Legislative Activity Gottlieb Confirmation Hearing Set for April 5 On Wednesday, April 5, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will hold a confirmation hearing for Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump’s nominee for Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Gottlieb held a number of senior positions at the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Repeal and Replace or Repair and Rebrand? With reconciliation instructions in the FY 2017 spending bill that initiate the House and Senate committees with health care jurisdiction to reduce the deficit, Republicans in both chambers are eager to use the fast-track, fifty-vote process to repeal and replace as much of the Affordable Care … Continue Reading
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 21st Century Cures Advances to Senate Last week the Senate amendment to H.R. 34, the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015 (21st Century Cures Act) overwhelmingly passed the House by a vote of 392 yeas to 26 nays. The bipartisan innovation package is the result of over two years of work … 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 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 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
SCOTUS Watch The Supreme Court is expected to issue its opinion in King v. Burwell by the end of the month, though it is unclear when the decision will be handed down. Currently, the Supreme Court has scheduled non-argument days for June 22 and 29, with a conference day scheduled for June 25. The issue … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congressional Committees Consider Veterans’ Health, Chronic Conditions Several hearings this week will focus on veterans’ health topics. Both the House and the Senate will discuss the implementation of the Veterans Choice Program early in the week, with the Senate holding a hearing on Tuesday, May 12, and the House following on Wednesday, May … Continue Reading
