March 2022 - thornrun

Health Policy Report (3/28)

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers of Congress will be in session this week for a busy legislative work period, headlined by the release of President Joe Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request. The President’s request is expected to be formally unveiled later today, with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young set to testify before the House and Senate Budget Committees to field inquiries from lawmakers on the request. Congressional appropriators are expected to ramp up their appropriations activities in the coming weeks once the budget is released, starting with a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday featuring Secretary Xavier Becerra to review the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) FY 2023 budget request.

Health Policy Report (3/21)

Posted on March 21, 2022August 8, 2023 by Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

The Senate will convene for legislative business this week eyeing action on a procedural vote that would jumpstart the conference committee process on the bipartisan technology research and innovation package. This procedure will involve taking up the House’s America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (America COMPETES) Act (H.R. 4521), making changes to the underlying text, and subsequently sending the bill back to the lower chamber. House lawmakers would then need to formally “disagree” to the Senate’s changes, which would allow for the opportunity for lawmakers in both chambers to go to conference and develop a compromise version.

Health Policy Report (3/14)

Posted on March 14, 2022August 8, 2023 by Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

Late last week, the Senate passed [68-31] a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package (text; summary) after reaching an agreement on amendment votes to the underlying legislation prior to final passage. The omnibus now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature, which will likely occur early this week. President Biden signed a brief four-day continuing resolution (CR) head of last Friday’s funding deadline to provide more time for agencies to review the 12-bill omnibus. While the spending package includes the White House’s supplemental funding request to support Ukrainian military and humanitarian efforts, it does not include additional funding for pandemic response efforts due to last-minute disagreements over funding offsets.

Health Policy Report (3/7)

Posted on March 7, 2022August 8, 2023 by Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

House and Senate appropriators are pushing to finalize an omnibus spending deal for fiscal year (FY) 2022, but they may need beyond next Friday’s deadline to complete their work. While the “four corners” leaders are reportedly on the cusp of completing the 12-bill spending package, a last-minute White House request for supplemental funding to support Ukraine and address pandemic-related areas of need has complicated the appropriations talks. Specifically, GOP senators have been opposed to additional COVID-19 relief money, instead pushing for a review of how much unspent pandemic relief funds remain.