Speaker Mike Johnson has been saying for months that extending Biden-era health care tax credits was “a December policy issue.” One week before he and his colleagues go home for the holidays, dozens of lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — are trying to hold him to that but with no bipartisan deal in sight. 

Mr. Johnson has balked at the idea of simply extending the tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of the year. If no agreement is reached, more than 20 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums rise dramatically. 

On Wednesday, a band of GOP and Democratic lawmakers began trying to force a bipartisan deal to the floor without Mr. Johnson’s support. The measure is known as a discharge petition, and if a majority of the House — 218 members — sign on, it will force Mr. Johnson to call up a bill. 

The underlying bill comes from Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — one of only three GOP House members representing a district that Vice President Kamala Harris won last year. The Democratic sponsor, Congressman Jared Golden, is retiring at the end of next year after announcing he would “dread” serving another term. Mr. Golden’s district was won by President Trump by nearly double-digits in 2024. 

“It’s a time-sensitive matter, and it’s an existential matter for, you know, people back home who really care about this … very real problem,” Mr. Fitzpatrick told reporters after kicking off the discharge petition on Wednesday. “Too many [lawmakers] are not connected with their districts where they’re actually hearing what we’re hearing.”

“You try to do things through regular order. When all those remedies are exhausted, you gotta go this route, unfortunately,” the Republican said. 

Another GOP member, Congressman Mike Lawler — who also serves in a Harris-won district — said it is clear that Mr. Johnson is not going to put up a reasonable solution to the health care cliff before the end of the year. 

“We all recognize the importance of addressing the immediacy of this issue in a bipartisan way,” he said. 

Democrats have also dug in. Both the House and Senate minority leaders have so far backed only one solution: a clean extension of the subsidies for three years without any income caps or additional oversight reforms. 

“If you’re not going to open up the process, if you’re not going to give people an opportunity to at least take a vote … Increasingly, I think you’re gonna see rank-and-file members taking matters into their own hands,” Mr. Golden said Wednesday. “They’re gonna have to decide whether or not they’re gonna follow suit.” 

The bill from Messrs. Fitzpatrick and Golden would extend the subsidies for the next two years, with additional reforms addressing drug pricing, the expansion of health savings accounts, and the introduction of new limits on wealthy individuals who may be receiving the tax credits. 

The bipartisan group said the Senate was more likely than not to take up their bill if the House is able to pass it. Mr. Golden said it would be “hard to believe the Senate won’t put their fingerprints on anything.”

The vast majority of Senate Republicans, however, say they need a much stricter crackdown on the subsidies. A number of bills have already been introduced which would expand health savings accounts rather than extend the subsidies. On Thursday, the upper chamber will vote on both Mr. Schumer’s clean three-year extension and a Republican proposal which would do nothing about the subsidies. 

If the discharge petition in the House garners 218 signatures, Mr. Johnson will have 48 hours to put it on the floor. Shortly after the petition went live, eight members — six Republicans and two Democrats — quickly signed it, according to the House Clerk’s office.