Nassour: DC’s games throw Mass. under the bus
The ongoing government shutdown is casting a long shadow over Massachusetts, with dire consequences for its economy and residents. Approximately 45,000 federal jobs are at risk, and the state is suffering a staggering loss of $18.6 million weekly in tourism revenue. Critical infrastructure projects are being delayed, leaving many in the construction and engineering sectors in uncertainty. Additionally, veterans are facing delays in accessing essential services, and families reliant on SNAP and EBT benefits are left anxious about their next meals. The impact is particularly pronounced in the state’s 5th District, a hub for research, medicine, and academia, where cuts to research contracts are forcing labs to scale back hiring, thereby threatening the broader economy.
Rep. Katherine Clark, the second-highest-ranking House Democrat, has been vocal about the political motivations behind the shutdown, suggesting it serves as a strategic leverage point for the Democratic Party. In a recent interview, she acknowledged the suffering caused by the shutdown but framed it as a necessary tactic in their political arsenal. This candid admission raises troubling questions about the priorities of lawmakers, as vulnerable populations—including veterans, single parents, and cancer researchers—find themselves caught in the crossfire of political maneuvering. The Democrats are reportedly holding the government hostage over the extension of Obamacare subsidies initially introduced in the American Rescue Plan of 2021, which were never intended to be permanent. These subsidies, while aimed at making healthcare more affordable, have been criticized for contributing to rising healthcare costs and increasing federal deficits by an estimated $34.2 billion over the next decade.
Critics argue that it is unconscionable for a congresswoman, especially one in a leadership role like Clark, to engage in political gamesmanship while jeopardizing the well-being of Massachusetts residents and the nation at large. The shutdown, they contend, is not only a political pawn but also a reflection of a system that fails to deliver affordable healthcare to the very constituents it aims to serve. As the situation unfolds, the residents of Massachusetts and their representatives are left grappling with the harsh realities of a government that has become mired in partisan conflict, with real-life consequences that extend far beyond the political arena.
The government shutdown is hurting Massachusetts. Some 45,000 federal jobs are on the line; the state is losing $18.6 million in tourism weekly; infrastructure projects are being delayed; veterans are waiting for essential services; and families that rely on SNAP and EBT benefits are wondering where their next meal will come from.
The state’s 5th District — a hub for research, medicine and academia — is bracing for cuts to research contracts, and labs are having to scale back hiring, with ripple effects for the entire economy.
For Rep. Katherine Clark, the second-highest-ranking House Democrat, this carnage is a political pawn. “Shutdowns are terrible, and, of course, there will be families that are going to suffer,” she said on Fox News. “But it is one of the few leverage times we have.”
Her words are callous, but in a sense, we should be grateful for her honesty, because it means Democrats are saying the quiet part out loud: The party is holding the government hostage to stick it to political enemies, not caring whether the victims who get caught in the crossfire are veterans or single moms or cancer researchers or any other constituents they are charged with representing.
And what are Democrats holding the government hostage over? Obamacare subsidies from the COVID era that Democrats claimed were temporary four years ago.
The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in 2021, expanded the eligibility criteria for enhanced premium tax credits. These were never intended to be permanent, and if allowed to continue beyond their current duration, they would become fiscally unsustainable. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found that these credits would increase federal deficits by $34.2 billion over a decade.
Worse yet, these subsidies have had a distorting effect: providers have been able to charge higher and higher rates because they know the government will pay them bigger and bigger subsidies, regardless of how much they charge. That means the overall cost increases, and tax dollars go into the pockets of health insurance executives.
While it’s near impossible to justify keeping the government shut down for this long for any reason, it is downright absurd to shut the government down over subsidies that Democrats wrote to expire for a deceptively named piece of legislation that has not given Americans more affordable health care.
This is what people in my Massachusetts district are being used as “leverage” for: a system that isn’t even serving them, and that has made healthcare less accessible and less affordable for them.
It is unconscionable that a congresswoman, especially given her position as the Democratic Whip, is sitting around playing political games in Washington while throwing Massachusetts — and the country — under the bus.
Jennifer Nassour is a former chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party and is host of the PoliticalContessa podcast./InsideSources
