Nearing the sixth week of the United States federal government shutdown, increasingly bipartisan efforts to resume government operations have gained momentum in the U.S. Congress. As of Tuesday, Nov. 11, this has been the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 41 days and counting.
Eight members of the Senate’s Democratic Caucus broke rank with their party on Sunday, Nov. 9, joining Republicans to reach the 60-40 majority to advance a deal to the U.S. House of Representatives. This deal addresses many of the major impacts of the government shutdown. It ensures government funding for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides financial assistance to millions of families to buy food. It also returns many furloughed federal workers with backpay.
However, the deal does not extend the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which is the major point of contention between Senate Democrats and Republicans. For many Democrats, the decision of whether or not to vote to pass the bill raises questions about balancing the priorities of reopening the government and preventing rising premiums under the ACA. The deal does guarantee a vote to extend ACA tax credits.
Michelle Crowley, junior nursing major and vice president of the Hofstra University Student Nurses Association, noted that many students at universities like Hofstra are dependents on parents or guardians’ health insurance policies and would struggle to afford medical support with no assistance.
“On top of tuition and costs of living, students who are covered by the ACA are likely to be a part of millions of people who will be unable to afford their health insurance,” Crowley said. “Access to healthcare is something that we all should have a right to and not something that you should have to pay for or worry about being without.”
Rosanna Perotti, professor of political science at Hofstra, frames the decision to advance the bill as good government rather than a political win. “[The Democrats’] concern really was good government,” Perotti said. “Their constituents were hurting.”
For the Democratic senators who voted to pass the bill, the impacts of the government shutdown proved too disastrous to justify holding out. Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia represents over 150,000 federal workers, many of whom have been furloughed during the shutdown. Voting to end the shutdown, even with no provisions to prevent rising prices under the ACA, ensures that Virginia’s federal workers return to work with backpay.
In a statement released on Sunday, Maggie Hassan, a Democratic senator from New Hampshire, noted that while her decision to support the bill was informed by the need to recommence government programs, its passing represents a pivotal moment in providing relief for families.
“Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the [ACA’s] expiring tax cuts for health insurance,” Hassan wrote.
While universities are not typically affected by short government shutdowns, longer ones have the potential to disrupt operations. Universities like Hofstra receive funding from several federal agencies. This funding goes toward programs like financial aid, research grants and federal work study.
Hofstra receives funding from the Department of Education and can receive research grants from agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Hofstra’s funding has not suffered as a result of this shutdown.
The House must still pass the bill to ensure that the government is funded and remains operational through Jan. 30, 2026. If the deal does not pass in the House, the government will remain closed. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that representatives will vote on the bill “as soon as possible.”
“Now that we have gone this long with a government closure, we could go for even longer,” Perotti said. “For democracy to produce such dysfunction is very, very dangerous.”
