On his final day in Washington for 2025, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen is taking a victory lap after what he describes as a difficult, but productive year at the Capitol — and at home.
“This has been a very, very hard year for so many neighbors in our district,” Sorensen said at a news conference on Thursday. “Families are feeling incredible amounts of pressure.”
Sorensen, whose 17th Congressional District includes parts of Bloomington-Normal, said cost of living is the primary concern he hears from constituents, including escalating health care costs, grocery and utility bills.
“On top of that, Washington went through a long and disruptive government shutdown that hurt real people,” he said. “The shutdown didn’t just cause chaos in Washington, D.C.; it hurt a lot of people back home.”
Despite the hurdles, Sorensen touted his ability to move legislation forward addressing food insecurity, clean water and economic development. He supported a bill aimed at helping first-time home buyers enter the housing market.
“Through all of this, I’m focused on one thing, and that’s lowering the cost and making our quality of life better for people,” he said. “Right now, we have an administration that only wants to make it better for the millionaires and the billionaires.”
The Rockford Democrat whose sprawling district also includes parts of Peoria and the Quad Cities, said the looming end of health care subsidies is the year’s biggest piece of unfinished business.
Congress ended its year without voting whether health care subsidies for people insured through the Affordable Care Act [ACA] marketplace should be extended past Dec. 31.
Delaying until next year means many will see their monthly premiums skyrocket.
“Once we get into January, people are already going to have those $1,000 bills for their health care. It’s wrong,” Sorensen said. “It’s unconscionable to me that the House GOP refuses to bring this to a vote. The majority of the people here in Congress — it is the majority, Democrats and Republicans, saying that we should extend the ACA tax credits. Yet the speaker of the House is as corrupt as they come because he’s not even bringing it to the floor today.”
Four Republicans bucked party leadership to try and force Congress to take up the issue before leaving for the year. Democrats agreed to end the longest government shutdown in history on a promise that Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, would take up the issue.
Sorensen said people unable to afford the new premiums may be forced to forego insurance and rely on emergency departments for care.
Republicans have long criticized and sought to abolish the single-payer insurance program. Late last week, House Republicans introduced a bill they say will lower health care costs, without extending ACA subsidies.
Proposals have included trading the ACA subsidy for a lump sum to be used as a health savings account, and a measure aimed at making employer-based insurance more accessible for small businesses.
Bringing money back to the 17th District
Among his accomplishments, Sorensen said he is especially proud of federal grant money awarded in his district.
“I was able to bring millions of federal dollars back,” he said. “It’s not just bringing money back to the district. These are tax dollars.”
In McLean County, the list of 2025 federal grants Sorensen helped secure includes: $5 million to Connect Transit to cover increased costs of the new downtown Bloomington transfer center; $750,000 to the Normal Police Department to hire new officers and ramp up community policing; and more than $1 million for Chestnut Health Systems to study the intersection of drug addiction and the criminal justice system.
“Beyond legislation, my office has been able to help more than 1,000 constituents navigate the federal government, bringing back $2 million in taxpayer dollars for our neighbors,” he said. “They don’t get the news articles, but it’s making sure we get somebody’s Social Security check when they didn’t get it. It’s making sure our veterans are taken care of when they fall through the cracks. It’s making sure seniors get what they need.”
Affordability is top of mind
Sorensen said his goals for 2026 remain focused on lowering costs and “protecting essential services.”
Republicans similarly recognize a need to address affordability.
In a prime time address Wednesday night, President Trump said $1,776 checks for U.S. military personnel are “already on the way.” And he has floated direct payments to taxpayers, paid for by money brought in through Trump’s trade tariffs.
Sorensen said he voted to increase military pay, but that the president “does not have the authority to write checks.”
“What he said on television last night just lives in his head,” he said. “There is no mechanism for that funding to get out.”
