Hey, everyone. It's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bullwork. This is a Bullwark take interview with Senator Gene Shaheen of the great state of New Hampshire, where I went to college. So I feel some affinity for New Hampshire, as always. Senator, thanks.

Did you get an harvest, I assume?

Yes, I did, and I appreciate it. I take the assumption very pleasantly. Thank you very much. It's a great school.

Senator, I want to talk to you about what's happening on the Hill today. And then I want to talk to you about what's happening overseas.

But let's start with the Hill because your chamber and the House are both engaged in this debate over what to do with the Obamacare subsidies.

The reason that this debate is happening is

because you were part of a group of Democrats that made the decision to open the government,

or reopen the government, I should say, without a deal in the Obamacare exchanges. At the time,

it was a very contentious decision to take that vote and to reopen the government, but now that

the issue of subsidies for

Obamacare is front and center, do you feel vindicated with your vote?

Well, I think we made the point that people were going to see a huge increase in the enhanced

premium tax credits if Republicans didn't act. And when they passed the big betrayal bill, as I call it, in the summer we tried to get an

extension of those premium tax credits, which they did not approve.

And so we wanted to point out that it was going to mean a huge increase for those people who

rely on those premium tax credits and result in about

4 million people losing their health insurance, and that will have ripple effects across the whole

health care system. So I think that point was made during the shutdown. We thought it was important

to be able to ensure that there is a vote so that people

will know who's responsible for the fact that those tax, if those tax credits don't get extended,

and they'll be able to hold our Republican colleagues accountable in the elections next year.

So the votes coming up in a matter of days, maybe a day.

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