House hearing breaks out as lawmakers clash over government shutdown bill

Tensions flared Tuesday night during a House hearing aimed at advancing legislation to end the government shutdown, with two senior lawmakers from opposing sides trading barbs over the fallout.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., clashed several times early in the hearing with Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee. Cole accused Democrats of derailing the federal government, while McGovern railed against the Republican Party’s refusal to add provisions to his funding bill extending the expiration of Obamacare’s enhanced subsidies.

“That’s what you said you would never do. ‘We would never shut down the government. We would never do that.’ That’s exactly what you did,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said shortly afterward. “You’re putting thousands of people out of work.”

McGovern, who emphatically said his constituents were “being screwed,” said, “You’ve tried over 50 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” the formal name for Obamacare.

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House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole sparred with Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, during a hearing on a bill to end the government shutdown. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

He said he’s getting calls from constituents who are “crazy” and trying to figure out how to pay for health care without the subsidies.

“Well, the most immediate crisis in my district is the thousands of workers that you and your colleagues have put out of work who are not receiving a paycheck,” Cole said.

“They’re the ones who fly the planes. They’re the ones who run the national weather center. They wonder why they’re not getting paid.”

McGovern retorted: “You don’t get any calls about health care?”

“We could have had these debates, we could have had these arguments. Why are they being held hostage?” » Cole continued.

“The health issue you’re talking about is a grant you made yourself, you said it was COVID-related… You’ve created the most immediate crisis in my district. My people aren’t getting paid thanks to you and your colleagues.”

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The United States Capitol building is seen in Washington DC, United States, December 2, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

McGovern, who tried to intervene several times, said: “So no one in your district is complaining about health care?

Cole conceded: “People everywhere complain about everything, but you asked me what are the biggest calls I get…”

McGovern interrupted, saying, “…We have a chance to do something about this.”

“…it’s: ‘Why am I not getting paid? Why am I being put on forced leave?,” Cole continued.

“We have an opportunity to do something to help millions of people pay for their health insurance. And what you’re all telling me is you’re not interested,” McGovern said.

House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., was ignored as she repeatedly banged her gavel in an attempt to call order.

Cole, meanwhile, said the grants “have nothing to do with the work of my committee.”

“But you are willing to hijack my committee,” he continued, before McGovern interrupted him again, accusing Republicans of voting to “cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires” in the Republican Party’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this year.

House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Call by Bill Clark/CQ via Getty Images)

“But you couldn’t extend them to people?” » asked McGovern.

The House Rules Committee is the final hurdle for most bills before they reach a House-wide vote. Lawmakers on the key panel vote to advance a bill while setting the conditions for its consideration, such as possible amendment votes and the debate schedule.

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The current funding bill is expected to advance in committee along partisan lines. Democrats on the panel will likely oppose the measure, in line with House Democratic leaders, while Republicans have reported no significant opposition.

The vast majority of House Democrats have threatened to oppose the bill because of its exclusion of Obamacare’s enhanced credits, despite support from eight members of their own party in the Senate.

Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to discuss reforms to the system, which they have criticized as flawed. However, they rejected any idea of ​​tying a health care expansion to a federal funding bill that is otherwise largely free of partisan politics.