Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, said he made it back to Washington, D.C., after nearly two months out of session for a Wednesday House vote to ultimately end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
“This has put me in a very punitive mood toward the Democrats,” Fleischmann said about the shutdown by phone Tuesday night. “It’s been something that has been very, very emotional, and in other ways very upsetting to me, in a variety of ways.”
After the U.S. Senate voted Monday on a deal to reopen the government, Fleischmann said he was told by Republican House leadership, “If you’re somewhere else around the country, do everything humanly possible to get in, despite airfare and other airline impediments.”
(READ MORE: Government shutdown ending may not end flight troubles ahead of Thanksgiving)
Senate Democrats had previously refused to vote for legislation to reopen the government without the permanent extension of health care premium subsidies for people whose incomes are too high for Medicaid but cannot afford private health plans.
This is what has infuriated Fleischmann the most, he said. He said the subsidies are outside of the budget process, and to confuse the issue with funding the government is an “outrage” and “bold-faced lie” by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, Fleischmann said.
Democrats said Republicans were responsibile for the shutdown.
“For seven weeks, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have held the government hostage, and Tennessee families are paying the price,” said Rachel Campbell, chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party, in a statement. “From children and veterans going hungry to families watching their health care premiums double or even triple, Tennesseans are feeling the full weight of this crisis created by Trump and the Republicans who refuse to lead.”
Even with a House vote to reopen the government, Fleischmann said things will not return to normal immediately, including his own working relationship with Democrats.
“People have been hurt, poor people, middle-class people, federal workers, and that’s where this whole process is right now,” Fleischmann said. “Politically, now, I can tell you this, I have worked with Democrats and Republicans over my last 15 years to get things done in this country in a very bipartisan, bicameral way. I’m outraged right now, and I will tell you this: I am no longer in that position.”
Fleischmann, who was supposed to attend a Veterans Day event in Collegedale on Tuesday, said he spent the day working with Republican Party leaders to ensure the House votes to pass the temporary funding measure.
(READ MORE: Windy conditions don’t stop Veterans Day event in Collegedale)
Fleischmann said the bill includes funding for the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and congressional operations, though the bill only temporarily funds all other government agencies until a new Jan. 30 budget deadline.
Contact politics reporter Ruby Rayner at rrayner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6556.