Senate Democrats have little time to cobble together a bill extending premium Obamacare subsidies with no guarantee that the legislation can pass, a bitter pill to swallow after weeks spent fighting with Republicans over healthcare.

There are just three weeks when the Senate is in session before mid-December, when Republicans committed to holding a vote on the subsidies as part of a shutdown deal. The vote was a meager concession as Republicans are not willing to promise the bill will get through Congress or be signed into law.