Resolving the Bipartisan Government Shutdown Sentences Americans to Die for the Sake of Profit

Statement passed by the SPUSA National Executive Committee Nov. 12, 2025

After Democrats swept last week's election in all major local and state races, the party was poised to mount a serious challenge to Trumpism and the MAGA agenda. Instead, they have fallen back to their default position – cooperating with the endless Republican effort to chip away at the modest reforms of the Affordable Care Act and plunge millions of American workers into permanent medical debt, substandard health care, and – in many cases – unnecessary suffering and death.

In 2026, massive increases in health insurance costs will affect millions of Americans enrolled in federal insurance exchanges established by the ACA. After ostensibly allowing the government to shut down for over a month to protect the subsidies that will keep health costs within reach for millions of Americans, Senate Democrats voted this week to re-open the government with no deal in place to manage costs. Instead of using their electoral success to build resistance to the MAGA agenda, Congressional Democrats joined with Trump's Republican Party to deliver a crippling blow to over twenty million Americans who will see unbelievable increases in their health insurance costs. The Republican and Democratic Parties once again will jointly sacrifice the working class for the comfort of the wealthy beneficiaries of Trump's tax cuts and insurance companies that profit from Obamacare mandates.

As both parties maneuver to win the messaging game for the sake of their chances in the 2026 midterm elections, the working class will freeze, starve, and die of preventable disease. Even after re-opening the federal government until January, Congress will once again have to begin negotiations on a new deal to keep the government open during 2026. Another round of budget-as-usual will leave over 25 million Americans uninsured, 40 million Americans relying on monthly assistance to afford groceries, and millions more unable to pay their gas and electric bills.

The Socialist Party calls for changes that will take Americans' lives off the table as a bargaining chip, such as a National Health Program, abolition of private insurance, reduced or free utilities, and benefits programs designed to meet 100% of human needs.

Even when Congress is able to work effectively and pass budgets, Americans suffer from a system designed to keep them barely alive for the benefit of billionaires. Workers must join together to support a movement dedicated to the lives of people, not the profit of the capitalist system.