The halls of Congress emptied last Thursday afternoon with the speed of a fire drill, as lawmakers bolted for their home districts without addressing a health care crisis that has been staring them in the face since late summer.
Around 3 pm Eastern Time, the House gaveled its final vote of the year, and members of Congress practically trampled each other racing to the exits. Cars lined up on the Capitol plaza like it was the last helicopter out of Saigon. The urgency to leave Washington, it seems, far exceeded any urgency to help millions of Americans facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums come January.
For months, health care has dominated the conversation on Capitol Hill. Committees met. Speeches were delivered. Promises were made. Yet when the moment came to actually legislate a solution, Congress chose the path of least resistance and headed home.
The frustration was palpable among Democratic leadership. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts stood on the House steps earlier that day, pleading with her colleagues. “Don’t send us home without a vote,” she implored, her words carrying the weight of constituents who will soon face premium increases they cannot afford.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York issued a warning to Speaker Mike Johnson that had the ring of a promise rather than a threat. “You can run. But you cannot hide,” Jeffries declared, making it clear that this issue will not simply evaporate during the holiday recess.
The scene brings to mind a familiar refrain from long-suffering baseball fans who watched their teams falter year after year. “Wait til next year,” they would say, hope springing eternal despite evidence to the contrary. That same sentiment now echoes through the marble corridors of Congress, where lawmakers have essentially punted a critical health care decision into January.
The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. These are the same elected officials who spent countless hours this autumn discussing health care reform, holding hearings, and issuing statements about their commitment to affordable coverage. Yet when the rubber met the road, when action was required rather than rhetoric, Congress chose inaction.
Americans watching this spectacle unfold have every right to feel betrayed. Health insurance premiums do not care about congressional schedules or political convenience. Come January, families across this nation will face higher costs, and they will remember which institution had the power to help but chose instead to head home early for the holidays.
The legislative calendar shows Congress will not reconvene until early January. By then, the premium increases will already be in effect. What could have been prevented will instead need to be remedied, assuming Congress finds the will to act at all.
This is not governance. This is abdication. The American people deserve better than a Congress that treats urgent matters like optional homework that can be pushed off until after winter break. The question now is whether lawmakers will face any real accountability for this failure, or whether they will simply move on to the next crisis, leaving this one in their rearview mirror.
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