Senate rejects measures meant to lower the cost of gas, groceries

Source: USA Today

Updated April 23, 2026, 11:34 a.m. ET


WASHINGTON – In a flurry of rapid-fire votes, most Senate Republicans spurned a group of measures Democrats said would lower everyday costs for Americans while separately moving to approve $70 billion for immigration enforcement.

In the early-morning hours April 23, Democrats tried to attach a series of amendments to a federal budget blueprint. Their legislation, they said, would have ultimately brought down rates for gas, groceries, health care and school meals by creating reserve funds, blocking future price-hiking bills and reversing food stamp cuts. GOP lawmakers accused their counterparts of orchestrating political stunts and said they were prolonging the record-long shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

The "vote-a-rama" was one of the most significant, though futile, pieces of political leverage at Democrats' disposal in a bitter, monthslong fight over immigration enforcement since the killings of two Minnesotans by federal officers in January. Though the measures failed to move forward, they represented some politically tough votes for members of the opposing party, especially during a consequential midterm election year that could swing control of Congress to Democrats in November.

Notably, two Republicans facing reelection in purple states − Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska − threw their support behind some efforts to curb out-of-pocket medical expenses and grocery prices. "Democrats are standing up for the American people," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said on the Senate floor.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/23/senate-iran-war-health-care-groceries-costs-democrats/89743655007/