Jeff Crank: 'What is there to compromise on?' with Dems, no ACA subsidy extension in current form

COLORADO SPRINGS — Republican Congressman Jeff Crank, who represents much of El Paso County, sat down with KOAA on Wednesday, Day 23 during the government shutdown.

He represents a large federal civilian and military workforce, which is increasingly on edge as missed paychecks will soon place many in difficult situations.

Rep. Crank addressed many topics related to the shutdown. Summaries of the interview and its topics are below.

WHO’S TO BLAME FOR THE SHUTDOWN?

A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday this week showed President Donald Trump’s approval rating ticking slightly up amongst respondents while 50% blamed Republicans and 43% blamed Democrats for the shutdown.

Congressman Jeff Crank said that doesn’t add pressure to him or Republicans because he voted to keep the government open through what they call a “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR). The so-called clean CR would fund the government at current levels as the long-term budget deal is worked out.

“I appreciate polling. People hopefully are informed when they take a poll,” Rep. Crank said. “I have voted to keep the government open. In the United States Senate, we've got here in Colorado, we've got two US senators who voted 12 times not to open the federal government. We're going to give them a chance hopefully in the next few days to vote on a bill that would pay our military and pay our civilian employees of the federal government that are not furloughed.”

Crank said he hoped the Senate Democrats would “take that deal” and if they didn’t, he said “I think it's very hard to make the case that it's my fault or any Republican's fault when we voted to keep the government open.”

On Thursday, the Senate failed to pass Republican legislation that would have sent paychecks to troops and some federal employees who aren’t furloughed. Three Democrats voted in support, including Georgia’s two senators and Sen. John Fetterman from Pennsylvania.

Democrats instead backed a bill that would have paid all federal workers during the shutdown and block the Trump administration’s reduction-in-force efforts to fire workers during the funding lapse, according to a report from Politico. Republicans blocked that bill.

IS THERE AN END IN SIGHT? WHY AREN’T YOU IN WASHINGTON?

“What I've been doing here is to try and minimize the impacts on our community. I had a meeting, I guess I think it was last week with many of the financial institutions, just talking to them about what are you, what can you do to help our government workers and our military?” Crank said.

• News 5 was at that meeting, and you can watch our previous coverage in the video player below.

He reiterated that he voted with House Republicans on the clean CR and suggested this could end up being the longest shutdown in history. Previously, the government shut down for 35 days in Trump’s first term.

Crank said he’s also spent time at Peterson Space Force Base, where it seemed to him that more soldiers, airmen, and guardians were coming in with food needs.

“The reality is, if I went back to Washington today, what would I do?” Crank said. “We've already passed the bill to open the government. All it needs is five more votes in the United States Senate.”

WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THE 600,000 COLORADANS ABOUT TO MISS SNAP BENEFITS?

This week, the Colorado Department of Human Services announced they’re unable to issue about $120 million of November SNAP benefits until federal funding is restored, saying about 600,000 Coloradans could miss their payment.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps low-income households purchase food. Governor Polis on Wednesday announced he’s requesting $10 million from the state’s Joint Budget Committee from the General Fund to provide emergency food bank assistance.

When asked if that specter was enough to cause Republicans like himself to find a compromise, Rep. Crank stamped out the possibility.

“What is there to compromise on? We passed a clean CR. I mean, should I go pass a dirty CR? Would that be compromise?” he said. “This is something that–what do you compromise on? All we're saying is let's continue funding the government at a certain level.”

Crank reiterated that the SNAP recipients wouldn’t be in this position if the Senate passed the CR.

He sharply criticized Colorado’s two Democratic senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, for refusing to cross the aisle, saying they’re “40% of the vote needed” to open the government.

“We've got two US senators who voted 12 times to not open the government and to not pay those SNAP benefits. That's all it takes,” Crank said. “Pick up the phone. You're welcome to call my office. We have folks who we've deemed essential employees who are there to answer phone calls. I voted to do that,but I'd urge you to pick up the phone and call your senators too.”

During a press call on Wednesday, Democratic Senator Michael Bennet posited the Democratic stance on the issue, saying Republicans need to end the shutdown (by extending healthcare subsidies) to avoid Coloradans going hungry.

“What the Department of Agriculture needs to do is make sure that they use every ounce of their emergency authority to extend those SNAP payments as long as possible,” Sen. Bennet said. “It is another good reason why we should bring this to a conclusion and do it in a way that doesn't disrupt the American people's economic interests, whether it is with regard to healthcare or with SNAP.”

Rep. Crank did reveal that he’d been speaking to El Paso County commissioners to see if they’d be able to provide local support for SNAP beneficiaries come November, since SNAP is administered at the county level.

