Month: November 2021

Capitol Hill Update

Congress has adjourned for the Thanksgiving district work period following House passage of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) late last week. Lawmakers will return on Monday, November 29, when they will have less than five days to act on the looming December 3 government funding deadline. With Democrats and Republicans still very far apart on a topline funding agreement for fiscal year (FY) 2022, it is likely that another short-term continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to avert a shutdown. While the stopgap funding measure has yet to be formally unveiled, intel from Capitol Hill suggests that the legislation will likely extend the funding date toward the middle or end of December. In addition to appropriations, lawmakers will also need to tackle the December 15 debt ceiling “X date” and the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), among other key year-end priorities.

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (11/22)”

Capitol Hill Update

Congress will resume legislative business this week as House Democrats anxiously await the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) score on the $1.75 trillion reconciliation package. While analyses for certain parts of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) — including the Science, Homeland Security, Small Business, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Titles — were released late last week, CBO cautioned lawmakers that a full score of the measure “will take longer.” As such, it remains to be seen whether the nonpartisan budget analysts will complete their work in time for a vote this week in the House, as centrist Democrats have expressed uneasiness about moving forward absent time to digest a full cost estimate.

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (11/15)”

Capitol Hill Update

The House clinched a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda late last week, sending the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to his desk for signature. The measure was buoyed with support from 13 House Republicans, while six progressive lawmakers — who have pushed for action on the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) — joined the remainder of the GOP conference in opposition. The President plans to sign the measure at a signing ceremony later this week. For additional details on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, click here to read TRP’s comprehensive analysis.

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (11/8)”

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers of Congress cleared another short-term funding measure for federal surface transportation programs as Democrats again failed to reach consensus on a path forward for President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. Despite renewed optimism that the bipartisan infrastructure deal would pass last week, Democratic lawmakers did not fully coalesce behind an updated framework for the President’s Build Back Better Act (BBBA) — a prerequisite for progressives’ support for the Senate-passed infrastructure deal. With a new surface transportation deadline of December 3, Democrats have effectively reset the “shot clock” on floor timing for both the Senate-passed infrastructure deal and reconciliation package — thus providing additional wiggle room for last-minute negotiations and tweaks. 

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (11/1)”