Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Federal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cassidy says Schumer is blocking a short-term fix, defends $50 billion for rural health
Summary
Senator Bill Cassidy told the interviewer he expects only a few Democrats to back a short-term spending measure and blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for preventing a government reopening; Cassidy also highlighted a $50 billion Republican proposal for rural health funding and urged a seven-week continuing resolution to allow negotiations.
Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, said he expects "3 or 4, maybe five Democrats" to back a short-term funding measure but predicted that would not be enough to reopen the federal government, arguing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is keeping Democratic senators from negotiating.
"We're not going to get the number we need to reopen the government. It's still Schumer shutdown," Cassidy said, adding that he hoped Democrats would accept a short, seven-week extension to give lawmakers time to negotiate differences.
Cassidy said the House has already debated and passed its bill and that the ball is now "in the Senate's court," arguing the House did its part and that Senate leaders should allow a vote. He characterized the Republican request as reasonable: a seven-week continuing resolution to allow a "cooling off period" and to pay obligations such as the military while talks continue.
Cassidy highlighted a GOP proposal to direct $50 billion to rural health care, saying the funding would help make health services in rural areas "reinvigorated and reimagined and made sustainable." He said it would be wrong for Democratic leaders to eliminate that money as part of a shutdown strategy.
Asked why Republicans insist on a short extension rather than a longer continuing resolution, Cassidy said he is a fiscal conservative who remains troubled that the current short-term plan uses spending levels set during the Biden administration, but he maintained a preference for a brief extension to negotiate replacements for those priorities.
Cassidy also accused some Democrats of supporting policies he opposed, saying, "I think his party would fundamentally agree that we should use taxpayer dollars to help do sex change operations on minors, which the bill that we passed forbids." That assertion was presented by Cassidy as a reason Republicans oppose specific Democratic demands; the allegation was not substantiated or documented during the interview.
The interview concluded without a vote or immediate procedural development; Cassidy said he hoped negotiations could resume if leadership allows a short extension.
