In the United States, thousands of flights are experiencing delays nationwide; tens of millions of Americans are facing the dilemma of losing food vouchers; and medical insurance costs may also see significant increases.
The government shutdown in the United States has reached 30 days, leading to various serious consequences that are gradually becoming evident, potentially prompting lawmakers in Congress to end the government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican, South Dakota) told reporters on October 29 that there has been a “significant increase” in recent discussions between the two parties in Congress, especially with non-senior Democratic members.
This marks a rhythmic shift in the situation.
Over the past month, lawmakers from both parties in the Senate have been blaming each other for causing the government shutdown.
Republicans seek to pass a continuing resolution to effectively maintain current funding levels. This resolution has garnered support from some Democratic members.
Democrats, on the other hand, continue to advance their proposals to increase healthcare spending, including expenditures for tax relief on Obamacare premiums. If Washington fails to reach an agreement, these offsets will expire at the end of this year.
The open enrollment period for health insurance will begin on November 1, which means that the healthcare insurance costs for many Americans may increase.
On October 29, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) in Washington, D.C., released an analysis report titled “Health Insurance Premium Spikes Imminent as Tax Credit Enhancements Set to Expire,” urging lawmakers in Congress to extend the public enrollment period for medical insurance to protect American citizens from potential premium hikes.
“We are on the brink of a historic crisis, and the Republicans don’t even want to talk to us,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democratic, New York) said in a press conference on October 28.
On the same day, Thune stated that President Trump, who was visiting Asia at the time, told him that he was willing to discuss the Obamacare issue with Democrats next week, “But you can’t do that when the government is shut down.”
Schumer also faced new pressure from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a federal employee union based in Washington, D.C., which generally aligns with the Democratic position.
On October 27, AFGE called on Democrats to pass the continuing resolution supported by Republicans.
However, in a Senate vote just a day later, the bill still failed to garner the necessary 60 votes, leading to another stall and an inability to progress to the next step.
Nevertheless, Thune was not the only member of Congress to mention the thawing of relations between the two parties on October 29.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (Democratic, Wisconsin) told reporters, “I feel like there’s more dialogue between the two parties.”
Senator Tim Kaine (Democratic, Virginia) also said, “I can confirm that there are many productive discussions happening now.” He revealed that a core group “is seriously discussing healthcare issues.”
Setting a funding deadline for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could be a powerful measure to bring all parties to the negotiating table.
President Trump told reporters on October 29 that he believes Republicans will find a solution to this problem.
“This problem is created by the Democrats,” he said.
The program commonly known as “food stamps” will cease distribution on November 1.
In the United States, approximately 42 million people rely on SNAP for food support.
In the days leading up to the expected fund expiration, a message on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website warned that the program’s funds “have been exhausted.”
“It won’t be able to provide any benefits on November 1,” the message stated.
According to USDA statistics, SNAP expenditures in the 2024 fiscal year were just under $100 billion, benefiting around 12.3% of the U.S. population. In the 2023 fiscal year, 39% of SNAP beneficiaries were children.
Democrats are urging the government to tap into emergency funds totaling billions of dollars to continue funding the SNAP program under the purview of the Department of Agriculture.
In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on October 24, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Democratic, New York) and almost all Democratic caucus members in the House of Representatives wrote, “The government can and must take immediate action to ensure millions of families across the country have access to food in November.”
For this matter, Epoch Times reviewed a memorandum from the USDA, which indicated that the department believes emergency funds cannot be used to support the SNAP program in the 2026 fiscal year.
“The emergency fund cannot be used to support regular welfare benefits for the 2026 fiscal year since regular welfare benefits are no longer provided,” the statement read.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican, Louisiana) defended the government’s position.
He told reporters on October 27, “Funds are limited and appropriated by Congress. If they can move funds from another source (for the SNAP program), then those funds will be taken away from school meals and infant formula funding.”
On October 21, Senator Josh Hawley (Republican, Missouri) introduced a bill aimed at continuing to provide funding for SNAP.
Following suit in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Republican, Iowa) introduced a similar bill, but the House has been in recess for several weeks.
A few days later, Senator Ben Ray Luján (Democratic, New Mexico) introduced his own bill to provide funding for both the SNAP program and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program.
It is expected that Republicans will reject this bill.
The issue of overdue and potentially unpaid wages for air traffic controllers and military personnel is also exacerbating risks.
As of October 28, 13,000 national air traffic controllers have not received their pay.
“Democrats have hijacked the government. I don’t want our air traffic controllers to go on welfare!” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media platform X on October 26.
Insufficient wages causing absences among air traffic controllers have led to thousands of flights being delayed nationwide. Additionally, Duffy and members of Congress are concerned about aviation safety.
Military pay is another worrisome issue.
On October 15, President Trump directed the Pentagon to use existing funds to pay military pay. The next payday is October 31, and the funding source is similar to the previous one.
After meeting with Senate Republicans on October 28, Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Republicans “do believe that we can continue to pay the military, at least for now.”
An anonymous donor provided $130 million to the military to pay soldiers’ salaries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that if the government shutdown isn’t resolved, soldiers may not receive their pay on November 15.
On October 23, a bill proposed by Senator Ron Johnson (Republican, Wisconsin) in the Senate to pay salaries to military personnel and federal employees working during the government shutdown was rejected.
Before the vote, Senators Chris Van Hollen (Democratic, Maryland) and Gary Peters (Democratic, Michigan) each introduced their proposals, focusing on providing relief for furloughed employees.
With the government shutdown continuing, some Republicans have expressed openness to changing the lengthy debate rules—a key obstacle to passing the continuing resolution that has garnered support from the majority of senators.
(Translator’s note: A lengthy debate is a parliamentary tactic where an outnumbered party, or even a single lawmaker, uses legislative rules guaranteeing each person’s basic right to speak to prolong debates and stall the voting process, potentially forcing concessions from the majority party. )
In September, the Senate used the “nuclear option,” a rule change that only requires a simple majority to pass, to expedite the consideration of nominees nominated by President Trump, whose nominations were under obstruction by Democrats.
President Trump called for a reconsideration of the drawn-out debate rules during his first term. In 2022, President Biden and Senate Democrats pushed for reforms to the lengthy debate rules.
This reform was met with opposition from two Democrats within the party, who later became independent senators. These two members are Senator Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona). Both have since left the Senate.
Amid the ongoing discussions on the matter, Senator Susan Collins (Republican, Maine) told reporters on October 23, “I am a steadfast supporter of the rules on lengthy debates. However, I would obviously consider any plan presented by anyone to reopen the government.”
John Fetterman (Democratic, Pennsylvania), one of the Democratic senators supporting the Republican spending bill, also called on his colleagues to reconsider the system.
Nevertheless, almost all Republican senators interviewed by the Epoch Times at the end of October expressed skepticism about whether any such rule changes could make progress.
“I’ve heard about this, but so far, I haven’t heard any Senate Republican colleagues actually pushing for it,” Senator Andy Kim (Democratic, New Jersey) told the Epoch Times on October 27.