Once again Democrats were smirking as Republicans appeared to wage civil war, this time over the decision to renew the charter for the Export-Import Bank. All Art Vandelay jokes aside, the debate over the Ex-Im bank once again has shown the schism in the Republican party, and how there are really three parties in Congress – Republican, Democratic, and Tea Party. While it looks like both sides may be able to claim victory in this instance by kicking the can down the road for a few years, it is worth noting that we continue to witness similar battles and results on other issues. As a result, more and more items are being added to the lame duck agenda, and it is shaping up to be a very busy November and December in our nation’s Capital – the only question is will there be enough runway to get all things done.
Month: June 2014
TRP Health Policy Report
The House and Senate both completed legislative business for the week last Thursday, with lawmakers returning to their districts for the Fourth of July recess. Before adjourning, the House voted 229-185 to approve legislation (H.R. 4899) to require the Department of Interior to conduct additional onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales. Earlier in the week, the House voted 265-144 to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (H.R. 4413) before turning attention to other two energy-related bills. On Tuesday, the House voted 238-173 to pass a bill (H.R. 3301) from House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) to eliminate certain pipeline and electricity transmission permit requirements. On Wednesday, House members voted 266-150 in favor of legislation (H.R. 6) to expedite Energy Department permits for natural gas exports to WTO countries. In the Senate, members voted 95-3 to approve a jobs training bill (H.R. 803) and advanced a series of executive branch and judicial nominations.
At E&C Hearing, CMS Touts Medicare FPS Savings; OIG and GAO Recommends SSN Removal, Additional Provider Screening
Today, at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, members discussed the Administration’s efforts to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare. The Subcommittee heard testimony from witnesses at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on recommendations that program integrity officials are implementing, and outstanding requests that CMS has yet to act on.
21st Century Cures Roundtable Touts Consumer Control of Health Data as Way to Increase Innovation and Privacy
Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee hosted its second 21st Century Cures roundtable to discuss “bridging the gap” between digital medicine’s advances and regulatory policies. This roundtable follows the Committee’s recently released white paper entitled Leveraging Technology to Advance the Discovery, Development, and Delivery of Better Treatments and Cures. The stated goal of the 21st Century Cures Initiative is to “to streamlin[e] the drug and device development process” in order to “unleash[e] the power of digital medicine and social media at the treatment delivery phase.”
TRP Health Policy Report
Last week, House leadership elections and appropriations bills dominated the agenda on Capitol Hill. In the House, GOP members elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Majority Leader, following Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-VA) recent loss in a Virginia GOP primary. In floor activity, the Senate deadlocked Thursday on moving ahead with a three-bill appropriations package after Democratic leaders insisted that proposed amendments had to clear a 60-vote threshold – higher than a simple 51-vote majority. Senators had voted 95-3 to proceed with work on the $126 billion "minibus" (H.R. 4660) that would fund the departments of Commerce, Agriculture-FDA, and Transportation and a number of other agencies in fiscal 2015. Back in the House, members completed work last Friday on a fiscal 2015 defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4870), which the chamber passed in a 340-73 vote.
TRP Financial Services Report
On Tuesday the voters in Mississippi will have the privilege of helping to determine whether the ascending trajectory the pundits placed back on the Tea Party following Majority Leader Cantor’s primary defeat maintains momentum or loses steam. While the media often focuses on the extremes of both parties, it is important to remember that the work gets done in the middle and as a recent report by the group Third Way, shows, it appears that there is fertile ground there to move forward on a lot of the big issues facing our country. Government shouldn’t make good television, and if you’ve ever watched C-SPAN you know why, but we need to find a way past the noise of the talking heads to address the major fiscal and economic issues facing our country. We will find out on Tuesday which direction we are heading.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Elected as House Majority Leader
Shortly ago, House Republicans voted for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the new House majority leader. The four-term Republican lawmaker, who previously served as the majority whip, will take over for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) when he leaves his post on July 31. McCarthy defeated Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) in a vote held by private ballot earlier this afternoon. The position was vacated after Cantor’s surprising defeat in his June 10 primary. Elected in 2006, McCarthy has spent most of his career in the leadership. McCarthy is well-known for his affable personality, fruitful fundraising, and strong personal relationships with his fellow lawmakers.
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Today on the Hill: Judicial Nominations and Naming Post Offices
The House will spend the day on the critical duty of naming post offices, while the Senate plans to finish work on some of President Obama’s judicial nominations. On the Senate floor today are confirmation votes for three judicial nominees and a cloture vote on an assistant attorney general nominee. The upper chamber will convene at 10:00 am, and around 11:00 am will proceed to a series of roll call votes on the following:
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TRP Financial Services Report
Eric Cantor’s loss last week was described by some as yet another example of Republican’s “eating their own.” Unfortunately, liberals are also agitating in this way as well, and appear to be weaving the same narrative of creating “purity tests”, ironically with both sides taking aim at Wall Street.
TRP Clean Energy Report
Last week, a key Republican on the House Appropriations Committee said GOP lawmakers will seek to block the EPA’s proposed greenhouse-gas rule by denying the funding to implement it. According to Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), chairman of the House’s Energy-Water Appropriations subcommittee, said the funding ban will be included in the fiscal 2015 spending bill for the Department of Interior and Environment. Because the spending bill must pass to keep the Interior Department and the EPA running, it’s viewed as a viable vehicle for addressing the emissions issue.