Murkowski: “We Still Have Time to Reach Bipartisan Consensus.”

Murkowski: "We Still Have Time to Reach Bipartisan Consensus."

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statement today following her votes to proceed on debate for the two proposals on healthcare:

"The cost of health care is already a significant burden, and in just a few short weeks, it is set to explode into a full-blown crisis for thousands of Alaskans and millions of Americans. We have known this cliff was coming for quite some time, but Congress has ignored opportunities to address it at every turn. This brought us to today, when I voted to begin debate on competing proposals that ostensibly aim to address this challenge.

"They were better than nothing, which is why I supported the motions to proceed to both of them. Yet both had substantial flaws, and neither was designed to actually pass the Senate. The Democrats' proposal extended current subsidies for longer than necessary, while setting up a worse future cliff and making no meaningful reforms to restrain costs in the meantime. The Republicans' proposal could help address costs over time but did little to resolve the immediate pain facing Americans, with increasing premiums, and included known poison pills for our Democratic colleagues.

"For over a year, I have been sounding the alarm about this looming cliff. During the reconciliation process, I proposed addressing an extension in the bill. In September, I introduced legislation that offered a clean two-year extension of the enhanced premium tax credits to give Congress a runway to address healthcare affordability. Later that month, I included a one-year extension of those tax credits as part of a framework for an appropriations plan.

"There are no excuses. Today, the Senate failed its responsibilities. But we still have time to reach bipartisan consensus before we leave for the holidays, and there is plenty of overlap among the proposals in both the Senate and the House that would work to extend the tax credits with needed reforms. We now know with certainty what we cannot do, but we must set aside what divides us. It is essential that my colleagues come to the table and focus on where we can reach agreement before open enrollment closes on January 15. I am going to continue doing everything I can to ensure Americans can access the care they need."

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