The House Ways and Means Committee is holding a markup today (December 10) of trade and tax bills, including the "AGOA Extension Act" and the "Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act." The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and certain trade programs with Haiti expired September 30, and the bills before the Committee would provide a retroactive extension through December 31, 2028. The Committee is also marking up H.R. 4930, "To expand the sharing of information with respect to suspected violations of intellectual property rights in trade."

Tax bills being marked up by the Committee are:

• The "Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act" (H.R. 6495) addressing third-party notice requirements
• The "Innovate Less Lethal to De-Escalate Tax Modernization Act" (H.R. 4242) addressing the firearms and ammunition excise tax
• The "Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act" addressing collection due process proceedings

Retirement — The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is holding a hearing today, December 10 (10 a.m.), on "The Future of Retirement." Witnesses:

• James R. Copland, Senior Fellow and Director, Legal Policy, Manhattan Institute
• Chad Williams, CFP, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones
• Richard Fiesta, Executive Director, Alliance for Retired Americans

HELP Committee Chairman and Finance Committee member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) sponsors the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act (S. 1707), to "help more Americans aged 18 to 20 years old access employer-sponsored retirement plans by removing barriers that discourage companies from offering these benefits to younger employees;" and the Auto Reenroll Act (S. 1831), "to help American workers take advantage of their available employer-sponsored retirement plans and full employer match offers by permitting more frequent opportunities for employees to opt in." Committee member Tim Kaine (D-VA) is the Democratic cosponsor of both bills.

Separately, Semafor December 9 reported on polling suggesting voters favor having access to private markets for their 401(k)s and said, "Congress is getting briefed on the idea, with Democratic staff on the Senate Banking and HELP Committees hosting private equity, retirement, and labor policy experts on Monday."

Health care — The Senate is planning to vote Thursday on the Democratic bill (S. 3385) to provide a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits (PTCs) expiring at the end of this month, which is expected to fail given insufficient Republican support to gain the necessary 60 votes for Senate passage. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) agreed to hold the vote as part of the agreement ending the government shutdown.

The chamber is also expected to vote on a Republican alternative. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Chairman Cassidy on December 8 unveiled the "Health Care Freedom for Patients Act" (S. 3386), which doesn't extend the enhanced credits but seeks to build on the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act's" (OBBBA) expanded Health Savings Account (HSA) eligibility paired with more affordable insurance plans. "These pre-funded, patient-driven accounts will help Americans pay for the out-of-pocket costs that are making health care unaffordable," the senators said.

The plan, with credibility coming from the leadership of the two health policy committees in the Senate, is intended to draw the widest level of backing possible from Senate Republicans and has the backing of Leader Thune. "As a conference, our members — and I can't say 100% — but I think the most part, I would argue, are united behind the Crapo-Cassidy proposal which, as I said, in terms of its emphasis, is about patients, not insurance companies, and about lowering premiums … " Thune said following the regular Tuesday policy lunches. "So, there will be something out there that Republicans will be able to talk about and support and vote for … "

The GOP plan is also expected to fail to gain the necessary votes. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the Crapo-Cassidy bill "dead on arrival" as it "would not extend the ACA tax credits for a single day — that's what's driving the price up, and they're doing nothing about it."

Not all Republicans are comfortable letting the enhanced credits expire. "I just don't know how Republicans would explain that to 24 million Americans whose premiums are going to double … We need to think about the human cost of this. And Republicans need to offer an alternative solution," Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) told CNN December 9. Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said in a story in the December 9 Wall Street Journal that if Republicans can't agree on a health care plan, "it's political malpractice."

Asked during a December 8 Politico interview whether he will tell Congress to extend the enhanced ACA subsidies while a broader deal is worked out, President Trump said, "I don't know. I'm going to have to see. I'd like to get better health care. I'd like to have people buy their own health care, get much better health care. And what I want to do — very simple — I want to give the money to the people, not to the insurance companies."

In a related development, Treasury and IRS December 9 issued Notice 2026-05 providing guidance on new tax benefits for HSA participants under the OBBBA, including provisions on telehealth and remote care services.

Tax — An EY Tax Alert, "Final regulations on stock repurchase excise tax withdraw funding rule, ease other requirements," is available here.

Friday, December 12 is the EY Center for Tax Policy monthly update for December 2025, formerly known as "Tax in a Time of Transition." Register here.