A growing number of Senate Republicans are signaling openness to extending Obamacare subsidies — but only if paired with reforms, Axios reported Friday.
The COVID-era subsidies are central to Democrats' motivation for keeping the federal government shut down. The five-year window on the tax credits, established under Democrat legislation in 2020, is set to expire on Dec. 31.
Now, Democrats are demanding that Republicans agree to a permanent extension of the subsidies in order to end the shutdown and reopen the government.
Not without fixes, Republicans say.
"Just extending the status quo is like putting fresh paint on rotten wood," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., according to the report. "It's got to be fixed."
Both Senate and House Republican leaders have said from the start they are willing to address the subsidies — once the government is open.
"There is a sufficient number of Republicans who, I think, would — with reforms — be supportive of at least doing something for some amount of time," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said earlier this month.
At least 13 Republicans would need to vote to approve a negotiated short-term extension of the tax credits to help the 47 Democrats reach the 60-vote threshold. About 10 GOP senators have reached out to Democrats on the issue, according to the report.
But most are unwilling to discuss the issue until Senate Democrats first vote on the continuing resolution to fund the government until the appropriations process is completed.
"I won't even talk about it until after we get done with [the] shutdown," said Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
It's not clear that Democrats would accept anything short of a permanent extension.
When offered a one-year extension of the premium tax credits by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., linked the proposal to President Donald Trump's tax cuts.
"If billionaires can be provided tax breaks on a permanent basis in ways that will explode the deficit all across the country and result in people losing their health insurance ... it seems to us that Republicans should come to the table to provide a greater degree of certainty as it relates to healthcare that's being provided to working-class Americans," Jeffries said.
In 2024, Senate and House Democrats introduced companion legislation to make the credits permanent.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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