Democratic and Republican senators in the United States are working through the weekend to find a compromise and end the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.
But the bipartisan talks yielded few signs of progress on Saturday as the workday ended without a deal on reopening the government.
The Senate is set to try again with a rare Sunday session.
The impasse has now lasted 39 days and is taking an increasing toll on the country as federal workers go unpaid, airlines cancel flights, and food aid has been delayed for millions of Americans.
Saturday’s session got off to a rough start when President Donald Trump made clear he is unlikely to compromise any time soon with Democrats, who are seeking a one-year extension on an expiring health insurance subsidy under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
Trump urged Republican senators on social media to redirect federal money used to subsidise health insurance premiums towards direct payments to individuals.
“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without offering details.
The ACA marketplaces allow people to buy policies directly from health insurers and mainly serve people who do not have coverage through employers or the Medicare and Medicaid government programmes.
Credit: aljazeera.com
