ALBANY, N.Y. – Senator Patricia Fahy (D–Albany) released the following statement today in response to news that several Senate Democrats voted for a GOP deal to reopen the federal government:

“Today, Congressional Republicans got exactly what they wanted: a deal with nothing for working families, nothing for healthcare, and nothing for the millions of Americans who depend on our basic social safety net programs just to make ends meet.

This deal reopens the federal government, but at what cost? The GOP’s deal strips away any guarantee for protecting healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which could leave 15 million Americans with no healthcare at all, and leaves the future of critical programs like New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps 1.5 million working New Yorkers heat their homes in the winter, uncertain.

Even with a deal reached, the Trump administration continues to fight paying states their full SNAP benefits. And, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved payments for the coming winter, House Republicans and the Trump administration have made it clear: they want to eliminate HEAP as proposed in the President’s 2026 budget.

We cannot stand by while extremist Republicans dismantle the safety net piece by piece, and we cannot accept a federal government that treats hunger, cold, and poverty as bargaining chips.

Congressional Republicans and the President forced a government shutdown, forcing the economy into upheaval, and now claim victory with a deal that continues to protect the wealthy while punishing the working poor. New Yorkers deserve better. America deserves better.”

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