The Fredericksburg region’s delegation in Congress had differing opinions this week on ending the federal government shutdown.
Though they’re all Democrats, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine voted to re-open the government after the longest work stoppage in history, while U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Eugene Vindman voted against the measure that eventually became law on Wednesday night with President Donald Trump’s signature.
Tim Kaine: Yes
Kaine was among seven Democrats and one independent who voted with Senate Republicans in a bipartisan agreement that included pay and protections for federal workers but didn’t include the extension of health care tax credits most Democrats sought.
“This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown and ensure federal workers receive back pay, as required by a law I got passed in 2019,” Kaine said in a prepared statement. “That’s a critical step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services. I’ll keep working towards a long-term government spending plan that includes critical priorities to support Virginians and funding for Virginia community projects.”
Kaine, a former Virginia governor like Warner, also noted that the deal he backed ensures a future debate on health-care subsidies
“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do,” he said in the statement. “Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will.”
Mark Warner: No
Some progressive Democrats weren’t pleased with Kaine breaking from the majority of his party, however, and Warner and Vindman didn’t follow his line of thinking.
“I appreciate that this proposal includes important language preventing further mass layoffs of federal employees,” Warner said in a prepared statement. “That’s a critical step in protecting our public servants from this administration’s campaign of retribution, and something I’ve long pushed for.”
But Warner said he couldn’t support a deal that “still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick.”
He said the American people deserve more than a short-term fix, and that “simply kicking the can down the road” didn’t cut it, alluding to the fact that the stopgap measure approved funds the government only through Jan. 30.
“Families are already struggling with rising prices on everything from groceries to housing,” the lawmaker said. “I will keep working in the Senate to bring costs down and relieve the pressure on working families who are already paying more because of President Trump’s policies that are driving prices up instead of lowering them.”
Eugene Vindman: (Hell) No
Meanwhile, Vindman, whose 7th District includes the Fredericksburg area, didn’t mince words when describing his vote when the legislative package reached the House of Representatives.
He said he wasn’t just a “no,” but a “hell no.”
“This budget is an insult to the American people,” Vindman said in a prepared statement. “It does not address the health care affordability crisis, does not sufficiently protect federal workers, does not adequately support veterans affected by toxic burn pits and does not stop the rampant chaos, cruelty and unprecedented corruption from the rubber-stamp Republican party.”
The congressman said not extending health-care tax credits leaves 22 million people across the nation facing a dilemma between “astronomical” costs or no medical coverage at all.
