EXTEND ENHANCED PREMIUM TAX CREDIT

On 2026-01-07, Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) delivered a floor speech titled "EXTEND ENHANCED PREMIUM TAX CREDIT" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, education.

EXTEND ENHANCED PREMIUM TAX CREDIT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026) [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.'' ____________________