Democratic Senator Mark Kelly and Republican Representative Juan Ciscomani held dueling press calls about the ongoing government shutdown Tuesday. Both affirmed support for extending healthcare tax credits but blamed the other party for stalling negotiations.
At the center of the shutdown is whether to extend tax credits that cap the amount people pay out of pocket for Affordable Care Act health plans.
Kelly warned that hundreds of thousands of Arizonans will see higher healthcare costs in 2026 if the credits are allowed to expire at the end of the year.
“It means families will be, in many cases, one emergency or one illness or one diagnosis… away from bankruptcy, and it means people who simply can't afford these additional costs, they're going to forgo health insurance altogether,” Kelly said.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a single adult making $35,000 would pay $1,500 more a year in healthcare costs without the enhanced tax credits.
At his separate press call, Republican Representative Juan Ciscomani echoed Kelly’s sentiments.
“I want to make sure that nobody in my district gets the rug pulled from under them,” he said.
Ciscomani was one of the swing-district Republicans who had signed onto a bill last month that would’ve extended the tax credits through 2026.
But he said the way forward was for the Senate to pass the House’s continuing resolution—which would fund the government at current levels through November 21—and then have bipartisan negotiations over the credits.
“We need to have a discussion on the subsidy extension,” Ciscomani said.
Ciscomani was joined on his call by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota. Emmer’s job as whip includes aligning individual GOP representatives’ views with the party platform. He said Republicans have “got people with different opinions when it comes to the subsidies.”
On Monday, the Senate failed to pass House Republicans’ continuing resolution for the fifth time. Kelly and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego both voted against it, along with most other Senate Democrats, preventing the resolution from reaching the 60-vote threshold it needs to avoid a filibuster.
It’s unclear when talks will resume after House Speaker Mike Johnson designated Oct. 7-13 as a district work period.
Kelly criticized House Republicans’ absence, calling it an “extended vacation.”
“All across the country, they are not working, not doing anything, not engaging with us on this issue, so they need to get back,” Kelly said.
Meanwhile, Ciscomani called on Democrats to pass House Republicans’ continuing resolution.
“Let’s open up this government, and that’s a direct message to Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego,” he said.
