MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
As we've been reporting on this increasingly lengthy government shutdown, we've been talking with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress about the politics around the shutdown and also about the substantive issues that Selena just told us about. This morning, Senator Chris Van Hollen is with us. He is a Democrat. He is the senior senator from Maryland, and he sits on the Senate appropriations and budget committees.
Good morning, Senator. Thanks for joining us.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Michel, good morning.
MARTIN: So as we just heard from Selena's reporting, the Affordable Care Act marketplace open enrollment period is underway, and millions of people are about to see what their health insurance is going to cost them. The prediction is there's going to be sticker shock. Do you think that this might unlock the stalemate in Congress?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, I certainly hope so. This is the ticking time bomb on health care costs that we've been warning about, and now people are seeing that sticker shock. And you would hope that that would get President Trump to finally focus and come to the table to talk to Democrats to resolve these matters, instead of spending all this time either at Mar-a-Lago or traipsing around the world or providing a $20 billion taxpayer bailout to his buddy in Argentina or trying to build a new ballroom. We've been trying, Michel, to get the president to the table to talk about these things.
MARTIN: So I see that you're bypassing your Republican colleagues. You're saying you want to go straight to President Trump, that he's the key to this. Is that what I'm hearing you say?
VAN HOLLEN: President Trump is really the only Republican in Washington, D.C., who matters because, at the end of the day, all the other Republicans do what he says to do - with one exception, which is his call to change the supermajority on the filibuster. But with that one exception, Trump is the only Republican in town who I think we can - we hope to make a deal with. And that's why it's important that he finally come to the table.
MARTIN: So President Trump told "60 Minutes" he is willing to work with Democrats on health care. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Obamacare is terrible. It's bad health care at far too high a price. We should fix that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And...
TRUMP: We should fix it, and we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open, and we'll fix it.
MARTIN: So, Senator, I recognize that Democrats are frustrated that Republicans complain about the Affordable Care Act but, to this point, haven't really presented an alternative, certainly not in the current Congress. But having said that, first of all, let me just ask you - do you believe that? Do you believe that the president will negotiate if you do vote - if the Democrats do - if enough Democrats join Republicans in voting to end the shutdown?
VAN HOLLEN: No, I don't believe the president. And I have now voted, Michel, seven times to open the government, but do it without giving Donald Trump a blank check for lawless activities and to deal with this health care crisis. And so this really is the moment that the president needs to come to the table, like all other presidents have done before.
MARTIN: So - and to that other issue that Selena talked about in her reporting, the expiring ACA tax subsidies are just part of the issue that increased health insurance costs. Do Democrats also have a plan for issue like the repayment cap that was eliminated by the Republican tax and spending bill in the summer?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, we'd like to deal with that issue. But the immediate issue is simply extending the existing tax cuts - right? - that allow middle-class and working-class families to afford health care. It's the one tax cut that the - that Republicans refused to extend when they passed their so-called Big Beautiful Bill, right? They extended tax cuts for billionaires permanently, but they are allowing this one to lapse. So the priority is to fix this. We're happy to also discuss the cap and other issues if the president wants to sit down at the table and get it done.
MARTIN: So, you know, this shutdown is causing some real pain, which you certainly know. I mean, you have a lot of constituents who are affected by it. Beyond rising health care costs, federal workers are going unpaid. People are losing federal food aid. Access to the free early childhood development program, Head Start, for low-income families might be, you know, shut down. The head of AFGE, the American Federation of Government Employees, is now calling for Democrats to vote for a bill to reopen the government. At what point does the juice not become worth the squeeze from prolonging this fight?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, I'd like to end the fight. And the way to do it is to get Donald Trump to talk about it, as we've been discussing. Again, there are big issues here, and we need to resolve them. I have, as I said, voted to reopen the government. The president is deciding to try to make this even more painful than it has to be. I mean, they've been withholding food assistance intentionally. They claim they had to do that. Turns out, as we said, they did not have to do it. In fact, a judge has said that they're required by law to use the contingency funds. So, Donald Trump, quit trying to increase the pain more than necessary and let's get this done.
MARTIN: That is Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. He's a Democrat. Senator Van Hollen, thank you so much.
VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE AMERICAN ANALOG SET SONG, "DIANA SLOWBURNER II") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
