On Capitol Hill, there have been almost no signs of progress toward ending the shutdown. Senators say they are not even formally negotiating, which raises the question: What are they really doing?
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It’s day 10 of the government shutdown. And on Capitol Hill there have been almost no signs of progress. The Senate has voted seven times on the same two short-term funding measures, and seven times they failed to end the shutdown. And now senators say they are not even formally negotiating. So what are they doing? NPR Congressional reporter Sam Gringlas spends some time with senators asking just that.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Three-fifths of the duly elected and sworn senators, having not voted affirmatively, the motion is not agreed upon.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: He doesn’t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Not agreed upon.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: He doesn’t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: This motion is not accepted.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Day after day, lawmakers have come to the Senate floor to vote on the same two proposals to reopen the government: one backed primarily by Republicans, the other by Democrats. Spending bills need 60 votes to advance, meaning bipartisan support is the only way forward.
JOHN FETTERMAN: People are really a little entrenched and then everything is hyperpoliticized.
GRINGLAS: Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has been one of two Democrats to vote with Republicans on a bill to fund the government for a few more weeks. Most Democrats are waiting for a deal to renew expiring health insurance subsidies. Sitting on a bench outside the chamber, Fetterman says the endless cycle of votes is not what he imagined serving in the Senate would be like.
FETTERMAN: I think people should realize that there is no glamour.
GRINGLAS: President James Buchanan described the United States Senate as the greatest deliberative body in the world. Ask senators this week if they think that’s true and you’ll get plenty of answers like this one from Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
RAPHAEL WARNOCK: I wish we deliberated more.
GRINGLAS: Still, he says voting no on the Republican-backed bill to preserve subsidies is exactly what his constituents sent him to Washington to do. Warnock, a Baptist pastor, says perhaps his colleagues on the other side of the aisle will embrace the idea.
WARNOCK: It’s never too late to come to Jesus.
GRINGLAS: At the beginning of this shutdown, Republicans promised cracks in the Democratic caucus. Democrats said they would soon eliminate Republicans. It hasn’t happened either. Here’s Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana.
JOHN KENNEDY: The further we go, the more entrenched we become. That’s how I see it.
GRINGLAS: And that might make it seem a little like “Groundhog Day.” Republican Senator Thom Tillis walked away from a press group muttering: Oh my God, let this stop. Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine says he doesn’t believe this is what the founders intended.
ANGUS KING: If you think about it, I think we’ve really only passed two or three bills this year, and this institution was not designed for that.
GRINGLAS: But some politicians are trying to keep that spirit of give and take alive. A bipartisan group of senators exchanged ideas about Thai food earlier this week, although Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski remained tight-lipped about the details.
LISA MURKOWSKI: I’m not talking about what happens at mealtime.
GRINGLAS: Why is it important to continue having informal meetings like that right now?
MURKOWSKI: Speaking. Speaking, absolutely. If you don’t have communication, nothing changes, right?
GRINGLAS: Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma also attended, but he skipped the Thai food.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: I like cheeseburgers. I like hot dogs. I like pop tarts. I like cookies.
GRINGLAS: Mullin says the group didn’t negotiate an end to a shutdown. They talked about what should happen next.
MULLIN: Because we trust each other and we can have honest conversations. And I think they have been quite productive.
GRINGLAS: There have been glimmers of a possible path forward, such as a possible vote after the government reopens to extend subsidies. That’s why Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia says repeat votes are not a waste.
TIM KAINE: Votes tend to be the reason why everyone comes to the room and then spends time talking to try to find a solution. We haven’t found a solution yet, but we’re going to keep it up.
GRINGLAS: But on Friday, senators went home for the weekend with no deal, and the shutdown now extends for another week.
Sam Gringlas, NPR News, Washington.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARISA ANDERSON’S “HESITATION THEME AND VARIATION BLUES”)
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