Congressman Mike Lawler says no, and calls out leadership of both parties
By Dan Murphy
Westchester Congressman Mike Lawler took to the House floor on Dec. 16, to blast the leadership of both parties, yes even his own republican leadership, over both sides lack of interest in solving the expiration of the Obamacare, ACA, tax credits. This resulted in huge premium increases for the millions of americans who rely on the ACA.
Lawler said, “For 43 days. The Democrats shut down the government and they said it was over the issue of the ACA premium tax credits. I went and confronted Leader Jeffries, and I asked him to sign on to a one year extension. He refused. When the government finally opened, I and a number of my Republican and Democratic colleagues sat down in good faith to negotiate an extension of the ACA premium tax credits with reforms, because we recognize that this system as designed is not working. That Obamacare is not actually reducing health care costs in America. And in fact, since it took effect, health care premiums have risen by 96%.
“But we understood that to allow the premium tax credits to expire would hurt the American people. And so we sat down and negotiated, and we came up with several plans. And compromises along the way to ensure not only that there was an extension, but that we did eliminate fraud, that we did hold the insurance companies accountable, that we did actually start to reduce cost.
“We have put those bills forward on the floor in two separate discharge petitions. 11 Republicans have signed on to those discharge petitions. Now, why is that necessary? Because House Republican leadership will not allow a vote. It is idiotic. And shameful. And so we have been forced to sign on to two discharge petitions.
“And yet my Democratic colleagues will not join us. But for those that were at the negotiation table, the Democratic leader will not release his members to sign those two discharge petitions. Why? Because he doesn’t actually want to solve the problem. He wants the issue. He wants the issue. Which is precisely why Senator Schumer put a three year clean extension on the Senate floor that was doomed to fail because it doesn’t have bipartisan compromise.
“This place is disgraceful. Everybody wants the upper hand. Everybody wants the political advantage. They don’t actually want to do the damn work. This problem could be solved today if everybody who says they care about extending this signs the discharge. It could be solved today. And we could say to the leadership on both sides, a pox on both your houses.
“Both of you are failing this country. Both of you are failing this institution and move the bill forward. So the challenge I have for every one of my colleagues is put the party crap aside and sign the damn discharge today. If you want this, vote to move. If you want to extend these subsidies, if you want to make sure that the American people’s health care premiums don’t skyrocket, then go sign the discharge. Now, because we all understand one thing. You need 218 here and you need 60 in the Senate. We saw the three year extension with no reforms fail last week. So to just say that we’re going to hold out and wait to see if four Republicans sign the three year extension that you know is destined to fail in the Senate is a failure of leadership and responsibility.
“So, Leader Jeffries, come down to this floor, sign the discharge and show real leadership, because sadly, my conference has failed to do that. And all of us, as representatives of our own districts and our own constituents, have a responsibility to stand up. It’s why I met with my Democratic colleagues as soon as the government was reopened to negotiate in good faith. It’s why people like Brian Fitzpatrick and Jen Higgins and David Valadao have been leading on this issue, with folks like Jared Golden and Josh Gottheimer and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Tom Suozzi, because we understand this needs to get done. And the failure of members on both sides of the aisle who know it needs to get done, but they just want the issue, or they don’t want to do it because they hate Obamacare. Yeah, we know Obamacare failed. We know it’s not actually reducing costs. But you can’t fix it with nothing. So do your job and sign the discharge,” said Lawler.
The enhanced subsidies (also known as enhanced premium tax credits) for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace health insurance plans expired on December 31, 2025.
These temporary enhancements—first introduced in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and extended through 2025 by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act—made subsidies more generous (e.g., capping premiums at a lower percentage of income) and eliminated the “subsidy cliff” for incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level. Congress did not extend them further, so they lapsed at the end of 2025, affecting coverage starting in 2026.
The original ACA premium tax credits (subsidies) remain permanent and available in 2026 for eligible enrollees (generally those with incomes 100-400% of the federal poverty level), but they are less generous than the enhanced version. This has led to significantly higher out-of-pocket premiums for millions of marketplace enrollees in 2026.
