Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Thursday that Democrats’ refusal to end the government shutdown stems from a need to conceal the “miserable failure” of the Affordable Care Act, saying the law’s hidden costs and mounting subsidies are collapsing under inflationary pressure.
On “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Johnson said the long-term collapse of the ACA, known as “Obamacare,” has put Democrats on the defensive during the ongoing government shutdown.
“They seem to be pretty well dug in,” Johnson said. “And you know, the main reason they’re dug in is they can’t let the cat out of the bag that their signature legislative … Obamacare … has been a miserable failure.
“You know that the subsidies have masked the fact that premiums have skyrocketed in relation to the rate of inflation. Inflation has been up like 39% since 2013.
“I’ve got state-by-state premiums, some of them up almost 500%.”
Johnson said the Affordable Care Act’s promises never materialized.
“President [Barack] Obama sold that thing to save families $2,500 a year. You keep your doctor, you keep your health plan.
“Which, by the way, was the 2013 lie of the year,” he said. “This has been a massive lie, and it’s been a massive cover-up on the part of Democrats.”
The senator argued that the shutdown’s continuation reveals how dependent the program has become on federal subsidies.
He said Democrats “have dug their heels in because they’ve got to mask it … the enhanced subsidies just mask it for more of those people, unfortunate people on the Obamacare exchanges.”
As the budget impasse stretches into its fourth week, Johnson noted that the freeze threatens funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides benefits to 42 million Americans.
Johnson said his focus, however, is ensuring essential and furloughed federal workers continue to receive paychecks even if Democrats block a continuing resolution (CR).
“Let’s stop holding federal employees hostage because of our dysfunction,” he said.
Asked whether his bill, the legislation to accomplish this goal, the Shutdown Fairness Act, addressed SNAP, Johnson replied:
“No, no, this is the Shutdown Fairness Act, which pays … people who were forced to work. I agreed to add furloughed workers. … Make sure the air traffic controllers are paid so they stay in the towers.”
He confirmed that his proposed Shutdown Fairness Act is nearly complete.
“We’re putting the final touches on that, getting the language right, hopefully release that later,” Johnson said, adding that he has “more than enough Democrats, I think, to actually pass that.”
Even if a short-term funding bill advances, Johnson said, “the current one only takes us another three weeks.
“What happens after that? … Regardless of whether we pass this one temporary CR, let’s stop holding federal employees hostage because of our dysfunction.
“I’m not that nuts about this continuing resolution. It ends right before Thanksgiving.
“I hate that game plan, and I don’t like the spending levels, but I vote for it because it’s better than a shutdown,” he said.
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