Shutdown

Roll Call - President Donald Trump is in Asia this week, while back in Washington the partial government shutdown shows no sign of ending.

The Senate this week is expected to take up three joint resolutions that would terminate emergency declarations by the president that have been used to impose tariffs. That’s in addition to judicial nominations and any more potential votes related to reopening the government. The House, once again, is not in session.

NBC News - The country’s largest federal workers union is calling for lawmakers to pass a short-term spending measure to end the government shutdown immediately, urging Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution.

“It’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve problems for the American people,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement first shared with NBC News.

“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” he added.

The statement could increase pressure on Senate Democrats, who have insisted that they won’t vote to reopen the government without a commitment from their counterparts on expanding expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

AFGE represents 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers across almost every agency. The group is suing the Trump administration on several fronts connected to the shutdown, including mass layoffs and out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the impasse. More

NBC News - The Agriculture Department posted a new message on its website saying SNAP food assistance will halt beginning Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown, blaming Democrats for the lapse.  With premiums set to rise, some Americans are debating whether to forgo health insurance and pay in cash for care. Here’s what experts have to say.