Legislative Activity Senate Prepares for Vote-a-Rama This week, the Senate begins 50 hours of debate on the budget resolution, moving towards the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the budget reconciliation process. While Republicans make final policy decisions on the language and continue to discuss their repeal and replace strategy, Democrats are working … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Republicans Discuss the Future of Obamacare After six years of complaining about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) it is time for Republicans to take action, however a divide on how to tackle the law has developed. There are Republican members who prefer a transition to the new system of health … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Republicans Seek to Attack the Affordable Care Act This week House Republicans are putting the Affordable Care Act’s summer headlines front and center. Both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will hold … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Republicans to Release ACA Alternative House Republicans announced they will release their long-awaited Affordable Care Act (ACA) Alternative this week. The Speaker’s Task Force on Health Care Reform was announced in January and is one of six committee-led task forces charged with developing “a bold, pro-growth agenda.” Members of the Health Care … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, Moves to Full Committee H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, introduced by Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), is being considered by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday, June 15. The bill … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Zika Funding Proposal Scheduled for House and Senate Vote Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on Zika funding proposals this week, ending several weeks of disputes on the issue. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced H.R.__, the Zika Response Appropriations Act, 2016, will be considered on the House Floor. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Energy and Commerce Committee to Hold Concussion Roundtable Last December, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) announced that the committee would commence a broad review of concussions and their implications. His initiative officially begins this week, with a roundtable titled “Broad Review of Concussions: Initial Roundtable.” The committee … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Two Health Bills Scheduled for House Floor House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has stated that the chamber may consider two health bills this coming week. On Tuesday, March 1, the House is expected to consider H.R. 2814, to Name the Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Base Outpatient Clinic in Sevierville, Tennessee, the Dannie … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Cloture Vote Scheduled for FDA Nominee, Chamber May Consider Opioid Legislation On Monday, February 22, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a cloture vote on the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner. Three Senators – Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Bernie Sanders … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Consider Overriding President’s Veto of Reconciliation Legislation Following a postponement due to weather last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has announced that on Tuesday, February 2, the House will consider the President’s veto message on H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. The legislation seeks … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Blizzard Postpones House Consideration of Veto Message on Reconciliation Legislation Due to the winter storm in Washington, the House will no longer be in session this week. Previously, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had announced that on Tuesday, January 26, the House would consider the President’s veto message on H.R. 3762, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President May Highlight Obamacare Successes in State of the Union Address On Tuesday, January 12, President Barack Obama will give his final State of the Union address to Congress. While details of the speech have yet to be released, last week, the President vetoed Congress’s budget reconciliation bill, which aimed to dismantle the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Possibly Consider Amended Reconciliation Bill Last week, the Senate passed an amended H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, on a vote of 52-47. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has stated that the House of Representatives could possibly consider the Senate-passed bill on the House floor … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Republicans Eye Obamacare Repeal Measures In Reconciliation Bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a meeting on Monday, November 30, for Republican senators to discuss repealing parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Senate Republican leaders are hoping to consider the Senate substitute amendment to the House-passed reconciliation bill, H.R. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Health Bills Scheduled For House Floor Action House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has announced that on Monday, November 16, the House will consider two health bills under suspension of the rules: S. 599, the Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act, which extends and expands the Medicaid emergency psychiatric demonstration project; and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to Mark Up Seven Bills On Tuesday, November 3, and Wednesday, November 4, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a markup to consider seven pieces of legislation: H.R. 2017, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015, and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Vote On ACA Repeal Provisions House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has included two health-related bills on this week’s floor schedule. On Wednesday, the House is expected to consider S. 1362, a bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to clarify waiver authority regarding programs of all-inclusive care … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers Schedule Markup of Transportation Bill Without Revenue Provisions Last week, on Friday, October 16, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a six-year, $325 billion highway funding bill (the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015); a markup of the legislation is scheduled for Thursday, October 22. Notably, while the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Health-Focused Reconciliation Recommendations Clear Three Committees Last week, three House committees considered and passed reconciliation recommendations that included health-related language. The House Committee on Ways and Means approved language that would repeal the individual and employer mandates, the excise taxes on medical devices and high cost employer-sponsored health coverage (also known as the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity International Tax Reform-Highway Funding Negotiations Stall Following months of coordination between House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and senior Senate Finance Committee member Chuck Schumer (D-NY) regarding tying international tax reform to highway funding, aides for the two lawmakers last week announced that negotiations had stalled as a result of … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Health Legislation Hits House Floor House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has announced that the following health-related bills will be considered this week under suspension of the rules: H.R. 1624, the Protecting Affordable Coverage of Employees Act, as amended, which provides that employers with 51 to 100 employees are small employers for purposes … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Votes on Defunding Planned Parenthood With the fiscal year quickly coming to an end, the government spending fight will ramp up as the House of Representatives continues its response to the controversial Planned Parenthood videos which were released this summer. As early as Thursday, September 17, the House is expected to vote … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Committee on Energy and Commerce to Mark Up Health Legislation The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has announced that it will hold a markup on Tuesday, July 28. Several health bills are on the agenda: H.R. 1344, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2015, which reauthorizes a program for … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Republicans Postpone Reconciliation Actions Until After August Recess With the August District Work Period only weeks away, House Committee on the Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) announced this past week that the House Committee on the Budget would not act on reconciliation until after the lawmakers reconvene in September. The three House committees … Continue Reading
