What is included in the shutdown agreement to reopen government offices?
Congress passed a funding deal to end the shutdown, including backpaying workers and reopening government agencies.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen defended her vote to end the record government shutdown after being heckled by a congressional candidate at a state Democratic Party event.
A video of the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Eleanor Roosevelt dinner on Nov. 14 shows Shaheen saying, “No one wants to expand the Affordable Care Act tax credit more than I do.”
A voice, identified by Manchester ABC affiliate WMUR as New Hampshire Congressman Heath Howard, interrupted, asking, “So why did you vote yes?” Mentioned the shutdown termination agreement.
Mr. Howard’s suspension is emblematic of the backlash facing eight senators and Democratic leaders from a broad base of supporters who see the end of the government shutdown as a capitulation to Republicans.
“You look at our record and tell us what you’ve done to protect American health care, and it doesn’t come close to what we’ve done,” Shaheen angrily responded, drawing applause from the audience.
The shutdown, which lasted 43 days, was primarily focused on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for the roughly 24 million Americans who buy insurance through the Marketplace. Seven Democratic senators and one independent voted to end the shutdown, supporting Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota)’s promise to vote on extending the aid in mid-December.
Howard, who is running for the state’s 1st Congressional District and is currently vice chair of the New Hampshire House Progressive Caucus, criticized Shaheen’s response as “childish” and “unbecoming of a senior senator.”
“She’s talked a lot about her record and her experience, and I appreciate that, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what she’s done in the past if you erase all her wins with one vote,” Howard told WMUR.
Howard suffered an L4 burst fracture in his back at age 15, which nearly paralyzed him and inspired him to advocate for health care, according to his campaign website. “This is my life. This is extremely personal to me,” he said.
In his speech, Shaheen said Democrats should direct their anger at those on the other side of the aisle.
“We need to stay focused on health care as a party, and we need to remind voters who is really responsible for this mess we’re in, because it’s not the Democrats. It’s Donald Trump, it’s Speaker Johnson, and it’s the Republican majorities in the House and Senate,” Shaheen said.
Shaheen was criticized for voting to end the shutdown by his daughter, Stephanie Shaheen. Shaheen, a junior who is also running for Congress from New Hampshire, wrote in a statement posted on social media on Nov. 9 that the deal “means more people will be uninsured, unable to see a doctor when they need it, and put their diagnosis at risk of bankruptcy.”
USA TODAY reached out to Howard and Shaheen for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
