Colorado’s Democratic and Republican lawmakers dug in Wednesday, as the federal government entered its first shutdown in nearly seven years after Congress failed to approve rival stopgap spending plans put forward by the two parties the night before.

Both sides insisted that their political opponents are to blame for plunging the country into a crisis for no good reason, though Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet suggested that talks underway between senators could lead to a resolution.

Noting that Republicans need Democratic senators to approve a spending deal despite controlling the levers of power in Washington, Bennet said Democrats have been asking President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders to negotiate a deal “for months” but have been spurned.

“This is at a moment when Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House, but need Democratic votes in the Senate to pass a budget, and instead of having these negotiations to lower health care costs for Americans, the Republican leadership has put a bill on the floor that was essentially their way or the highway,” Bennet said in a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Democrats said they’re unwilling to sign off on a temporary spending measure without extending tax credits to reduce the cost of health insurance premiums sold on marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. The party is also asking Republicans to reverse Medicaid cuts contained in the massive GOP spending bill passed this summer.

“Families are about to get notices that their insurance costs are going to go way up,” Bennet said, adding that in parts of Colorado premiums are projected to go up nearly 300%.

“I really hope that my Republican colleagues will come to the table to negotiate something that’s in the best interest of the American people and the federal employees,” Bennet said. “I’ve already had conversations with people on both sides of the aisle on the Senate floor, just this morning during our earlier votes about whether we can make progress and, and I hope we will.”

Calling the impasse “completely unnecessary,” Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd of Grand Junction told Colorado Politics that he’s willing to address Obamacare tax credit extensions in separate legislation — he’s signed on to a bill to extend them for a year — but considers the Democrats’ current position a nonstarter.

“House Republicans did our job in passing a continuing resolution almost two weeks ago,” Hurd said in an interview. “It was not passed on a partisan basis. It’s continuing funding levels that Democrats have approved of in the past as recently as March. The demands that they’re making in exchange to keep the government open for only a month are not serious, and I don’t think they have any traction within either Republican leadership or within the rank and file.”

Hurd added that he thinks the government “will almost certainly remain closed” as long as Democrats refuse to yield in their demands.

As far as the health insurance tax credits, Hurd said that there’s a debate to be had over how to proceed, but he rejected the notion of having it under the duress of a shutdown.

“My answer is, let’s address this in the short term with a temporary extension of the enhanced premium tax credits, and then look at ways that we can address the underlying cost drivers that are pushing up those premium rates,” Hurd said, noting that Democrats are insisting on a permanent extension of the credits before they’ll vote to fund the government.

“I think the right place to have that discussion is when we have an open government,” Hurd said. “I don’t think it’s right for the Democrats to condition reopening the government on this policy proposal. The risk that we run is never-ending policy demands when we have a government shutdown.”

Their partisan counterparts made similar arguments in statements issued throughout the day Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, said she continues “to be shocked by the dysfunction in Washington and unwillingness to do the right thing.” She called on Republicans to act immediately to open the government and prevent insurance rates from soaring.

“For months, Democrats have begged Republicans to come to the negotiating table and build a path forward to address the skyrocketing costs of health care and find a real bipartisan solution to fund our government,” Pettersen said. “Instead, Republicans repeatedly refused to bring Democrats to the table and moved partisan legislation that only kicked the can down the road for the second time this year and does nothing to lower the costs of health care for working families.”

Claiming that Democrats had “abandoned the American people” and “played political games,” U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, said it isn’t his party that needs to budge.


“House Republicans did our job, voting to keep the government open to ensure our nation’s troops and federal employees get the pay they deserve — while protecting our seniors and veterans access to the necessary support and benefits they’ve earned,” Evans said.

“Amid this Democrat-led shutdown, House Republicans will continue to uphold our commitment to the American people by working on the issues that matter the most to them,” he added.