Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Day 40 of the Government Shutdown”
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Mr. President, today is the 40th day of the government shut down. It’s been so long, a recap is in order.
As I’ve said before, Iowans don’t plan their lives around what we do here in Congress, but the Democrats’ failure to support a clean, bipartisan government funding bill has caused pain, suffering and uncertainty for the American people.
Let’s remember, it’s Democrats who caused the shutdown and got us into this mess.
All but three Democrats have repeatedly voted against a clean continuing resolution to fund government agencies and programs – even at the Biden-era levels, they won’t even support funding that the Democrats have voted for and supported for the past four years, prior to Trump’s reelection.
All we need is five more Democrats.
There are not any partisan policy priorities from either side [in the government funding bill]. That’s why we call it a “clean” government funding resolution.
Republicans, by supporting this continuing resolution, have sought to put partisan politics aside to keep the government open for the American people while the Appropriations Committee members hash out full year appropriation bills under what we call “regular order.”
Now obviously, for the last 40 days, the taxpayers of this country and every citizen see daily demonstrated Democrats have had other plans – other than just a clean funding resolution. They have not put their policy priorities to the side. They’ve taken the American people hostage by refusing to vote for government funding unless it includes their partisan priorities.
Top of their list is extension of the Biden-era COVID subsidy for Obamacare.
Now, understand, what we’re talking about was instituted because we had a COVID shutdown of the government and people were hurt because the government decided in early 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, that 22 million people should be put in the unemployment rolls. That’s what happens when government shuts down the economy.
So, this is a subsidy Democrats decided to sunset at the end of this year. Now the Democrats shut down the government to continue what was meant to be a temporary program. And something we learn from the word “temporary program” or “temporary taxes” is everybody soon decides “temporary” becomes “permanent.”
These expanded subsidies that go back to the beginning of the COVID era go to big insurance companies for Americans over 400 percent of the federal poverty level…that could include people making over $600,000 a year.
I want to make clear; this expiration is only about the expanded temporary COVID subsidies. So everybody else that depends upon the subsidy for Obamacare, I want to make very clear to them, that the premium subsidies for individuals and families under 400 percent of the federal poverty level that existed prior to COVID are permanent law, and those people will not be affected, because that permanent law is not being changed by anything that we’re debating here today. Permanent law – no change for those under 400 percent of poverty.
Now, Mr. President, writing health care policy is our job, meaning the senators’ jobs and the House of Representatives’ jobs.
However, every one of us in this body knew that this deadline that we’re talking about was approaching, and we had already made plans to address the policy issues later in the year.
Yet, as we find out now for the last 40 days, that timeline was not satisfactory to the Democrats.
I’ve been in elected office a long time, and taking the government hostage and shutting it down is always a losing proposition.
It costs money to shut the government down.
It costs money to open the government up. And we find out little is accomplished in the process.
Government is supposed to be a service to the American people, and when there’s 700,000 federal employees sitting at home…they can’t serve the American people, and the government is not doing its job.
So, in my view, this shutdown was doomed from the start. But Democrats marched forward anyway, following their leaders into the mess that we now have had for the last 40 days.
On day 38 – now two days ago, so 38 days after the government shut down – Leader Schumer came to the Senate floor and unveiled his big plan. On day 38, he came with the Democrats’ first plan to get the American people out of this government shutdown.
Now why would he wait 38 days? Why would he wait?
If he were serious about a bipartisan solution to lower the cost of health care for the American people, I don’t believe he would sit idle for 38 days before making an offer.
I’ve shared the pain the shutdown has inflicted upon Iowans, but it bears repeating.
I have families calling my office asking where they can get food. Our food banks are overrun, as Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.
Now, I want to give you an example that was reported by the person behind this constituent in the checkout line. One of my constituents, while grocery shopping at Walmart in Marion, Iowa, was left with no groceries for her family when she found out at the cash register that her food stamps were not on her debit card. That kind of uncertainty has real world impacts.
The realization brought this constituent to tears, it was reported to me. And why wouldn’t you go into tears?
Let’s just take a moment to think about of how you would feel coming home empty-handed from the grocery store and the stress it inflicts on families. Perhaps your kids are crying because they’re hungry.
Young farmers can’t get their loan money from the Department of Agriculture during this government shutdown, and these young farmers are already in an ag economy that’s underwater. How are they going to keep their business going?
And then I don’t know what percentage of the American public flies every day, but it’s significant that flights are being canceled left and right because air traffic controllers aren’t being paid. That means people who are trying to get to a sick family member or attend a sister’s wedding may not make it on time.
Law enforcement, including our own Capitol Police that we rub shoulders with every day here, are working overtime and not being paid.
The entire federal workforce is not being paid. Three million people who have families and bills to pay.
Now, that’s just four or five examples. Unfortunately, the list could go on.
I often say Washington, D.C., right where we’re standing now – this town and the people that are in it, live and work in island surrounded by reality. I’ve been begging Leader Schumer to give just five Democrats the go-ahead to join us in a common-sense clean funding bill.
Let me remind you that Democrats voted for this same structure of a clean funding resolution at least 13 times during the four years of President Biden. So, I would ask them, what’s wrong with voting for a clean funding resolution during this year and during this shutdown, or to prevent this shutdown?
The answer is: the American people elected a new president and that president is not a Democrat.
Well, elections have consequences. In a democratic republic, the will of the people is exercised by voters, and congressional leaders must respect that and live with those consequences.
It’s past time the Democrat leaders cut loose their members who want to work in a bipartisan way.
Iowans at my town meetings want more bipartisanship out of Washington.
They’re cynical that all we do is fight and nothing ever gets done.
I try to educate them on how it’s not as bad as what they see on TV, and senators really do want to legislate and serve the American people.
So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get the job done.
The American people deserve better.
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