A specific list of what the Democrats want funded in the CR?

Executive summary: Democrats are asking the continuing resolution (CR) to preserve funding for core social programs and government operations rather than endorsing deep cuts; their publicly stated priorities repeatedly emphasize healthcare subsidies, Medicaid protections, education, veterans’ benefits, law enforcement, national security, and targeted foreign aid restorations. Reporting and Democratic statements across March–November 2025 show consistent themes but not a single exhaustive checklist: some Democratic drafts and letters specify program categories and funding principles, while others are high-level calls for full-year bills and protection of existing investments ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

1. How Democrats frame their funding demands — protecting American families, not policy experiments. Democratic leaders frame their CR position as a defensive effort to safeguard existing programs rather than to add large new initiatives, urging Congress to pass full-year appropriations that "invest in America's families and future" and to reject partisan short-term packages that would strip prior commitments ^{[5] [2]}. These statements repeatedly name healthcare access, Medicare and Medicaid protections, veterans’ services, education, and core public safety as priorities, indicating Democrats want CR language that preserves last year’s spending baselines and key program eligibility rather than reopening major entitlement policy debates. Democratic letters and leadership memos emphasize process — full-year bills over stopgap measures — which functions as both policy preference and leverage in appropriations negotiations ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Concrete items Democrats have publicly pushed to include or defend in CR talks. Across the documents reviewed, Democrats have specifically pushed to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, block Medicaid cuts, protect veterans’ health and benefits, and maintain funding for public schools and law enforcement, while opposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare to finance tax giveaways ^{[3] [1]}. On foreign assistance, Democrats sought restoration of roughly $5 billion in international aid funding, though Democratic proposals typically did not list every recipient project and resisted framing the request as payments for specific country programs ^[6]. Some CR drafts tied funding authorizations to continuity of fiscal year 2025 programs and limited new starts pending full appropriations ^{[7] [8] [4]}.

3. What the public record leaves vague — no single, itemized Democratic “shopping list.” Multiple Democratic communications and draft CR texts do not present a line-by-line shopping list; instead they present categories and principles, asking that current program levels and critical benefits remain funded and that Congress pass full-year bills for FY2026 ^{[2] [5] [8]}. Where specifics appear, they are program classes (healthcare subsidies, Medicaid, veterans’ services, education) or dollar totals for broad buckets like foreign aid restorations; fact-checking reporting notes Democrats’ proposals often avoided naming every project or country for restored foreign aid and focused on the aggregate funding and objectives ^{[6] [4]}. That difference between categorical defense and line-item advocacy is central to the confusion in public debate.

4. How competing narratives shape perceptions — agendas and political signaling. Republicans frame Democratic requests as eagerness to fund controversial foreign projects or to preserve expansive domestic spending, while Democrats frame their stance as defensive protection of benefits relied upon by millions; each side uses selective specifics to bolster political messaging ^{[6] [2]}. Media summaries and shutdown negotiation accounts show Democrats offering tradeoffs — such as a temporary CR in exchange for a one-year extension of ACA credits — which demonstrates pragmatic bargaining rather than ideological maximalism ^{[9] [3]}. Observers should note the political incentives: Democrats emphasize protections for vulnerable constituencies and existing programs; Republicans emphasize fiscal restraint and targeting foreign aid as leverage, so reported “lists” often reflect messaging choices rather than comprehensive legislative text ^{[2] [9]}.

5. Bottom line — clear priorities, but no definitive line-item ledger in public documents. The verifiable pattern across March–November 2025 sources is that Democrats consistently seek to preserve healthcare subsidies and Medicaid, maintain education and veterans funding, protect Social Security/Medicare, and restore certain foreign aid appropriations while pushing for full-year appropriations rather than repeated stopgaps ^{[1] [3] [4]}. However, public Democratic publications and draft CR texts emphasize categories and process over an exhaustive item-by-item schedule, which creates room for dispute over what “funded” means in negotiation. For policymakers and analysts, the prudent step is to consult the actual CR text and appropriations offers on the table — the summaries and letters show priorities but not every specific earmark or project list ^{[7] [6]}.