Despite Having 218 Votes Necessary to Pass ACA Extension, Johnson is Sending House Home With Premiums Set to Skyrocket for Millions

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, in a powerful floor speech, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) condemned Trump and Republicans’ attacks on healthcare and abortion access, and demanded Speaker Johnson bring a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to the House floor immediately.

Despite having the 218 votes necessary to pass a three-year extension of the ACA subsidies—which help millions of families afford their health care coverage, including reproductive healthcare—Speaker Johnson is instead sending the House home for the holidays with premiums set to skyrocket for families nationwide.

A transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s remarks is available below and the video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Condemns Trump & Republicans’ Attacks on Healthcare, Implores Johnson to Extend ACA Subsidies
House of Representatives
December 18, 2025

Mr. Speaker, the wealth of our nation is the health of our people.

And yet, Republicans are doing everything in their power to make families sicker.

They want to deny children food, ban abortion care, and obstruct the extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

This dire for folks in my district, where in a three-mile radius, life expectancy drops by 30 years.

For my constituent Paula, whose husband lost his job and became ill, the ACA has been their lifeline, carrying them through years of uncertainty as she became his caregiver.

This is a healthcare crisis Republicans created, and it is intersectional.

Abortion care is healthcare.

Republicans are using abortion, once again, abortion care as a political bargaining chip.

The truth? Republicans will send premiums sky-high just to stop families from using their own money on a plan that covers abortion.

They’re not just putting healthcare out of reach for millions—they’re further restricting reproductive care.

The shame and sham of it all.

Mr. Speaker, we have the votes to extend these subsidies and save healthcare for our constituents.

The House must vote on it NOW.

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