House Democrats on Wednesday filed a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for another three years, The Hill reported, escalating their fight with Republican leaders over healthcare costs and government spending.
Led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Democrats hope to persuade at least four Republicans to sign the petition — the number needed to reach 218 signatures in the 219-214 GOP-controlled House.
The petition would allow them to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and bring the measure to the floor despite opposition from GOP leadership.
The push came as the federal government shutdown nears its end.
The fight over the enhanced ACA tax credits has been a flashpoint throughout the standoff, with Democrats demanding an extension as a condition for reopening the government.
Republicans, who have long sought to roll back Obamacare, rejected that demand.
A small group of Senate Democrats ultimately struck a bipartisan deal to reopen the government without any GOP concessions on the subsidies.
As part of that agreement, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., guaranteed Democrats a vote on the tax credits in December.
Johnson has not made a similar commitment in the House, prompting Democrats to use the rarely successful discharge petition to go around him.
The measure seeks a three-year extension of the pandemic-era subsidies first enacted by Democrats in 2021 and extended by them in 2022. The taxpayer-funded credits are set to expire Dec. 31, potentially raising premiums for millions of Americans who purchase insurance through the federal marketplace.
The petition's filing follows the 30-legislative-day waiting period required under House rules before such a move can be introduced. Democrats can now begin collecting signatures, though success is far from guaranteed before the year-end deadline.
Some Republicans have proposed their own approach. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., has introduced a bill to extend the tax credits for one year, backed by 14 centrist Republicans, many facing tough reelection contests in 2026, according to The Hill.
It is unknown whether any of them will break ranks and sign the Democrat petition.
Before the petition's filing, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., an architect of a two-year bipartisan proposal to extend the ACA subsidies, told Axios the Democrat effort was dead on arrival. He said Democrats "need to find a compromise" with Republicans in the Appropriations Committee if they want to extend the tax credits.
Johnson told Newsmax on Monday that once the shutdown ends, House Republicans will advance their own plans to lower healthcare costs. He said Republicans included a proposal in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that he claimed would have reduced premiums by 12.7%.
"But the Democrats fought to take it out of the bill," he said. "So, if they cared so much about healthcare costs, they shouldn't be fighting provisions like that. We're putting together some ideas that will drive the premiums down because healthcare is too expensive in this country.
"It's too expensive because the Democrats built a system that doesn't work. So, we need to look at the root causes of the costs that have skyrocketed and address that for the people.
"Merely subsidizing something is not the answer. When the government subsidizes something, it almost always means it's not working. And that's the problem."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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