it would lessen the pressure on lawmakers and open up discussions on other issues, such as health insurance subsidies and federal agency budgets passed through the normal committee process.
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party on Monday criticized North Dakota’s all-Republican congressional delegation for not extending the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
“If Congress doesn’t act, 35,000 North Dakotans will see their health care premiums skyrocket. That’s more than the population of Williston,” said Adam Goldwyn, chair of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, in a statement.
Fedorchak said she does not support stopping the subsidies without a “glide path,” easing the impact of their expiration. She also said the subsidies are part of the reason why health care costs have remained elevated.
In a statement, Sen. Kevin Cramer said Senate Democrats are the only thing standing in the way of keeping the government open.
“To avoid a Schumer shutdown, Democrats should join Republicans in passing the House bill and get back to negotiating more permanent appropriations bills,” Cramer said.
Sen. John Hoeven said members of Congress are already working to address the health care subsidies and accused the Democrats of holding the continuing resolution “hostage.”
“The enhanced health insurance premium subsidies do not expire until the end of calendar year 2025,” Hoeven said in a statement. “These enhanced subsidies were put in place to give additional assistance during COVID, and they need reforms.”
Agriculture policy
Participants in Fedorchak’s virtual forum also raised concerns about impacts to North Dakota farmers due to President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade and tariff war, which has hindered Chinese purchases of American soybeans and may require federal assistance payments to keep those farms afloat.
Fedorchak said Trump’s trade and tariff deals are aiming to correct a trade imbalance.
“Free trade was pretty one-sided in the past,” Fedorchak said. “There is a lot of uncertainty right now. I completely acknowledge that, but we are making progress.”
She said she is hopeful more trade deals will come to fruition in the future, such as Taiwan’s agreement to purchase an additional 25% of American agriculture products. She also said producers should expand to more domestic uses for their products, like biofuels, and encouraged more processing capability, citing the new soybean processing plant in Casselton.
When asked why farmers should get tariff support payments over other industries impacted by ongoing trade disputes, Fedorchak said farmers need to be supported because they lost their markets.
“That’s a pretty significant government impact on their business, so I think the bridge payments to farmers are in order for the immediate crop year,” she said. “There are other industries being impacted, but they aren’t losing their markets.”
Fedorchak said she will continue having virtual forums every six to eight weeks to keep North Dakotans informed on what’s happening in Washington. She also urged participants to sign up for office hours when she is in town. Future office hours will be posted on her official website and social media.
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