House Votes To Extend Obamacare Subsidies For Another Three Years

The House voted to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act for another three years, and the proposal now heads to the Senate.

The legislation made it to the floor after four Republicans joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition, and 17 Republicans ultimately ended up voting with the Democrats on the extension.

Those Republicans were Reps. Rob Bresnahan, Mike Carey, Monica De La Cruz, Brian Fitzpatrick, Andrew Garbarino, Jeff Hurd, David Joyce, Tom Kean, Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Ryan Mackenzie, Max Miller, Zach Nunn, Maria Elvira-Salazar, David Valadao, Derrick Van Orden, and Rob Wittman, according to Punchbowl News.

The successful discharge petition and subsequent passage is seen as a major victory for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

“The House just decisively passed legislation that restores the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Over the objection of Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson. If you don’t know, now you know,” Jeffries posted to X after the vote.

Lawler (R-NY) said in a statement that his vote suggests a “commitment to a bipartisan solution.”

“Healthcare affordability is not a political issue; it is a governing responsibility. My signature on the discharge for this bill, and my affirmative vote today, is not an endorsement of a clean 3-year extension, but rather a commitment to a bipartisan solution,” Lawler wrote. “I look forward to working with and voting on a Senate-amended bipartisan compromise in the weeks ahead. My focus is always ensuring Hudson Valley families aren’t caught in the gridlock, and that doesn’t change today.”

On the Senate side, Axios reported that there could be a bipartisan deal in the works that would continue the pandemic-era subsidies for another two years.

The lengthy government shutdown in the fall had to do largely with Democrats seeking an extension of the subsidies as a precondition to keeping the government open. Now, the government is set to shutter again if a budget is not passed, but the House also passed some spending bills on Thursday to avoid another shutdown. There are still other bills needing to be worked out in Congress to completely avoid another shutdown, The New York Times reported.