Congress

Senate Republicans prepping bill to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies

Published

1 year ago

September 15, 2025

A group of GOP senators are working on legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies with policy changes designed to win over conservatives, according to four people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.

This group has gotten “technical assistance” from the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the subsidies, according to two of the sources. The Obamacare subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican running for governor, said in an interview Monday he was “part of that group that’s working on the wording to make sure we do it right.”

An expiration of the credits, he said, “would hurt my state, Alabama.”

The development comes as Democrats are mounting a huge push to make an extension of the enhanced tax credits necessary for them to support a bill that funds the government beyond Sept. 30. It also comes as a growing number of Republicans say failure to act on such an extension would be a political mistake heading into the midterms.

Congressional budget scorers estimate that millions of people would be forced to drop their health insurance plans as a result of higher premiums that could kick in as a result of the letting the subsidies sunset.

House Republicans have already joined with some Democrats on a bill that would extend the credits for one year but not impose any new restrictions on who can take advantage of the subsidies. In contrast, the Senate bill, which is not being driven by leadership, appears to be in its early stages, according to two of the people aware of the effort.

It also remains unclear which GOP senator is spearheading this effort, and which Republicans other than Tuberville are at the table. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), in an interview Monday, wouldn’t say whether she was involved but said, “we’ve got to get some level of consensus.”

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get a permanent extension; I don’t think that’s wise,” she said. “I’m looking to perhaps do some some reforms to it, but I think it is something that we are going to be forced to deal with, to reckon with, in my state.”

Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) also acknowledged in an interview that Republicans will likely need to address the issue: “I believe at some point we’re going to need to deal with it.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who authored the legislation that first boosted the credits in 2021, has been talking to Republican colleagues about where their party might be able to land on the issue, according to a person granted anonymity to share confidential conversations between lawmakers. She’s also encouraging Republicans to work behind-the-scenes to build support inside their conference.

“There are still many questions still left to sort out,” the person added.

If the proposal comes to fruition, it could emerge as a consensus measure for Republicans: Conservatives are broadly in favor of tying some reforms to the subsidies they claim are currently wasteful, expensive and overwhelmingly benefit higher-earners.

Among the floated ideas include putting a new income cap on who can claim the bigger subsidies, while some outside groups are expected to push for language that would prohibit the tax credits from helping offset cost of insurance plans that cover abortions.

It’s not clear Democrats would accept terms and conditions for extending the tax credits, but Shaheen, in a statement, said any discussions across the aisle were a positive development.

“I’m glad that some of my Republican colleagues recognize the need to get something done to avoid the largest health insurance premium price increases in 15 years — which would boot more than four million Americans from their health care and make costs skyrocket for millions more,” she said. “If Senate Republicans fail to come to the table in a meaningful way, they’ll have to explain to their constituents why they took away a tool to make health care affordable for working families at a time when too many are struggling to make ends meet.”

She added, “The only way we will avoid this bad outcome is if Republicans will come to the table in good faith so we can find a path forward.”

Congress

Sanders to rally for Troy Jackson in Maine

Published

18 minutes ago

October 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Sanders will hit the road for Troy Jackson in Maine starting Oct. 10, the first time the progressive leader will stump for the candidate this cycle.

The Vermont independent plans to hold three rallies with Jackson, according to an itinerary shared first with Blue Light News: first in Bangor on Oct. 10th followed by Lewiston and Biddeford on Oct. 11.

The Maine swing will kick off Sanders’ travel for the final stretch of the midterms, covering ground throughout October for House and Senate candidates, POLITICO reported.

“Bernie and Troy know that working people built this country and deserve a government that fights for them,” Jackson spokesperson Dan Gottlieb told Blue Light News. “Susan Collins has had nearly 30 years to deliver, and working Mainers are still getting squeezed while she serves the billionaires and corporate interests who bankroll her campaigns. Mainers don’t need another six years of excuses.”

