Congress faces holiday crunch as health care fix collides with shrinking calendar
Congress has been back after the week-plus Thanksgiving Day break. And days are slipping off the calendar as lawmakers struggle to assemble a plan to address health care or defray...
By Fox News · Fox News
Congress has been back after the week-plus Thanksgiving Day break. And days are slipping off the calendar as lawmakers struggle to assemble a plan to address health care or defray the cost of spiking premiums. The deadline is the end of the calendar year. But Fox is told that the insurance companies just need action by Jan. 15. Still, that doesn’t give Congress much time to act. And, depending on the metric, the House is only scheduled to meet for nine days for the rest of 2025. The Senate is not as clear, but, unofficially, the Senate will only meet for nine more days as well. GOP WRESTLES WITH OBAMACARE FIX AS TRUMP LOOMS OVER SUBSIDY FIGHT The House is scheduled to be in Tuesday through Friday. Then Dec. 15 through Dec. 19. The Senate meets Monday. But it’s unclear if the Senate would meet Friday. The Senate also meets Dec. 15 through at least Dec. 18. But anything beyond that is a little sketchy. CONGRESS RACES AGAINST 3-WEEK DEADLINE TO TACKLE MASSIVE YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE AGENDA However, this is where things get interesting. The House originally was not scheduled to meet Dec. 19. But that date was added to the schedule a few weeks ago. Some would interpret that added date as "code" for the possibility that the House may need to be in town the weekend of Dec. 20 to Dec. 21, and perhaps beyond. There is a possibility that the House could add days to the calendar around that period because Christmas Day isn’t until that Thursday. DEMS PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO KEEP OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FIGHT ALIVE AFTER VOTE TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT So, in theory, the House has a few extra days at its disposal to address issues before Dec.25. It would be a different matter if Christmas itself fell on say a Monday or Tuesday. So let me fillet the meaning of this. House Republicans are aiming to release a health care plan in the coming days. But developing a coalition to support such a package — without bipartisan support and full-throated support from President Donald Trump — likely st…