No Republican in Congress voted for the expanded Obamacare subsidies. Democrats lied to the American people when they promised their expansion of these subsidies was only temporary and to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now Democrats are shutting down the government unless these COVID credits are made permanent, costing taxpayers $350 billion over the next decade.
Several notable conservatives and members of Congress stand united against extending these supersized, COVID-era Obamacare handouts:
James Blair, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Trump: “These insurance subsidies – and to be clear – these are subsidies to insurance companies. They don’t actually go to people. They’ve been artificially masking the cost of premiums. They put these in during the Covid era. Democrats, all Democrats. Right, with a tie broken by the Vice President at the time, Kamala Harris. Joe Biden was the President. They controlled the Senate, they controlled the House. They voted not once but twice to make this program temporary that we are now discussing, and for them to expire.“
Ben Shapiro: “The subsidies are bad policy. The supercharged subsidies first passed in 2021 for a COVID-19 emergency. Democrats had a 2025 expiration date to make the inflation reduction act look less expensive over that 10-year budget window. Expecting that Congress would then sign up again for more of these subsidies, Republicans did not vote to extend those subsidies. So what would the effect be? Someone at 100% of the poverty line would, on average, pay $3.45 a week in premiums for the cheapest middle-tier plan. Taxpayers would still foot 98% of the premium. The cost would run $52 a week for a person at 250% of the poverty line. Taxpayers would still pick up two-thirds of the premium. Extending those subsidies will cost $450 billion over a decade.”
Sean Hannity: “Well, it was supposed to be a temporary measure for COVID in the first place. And despite all of their [Democrats’] denials all week, we have proven that every one of these Democrats that say this money’s not going to illegal immigrants is flat out lying. And their own alternative bill spelled it all out. I went through this yesterday and last night, page 57, and repealing recent GOP legislation that restricts Medicaid outlays for illegal immigrants. An even bigger chunk of the $1.5 trillion demand is to fund Obamacare subsidies to lower the price of the insurance bought via the quote exchanges. This whole program, you know, we really need to scrap Obamacare. You know, every promise made by Obamacare has not been fulfilled but broken.”
The Mark Levin Show: “Well, one of their demands to avoid the government shutdown was to continue Biden’s Obamacare subsidies. Now, we had an election that just took place, and in the election, all of these things were on the ballot. (…) The American people said we don’t want it, and they voted for who? Donald Trump. All of the things that they’re shutting the government down over, their biggest issues are things that were on the ballot”
Fox News, Maria Bartiromo: “I hope Republicans don’t give an inch though, on the Obamacare subsidies because it’s disingenuous. It’s dishonest. Those were part of the American Rescue Plan. it wasn’t even part of the original Obamacare law.“
Erick Erickson Show: “They want to resume the Biden era Obamacare subsidies that were supposed to be temporary for COVID that the Democrats themselves voted to get rid of.“
Grover Norquist: “It’s 2025. All Covid policy and subsidies need to end. All Republicans should oppose expanding Obamacare.“
Steve Moore: “Chuck Schumer just shut down the government because he wants to add $1.5 trillion to the national debt. Let that sink in. He’s demanding we repeal spending reforms AND extend COVID emergency subsidies to insurance companies. Republicans need to hold the line.”
Dana Loesch: And the other thing is to expand Obamacare also with the continued inclusion of illegal aliens. This is on top of all the other problems with Obamacare, where you had phantom enrollees that were entirely subsidized, where you had people taking advantage of the system and they’re enrolled in multiple programs. I think the whole thing is stupid. I cant stand Obamacare. It is a disaster for health care. (…) And so all of those subsidies where do those subsidies go for Obamacare? Where do they go? I feel like the left thinks that they go to the people. Don’t you get that? I don’t honestly think they know how it works.” (…) This is what’s so frustrating about this. You’re talking about expanding this, expanding it more and not only expanding this, this ruinous system more, but incorporating people who don’t even pay into it.”
Hugh Hewitt: This goes without saying, but we should say it again: Obamacare has been a disaster. Democrats cannot do complex legislative policy because it is captive to too many disparate special interests (and especially teachers and other public employee unions). Health care has become, like immigration law, a “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here” area of policy. Would that @POTUS direct @VP to produce overhauls in both areas for the second reconciliation.
