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22:29 GMT
WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (KUNA) -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the ongoing government shutdown may start costing the economy as much as USD 15 billion per day.
"We call on the moderate Democrats in the Senate to be heroes. Be heroes, break away from the hive of radicalism and do something for the American people, because we are starting to cut into muscle here," Bessent said during a press conference.
Republicans and the Trump administration are gearing up for a lengthy government shutdown, making moves to alleviate political pain that might boomerang on them while attempting to make things challenging for Democrats.
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the government shutdown was headed toward becoming one of the longest in history unless Democrats accepted the House-passed, GOP-written continuing resolution to fund the government.
"We're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history, unless Democrats dropped their partisan demands and passed a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers," Johnson said in a press conference as the shutdown approached two weeks. Wednesday marks Day 15.
Congressional leaders have been stuck in a standoff on government funding as Democrats pressure Republicans to make concessions on health care, notably Affordable Care Act tax credits that are expiring in late 2025.
The Senate is set to vote this afternoon for the ninth time on the Republican stopgap. The eighth attempt failed Monday, 49-45. Two Democrats supported it and one Republican opposed it, similar to other votes.
The shutdown is now entering its third week. The Senate is voting for a ninth time Wednesday afternoon on advancing a House-passed bill that would reopen the government as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds.
The bill, which would fund the government until Nov. 21, failed to reach the 60 votes needed to advance on Tuesday. No new Democrats backed the measure, an indication of how far both sides are dug in to their positions. Republicans are refusing to negotiate with Democrats over health insurance tax credits that they are seeking to extend.
Members of the military were set to be paid on Wednesday despite the shutdown, after the Trump administration tapped unused research and development funds to cover their checks. But House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that the move was a "temporary fix," and that troops risked missing their next paychecks at the end of the month if the shutdown continues. (end)
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