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Imagine you are about to buy the house of your dreams. Both parties have something the other wants, but without ever working to reach an agreement with you, the seller hands you a contract far exceeding the original asking price, and says “sign here,” and if you don’t, they set the house on fire and blame you for arson.

This take-it-or-leave-it attitude is what led to the shutdown of the federal government when it ran out of money on Oct. 1.

Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House, and instead of working in a bipartisan way to avert a shutdown, they chose a strategy that guaranteed one. Shutdowns are harmful, costly, and disruptive. Because Republicans know that Democrats care deeply about our federal workforce and communities, they thought they could shove a contract in our face and force us to sign a blank check for Donald Trump.

There was no way I could support their partisan spending bill. I’d like to explain why and what else is at stake.

The House Republican strategy all year has been to “go it alone” because they control the House and have the majority required to pass laws and funding bills. The Republican majority in the Senate, however, needs a handful of Democratic votes to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the government because of the filibuster. Instead of collaborating with Democrats to pass a short-term bill that both parties could agree to, Senate Republicans pushed the contract across the table to Senate Democrats and said, “sign here.”

This impasse is about your health care and about Trump following the law.

For months, Democrats have been sounding the alarm about the health care crisis Republicans created when they slashed funding for Medicaid. It’s about to get worse with the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans. Without those tax credits, many Americans who buy their health insurance through the ACA won’t be able to afford coverage. Those tax credits expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts quickly to renew them.

In Texas, renewal notices will soon go out, and if allowed to expire, 92,000 El Pasoans will see their premiums skyrocket, and half will lose their health care altogether.  Data provided by the House Budget Committeeshows that in El Paso, for a family of four earning $129,800, their premiums will increase by $9,073 (86%).  A family of four earning $64,000 a year will see their premiums increase by $2,571 (263%), and for a 60 year-old couple earning $82,800 a year, their annual premiums will increase by $17,290 (265%).

Congress can prevent this. Americans are already paying more for groceries because of Trump tariffs and higher utility costs because of Trump and Republicans’ cancellation of clean energy subsidies. Layer that on top of these soon-to-be soaring insurance costs and millions of Americans — including thousands of El Pasoans — will be plunged further into economic crisis.

This will create real suffering for people in our community. Cancer patients, expectant moms, people with chronic health conditions will lose their insurance because they can’t afford it, and it will be nearly impossible for them to access the health care they need.

Republicans continue to spread the lie that Democrats are fighting for free health care for undocumented people. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and they are also ineligible for Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Secondly, Democrats want language in the funding to require Trump to follow the law and administer the funds as Congress directed. He cannot simply end programs, move money or fire people as he has been doing. As one of my Republicans colleagues, Rep. Steve Womack said: “If you’re a Democrat — even just like a mainstream Democrat — your predisposition might be to help negotiate with Republicans on a funding mechanism. Why would you do that if you know that whatever you negotiate is going to be subject to the knife pulled out by Russ Vought?” (Vought is Trump’s Office of Management and Budget Director, and author of Project 2025).

These are not normal times. Normally, both sides come together to agree on a bill and avoid a shutdown. That didn’t happen, and it needs to immediately.

None of this makes the pain of a shutdown easier, and my team and I worked to create a resource page for the public and federal employees with information we hope is helpful. Among the resources are zero-interest loans to furloughed federal employees through many of our local credit unions, as well as resources from utility companies. Our offices in El Paso and Washington will remain open to help constituents with federal agencies and other issues that arise during a shutdown. To view my full resource page, please visit escobar.house.gov/shutdown.

It is my hope that Republicans recognize that Americans are hurting, the economy is not doing well, and forcing Americans off their health care will exacerbate the economic crisis hard-working citizens are living through. And I hope those Republicans who privately complain about Trump’s illegal funding cuts will find the courage to stand up with us for the constitution.

Republicans control all of government, and their “go-it-alone” strategy is not appropriate. It’s time for bipartisan compromise.