At his daily press conference at the Capitol, Speaker Mike Johnson was noncommittal about the possibility of holding a House vote on extending health care tax credits, saying the issue would be part of the “deliberative process” among members.
A reporter noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune has offered Democrats a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies for one year, and asked Johnson whether he would commit to a vote in the House.
Johnson said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had declined Thune’s offer “because they wanted a guaranteed outcome.”
“Here’s why we can’t do that — let me say this very clearly and for everyone again, OK. The Obamacare subsidy issue is not the issue of today. It is a subsidy that expires Dec. 31,” the speaker said. “We were always planning to continue the debate and discussion about that issue in October and November. Ironically, Democrats are taking the time off the clock for us to do that.”
He continued: “We have 535 members between the House and Senate. There’s a lot of people in this deliberative body here. That’s a very complicated issue. It’s not something that four people can go into a back room and guarantee an outcome on. It can’t be done. It was not possible to be part of this CR, and it’s not feasible. It’s not appropriate to be on this CR. We require the member-driven consensus process here, and that’s what’s necessary.”
Johnson said “it’s not possible for Leader Thune to guarantee to Chuck Schumer some outcome on that, because we haven’t finished those deliberations. That’s just as simple as it is.”
“When Leader Thune offered a vote on the ACA, on the subsidy, without guaranteeing an outcome, Schumer said, nope, no thanks, we’ll keep it closed,” he added.
Pushed on whether he would commit to bringing up the tax credits for a vote, Johnson reiterated that he couldn’t guarantee how the process would play out.
“None of us can guarantee an outcome on that. I have said consistently all along, this is part of the deliberative process. We’re going to debate and discuss that,” he said.
