CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH CONGRESSMAN BERGMAN
The federal government shutdown has reached a full month, with no end in sight to the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans.
Upper Peninsula Republican Congressman Jack Bergman has a suggestion for his Michigan colleagues in the US Senate when it comes to the shutdown.
Bergman (R-Watersmeet) says that is where the problem lies, since the House has repeatedly passes temporary budget resolutions that would restore normal operations.
The sticking point continues to center around health care, which Democrats say must include the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that were added to the original ACA subsidies during the COVID-19 crisis. Democrats are also insisting that money that was cut from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcast System under the recently-passed “Big Beautiful Bill” be restored.
“Senator Gary Peters and Senator (Elissa) Slotken, they are the two votes that could swing the door open to some other Democrats who want to do the right thing, especially for Michiganders,” Bergman told RRN News. “The claim that millions will lose (health care) coverage is false. The ACA itself remains law. What’s expiring are the COVID-era subsidies for higher-income Americans who don’t need taxpayer help to pay for insurance.”
Bergman argues that the whole system could collapse if so many people continue to receive these enhanced subsidies, which in some cases means people get so much taxpayer help that they pay literally nothing in annual insurance premiums.
“If the Democrats get their way, our hospitals in the UP will suffer greatly, and therefore, the delivery of health care will suffer greatly,” Bergman said. “And that’s morally wrong.”
Republicans control both the House and Senate, and Republican Donald Trump is the president. So, you would think the GOP can do whatever it wants, without regard to the wishes of minority Democrats.
But in the Senate, a rule allows the minority party to slow, or “filibuster” all proceedings on legislation, and it takes 60 votes in the 100-vote body to stop a filibuster, which can last indefinitely. Democrats have used this tactic a more than a dozen times this month.
“If Democrats truly intended for them (extra subsidies) to last, they would have made them permanent when they controlled the House and both chambers of Congress just a few years ago,” Bergman said. “Now, they’re blaming Republicans for allowing their own temporary expansion expire.”
For their part, Michigan’s two senators sounded the alarm on Wednesday that this shutdown will also stop funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). They introduced legislation to force the funding of those programs.
Said Peters: “At a time when our families are already facing rising prices for everyday goods, the Trump Administration is playing politics and holding up resources that help Michiganders put food on the table. This legislation would ensure vital food assistance remains available to families and communities across Michigan.
Slotkin added:
“No American should ever go hungry due to political gridlock. The administration has both the authority and the resources to keep nutrition programs running. Families, seniors, and veterans shouldn’t have to pay this price. This legislation ensures that food assistance remains available no matter what happens in Congress, because feeding the American people should never be used as a bargaining chip.”
Bergman, meanwhile, has received the endorsement of President Trump for the 2026 election campaign. Bergman has been in office since 2017.
The UP congressman also called for the new Soo Lock, set to open in 2030, to be named after President Trump.
“He made it happen after 40 years of it just sitting, languishing in Congress,” Bergman said. “Thanks to President Trump, we’ll have a new lock.”
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