David McIntosh, President Club for Growth: “When people understand they were put in during Covid, when the government shut down the economy, and now we’re back to a post-Covid normal economy, they recognize we definitely shouldn’t make it a permanent growth of government“
Kevin Roberts: “Day 22 of the Shutdown: Listen to @POTUS. “We will not be extorted!” @SenSchumer and @TheDemocrats want to force the American people to pay for the healthcare of more than 20 million illegal immigrants who shouldn’t be here in the first place. The only answer is NO. @SenateGOP and @HouseGOP – hold the line!“
Ruthless Podcast, Michael Duncan: “Their demand is the taxpayers need to pay the subsidies for the thing we called the Affordable Care Act. Yeah. That is not affordable.”
35 Conservative Groups Including ATR, AFP and Club for Growth: “We urge your Administration to continue fighting the radical Left’s agenda: specifically, by allowing the Biden COVID credits to expire” (…) “Making the Biden COVID credits permanent would be tremendously expensive, increase premiums in the long-term, and encourage widespread fraud”
100+ Pro-Life Groups including SBA Pro-Life America: “As pro-life leaders, we urge you to raise your voice to unequivocally oppose any consideration of extending the COVID-era subsidies without Hyde protections. The pro-life Congress must not be a party to Obama’s abortion funding scheme.”
Representative Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader: “It’s not worked for families. You don’t answer that by propping it up with hundreds of billions of dollars of insurance company subsidies. Why would you keep pouring billions more tax dollars into a sinkhole when you can find a better way? We actually are working on better alternatives right now to lower premiums for families. That’s where the focus should be, not propping up a failed product called Obamacare.”
Senator Steve Daines, Guest on Hugh Hewitt Show: “From our Republican viewpoint, this was meant to be a short-term COVID subsidy. None of us, by the way, supported in the first place. $350 billion is the price tag to make that permanent and is absolutely ripe with fraud and waste and abuse. (…) It is such a terrible provision, frankly, just looking at it objectively, never mind the political issues, but looking at it just objectively in terms of policy, it really is a terrible policy.”
Rep. Andy Harris, Chair of Freedom Caucus: “The bottom line is COVID is over. The enhanced subsidies should end. The underlying Obamacare subsidies still remain in place. I think that’s fair. So, at this point I’m like no, just let these end. The Democrats are the ones who scheduled it to end this December, it wasn’t Republicans, the Democrats did it in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, so the bottom line is you know, COVID is over. They should go away.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville: “Here’s the truth: Obamacare WRECKED our healthcare system, and that’s why healthcare prices are going up. The LAST thing we need is to dump $1.5 trillion more into a broken system.“
Representative Andy Ogles: “Obamacare destroyed American healthcare. Premiums are higher, insurance companies are greedier, and Democrats are shielding them. Their obsession with pleasing BIG insurance, illegal aliens, and their radical backers is exactly why they shut down the government. I am not an obamacare Republican. I WILL NOT COMPLY.”
Caroline Downey, National Review: “We don’t need to renew Obamacare subsidies from the PANDEMIC that weren’t even in the original law. Democrats are just gluttonous, and voters can see that.“
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser: “Extending these subsidies without the Hyde Amendment is a vote to expand abortion on demand, and every such vote will be scored by SBA Pro-Life America. The more Washington funds abortion, the more unborn children lose their lives, and the more moms are hurt. This pro-life Congress must not extend the Obama-Biden legacy of taxpayer-funded abortion that ends the lives of countless innocent babies.”
Heritage Foundation: “These incremental expansions are just another step towards a full-blown government-run health care. But they do nothing to address the core problems in Obamacare: higher premiums, fewer choices, and more narrow and costly networks.
Extending or even watering down the enhanced subsidies won’t address these underlying problems. It’s time to reverse these trends and make health care more affordable again.”
Heritage Action: The “Affordable” Care Act is a failure. It was never affordable. Republicans should not make the problem worse by voting with Democrats to extend Biden-era subsidies that simply mask the reality that under Obamacare, premiums continue to rise.
Americans for Prosperity: “Temporary COVID subsidies reward insurance companies, encourage fraud, and waste billions of dollars while failing to care for families and people who need it.”
Senator Lindsey Graham: “Obamacare increased the cost of health care while worsening the quality. We won’t continue to fund this broken system that only rewards insurance companies.”
Senator Rick Scott: “The right proposal is to let them expire. It’s been a complete fraud. People don’t even know they have these policies. So the right thing is to let them expire.”
