House Democrats are eyeing a bipartisan discharge petition led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) over a similar proposal from Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits, though leadership has yet to throw its support behind either measure.
There are two discharge petitions that look to extend the ACA subsidies, which expire at the end of the year: one by Gottheimer and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and the other by Golden and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Both seek to extend the tax credits, though each bill has a different approach to reforming the program.
The petitions come as House Republican leadership has all but refused to entertain an extension of the tax credits, as conservatives have long been opposed to Obamacare. The leaders said they would put healthcare bills on the floor next week, but they are expected to be more messaging-based than actual policy changes.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the Washington Examiner that leadership is “not in favor” of either petition. But that’s not stopping rank-and-file GOP members from pushing their policy priorities.
“You try to do things through the normal course,” Fitzpatrick said. “You try to do things through regular order. All those remedies are exhausted. Then you got to go this route, unfortunately.”
Though a majority of Democratic lawmakers haven’t made a decision on whether to sign one or both, as of now, several in the party are leaning much more in favor of Gottheimer and Kiggans’ bill.
The legislation would include a one-year extension of the credits that includes new income caps and guardrails to crack down on fraud. The bill would also require a vote by July 2026 on other policies that would reduce Americans’ health insurance premiums, as well as create new rules expediting floor time for the consideration of future “enhanced premium tax credit reform bills.”
Fitzpatrick and Golden’s bill would extend the credits to 2027 and seeks to give families more tools to manage their healthcare costs, such as expanding health savings accounts.
A source familiar with both pieces of legislation told the Washington Examiner they are “very similar to the many other efforts” to provide an extension of the COVID-era subsidies.
The bipartisan group for Golden and Fitzpatrick’s bill said they did not seek support from the leadership of either party when bringing this measure forward, with Fitzpatrick telling the Washington Examiner they have still not had conversations with Democratic leadership as of Thursday evening.
Support from Democratic leadership remains up in the air, and they have not offered guidance to their members on whether to vote for one or the other, per sources. In a caucus meeting earlier this morning, both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) had raised concerns that both discharge petitions only extend the subsidies for a short period of time.
Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal (D-MA) told reporters he does not support either petition so far, noting his staff is still going through details.
A discharge petition filed by Jeffries would extend the ACA subsidies for three years, similar to the proposal that got voted down in the Senate earlier on Thursday. The petition has received every Democrat’s signature, but Republicans are all but assured not to join because the minority leader’s proposal does not enact any reforms.
Rep. Brittany Petterson (D-CO) told the Washington Examiner on her way to sign the Kiggans/ Gottheimer petition that her concerns about the bill are that the timeline is too short and it needs clarity on details, but she is “grateful people are trying to find a path.”
The leaders of these petitions would ultimately need Democratic leadership’s support to get the petition to the 218 required signatures. But neither the Democratic nor Republican sponsors sought their approval before introducing their petitions.
“Those conversations can start now,” Golden told reporters, acknowledging the bill doesn’t have full support yet. “Yeah, I don’t seek permission to act first.”
One House Democrat told the Washington Examiner that the caucus would prefer to see something more permanent so we “don’t have a crisis every year.”
“If [Republicans] support the tax credits they should just make them permanent or extend them three years,” the lawmaker said.” Extending it less than that just looks like political cover for themselves.”
As of Thursday evening, Gottheimer and Kiggans’s petition has 35 signatures while Fitzpatrick and Golden’s has 18. Both have attracted bipartisan support, although Gottheimer’s has been seemingly more widely supported by both parties.
But Fitzpatrick told reporters that he and Kiggans introduced two bills and two discharge petitions “intentionally” to give members options.
“I signed hers, she signed mine, I cosponsored hers, she consponsored mine,” he said. “Both are two-party solutions.”
From a policy standpoint, Democrats may be more likely to gravitate toward Kiggans’s and Gottheimer’s bill given that it pushes for higher subsidies and no health savings account (HSA) options. The party has long argued that HSAs do not actually lower premium costs given that the accounts can’t be used to pay for premiums, under current law. Republicans, however, have eyed an expansion or reform to HSAs as a counter to Obamacare to put money in the hands of patients rather than insurance companies.
When asked if he was pushing for his or Kiggans to be considered for a vote by the speaker, Fitzpatrick said “either or.” He acknowledged that some members might be in favor of one or the other based on the details, but providing two options is their effort to try and “find a home for everybody where their most comfortable parking their positions.”
JOHNSON GIVES 10 OPTIONS TO ADDRESS HEALTHCARE COSTS, NONE OF WHICH INVOLVE OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
“It’s all part of a joint effort. Everyone seems to be, like, keeping score. That’s not how we’re viewing it,” the Pennsylvania congressman said.
The Pennsylvania congressman said “we’ll see” when asked if Johnson would put a bill extending the subsidies on the floor next week, saying that was a goal of his and his allies. He said there are “further conversations” to be had about a plan, but he didn’t want to get ahead of the speaker.
