Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing back against House Speaker Mike Johnson as more than 20 million Americans risk losing their health insurance.
But they aren’t ready to collaborate with Democrats to fix the problem yet.
A handful of Republicans in swing districts have signed onto two discharge petitions to temporarily extend the expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace for two years. The tax credits expire at the end of the month.
If they earn 218 signatures, they can force a vote without the consent of House Republican leadership. Johnson on Tuesday criticized the idea of extending the credits as the House prepares to vote on its health care bill.
“This is not some solution to the problem,” Johnson told reporters at his weekly press conference. “It’s just adding more money, further subsidizing the broken system, and the subsidies go to insurance companies. They’re not trying to solve the cost problem.”
But many Republicans in tough re-elections fear that if they do not extend the subsidies, they could pay a price. Republicans hope that they could receive an amendment to extend the subsidies in the Republican bill that will receive a vote later this week.
“The underlying Republican bill is a good one that helps tackle the long term costs of health care, but there are a number of us Republicans who want a good short-term answer to the expiry of the tax credits,” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told reporters.
Other Republicans leading the charge include Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jen Kiggans of Virginia, both of whom represent districts that Democrats want to flip.
“It does seem to me that Fitzpatrick and Kiggans recognize the need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he told reporters on Friday. “We just need to find the common ground that’s consistent with our values.”
Currently, two discharge petitions exist to extend the credits temporarily. But House Democratic leadership, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, so far has only endorsed extending the tax credits for three years, which is a nonstarter for Republicans.
Rep. Mike Lawler, one of only three Republicans who represent a district that voted for Kamala Harris, told The Independent that his group has “more than enough Republican signatures, so if Hakeem Jeffries would lead his caucus to actually advance the bill,” then it would pass.
But neither discharge petition has received enough signatures to get a floor vote. The House will leave at the end of this week for the holidays and not reconvene until the beginning of January.
“It tells me that they're interested in the politics of this, not in solving the problem,” LaLota said. “ They should get on that bill if they are serious about solving their constituents’ problems.”
Even if the legislation passes in the House, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Many Senate Republicans want to transfer the money into health savings accounts and the Senate held a vote last week to do so, which failed because of Democratic opposition.
Still, some Democrats, also from swing districts, have signed onto the discharge petitions.
“We need to bring that tax credit back at least temporarily, until we find better solutions,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) told The Independent.
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