Democrats push for last-minute vote on expiring health care subsidies

Washington — House Democrats called on GOP leaders to hold a last-minute vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits on Thursday as lawmakers are poised to head home for the holidays without addressing the expiring subsidies.

"We're demanding a vote today on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits today — not tomorrow, not next week, not next month — today," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

Around 22 million Americans who purchase their health insurance through Affordable Care Act exchanges face a steep premium increase in the new year with the expiration of the enhanced tax credits on Dec. 31. And despite weeks of debate on Capitol Hill over the issue, which was at the center of the shutdown fight that ended last month, lawmakers have been unable to reach a resolution.

Speaking alongside House Democrats on the steps of the Capitol on Thursday morning, Jeffries and his leadership team cited his discharge petition, which reached the 218-signature threshold needed to force a vote on the tax credits a day earlier. Four moderate Republicans signed onto the petition Wednesday after days of back and forth on the GOP health care strategy, breaking with their party leadership to back the measure.

"We have the votes, we have the momentum," Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said. "We have the American people on our side. Let's not waste another second."

But even with the success of the petition, a vote on extending the ACA tax credits isn't expected until the chamber reconvenes in January, since seven legislative days must elapse before a discharge motion can be brought to the floor. House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a "rule that cannot be broken."

"That's the rule," Johnson said Wednesday. "There's no way around that."

Still, Democrats urged Johnson to act sooner. "Under no circumstances should the House of Representatives adjourn until we successfully extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for tens of millions of Americans," Jeffries said.

Johnson does have the authority to move the process along. Last month, when another small group of Republicans broke with their leaders to sign onto a discharge petition to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, Johnson moved quickly to hold a vote on the underlying bill.

But the speaker indicated that Republicans don't intend to address the health care issue until the new year. Johnson told reporters Wednesday that the measure will be considered during the first week of January upon the House's return, calling it "inevitable." He added that Republicans plan to hold additional votes on their health care policies when they return.

"We'll be back in January to do much more of this," Johnson said.

House GOP leaders canceled votes for Friday after the chamber on Wednesday approved a health care bill that Republicans say would lower health insurance premiums for Americans, but does not include an extension of the expiring ACA tax credits.

Though imminent action appears out of the question, the movement on the discharge petition seemed to add momentum to a bipartisan effort to reach a health care compromise. After a meeting between so-called "problem solvers" in both the House and Senate on Wednesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed optimism about a solution.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, told CBS News that the discharge petition in the House "gives momentum to the bipartisan work that we've been trying to advance on the Senate side." She said she expects health care discussions will continue between both chambers over the holiday break. And the discharge petition could serve as a vehicle for an extension of the tax credits with some reforms, should moderate lawmakers reach a compromise.

In the upper chamber, senators rejected a clean three-year extension of the enhanced ACA tax credits just last week. But a number of Republicans have expressed interest in extending the credits, as long as some reforms are made to the program.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune Wednesday to bring up the extension if it passes the House.

Schumer noted that every Democrat voted for a three-year extension last week. He added that if the measure passes the House, "we hope Thune would put it on the floor and let it pass."

Thune was noncommittal about whether the Senate would take up a bill to extend the ACA subsidies for three years if it passes the House, noting Wednesday morning to reporters that he didn't expect a vote this week.

Last month, the Senate quickly approved a bill to force the release of the Epstein files after a discharge petition prompted a vote in the House. But Thune told reporters that the Epstein and health care issues are "very different," predicting that while the Epstein measure had near unanimous support in the lower chamber, the health care vote would likely be a partisan one.

Meanwhile, President Trump reiterated his support for sending funds "directly to the people" to buy their own health care on Thursday, suggesting that the change could implemented rapidly to address health care costs.

On the rising premiums that millions of Americans face in the new year with the expiration of the ACA tax credits, the president said "they will skyrocket because it was never any good."

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