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FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is calling on Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to deal with expiring Obamacare subsidies immediately after the government shutdown ends.
Thirteen House GOP lawmakers, led by Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Jen Kiggans, R-Va., are leading a letter to Johnson on Tuesday thanking him for his leadership during the shutdown but maintaining that Obamacare must also be dealt with before the end of the year.
Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has emerged as one of the main flash points in the ongoing fiscal standoff between Republicans and Democrats.
"Every day the shutdown continues to hurt the very people we were elected to serve, including the men and women of our Armed Forces, the federal law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe, the agents who defend our nation’s borders, and the public servants who provide essential services to veterans, seniors and families," the Republicans wrote.
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"We also firmly believe that the government funding debate is not the time or place to address healthcare issues. Using the shutdown as leverage to force that debate only prolongs the harm and distracts from the immediate
task of reopening the government. Once the government is reopened, however, we should immediately turn our focus to the growing crisis of healthcare affordability and the looming expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits."
Obamacare subsidies were enhanced under the Biden administration in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to make healthcare more available to a wider swath of Americans. Democrats voted to extend those subsidies through 2025 in 2022 via the Inflation Reduction Act.
Democrats are now pushing to extend those subsidies now, using the ongoing government shutdown as leverage to force Republicans to deal with the issue.
Both House and Senate GOP leaders have signaled they are willing to discuss the expiring healthcare subsidies but rejected pairing them with their bill to fund the government — a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal spending levels called a continuing resolution (CR).
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But extending the Obamacare subsidies is expected to generate its own debates among Republicans. Conservatives like the House Freedom Caucus and their allies are skeptical of the move, arguing the enhanced healthcare credits were responsible for sending medical prices skyrocketing.
But the 13 Republicans who signed the letter maintain, "Millions of Americans are facing drastic premium increases due to short-sighted Democratic policymaking. While we did not create this crisis, we now have both the responsibility and the opportunity to address it."
"Allowing these tax credits to lapse without a clear path forward would risk real harm to those we represent. Nevertheless, we must chart a conservative path that protects working families in our districts across the country who rely on these credits," they wrote.
The lawmakers agreed with GOP leaders that reforms are needed to the system "to make these credits more fiscally responsible and ensure they
are going to the Americans who need them most," but added, "Our Conference and President Trump have been clear that we will not take healthcare away from families who depend on it. This is our opportunity to demonstrate that commitment through action."
House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., ruled out accepting a straightforward extension of the Obamacare subsidies in comments to reporters on Monday.
"You want a clean vote on a program that potentially is $400 billion, and you want to do it without any debate, any negotiation? That's just insanity," Harris said.
Asked by Fox News Digital if he sees any pathway to compromise, he said, "It all depends on what the package is, how is it paid for, what other healthcare reforms are in it?"
"But that's stuff that you're not going to negotiate in hours. It's going to take weeks to negotiate," Harris said.
It's also not immediately clear when the shutdown will end — while the House passed its CR on Sept. 19, Senate Democrats have sunk the bill in the upper chamber 11 times as of Monday.
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