Sanders campaigned ahead of major wins for progressives in the primary season, speaking at more than 60 rallies since last year’s Fight the Oligarchy tour and endorsing more than 90 candidates up and down the ballot.

He’s also opening his substantial $23 million campaign war chest, POLITICO reported, and contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars toMinnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s Senate campaign and others including Angie Nixon in Florida and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison,

Sanders will return to Maine after initially backing Graham Platner’s campaign for Senate. Allegations reported by POLITICO ultimately led him to call on the Democratic nominee to drop out of the race.

Sanders had not formally endorsed Jackson since he clinched the nomination from Platner, though he previously backed Jackson’s initial run for governor.

Congress

Hill: Trump’s ‘lack of favorability’ creating challenging politics

Published

31 minutes ago

October 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Financial Services Chair French Hill said he has “no concerns” about winning back his Arkansas seat in the upcoming midterm elections, but the six-term House member acknowledged the political headwinds for his party.

“I consider the atmosphere a very tough political environment right now because of President [Donald] Trump’s lack of favorability at the top, and you know people are concerned about, as I say, what it’s like to live under an inflated economy the last four years,” Hill said in an interview.

Hill is in a solidly red district, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, and said he is up against a “weaker candidate this time than I’ve had in past races.” Polling in the district, however, has shown a tighter race. The two polls done this year placed Democratic challenger Chris Jones ahead of Hill by a few percentage points. Any perceived polling victory for Jones is still well within the margin of error, and one of the polls had a Democratic sponsor.

Stephannie Lane Baker, a spokesperson for Jones, said that “of all the Republicans in Congress, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee doesn’t get to dodge responsibility for this economy. He’s in trouble, and he knows it.”

Additionally, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s PAC, Ready for the Fight, committed more than $1 million in television ads through the next five weeks for Jones’ race in Arkansas’s 2nd District, Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the PAC confirmed. Overall Democratic spending on advertising for the race was just over $1 million, primarily made up by contributions from the Ready for the Fight PAC, with Republicans spending almost $2.7 million on ad buys, according to AdImpact, an advertising tracking service.

Hill said he has addressed affordability concerns “head on” this Congress.

“My work on housing, my work on the Price Stability Act, my work to try to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and drop the federal budget deficit as a percentage of GDP,” Hill said. “All these things can contribute to a more affordable environment for people. So I’ve tried to make that a forefront of my campaign this year.”

Hill was a key architect of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing affordability bill that became law in July. The Price Stability Act, which is unlikely to become law this year, would narrow the Federal Reserve’s current dual mandate of pursuing maximum employment and price stability to focus exclusively on containing inflation.

Congress

Sanders, AOC, Merkley propose bill to ban Flock cameras

Published

6 hours ago

October 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Friday released text of legislation intended to ban the use of Flock surveillance cameras and other license plate readers.

Flock has faced severe public backlash against the surveillance technology following reports that police officers misused the technology to track women, and it has the largest network of license plate readers across the U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) hosted a hearing last month probing its potential misuses, although the company’s CEO Garrett Langley did not appear.

The latest bill, unveiled Friday and named the Ban Flock Act, would bar federal agencies from using automated license plate readers or accessing data from the technology and prevent federal grants from funding states and local governments that use automated license plate readers.

“At a time of growing concern about the unchecked power of artificial intelligence, Flock is eviscerating the very notion of privacy by installing tens of thousands of cameras in communities across America without their consent,” Sanders, who has positioned himself as a leading progressive voice on AI technology, said in a statement. “We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state where a handful of AI oligarchs profit by giving the government the power to track our every movement.”

Ocasio-Cortez similarly condemned the surveillance capabilities of the technology and said the bill would “enforce our constitutional right to privacy and protect Americans from both corporate and government surveillance.”

“No one should have this unchecked surveillance power at their fingertips,” Merkley added.

Republicans have introduced similar efforts to regulate license plate readers, such as Hawley’s Stop Flock Abuse Act, which would require audits and limits on unauthorized searches.

Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.