Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats Friday they are bringing the government to the brink of a shutdown by refusing to approve a stopgap spending bill, and promised to work with Democrats next year to provide the extended healthcare benefits they’re demanding for retired coal miners.
“Failure to pass this legislation mean creating a government shutdown,” McConnell, R-Ky., said when he opened the Senate floor Friday.
Democrats Friday morning remained silent on their plans. A stopgap spending bill runs out at midnight, and Democrats could decide to delay a vote on a new spending measure until as late as Sunday evening, to protest the lack of better language on health benefits for miners.
Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid’s opening floor speech made no mention of the spending fight. Instead, he paid tribute to the late astronaut and Democratic Ohio Sen. John Glenn, who died yesterday.
McConnell criticized Democrats for blocking fast passage of the spending bill over the healthcare language. The provision in the bill provides expiring benefits for an additional four months, and Democrats say that’s not long enough, but McConnell said there’s no real threat that these benefits will expire.
He pledged to fight to extend coverage in when Congress votes on the next fiscal 2017 spending bill in April. McConnell’s own proposal, which did not make it into the bill, would have extended benefits for a full year.
“It’s my intention that the miners’ benefits not expire at the end of next year,” McConnell said. “I’m going to work with my Senate colleagues to prevent that.”
He added, “We’ll be back in April and I think it’s highly unlikely that we’ll take [benefits] away.”
He told Democrats, “It’s time to take yes for an answer.”
McConnell also took a swipe at Democrats for backing Obama administration regulations that he said hurt the coal industry and killed mining jobs. “Most of the Senate’s Democrats supported the war on coal,” McConnell said.
