This month, the 118th Congress convened in Washington, D.C., ushering in a return to divided government. Republicans now hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, while Democrats have retained their slim Senate majority. With few opportunities for bipartisan compromise, the 118th Congress is expected to engage in more frequent, less robust, and more … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity AHCA’s Final Act? On Friday, April 28, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until Friday, May 5. The extension gives Republicans until the end of the week to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Then, House Republican leadership will likely turn again to addressing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity AHCA Revival or Retreat Congress reconvenes this week after a two-week recess, with the possibility of a government shutdown looming at the end of the week. Speaker Ryan has made it clear to his colleagues that funding the government beyond April 28 will be his highest priority. With the American Health Care Act … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Health Reform Benched By Republican Leadership Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been the goal of Republicans in Congress for the last seven years. Health reform was front and center during the campaign and it was President Trump and Speaker Ryan’s first priority out of the starting blocks in 2017. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity The Repeal and Replace Effort Moves to the House Budget Committee After two marathon markups, the Republican repeal and replace effort is expected to continue on to the House Committee on the Budget. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Ways and Means endured partisan markups due to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Appropriations Process in Full Swing as House and Senate Mark Up Bills Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hold subcommittee and full committee appropriations bill markups and release 302(b) suballocations this week, even without an approved budget resolution in either chamber. The budget process has stalled in both the House and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Budget Resolution Markup Possible This Week House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) has kept the Budget Committee’s schedule open this week in the hopes of marking up an FY 2017 budget resolution. While the markup has not yet been scheduled, it would likely take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. Chairman Price and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Republicans Look for Mandatory Cuts to Make Passage of a Budget Resolution Possible House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) and House Republican Leadership continue to look for cuts to mandatory spending to offset the $30 billion increase in discretionary spending for FY 2017 called for in last year’s bipartisan budget deal. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Republicans Work Towards an Agreement on Spending Republicans may be nearing a deal that will make passage of a budget much easier in the House. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently told House Republicans the best way to advance conservative policy priorities during the upcoming appropriations process is to approve a budget, and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President to Release Budget Tuesday, to Republican Opposition On Tuesday, February 9, the White House will release President Barack Obama’s fiscal year (FY) budget request, his final one. The President’s budget will be dead on arrival in Congress but can be an important messaging document, particularly heading into a presidential election year. The … Continue Reading
