FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2025
CONTACT: press@opportunitywisconsin.org
House votes to end the government shutdown without addressing affordability crisis created by Republicans
Following the government shutdown, Wisconsin families are still facing skyrocketing health care costs, rising prices from tariffs, and devastating Medicaid and SNAP cuts – all backed by Congressmen Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden
MADISON, Wis. – After the House voted tonight to end the government shutdown, Opportunity Wisconsin called on Congressmen Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden to urgently address the affordability crisis they’ve created as health care, food, and energy costs continue to increase.
"While the Republican shutdown crisis is over, costs of health care, groceries, and energy prices will continue to skyrocket. The pain they caused to millions of families during the shutdown is just a preview of what's to come unless they address the devastating cuts that Congressmen Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden have voted for," said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. "Earlier this year, Steil and Van Orden voted to slash funding for SNAP and Medicaid, threatening access to care and food for so many Wisconsin families. Along with costly tariffs – which they’ve also voted for – there’s no end in sight to this affordability crisis unless they act. It’s time to permanently extend health care tax credits and reverse harmful cuts that are sending prices soaring for working families."
The government shutdown disrupted food assistance for nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites who use the SNAP/FoodShare program. These threats to food assistance come on top of massive cuts to the program from the Republican Tax Law earlier this year, all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.
“As one of the many Wisconsinites who relies on SNAP to afford food, this shutdown has highlighted how critical these benefits are and the risks of jeopardizing access to this program. Unfortunately, although the government is set to reopen, Republicans in Congress have already done tremendous damage to this program with the cuts they voted for earlier this year,” said Isra Canada from Eau Claire. “The shutdown crisis exposed how vulnerable members of our community are. This is exactly why Republicans in Congress need to reverse these cuts and work to lower costs for everyone before more families suffer.”
Meanwhile, health care premiums are still set to more than double in 2026 as Republicans refuse to permanently extend health care tax credits that help 26,000 people in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District and 30,000 people in the 3rd District afford coverage. With the tax credits set to expire at the end of December, and families already receiving notices of increased premiums, time is running out for Republicans to act.
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