WASHINGTON — The House narrowly passed Republicans’ health care package on Wednesday, a mostly symbolic vote as lawmakers engage in bipartisan negotiations behind the scenes to address the expiring Obamacare subsidies separately.
Lawmakers voted mostly along party lines to advance the framework through the lower chamber, although it’s unlikely to get a vote in the Senate before Congress adjourns for the holiday recess. Even then, it’s unclear if the Senate will consider the measure due to Democratic opposition — and emerging plans for a bipartisan deal elsewhere.
Talks between the House and Senate kicked into high gear on Wednesday after four Republicans signed on to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ discharge petition to extend the tax credits for three years, a proposal that has been adamantly opposed by Republican leadership. The support pushes the petition past the 218 signatures required to force a vote — notching a major win for Democrats in the lingering health care fight.
That vote will take place in January, but negotiators are discussing ways to amend the bill to make it more amenable for both parties.
Details are not yet clear, but senators and House members met on Wednesday behind closed doors to consider options. One suggestion was to pass the Democratic petition for a three-year clean extension, but later replace that language in the Senate with a more concrete framework, according to a lawmaker involved in the talks.
That final package would likely extend the tax credits temporarily while also including tighter enrollment eligibility requirements to satisfy Republican demands.
How we got here
The GOP rebellion comes after a major fallout between House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and moderate Republicans due to disagreements on how to pay for the health care credits. Republican leaders initially promised centrists an amendment vote on temporarily extending the ACA credits that could be attached to their larger package reforming the health care system as a whole.
But after talks over the weekend, those plans were scrapped over disagreements on how to offset the costs of the extended subsidies, according to a source familiar with the talks.
After an intense meeting with the speaker on Tuesday — which resulted in raised voices and exchanges heard by reporters in the hallway — moderate Republicans pushed ahead with plans to force a vote on their amendment by introducing it to the powerful House Rules Committee, which sets the parameters on debate and procedure for nearly every piece of legislation that is brought to the floor.
Those amendments were shot down by Republicans on the committee, prompting the moderates to warn of retaliation.
“There will be consequences if these amendments are not made in order,” Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the first Republican to sign the petition, said in the Rules meeting. “I think the only thing worse than a clean extension — without any income limits and any reforms, because it’s not a perfect system — the only thing worse than that would be expiration.”
The other three Republicans to sign on to the petition include Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania.
But leaders are pushing back against characterizations that the rebellion is a sign of Republicans “losing control” of their own members. Instead, they say they are still exploring options.
“We’re working through very complex issues, as we do here all the time, and it’s good,” Johnson said. “We’re keeping the productive conversation going.”
The Obamacare subsidies are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, after which millions of Americans will be at risk of having their health care premiums skyrocket in the new year.