Senator Mike Lee: “Congress should *not* extend Biden’s Obamacare COVID bonuses to huge health insurance companies—who have been unjustly enriched by Obamacare at the expense of hardworking Americans Please spread the word if you agree“
Representative Chip Roy: “We’ve never voted for them. We shouldn’t now. Do. Not. Blink.”
Representative Andrew Clyde: “There’s NO REASON Republicans should accept any of Democrats’ radical demands, including extending COVID-era Obamacare subsidies. These temporary subsidies are costly, riddled with fraud, and go directly toward enriching health insurance companies.”
Senator Markwayne Mullin: They were put in place as a premium tax for COVID. We’re not in a COVID pandemic anymore and these insurance agencies that we’re offsetting… we offset them because they were selling insurance at or below cost during COVID. Now they’re making 15+ percent in the black. Why are we still doing the 4 percent subsidies?
House Budget GOP: “Democrats’ COVID-era Obamacare credits are rife with waste, fraud, and abuse. These pandemic credits were always meant to be temporary, and Congress should let them expire as designed.”
Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch: “Obamacare is a money pit. End it.”
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: “All we’re doing here is saying, hey, this health care spending doesn’t make sense going forward. Much of it that is going to illegal immigrant health care should certainly not be spent. But in general, this is an expense that was directly connected to COVID. COVID is over, finally, mercifully. Why would we embed that cost into the overall federal budget? Schumer’s wrong.”
Representative Eric Burlison: “Biden’s Covid subsidies force taxpayers to fund free health care for more than nine million Obamacare recipients. If politicians truly want to raise living standards, they should stop pushing subsidies that distort the free market and reward government dependency.”
Representative Keith Self: Obamacare forces taxpayers to fund abortions, egregiously violating the Hyde Amendment and the values of millions of Americans. Pro-life Republicans in Congress must oppose extending the COVID-era Obamacare subsidies. Protect life. Let these subsidies expire NOW!
Senator Rand Paul: “This is nonsense. The real dupe was Obamacare itself. Government broke health care with exploding costs, gutted competition, and left Americans with fewer choices. Now the Left wants more subsidies to paper over the damage. The answer is putting patients back in charge by repealing and replacing Obamacare with a market-based system.”
Representative Mark Harris: “Obamacare is a SCAM! Biden’s COVID credits are outdated pandemic policies. The pandemic is OVER. And a majority of Americans agree: these subsidies must end NOW!”
Representative Brian Babin: “When COVID hit, Democrats jacked up Obamacare subsidies—originally a temporary emergency measure. Now they want to make those pandemic giveaways permanent. That would cost taxpayers roughly $450 billion over the next decade. Most Americans have no idea these extra subsidies even exist. But when voters learn the truth, they’re clear: 65% say end subsidies for high-income earners. 53% say let the COVID “bonus” expire. This shutdown isn’t about helping working families. It’s about Democrats holding America hostage to keep ObamaCare’s bloated pandemic subsidies alive. End the bailout. End the waste. END THE SHUTDOWN!”
Senator Bill Cassidy: “Americans’ tax dollars should never be used to fund the killing of unborn children or dangerous gender transition procedures. We need to end the Schumer Shutdown so we can make health care more affordable, not subsidize Democrats’ radical anti-family, anti-patient agenda,”
Senator Ron Johnson: “[A]ny Republican member of Congress who’s ever professed pro-life views, I don’t see how they could possibly vote for an extension of these, again, temporary COVID pandemic, enhanced subsidies that would perpetuate a massive fraud and fund abortions and transgender surgeries, probably for minors,”
Senator Marsha Blackburn: “Democrats’ Obamacare Subsidy Scheme will reward big insurance companies instead of patients at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
Representative Andy Biggs: “If Obamacare was actually affordable, it wouldn’t need to be subsidized by taxpayers. Repeal Obamacare.”
Representative Beth Van Duyne: “Extending these subsidies means locking in higher costs for families while Big Insurance rakes in record profits. It’s time for real reform that puts patients first.”
Representative Scott Fitzgerald: “The facts are simple: those COVID-era subsidies were always temporary. Democrats voted to include the sunset THEMSELVES when they passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 with all Democrat votes. Those subsidies kept costs artificially low, and now prices are simply returning to where they would have been without that short-term, taxpayer-funded boost.“
Former Representative Bob Good: “No extension of the Obamacare subsidies by the Republican Congress!!! At some point the debt and deficit has to matter!!!”
