Pressure continues to grow in Washington D.C. on ending the second-longest government shutdown in American history. According to the Associated Press, 1.3 million active-duty service members are at risk of missing paychecks on Friday, though a combination of a private donor and funding shifts within the War Department and Department of Homeland Security may ensure that those payments are made. The United States Department of Agriculture announced on Monday that 42 million Americans will not receive their food assistance program dollars on time for November. Democrats and Republicans continue to point fingers at each other when it comes to who is to blame for the government shutdown, which reached 28 days on Tuesday. Both sides of the aisle are using healthcare as their main talking point in their arguments. Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson weathered several questions on affordable healthcare during his semi-regular teletown hall on Monday. Johnson blames the Affordable Care Act for driving up premiums and deductibles across the country and says the enhanced tax subsidies that Democrats are fighting for are to mask the failure of the policy. He believes introducing consumerism into health care could be part of the antidote that cures the ills of the healthcare system.

Wisconsin U.S. Tammy Baldwin renewed her talking points on behalf of the 275,000 Wisconsinites she says will see their premiums increase by thousands of dollars each year for a family of four if the subsidies are not extended.  “ I’ve talked to many of these families and small business owners who are downright scared about what the future holds. At a time when Wisconsin families are desperate for a little bit of breathing room, Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans continue to jack up costs on ordinary Americans while giving handouts to billionaires and big corporations,” said Senator Baldwin.  Another vote to end the shutdown was scheduled for Tuesday morning.