Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly was part of a group of 14 senators that created the bipartisan Senate bill to end the partial government shutdown.
“This is about the jobs in Indiana, it is about our families making ends meet, it is about or economy and it’s about our nation’s reputation,” he said in the opening statements of a telephone press conference Wednesday.
Donnelly worked with seven republicans, five democrats and one independent. They spent several weeks finding a way to work across the aisle and create a plan that raises the debt ceiling, to which both parties can agree.
He said in order to make a deal work, they made concessions. He wanted to take the “medical device tax” out of the Affordable Care Act.
According to the irs.gov, the medical device excise tax is a 2.3-percent cost increase that manufacturers and importers will pay on sales of certain medical devices.
The ACA was only one of many contentions between lawmakers on both sides that led to the partial government shutdown, although it was politicians that ultimately allowed a shutdown.
“It wasn’t the health care act that caused [the shutdown], it was the way that some people approached this,” Donnelly said. “The root of [the shutdown] was members of Congress trying to use [a disagreement] as an excuse to shut down the government.”
Donnelly said he uses his position as an Indiana representative to focus on Indiana and Hoosier jobs, and he doesn’t understand how partisan arguments led to a government shutdown.
“This is not about Democrats or Republicans; it is about America,” he said. “It never made any sense to me that we wound up in this situation in the first place.”
The bill itself will raise the national debt ceiling and require budget negotiations to begin Dec. 13. This push back measure, instead of a permanent solution, has led to concerns that the government may have the same trouble passing a budget in December.
“Look, this is not about anything other than making sure our nation [and] the people of our country are protected,” Donnelly said.
He ended the press conference by reminding Hoosiers that they are, ultimately, the individuals who decide the fate of the country.
“When you vote, you make these kinds of decisions on who you want to represent you,” Donnelly said. “[You vote for] someone who wants to bring the country together or someone who wants to divide the country.”
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