Congressional Democrats are warning they will fight to preventPresident Donald Trump from withholding payments used tosubsidize insurance costs for poorAmericans under Obamacare, signalling the issue could becomepart of the debate to avoid a government shutdown at the endof April.

Top House and Senate Democratic leaders are pushing to guaranteethe so-called Cost Sharing Reduction subsidies as part of aspending bill that must be approved by April 28, the last day ofgovernment funding under current law, according tothree Democratic aides.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the SenateFinance Committee, also signaled a tough stance Thursday, sayingDemocrats “will not negotiate with hostage takers.”

Trump told the Wall Street Journal Wednesday that he mightwithhold the CSR payments to force Democrats to negotiate changesto the existing health law, the Affordable Care Act, whichRepublicans have been seeking to repeal.

The three Democratic aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity,said both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House MinorityLeader Nancy Pelosi agree that CSR payments must be included in theomnibus spending bill being negotiated as permanent, mandatoryspending.

Those payments to lower-income people have been at the center ofan almost three-year legal battle between Republicans andDemocrats.

Shutdown threat

The Democratic aides made clear that the payments could become apotential shutdown issue, since Democratic votes will be needed topass the bill in the Senate, and perhaps in the House.

Negotiations over that bill, which lawmakers will have only fivedays to pass when Congress reconvenes on April 24, are alreadyincreasingly complicated. Some Republicans are prepared to fightfor Trump’s request for funding to begin building a border wall,which Democrats have made clear they will oppose. Trump also iscalling for a provision that blocks federal funding for “sanctuarycities.”

On the Cost Sharing Reduction payments, Democrats may find someRepublican allies.

Representative Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican who chairs akey health committee, said in late March that his preference is toinclude the money in the spending bill, as well.

On Thursday, two former Senate Majority leaders, Republican BillFrist of Tennessee and Democrat Tom Daschle of South Dakota, made acall on behalf of the Washington D.C.-based Bipartisan PolicyCenter, to extend the subsidy payments.

“It is clear that the withdrawal of cost-sharing subsidiesprovided through the Affordable Care Act would destabilize thisalready fragile market,” they said in a joint statement.

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