Congress Races Clock on ACA Subsidies, Defense Bill as Key Deadlines Loom

Congress has plenty on its to-do list, with must-pass defense spending and a shrinking timeline to pass Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies before higher premiums kick in on January 1, 2026. 

On the subsidies, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is allowing Democrats to hold a vote on a proposal for a clean extension of ACA subsidies for three years, as part of a promise made to end the government shutdown. However, it would require at least 60 votes and is not expected to garner enough Republican support.

“Our healthcare system is at stake. The future of our hospitals—many of which will be overrun when people lose insurance—is also at stake,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a floor speech. 

For his part, Senator Thune said that Republicans are still kicking ideas around but will not back a clean extension. 

“I don’t think, at this point, we have a clear path forward. I don’t think Democrats have a clear path forward,” said Senator Thune. 

And there is wide division in the Republican caucus. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) has referred to the ACA subsidies as “Biden’s Covid bonus payments” while Senator John Husted (R-OH) said he would support an extension if money is redirected to consumers. 

In the House it’s a similar story. A group of 20 Democrats and 15 Republicans released a framework for a two-year extension. But many House Republicans are opposed and Speaker Mike Johnson has shown no interest in bringing it to the floor. 

All this comes as Congress faces a deadline of January 30, 2026, to pass new funding bills, or face a partial government shutdown. Most of the bills have passed the committee stage, but have yet to pass the full House or Senate, except for the three pieces of legislation that were part of the compromise package that ended the government shutdown. 

NDAA Negotiations

House and Senate negotiators also published their compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), teeing it up for negotiations this week. 

The bill spends about $900 billion, which is $8 billion more than the Trump Administration requested.

A notable exclusion from the bill is a provision to expand IVF coverage for active-duty service members and military families.

However, the bill does contain several provisions affecting the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce. 

That includes a provision that would allow DoD to promote employees based on skills and qualifications without requiring them to satisfy minimum time-in-grade requirements before being eligible for promotion.

It would also allow DoD to use skills-based assessments for certain open positions and the sharing of certificates for job candidates across the entire department.