Florida Democrats and Republicans are both raising concerns that the current federal government shutdown will harm state residents. But the two groups have very different answers for who is responsible.
The shutdown started on October 1st. As a result, many US government services are temporarily suspended, and about 750,000 federal employees are on unpaid leave. It happened because Republicans and Democrats in Congress could not come to an agreement to fund the government.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried blames President Donald Trump and Republicans. During a Monday press conference, she said one sticking point was the refusal from Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for people who buy health insurance on the marketplace. Without the subsidies, she's worried costs will skyrocket.
"The fact is that they have not come to the table to negotiate in good faith this entire time. Trump campaigned on not cutting these subsidies. Trump campaigned on not touching healthcare, and yet, here we are. We can't trust that come December, they are going to come back to the table," she said.
Pensacola Republican Congressman Jimmy Patronis sees it differently. He thinks Democrats are pushing the shutdown to get benefits for people who are not American citizens.
"While Democrats are playing politics. It's hurting real people across North Florida, in this country, service members are going unpaid. These are men, women who defend our free freedoms, they deserve better than this, critical services for our veterans are also at risk. After all, they're sacrificing for what they've sacrificed for our country. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are holding them hostage for health care for illegal immigrants," he said.
Patronis said the pausing of many of the National Flood Insurance Program's activities, like renewing policies and issuing new ones, is especially concerning to him. He blames U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"Because of the Schumer shutdown, should a major storm set its sights on the state of Florida, the Democrats will be directly responsible for flood insurance claims being delayed when people are at their most vulnerable. That's irresponsible, and that's downright dangerous for Florida's families."
Fried said the shutdown has occurred not because of Democrats playing politics, but because Republicans have refused to come to the negotiating table.
"During the four years the Senate Democrats held the majority, there wasn't a single shutdown. Why? Because Democrats negotiated all 13 funding bills with Republicans. This is how democracy works. This is how our country works. Is when people come together, negotiate and negotiate in the right mind and in the fair spirit of taking care of the most amount of Americans here in our country," she said.
On Monday morning, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters "There's nothing for us to negotiate. The House has done its job."
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