Congress leaves town until 2026, letting enhanced Obamacare tax credits expire in two weeks

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, Alison Main, Aileen Graef, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — Congressional Republicans have sent lawmakers home for the holidays without voting to address the Obamacare subsidies cliff that will hit millions of Americans on New Year’s Day — infuriating some of their own rank and file.

“Here we are without a deal enacted, with the subsidies about to expire. I think it’s totally unacceptable. It’s a failure of leadership, honestly, on both sides,” GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said of the enhanced premium subsidies, moments after the House’s final votes Thursday afternoon.

Kiley is among dozens of GOP centrists in the House and Senate who have begged for weeks for their leaders to allow a bipartisan compromise to avert massive financial hardship for people across the country. Starting January 1, as many as 22 million people will see skyrocketing monthly premiums and some will be forced to forgo coverage altogether.

These members have insisted that a GOP-Congress can’t simply let the Covid-era subsidies expire without helping to blunt the impact in some way. But plenty more Republicans argue that it is a Democratic health care program that has failed – and should not be bailed out with more taxpayer dollars.

Internally, Republicans have been consumed by that battle for weeks, ending in no solution ahead of the deadline.

Some House centrists have been particularly vocal — even agreeing to buck Johnson by signing onto a Democratic effort to force a vote on extending the subsidies.

That dramatic move to defy GOP leadership has now set up a showdown when Congress returns from the holidays. By then, the issue may be even more contentious as millions of Americans feel the pain of higher premiums.

That vote is expected to take place the first week of January. Across the Capitol, a group of Senate centrists have been quietly strategizing about how to use that House-passed bill to pass their own compromise measure early next year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a fierce critic of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire in two weeks, did not rule out that option, saying that “there could be a path forward” in the new year to extend them if Democrats are “willing to accept reforms” to that program and embrace other GOP health care policies they have been demanding for years.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican who has called for the subsidies to be extended, said that House bill “could be an opportunity to work on something.”

“I won’t pass the Senate as it is, but it could be a vehicle that you get on to do something,” Hawley said.

Pressed again about his decision on Thursday, Johnson defended the move even as he faces enormous pressure from within the ranks of his conference.

Asked by CNN if he was concerned about the potential of swing-district Republicans losing their seats in the midterms, Johnson said “absolutely not.”

Johnson also defended his decision not to delay recess and vote on the extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies rather than dealing with the issue when they return in January.

“The only way to do that is to go through the rules process and fast forward it. Everybody knows those rules. Everybody knew it all along, and they made the decisions that they made,” he said, rolling his eyes when asked about canceling recess.

The House departed Washington a day earlier than expected, after Republicans successfully passed a narrow health care proposal — which involves reducing costs over coming years but does not address the subsidies cliff — as well as a major energy permitting bill.

“They’re playing a political game,” Johnson added, speaking of the Democrats. “We’re solving problems, and you’ll see that demonstrated in the first part of next year, as well as continuing our affordability agenda. It is the Republican party that has solutions.”

House Republicans hope their health care bill will help neutralize Democratic attacks over the expiring subsidies. That legislation allows small businesses — as well as self-employed people — to band together across industries to buy coverage through association health plans in an effort to lower premiums. It would also, once again, provide federal funding for the cost-sharing subsidies that lower-income Obamacare enrollees receive to reduce their deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for care.

While considered a win for leadership, some Republicans complain it falls woefully short of tackling rising prices in 2026.

The frustration among those GOP centrists has helped fuel a behind-the-scenes bipartisan effort to come up with a compromise bill that can pass both chambers. With enough momentum, they believe they can force Johnson to the table on a solution — even if it comes in January after the subsidies have officially expired.

“To get this done, We need to keep up the pressure,” one Democratic lawmaker involved in the talks said.

GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, one of the members to defy Johnson and back Democrats’ bill, said it is part of a strategy to keep the conversation going in the House.

“Speaker Johnson has committed to working with us, as everybody has seen. He said that publicly, that we will continue to work on health care in the new year,” he said. “I think that this effort, today and yesterday has actually generated more conversation keeping this alive for the new year.”

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