Schumer offers plan to end government shutdown

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday offered a plan to end the record-setting government shutdown.

The proposed plan includes a one-year extension of the Obamacare tax credits and a short-term spending bill, The Hill news outlet reported.

“Democrats have said we must address the health care crisis, but Republicans have repeatedly said they won’t negotiate to lower the health care costs until the government reopens,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “So let’s find a path to honor both positions.”

“We’d like to offer a simple proposal that would reopen the government and extend the ACA premium tax credits simultaneously, and then have the opportunity to start negotiating longer term solutions to health care costs. Let’s do all three.”

The proposal also includes a continuing resolution and a three-bill minibus of full-year spending bills that were a part of prior bipartisan talks. Additionally, the plan includes the creation of a “bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on long-term reforms to address healthcare affordability,” Schumer’s office said.

Senate Republicans are expected to discuss the proposed plan during a conference meeting on Friday afternoon.