He said he couldn’t announce anything yet since it’s up to the commissioners, but he was hopeful something would come to fruition.

Crank had asked the county commissioners if there was a reserve account to disperse funds that could then be paid back by the federal government.

“It might entail us getting a commitment from the federal government that when the government reopens, that money will be backfilled,” Crank said. “They don't want to drain down their account to zero and then be left holding the bag, so we're working on lots of those kinds of things.”

WILL YOU EXTEND ACA HEALTHCARE SUBSIDIES?

The heart of the government shutdown are Democrat demands to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which enable millions of Americans to buy health insurance on the open marketplace at a discounted cost.

In Colorado, the insurance commissioner has said up to 100,000 Coloradans were at risk of losing health coverage and hundreds of thousands more would be facing sharp premium increases.

Rep. Crank pointedly said he wasn’t open to extending the current subsidies as they are, saying it subsidizes people and families who are what he considered higher income earners.

“This is really a debate about what we're doing with people who make more money than that 150% of the poverty level. So in some cases they're defending tax breaks for people who are making more money rather than less,” Crank said. “So in their current form, no, I'm not a supporter of extending them. But could we find a way to change it? Yes, I think that there would be a way to probably compromise there so that we can head off some of the increases that they're gonna get.”

According to an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a 60-year-old couple with an annual income at 402% of federal poverty level (about $85,000) could pay a yearly premium of $22,600 in 2026, or about a quarter of their annual income, instead of 8.5% of their income (as established under enhanced PTCs).

Crank also pointed out that sharp premium increases are coming, in part, due to the expiring ACA tax credits, but other factors include a rise in healthcare costs.

This week, 13 House Republicans, including Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd, signed onto a letter urging Speaker Mike Johnson to take up the ACA subsidy issue immediately upon the government reopening. Estimates show that rural areas on Colorado’s Western Slope are likely to get even steeper price hikes. Hurd represents that region.

Crank did not sign onto the letter because he doesn’t “agree to accept them as they are,” meaning the tax credits.

“I would be willing to look at it if there's some reforms to the program, and I think many Republicans feel that way, but you know, Jeff Hurd and I probably disagree on this point,” Crank said. “He may vote for that if they were to bring these up.”

Hurd previously told KOAA he’d vote for a one-year extension, but wanted to ultimately address the high cost of health care.

Crank said he couldn’t commit to doing the same until he saw a proposal, but said he could be convinced on an extension with modifications.

He said a “dirty” CR is off the table and wouldn’t give in to Democratic demands, making a military analogy.

“I'm certainly not calling anybody a terrorist by saying this, but I will say it's why when somebody takes a hostage in a military situation, you don't negotiate with them and give them things because it only leads to more hostage taking, and this is a very similar sort of situation,” said Crank. “Again, let's open the government. We can have those discussions. John Thune has said he'll give a certain date by which they can vote. NowJohn Thune can't guarantee that there'll be the votes to pass it in Congress because we got sent there as a majority to do certain things.”

MILITARY PAYMENTS, TRUMP’S AUTHORITY, AND CONGRESSIONAL PAYCHECKS

Federal civilian employees are set to miss another paycheck on Friday, leading to financial strain with no end in sight for the shutdown.

According to UCCS Economic Forum Director Bill Craighead, federal civilian payrolls in the El Paso County region are more than double the national share.

Craighead said, “Roughly one out of eight paychecks in the Pikes Peak region potentially being delayed by this [shutdown.]”

There are about 14,000 federal civilian employees and 35,000 people in the armed forces in the Pikes Peak region.

President Trump has directed the Pentagon to reallocate unspent funds to pay for one military paycheck thus far.

Though Congress is supposed to hold the “power of the purse,” Rep. Crank said he doesn’t view Trump’s actions as usurping congressional authorities.

“He does have the power to move stuff within departments, some flexibility, and I actually was on the phone that ended up happening on a Saturday morning. We had to get it done by Monday so that it could be processed for a Wednesday payday for our military this last time,” Crank said.

It cost $9 billion to pay soldiers for the last period and Crank said there aren’t many places to find that kind of unspent money. The funds were ultimately taken from unobligated research and development accounts in the Pentagon.

Crank said it’s at one’s own "political peril” to challenge the president’s authority on the issue of troop payments.

“He's prohibited from taking it from another agency and giving it to the Department of Defense, but they do have some power within the administration to do that,” said Crank. “But look, I'm not going to be the guy that's fighting the president for paying our troops. I mean, he should do whatever he needs to do to get our troops paid.”

Crank said he directed the House to withhold his own Congressional pay during the shutdown.