[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EXTEND ENHANCED PREMIUM TAX CREDIT

  (Ms. DeGette of Colorado was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, right now, we have a chance to protect 
Americans from going broke.
  On January 1, families across this country were hit by the largest 
healthcare cost increases we have seen in more than a decade. Millions 
of Americans watched their premiums more than double overnight. A 
family of four making $128,000 a year--teachers, nurses, small business 
owners--just got slapped with an average $14,000-increase in their 
silver plan premiums.
  As the senior Democrat on the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, I have been raising this issue, along with my 
colleagues, for many months now. Despite the warnings, President Trump 
and congressional Republicans did nothing. They could have had a vote 
in December, yet they blocked Democratic efforts to extend the 
Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits. They looked 
Americans in the eye and said no.
  We have an opportunity to fix this right now. This week, we can pass 
the bill that would extend the ACA's premium tax credits for 3 years. 
This extension will cut premium spikes by 80 percent, on average. It 
will wipe out increases for lower income families. It will save over 5 
million Americans from losing their insurance.
  This is the solution. We have it in our hands.
  While this is a straightforward fix for the short term, we know that 
our entire healthcare system needs to have reform so that we can 
control costs.
  I was part of the original team that negotiated and passed the 
Affordable Care Act. While we were forced to accept less than the 
universal healthcare plan we wanted, we secured protections that have 
since saved tens of thousands of lives, ending discrimination against 
people with preexisting conditions, letting parents keep their kids on 
their insurance policies while the kids start their careers, and 
guaranteeing that every plan covers basic essential care.
  The majority, since that time in the last 15 years, has tried to 
destroy it. They have voted more than 70 times to repeal the Affordable 
Care Act and always with no replacement. They subjected the ACA to 
death by a thousand cuts, offering nothing but snake oil alternatives 
like high-deductible plans and health savings accounts that would leave 
families high and dry.
  When we passed the ACA on this floor, I said this is just a start to 
affordable universal healthcare. Democrats have worked to improve the 
ACA. That is why we passed the tax credits in the first place. Millions 
of people signed up, and they were able to sleep without worrying about 
one hospital visit bankrupting their families. My colleagues on the 
other side want to rip that away, the reason for which I have no idea.

  This crisis has shown that the only solution is ultimately universal 
healthcare. I have been a cosponsor of the Medicare for All Act since 
day one because I know it will guarantee a healthy nation. 
Unfortunately, my colleagues across the aisle have made it crystal 
clear: They have no appetite for meaningful reforms like Medicare for 
All.
  Here is what we need to do right now: We need to extend the enhanced 
tax credits. They are the only thing standing between millions of 
Americans and complete financial devastation.
  In my State of Colorado, we did the right thing. The State stepped in 
with our own tax credits, but not every State is Colorado. Americans in 
States like Florida and Texas will be out of luck, and in Colorado and 
every other State, we can't afford to take this burden on forever.
  We need a nationwide solution. We have the votes for this fix. Four 
Republicans joined us in the petition to bring this bill to the floor.
  We must pass it. We must bring it to the floor, pass it in the House, 
and send it over to the Senate this week. President Trump must sign it 
into law. If we don't, here is the reality: Families will drop health 
coverage to put food on the table, gambling with their lives. Medical 
debt will bury them bill by bill, week by week. They will keep waiting 
for the Trump healthcare plan that will be promised but will never 
come.
  For anybody at home sitting there asking: Do the Republicans know 
what they are doing? The answer is, sadly, yes, they do.
  Americans are watching. They know that the Democrats are fighting 
like hell for them and for their healthcare. Now, they are waiting to 
see if the majority has any conscience left.
  It is time to vote ``yes.''

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