Key tax credits that reduce the cost of Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage for millions of Americans looked likely to expire by the end of the year after House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that there would be no vote on extending those subsidies this week.
The House is not in session next week, meaning that Johnson was not leaving the door open for a later vote before the boosted Obamacare premium assistance expires.
There remains a chance that enough Republicans in Johnson’s majority caucus agree to back a Democrat-led effort to force an effective vote on extending the tax credits. The tactic is identical to one recently used to force a vote on a bill compelling the release by the Department of Justice of investigative files related to sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
“We looked for a way to try to allow that pressure release valve and it just was not to be,” Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference, referring to the looming expiration date for the aid.
“We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact, and in the end an agreement wasn’t made,” he said.
