U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th Mass., denounced the Senate’s plan to fund the federal government Monday night, predicting that House Democrats would be united against it when they reconvene.
Speaking to reporters after his annual Veterans Town Hall in Marblehead Monday night, Moulton said allowing the funding bill to move forward without extending the health care tax credit would be caving in to Republicans — and would leave many unable to afford health care.
“(President Donald) Trump himself is going to the Supreme Court to beg them to allow him to let people starve. I mean, this is a president on his back foot,” Moulton said. “We finally have him on his back foot, pushing him to do the right thing. We shouldn’t be giving up.”
Federal judges over the past week ordered the Trump administration to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the federal government shutdown. The administration appealed the ruling, including to the Supreme Court, to halt the payments.
Many federal workers have gone without pay since the federal government shut down Oct. 1, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The Senate package, approved late Monday, includes funding to reopen the federal government, restore SNAP and other food assistance programs, and guarantee back pay for furloughed federal workers—something the Trump administration had left in doubt, according to The Associated Press.
However, it does not resolve the issue of health care tax credits for those with insurance through the Affordable Care Act. This issue was the main sticking point for Democrats and hindered a deal with Republicans.
The deal approved Monday guarantees a vote on the tax credit extension in December, AP reported.
“We’ve been saying something that should resonate with people across this country, no matter what your political stripes, which is that Americans deserve to afford health care,” Moulton said.
He referenced comments from far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, in a social media post last month, saying that her own adult children would see their insurance premiums double if the health care tax credits were allowed to expire at the end of the year.
“When you have Republicans like that on our side, why on earth would you give in?” Moulton asked.
Moulton celebrates veterans
Monday’s event was Moulton’s 11th annual Veterans Town Hall, during which he encouraged veterans from all branches of the military to share stories about the importance of service in their lives.
Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran himself, spoke about the importance of community among veterans. He shared a recent story about diverting his travel plans en route to a wedding in California after receiving a call about a veteran in crisis. He brought the man to the local Veterans Affairs hospital.
“I spent a few hours there with him that morning, getting him checked in, waiting until he was admitted. And the scenes I saw there were pretty depressing,” Moulton said. “And yet there was no place I would have rather been. And that’s because of the brotherhood that we share … Those relationships are so important that we treasure them even in the darkest moments.”
Moulton: Voters want change in Democratic leadership
After the event, Moulton offered a severe rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, after eight Senate Democrats broke party ranks to support the funding package. He said the longtime senator “needs to go.”
Moulton, who recently launched his own campaign challenging Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said. “The establishment is not getting the job done.”
Voters he has spoken with are asking for a change in Democratic Party leadership, he said.
“The brightest spots in the political landscape right now are in places like New Jersey and Virginia, where you see a new generation of Democrats standing up to lead. I think Massachusetts deserves that leadership as well,” he said. “I’m not going to run on a new generation of leadership up here in Massachusetts and then go to Washington and support the status quo.”
Rep. Moulton condemns Senate funding package, says Schumer ‘needs to go’
