U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) is standing by his decision to repeatedly vote against funding the government.
On Monday, the Senate approved a government funding measure by a 60-40 vote, with eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus crossing over to join a unified GOP conference minus one.
The U.S. House is expected to vote on the legislation Wednesday, which if passed and signed by President Donald Trump will end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Figures spoke on the steps of the Capitol before the scheduled vote, imploring his colleagues to keep up the fight to extend Obamacare tax credits.
“House Democrats just spent the better part of the last 40 plus days fighting to keep health care affordable for millions of Americans while our House Republican colleagues were on a taxpayer funded vacation,” Figures said.
“During this shutdown, reality has hit home for a lot of people. Mothers had to worry about how they would take care of their children, their babies without wick. Families stood in pantry lines. Families are still standing in Food Pantry lines in the month of November, the month of Thanksgiving, because SNAP benefits were expired, and this administration chose to use them as pawns in this game.”
The congressman then pointed to some of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate for agreeing to a bad deal.
“What were Republicans willing to give? In the end, nothing more than a handshake deal to take a future vote on extending the health care subsidies, when we all know that that future vote is the equivalent of asking two wolves and a chicken to vote on what’s for dinner,” he lamented. “It is dead on arrival. It is dead on arrival.”
Despite the poor outcome, Figures said he believes the shutdown fight was still worth it because of the attention it gave to the healthcare issue.
“And if you ask us if the shutdown was worth it, I say, hell yes, it was worth it, because fighting to maintain health care for American people,” he exclaimed.
“There’s nothing more pure than that. There’s no more no more important role that we have here as members of Congress and to ensure the health care of the American people.”
“And so while the failure of Republicans to do anything to protect health care is truly disappointing,” he continued, “I want the world to know that my Democratic colleagues here in the house, they can ride with me in any battle I face in my life, they stood with us under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, to make sure that we kept this front and center.”
The U.S. Senate-passed CR ensures full-year military funding, a massive priority for Alabama, while keeping critical operations at agencies funded and ensuring federal workers receive back pay.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
