Congress is staring down a three-week sprint to the end of 2025 — with expiring Affordable Care Act tax subsidies and other government funding deadlines on the horizon.
Between expiring Affordable Care Act tax subsidies and appropriations, lawmakers have their hands full. The U.S. Capitol is seen on day 28 of the government shutdown, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington.
Now, exhausted and miserable, Congress is staring down a three-week sprint to the end of 2025. And with expiring Affordable Care Act tax subsidies and another government funding deadline on the horizon, lawmakers will be limping to the finish line. At the top of Congress’ agenda is dealing with ACA subsidies set to expire on Dec. 31. Short of legislative intervention, health care premiums will skyrocket for millions of Americans.“It’s going to be tough,” Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi told NOTUS of a compromise solution, “just because everything’s so toxic.” That toxicity has intensified since Senate Democrats refused to vote for a government funding patch without some ACA subsidy extension during a 43-day government shutdown. While a few ultimately changed their minds and reopened the government without any certain ACA concessions, Democrats succeeded in“Any effort to address this cliff needs to include income caps and make serious reforms to the credits, including addressing the rampant fraud and abuse in the program,” Rep. Mike Flood, who chairs the 80-plus-member, leadership-aligned Main Street Caucus, said in a statement. Conservative lawmakers swiftly shot down a trial balloon from the White House that included a two-year extension of the subsidies,they are holding out to force broader ACA reform. But more moderate members who are involved in talks, like Rep. Don Bacon, are concerned that major reform isn’t achievable before the credits expire, setting Republicans up for a major intra-party clash in the next three weeks.The policy dynamics are so fluid that some lawmakers are convinced that Congress won’t be able to come up with a fix in time. “Will they bear fruit or not? I don’t know,” Sen. Josh Hawley said of bipartisan discussions. “I mean, I hope so. I hope we can get to something that will allow us to hold down the cost of premiums. Premiums are already too high.” Asked where the health care fight lands, conservative Rep. Tim Burchett told NOTUS, “Wringing of hands, clutching of pearls and a strong letter to someone I’m sure.”Last month, Congress passed three full-year spending bills: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch and Agriculture. That leaves nine appropriations bills that are set to expire on Jan. 30. If Congress does not pass those bills or extend funding at current levels, the government will partially shut down.“We could clean out a lot of smaller stuff that’s still important,” Cole said, citing Transportation and Urban Development, Interior, and Commerce Justice and Science, which he thinks are “ready to go.” Even passing those bills before Dec. 19 will be tricky. As Cole acknowledged, conservatives loathe being forced to vote on major spending packages at the end of December, arguing the timeline applies inappropriate pressure to vote “yes” on the legislation so their colleagues can get home for the holidays. “There’s always, on our side, some chagrin about huge bills right before Christmas,” Cole said. “I mean, our folks don’t like being jammed that way. We don’t want to jam them that way. So I think again, bite-sized packages that would signal we’re clearly not trying to force you to vote on something.” ACA subsidies and appropriations are not the only policy issues that will eat up floor time in the 13 days Congress has to work with. Both chambersThere are also documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Although Congress passed a bill to force the Department of Justice to release Epstein files, the House Oversight Committee is forging ahead with its investigation of the convicted sex offender’s ties to officials. While it’s unlikely there will be further floor votes on the matter, anything the DOJ releases or Oversight dredges up could spark another Of course, the end of 2025 isn’t actually the end of Congress’ problems. While Republicans and Democrats are eager to close out this legislative year, next year could prove even more trying. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise resignation, effective Jan. 5, will shrink Speaker Mike Johnson’s narrow majority, making advancing partisan legislation with just unruly conference’s votes more difficult. Fed up with browbeatings from the Trump administration and leadership, more Republicans arehe almost quit in November over objections to the Trump administration’s plan to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine. Morale is low, but the Trump administration’s ambitions remain lofty. White House officials are pressing for Congress to take upThat’s to say nothing of the midterms, where House Republicans will face harsh headwinds on the campaign trail. Democrats,by their 2025 state-level wins, will bash the GOP for cost-of-living and Medicaid cuts, hoping to recreate the magic that won them the House in 2018.PREMIUMDonate to the newsroom now.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
December stargazing: An infamous comet and one last supermoon for 2025Tom Hawking is a writer based in New York City. He writes about culture, politics, science and everything in between. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Rolling Stone, and many other publications.
Read more »
San Diego's Weather Forecast for November 30, 2025: A sunny, breezy start to DecemberMax Goldwasser is ABC 10News' weekend evening anchor and forecaster. During the week, he reports on stories as an MMJ.
Read more »
Today’s daily horoscope for December 1, 2025: Air of mystery will keep others guessingYour free daily horoscope readings for December 1, 2025 from Eugenia Last
Read more »
The 25 Best Movies on Netflix to Watch in December 2025From comedy classics to recent Oscar winners, these are the titles you don’t want to miss.
Read more »
Top 5 Must-Watch Netflix Shows This Week: December 1–7, 2025Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant. He majored in Film Production at Chapman University and worked in Development at ABC Television.
Read more »
Top 5 Must-Watch Prime Video Shows This Week: December 1–7, 2025Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant. He majored in Film Production at Chapman University and worked in Development at ABC Television.
Read more »