Moderate House Republicans look to force vote on ACA tax credits

Jessie Hellmann, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman, CQ-Roll Call on Dec 10, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., on Wednesday filed a discharge petition to force a vote on a two-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, as House GOP leadership eyes a health care vote next week that won’t include such a measure.

The petition had only eight signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, though some supporters said it could get the support of between 10 and 20 Republicans. A discharge petition needs 218 votes to force a vote on a bill, but it’s unclear if it will get enough support as Democrats have pushed for a longer extension of the subsidies.

“If these protections expire, millions of Americans will be hit with premium increases they simply cannot afford, forcing impossible choices about their health, their finances, and their futures,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “They deserve a concrete solution now — not promises of one later.”

Fitzpatrick introduced the bipartisan bill on Tuesday to extend the credits for two years and establish minimum premiums and income caps for enrollees, while allowing enrollees to take half of the amount of the credit instead in the form of a health savings account contribution. The bill also includes language to regulate pharmacy benefit managers.

Fitzpatrick is among a small contingent of Republicans running in competitive elections next year who have voiced concern about letting the tax credits expire Dec. 31.

But House Republican leadership has resisted their call, instead promising a vote as soon as next week on health care bills that would not include an extension of the credits.

“It was clear that, given the time frame and given some of the differences within our conference on particular issues, that a bill was not going to be put forward,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who signed the petition.

The enhanced tax credits were first passed by the Democrat-controlled Congress in 2021 and then extended with an expiration at the end of this year. The fight over them was the focus of the weekslong government shutdown this fall, resulting in a promise from Senate Republican leadership to hold a vote on a bill to extend them.

Most House Democrats favor a three-year extension of the subsidies with no changes to how they are structured, a proposition even the more ACA-friendly moderate Republicans have balked at. Two Democrats — Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York and Jared Golden of Maine, who co-sponsored the Fitzpatrick bill — had signed on to the petition as of Wednesday afternoon.

Suozzi said the muscle of bipartisanship in Washington had atrophied, “and this is trying to get back to the muscle memory of people working together to actually solve problems that people face.”

Golden said that he’s worked directly with rank-and-file members across the aisle, rather than discussing plans with leadership.

“Those conversations can start now,” Golden said. “I don’t seek permission to act.”

Fitzpatrick said that he has spoken with rank-and-file senators from both sides of the aisle on the proposal.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he had no position on Fitzpatrick’s discharge petition.

In the Senate, Republicans are plotting their own alternative to a vote on extending the subsidies Thursday, alongside a vote on a Democratic bill that would extend the tax credits for three years.

_____