EPA’s largest union is calling on lawmakers to reopen the federal government but with backing for health care, the main sticking point in shutdown negotiations.
American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents over 8,000 EPA employees, said Monday that any deal to end the lapse in appropriations should include “funding for healthcare.” So far, Democrats have rejected the Republican short-term spending patch that would open agencies as they push for Obamacare premium tax credits to be renewed.
“The U.S. government must be fully funded immediately, and that has to include funding for healthcare,” said Justin Chen, the union’s president, in a statement.
Chen added, “The very foundation of EPA’s mission is to protect human health. We cannot build a healthy nation while denying Americans the right to access affordable healthcare.”
