After 43 days, the longest government shutdown is set to end. The U.S. House returned on Wednesday, after 54 days away, to pass a Senate-negotiated package to fund and reopen the government. The vote was 222 to 209, with six Democrats supporting the bill and two Republicans voting against it.
The federal government is expected to reopen Thursday after President Donald Trump signs the resolution. Colorado’s delegation split along party lines over the deal, which will keep the entire government open through January 30 and provide full-year funding for Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans, and the Legislative branch. The package also reverses layoffs of federal workers that occurred during the shutdown.
GOP Representatives Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank, Gabe Evans, and Jeff Hurd voted for the package. They emphasized that the bill reopens the government, pays federal workers, and ensures that funding for SNAP and other programs continues.
“I am surprised that Democrats held the American people hostage as long as they did, that they made our federal workers go without pay. They made vulnerable women and children and families go without food. It’s very sad,” Boebert told CPR News.
Democratic Representatives Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, and Brittany Pettersen voted no. Democrats were pushing for a funding package that would include an extension of a tax credit expiring at the end of the year that helps Coloradans purchase health insurance on the state exchange.
The deal did not include an extension of the credit but came with a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune to hold a vote in the Senate on an extension by December 12. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has made no such assurances.
Pettersen said the bill is not a compromise or a deal. “This is something that doesn’t address the urgent needs of the American people and the health care crisis that we’re facing,” she told CPR News, adding she understands that people are disappointed Democrats didn’t get any concessions on health care.
As things stand now, an estimated 225,000 Coloradans will see their premiums skyrocket without the credit next year.
DeGette said the Affordable Care Act, while not perfect, has helped many Americans get healthcare. “All of us agree that healthcare is too expensive in this country, and I would be happy to work with my colleagues to try to find a way to reduce the cost of healthcare. For example, reducing the cost of drugs,” DeGette said.
“But just to say, ‘okay, we’re going to stop making health insurance affordable to 5 million Americans, and maybe we’ll do some other things.’ That’s not an actual plan.”
She noted that Democratic party leaders are trying to get enough signatures for a discharge petition on a three-year extension of the premium-enhanced tax credit. But that approach is not likely to gain support, even from Republicans who say they want to see a fix.
Earlier this month, Hurd was part of a bipartisan quartet that released principles to temporarily extend and reform the tax credit. Their proposal would only run for two years and phase out for households making between $200,000 and $400,000. Residents in Hurd’s district have seen some of the highest increases in the state.
“This is something that’s really important no matter what kind of district you have, if you’re from a red district or blue district, the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums are a top priority. It’s something I hear from constituents on constantly,” Hurd told CPR News after the vote.
There was one area of bipartisan agreement about the funding deal that came over from the Senate. House members from both sides of the aisle were unhappy with Senate Republicans for including language in the package that would allow senators, whose phone records were obtained as part of the investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, to sue the government for up to $500,000.
While that provision remained in the package the House passed, Speaker Johnson has promised to try to repeal it.
“I think if the Speaker of the House says that we’re going to do standalone legislation to look at this to make sure that this is being treated appropriately, I think that speaks to the concerns that folks have around some of the Senate language,” Evans said.
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow described the Senate move as an example of graft and corruption. “The idea that senators could benefit directly from things that they voted on and approved is pretty damn disgusting.”
If the House acts, there’s no guarantee the Senate will do so as well.
https://www.cpr.org/2025/11/12/house-votes-end-shutdown-colorado-members-congress/