Two Senate Democrats and two House Republicans are planning to huddle Friday over a possible bipartisan plan to extend soon-to-expire Obamacare subsidies, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Centrist Senate Democrats are working feverishly to hammer out an ACA framework in more detail to give Democrats an off-ramp to vote to reopen the government.
Freshman Democratic Sens. Andy Kim of New Jersey and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware invited GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey to talk about the forming bipartisan proposal, according to two of the people.
The goal is to develop the contours of a plan to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits that are used by more than 20 million Americans, and will cause premiums to spike if they are allowed to expire at the year’s end. Van Drew has been talking with President Donald Trump to try to get him to support a one-year extension at the very least.
Senate Democrats are working to reach agreement on a bipartisan ACA extension plan that GOP leaders would agree to hold a vote on once the shutdown is over. And, if that plan gets 60 votes in the Senate, a swath of House Republicans will then press Speaker Mike Johnson to put it on the House floor.
Johnson has said repeatedly, as recently as Thursday morning, that he won’t commit to allowing a House vote on the expiring subsidies.
Spokespeople for Van Drew and Fitzpatrick didn’t immediately respond to inquiries.
As an alternative, four other people with direct knowledge of internal party strategy say a handful of House Republicans are privately indicating a willingness to eventually support a Democratic-led discharge petition on a measure to extend the subsidies — a procedural maneuver allowing rank-and-file members to force a vote on legislation without leadership’s blessing.
“We would find a way,” one House Republican said.
