Patty Murray: “Democrats do not want a shutdown. Democrats also do not want millions of American families to go bankrupt next year…”

“Democrats do not want a shutdown. Democrats also do not want millions of American families to go bankrupt next year because their healthcare premiums more than doubled. Democrats do not want people to get kicked off their healthcare, get sick, or even die. Democrats want to stop our rural hospitals from closing and laying off more staff. We have been clear about this for weeks and weeks and weeks. All along, Democrats have made clear we are ready to hammer out a solution to prevent a shutdown and save people's healthcare. But I am afraid that at every step of the way, Republican leadership has made clear they would rather shut down the government than make sure people can afford healthcare. Apparently, working with Democrats to save American families money and keep the government open is too much for Republican leadership because their plan so far has been to let healthcare premiums double--double--next year and insist that Democrats swallow a bill that does nothing on healthcare. President Trump and Republicans in Congress would rather shut down the government than have serious negotiations to lower costs, save healthcare, and prevent a shutdown. Unfortunately, Republicans decided on the shutdown track weeks ago and have done nothing to steer away from that cliff. This is not hard to understand. Republican leadership has not been subtle.”