Moderate House Republicans seeking an extension of the boosted Obamacare subsidies are stepping into a high-stakes political moment.
In the wake of a record-breaking government shutdown, these House GOP lawmakers will need to plot a way over the next few weeks to overcome their conference’s widespread distaste for the enhanced premium tax credits. Speaker Mike Johnson has made it clear he can’t guarantee a bill extending the subsidies makes it to the floor, even if the Senate is able to pass legislation.
For weeks, the shutdown has cooled — but not stopped — House activity around the Obamacare cliff. The House has been out of session since Sept. 19.
But there have been some talks between a few House Republicans and senators amid the funding fight. And lawmakers put forward several new bipartisan proposals to extend the credits with reforms to court GOP support. Those include income caps and measures to crack down on fraud.
House GOP backers could propose additional options for extensions with these sorts of reforms. They could also go further to address the credits being paid through insurance companies. President Donald Trump recently seized on that complaint.
Getting a vote. Still, the biggest problem for these House Republicans is finding a path to the floor.
There’s been some chatter about a discharge petition option among House GOP moderates, but there haven’t been serious discussions about that tactic yet.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said Democrats may push a discharge petition. Jeffries told reporters Tuesday night he hadn’t had any conversations with Republicans about it.
The best option for House Republicans will likely be trying to build momentum around any Senate deal to extend the credits. So it benefits these GOP members to make their ideas known now, as Senate backers hope to craft a bill with a shot of passing the House.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised a December vote on the issue as part of the deal to reopen the government.
It’s worth noting that the House Republicans who back an Obamacare subsidy extension have a lot at stake. Many of them represent swing seats, something Trump and GOP leaders can’t ignore after the Nov. 4 Democratic wipeout. They’re feeling political pressure over rising health care costs. Democrats put a huge spotlight on that pain point with the shutdown fight.
Key Republicans also say they want to work on a broader health care package, but that’s an even more complicated task.
Senate state-of-play. Senate Democrats, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), were already exchanging proposals with Republicans for an extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies as of Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Ten GOP Senate offices have been in touch with Shaheen, a lead backer of the extension effort, according to sources involved in the talks. That includes Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Cassidy told us HELP will hold hearings on the issue soon.
Shaheen has expressed openness to key changes Republicans want, including income caps and requiring minimum payments to decrease fraud.
“If we want to get a bill that has bipartisan support, we’ve got to address some of those issues,” Shaheen said. “I vote that we should do that, because I think we need a bipartisan bill.”
