What specific budget proposals are Democrats offering to end the 2025 government shutdown?

1. What Democrats are explicitly proposing to reopen the government — a practical stopgap with health at its heart

Democratic proposals to end the shutdown focus on a Continuing Resolution framework that would temporarily fund agencies and extend discrete programs while Congress finishes full appropriations. The centerpiece is a one-year extension of the pandemic-era premium tax credits (enhanced ACA subsidies) to prevent a “health care cliff,” which Democrats argue would protect millions of enrollees and stabilize premiums; party leaders are packaging that extension alongside extensions for community health centers, the Medicare-Dependent Hospital program, and veterans’ health authorities ^{[3] [2]}. Democrats’ continuing text also lists funding and program extensions for cybersecurity grants, teaching health centers, and commodity programs — indicating a strategy of bundling broadly popular, targeted measures to secure moderate votes needed to pass a short-term funding vehicle ^[3].

2. The legislative text Democrats have circulated — details and scope of the continuing resolution

Democratic text titled the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026, lays out temporary appropriations across Defense, HHS, VA and other agencies while extending discrete authorities such as Special Diabetes Programs, the National Health Service Corps, and the Defense Production Act authority. The bill intentionally includes program-specific extensions — from Essential Air Service to Food for Peace — to make the CR act as a bridge for operations while bigger negotiations continue. Democrats’ language also aims to prevent unilateral executive withholding by limiting Office of Management and Budget discretion and proposing an OMB inspector general to increase oversight, signaling that their offer is not only about money but about guardrails on implementation ^{[3] [2]}.

3. Republicans’ counteroffers and the bargaining posture — what’s on the table from the GOP side

Republicans have not embraced Democratic multi-issue CR text; instead they’ve proposed narrower solutions and signaled willingness to permit an up-or-down vote only on extending the expanded Obamacare subsidies, not on a broader continuing resolution. Senate GOP leaders, including John Thune, acknowledge the need for a stopgap with a possible January end date, which could allow Democrats input, but GOP negotiators have emphasized fiscal limits and offsets and pushed for scaled-down subsidy proposals with income caps floated as alternatives. That posture forces Democrats to weigh accepting a narrow, time-limited fix for health subsidies against insisting on a broader CR that addresses SNAP, veterans programs, and oversight provisions they have tied to reopening ^{[1] [4] [5]}.

4. Fiscal and coverage consequences Democrats emphasize — CBO-like estimates and priorities

Democratic advocacy leans heavily on projected coverage and fiscal impacts of extending the premium tax credits: their own estimates and independent projections suggest extension would increase insured numbers and raise deficits over a multi-decade window. The Congressional Budget Office-style estimates cited in Democratic briefings indicate an extension could add about 3.8 million insured people and increase the deficit by roughly $350 billion by 2035, figures Democrats use to argue for short-term stabilization while seeking offsets or future negotiations on cost containment ^[2]. Democrats present these figures to frame the extension as immediate consumer protection and to justify bundling health supports with temporary appropriations for other high-priority programs.

5. Political calculations shaping Democratic offers — midterms, messaging, and presidential involvement

Democrats are conscious that the shutdown and healthcare fight will shape the 2026 midterms; party strategists and lawmakers are therefore prioritizing proposals that protect voters’ health coverage and nutrition assistance, while also highlighting GOP responsibility for the impasse. Some Democratic moderates — a group of eight senators referenced in reporting — are actively negotiating but insist on strong assurances from Republicans and the White House before voting to reopen the government ^[4]. Reports indicate President Trump has signaled openness to health-cost negotiations once the government reopens, which Democrats view skeptically; several Democratic senators say their support will hinge on enforceable commitments and not mere verbal assurances ^{[4] [5]}.

6. What’s missing from public offers and the open questions that could decide the outcome

Key omissions remain in public Democratic proposals: precise offsets for the cost of the subsidy extension, exact enforcement language around OMB limitations, and the full text of any bipartisan compromise on SNAP timelines or eligibility changes. Democrats have prioritized program extensions and oversight provisions in their CR text, but the lack of a confirmed presidential sign-off or binding Republican commitments on offsets means the package’s final shape depends on closed-door deals. If Republicans stick to a narrow subsidy-only vote and refuse broader CR items, Democrats will face a choice between a limited, immediate fix or holding out for a more comprehensive bridge that includes the oversight and program protections they have publicly demanded ^{[1] [3] [2]}.