The shutdown has ended, but its ramifications live on.

The Republican majority exerted unprecedented pressure on the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP to help pay for food. Children, workers, and families were forced to make impossible choices just to get by—and used as pawns to further partisan priorities that threaten our democracy.

It is time for Congress to put people over politics, as we said in our letter to the House.

The main cause of the shutdown remains unresolved: the impending expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for 22 million Americans—small businesses, entrepreneurs, and others whose employers don’t offer or help pay for coverage. Three-quarters of Americans want Congress to renew the subsidies, according to the latest non-partisan KFF Health Tracking Poll.

Long-term funding for most of the government, including the Department of Education, remains unresolved as well.

The continuing resolution passed last week funds the government through Jan. 30 and provides back pay for federal workers, contractors, and military-connected educators represented by NEA’s affiliate, the Federal Education Association. It also includes a minibus comprising the 2026 Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch appropriations bills.

But these gains do not outweigh the harm that has been done. Nor do they defuse the ticking time bomb of skyrocketing health-care costs.

Millions of Americans are losing health insurance—and forgoing necessary care—because they can no longer afford it. According to KFF, employer-sponsored coverage for a family of four now costs $26,000 a year on average. If the subsidies continue, premiums on ACA marketplaces will rise by 26% on average; without the subsidies, premiums will more than double, rising by 114% on average.

On Election Day, voters across the country sent lawmakers a clear message: Focus on making the basics affordable—food, housing, and health care.

Tell Congress what you think!

In Solidarity,