WASHINGTON, D.C. – The recent shutdown has lasted 40 days, making it the longest in U.S. history. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin noted the toll on federal employees, including air traffic controllers working extended hours under stressful conditions to maintain air safety. He also criticized the administration for resisting payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) while pursuing other priorities.
“At Democrats’ urging, today’s bill is not the same one we’ve voted down 14 times. Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to end,” Durbin said. “This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt. Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the shutdown.”
Senator Dick Durbin criticized Republican efforts to shut down the government amid ongoing debates over funding and health care, highlighting the impact on federal workers and Americans relying on social programs.
Durbin urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to fulfill a promise to hold a vote on restoring the ACA tax credits in December, emphasizing the urgency for Americans concerned about health care affordability in the coming year.
“Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford health care in January,” Durbin said.
During the vote, Durbin received commitment from Leader Thune on the Senate floor that there will be a vote to address ACA enhanced tax credits in December
Dick Durbin Speech On the Senate Floor
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, outlined why he voted to proceed with the Continuing Resolution (CR), which will fund the federal government through January 30, 2026, and the “minibus” package of spending bills for: Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. The minibus fully funds SNAP through Fiscal Year 2026 and reverses President Trump and OMB Director Russ Vought’s mass firings since the shutdown began.
Durbin’s full remarks as delivered are below:
“After a record government shutdown of 41 days and 14 roll calls failing to re-open it, the situation was clear.
“Donald Trump and the Senate Republican leadership were willing to do anything to reduce skyrocketing health insurance premiums—a terrible problem facing some 24 million American families.
“The shutdown of the government stopped paychecks for thousands of federal workers, causing real hardship for their families, including our overworked and understaffed air traffic controllers and many other critical members of the federal workforce.
“Food pantries in my state and across the nation were overwhelmed when President Trump stopped SNAP food payments to 42 million Americans, one third of whom were children. Food pantries [were] being overwhelmed, as well, by unemployed workers who’d been laid off and furloughed because of the government shutdown.
“So, a group of Senators sat down to try and find a bipartisan resolution. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was reached with the Republican Senate Leader John Thune.
“We will agree to open the government until January 30, 2026. During that time, we will pass three bipartisan appropriations bills that will fully fund SNAP, WIC, and all the Veteran’s programs, and finish our work on the remaining spending bills for this fiscal year. The agreement will also reverse the Trump Administration’s mass firings during the shutdown and prevent future ones through January 30.
“Leader Thune has also promised the Democrats an opportunity before mid-December to present a Democratic bill on the floor with proposals to change the law and protect American families from dramatic health care premium increases.
“It is my fervent hope that this ends up being a bipartisan effort.
“I have served in the Senate for 29 years and have never seen that kind of offer from a Senate majority. During the historic roll call last night, I walked across the aisle and met with Senator John Thune, the Republican Leader. I told him I was counting on him to keep his word on this agreement. He assured me he would.
“The fate of this effort depends on both the Senate and the House of Representatives. After a seven-week absence, Speaker Johnson needs to call his members back and join us in the hard work that lies ahead.
“Many of my friends are unhappy; they think we should have kept our government closed indefinitely to protest the policies of the Trump Administration. I share their opinions of this Administration but cannot accept a strategy [that] wages political battles at the expense of my neighbors’ paychecks or food for [their] children.”
