By WARD CLARK
Alaska’s own Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is making news again, stating that she will vote for the House Republican-passed government funding bill, which she previously opposed. She cited the need to avoid a government shutdown for changing her position.
The Senator said, “We’ve got mere hours before the end of the fiscal year, and so I’ve got no options now.” She had previously pushed for a revision that would have extended the Affordable Care Act health care subsidies for another year. Those subsidies are a COVID-era program that is set to expire.
Senator Murkowski’s proposal would also have blocked the Trump administration’s plan to withhold billions in foreign aid.
This leaves Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) as the only Republican Senator expected to vote against the spending measure. Senator Paul has cited the extension of Biden-era spending as the reason for his opposition.
The Senate is expected to vote on the package on Tuesday, September 30. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said that the schedule is not “locked in.” Senate Democrats have proposed a countering bill that extends the COVID-era subsidies permanently and restores almost $1 trillion in Medicaid spending cuts.
Ward Clark is a freelance journalist for Alaska Gold Communications, Inc., the parent company of Must Read Alaska. He hails from Alaska’s Susitna Valley, where he maintains his rural household in one of America’s last free places. Ward is a twelve-year veteran of the U.S. Army, an author, novelist, and self-employed small businessman.