Pennsylvania's U.S. House members vote on party lines as shutdown ends and health care battle lingers

WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s U.S. House lawmakers voted along party lines in a successful effort to reopen the government Wednesday night, concluding the six-week saga that became the longest shutdown in history.

Republicans on Capitol Hill were celebrating what House Speaker Mike Johnson called the end of a “long national nightmare” that left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and millions of Americans without financial assistance for food.

Democrats — including Pittsburgh-area U.S. Reps. Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio — also lamented the effects of the shutdown while rejecting the deal to end it. They said the agreement did nothing to resolve the looming spike in health care premiums for people who get their insurance through the marketplace.

The deal ultimately p