(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), author of bicameral legislation to permanently extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits,and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) led a group of their colleagues on the Senate floor to call for Republican cooperation to keep the government open and extend soon-expiring health care tax credits that lower premiums for tens of millions of Americans. Shaheen has warned for more than a year that, if Republicans allow the effective tax credits to expire at the end of 2025, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance and millions more will face skyrocketing premiums. In recent months, Shaheen has led the push for Democrats to prioritize the soon-expiring tax credits and has consistently called on Republicans to come to the table to find a path forward. Click HERE to watch Senator Shaheen's full remarks.

Estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predict that, if the tax credits expire, more than 20 million Americans enrolled in Marketplace coverage will face significantly higher premiums and four million Americans will lose their health insurance altogether.

Key quotes from Senator Shaheen:

• "Extending the tax credits has been a priority, and we've been calling attention to the looming expiration of these vital tax credits since last year. In fact, three times during this past year, my Democratic colleagues and I have tried to pass our legislation to offer some real relief to working families grappling with the high cost of living. Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have blocked each and every one of these efforts."

• "Now, what does it mean for Americans if we allow these tax credits to expire? It means that 24 million Americans will see their health insurance costs go up. It means that 4 million Americans could lose their coverage entirely [...] On average, Marketplace premiums will rise by 75 percent, roughly 700 dollars per year. That's the biggest increase in over a decade. And this price increase impacts the very people who can least afford rising costs right now."

• "Some Republicans in Congress keep saying - let's wait, we have time to deal with this later. Unfortunately, we now know that there is a cost to waiting. [...] if we don't act, if we wait until the end of the year to pass an extension, that 1.5 million more people would go uninsured. Premiums will still go up, and waiting actually costs the federal government an additional 10 billion dollars!"

• "Let's put aside the politics and work to keep health care premiums affordable. Let's support the small business owners who power local economies all across the country and create two-thirds of the jobs in America. Let's preserve this vital program that keeps Americans healthy and safe."

Remarks as delivered:

I come to the floor this afternoon to join a number of my colleagues because time is of the essence. If Congress doesn't act to extend tax credits for the cost of health insurance, millions of Americans are going to lose their coverage and many more could see their costs go up by as much as 75 percent.

And that's on top of the most recent inflation data that shows our economy is headed in the wrong direction.

And despite those numbers, everything that we've seen from this administration, from its tariff policy raising prices on cars to coffee, to the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" or "Betrayal", as I call it, that ripped Medicaid away from millions of Americans to finance tax breaks for billionaires.

All of those actions has made the affordability crisis for average Americans worse.

For far too many American families, this growing affordability crisis includes the rising cost of health care.

We in Congress must not let these concerns go unanswered, especially when we have the ability to act - and we have the solution to prevent health care costs from skyrocketing even further overnight.

That's why a number of my colleagues and I have worked in the Senate to introduce bicameral legislation that would permanently extend the enhanced premium tax credits; those benefits that allow so many Americans-our neighbors, our small businesses, our friends-who rely on that help to keep their premium costs low to be able to afford health insurance.

Extending the tax credits has been a priority, and we've been calling attention to the looming expiration of these vital tax credits since last year.

In fact, three times during this past year, my Democratic colleagues and I have tried to pass our legislation to offer some real relief to working families grappling with the high cost of living.

Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have blocked each and every one of these efforts.

Now this program to provide that help that families need to cover their cost of health insurance, this program, is set to expire at the end of the year and there's no plan in sight to replace it and to help families afford health insurance.

Allowing the tax credits to expire is going to harm the record enrollment in the ACA Marketplace that so many people have worked so hard to achieve. And this past year has been record enrollment in the ACA.

Now, what does it mean for Americans if we allow these tax credits to expire?

It means that 24 million Americans will see their health insurance costs go up.

It means that 4 million Americans could lose their coverage entirely. And that's not an exaggeration, because that's based on the nonpartisan data from the Congressional Budget Office.

Now, according to a report that a number of us commissioned from the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms, eliminating these tax credits will disproportionately hurt older people, those who live in rural areas, small business owners-those people who can least afford to pay additional costs for their health insurance.

On average, Marketplace premiums will rise by 75 percent, roughly 700 dollars per year. That's the biggest increase in over a decade.

And this price increase impacts the very people who can least afford rising costs right now.

I spoke with one of my constituents last week, Paul from Canaan. Canaan is a small town in the northern part of New Hampshire.

He's one of those people who we talk about, who Georgetown University Center talked about when they talked about the impact of those cost increases on Americans.

Paul's employer-sponsored insurance would be prohibitively expensive for him and his family. And it's not only that, it's not accepted by a lot of the providers in his area.

His wife also has an auto-immune disease and his son needs insurance coverage in order to attend the University of New Hampshire.

So that means that those the enhanced premium tax credits, the benefits that we provided in Congress to ensure that families like Paul's could afford their health insurance, they have been a lifeline for him.

He told me that, thanks to the credits, he no longer fears that one single emergency room visit could bankrupt his family.

But sadly, without those enhanced premium tax credits, not only Paul, but millions of Americans will have to make difficult choices about what they can live without so they can afford health insurance.

That should be unacceptable to all of us in the United States of America.

The American people are rightfully concerned about the soaring costs of health care coverage. And they're looking to Congress. They're asking us to work together to get this done.

I'm here to remind all of our colleagues, along with Senator Welch and those of us who are speaking to this, but mostly our Republican colleagues-some of whom I know are very aware of what an issue this is for their constituents.

They're also aware that the clock is ticking.

Some Republicans in Congress keep saying - let's wait, we have time to deal with this later.

Unfortunately, we now know that there is a cost to waiting.

Just yesterday, the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, estimated that, if we don't act, if we wait until the end of the year to pass an extension, that 1.5 million more people would go uninsured.

Premiums will still go up, and waiting actually costs the federal government an additional 10 billion dollars!

So for all of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who were so anxious to cut different aspects of our government because they want to fund their tax decrease for the wealthiest in this country, they ought to care about an additional 10 billion dollars that it's going to cost if we wait to address this issue.

Waiting to act is going to leave more Americans uninsured, it's going to cost patients more for their hard-earned income and it's going to be more expensive for the federal government.

So while I'm encouraged by some of the public reporting that several Republicans are interested in extending the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, the time for us to act is now.

The President's own pollsters have warned that not extending these tax credits would be a political catastrophe for the GOP.

I would hope that we could all agree that addressing the affordability crisis that Americans are facing because of the increasing costs of everything from groceries to rent to electricity, those shouldn't be partisan issues.

I know there are many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who understand these stakes, who are worried about what's happening with their constituents.

So let's come together. Let's address the American people's concerns.

Let's put aside the politics and work to keep health care premiums affordable.

Let's support the small business owners who power local economies all across the country and create two-thirds of the jobs in America.

Let's preserve this vital program that keeps Americans healthy and safe.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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