Author: Thornrun

The Week in Review
 
A busy week in Washington was highlighted by the changing of the guard in the top post of the House. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was elected to replace John Boehner (R-OH) by the Republican Conference on Wednesday and secured the House floor’s approval on Thursday, with just 9 Republicans voting against him. In his acceptance speech, the newly-minted Speaker struck a courteous tone and buoyed hopes of more bipartisan work being completed in the House for the remainder of the Obama Administration.

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The Week in Review

 Legislative action last week was highlighted by ongoing deliberation on how to raise the nation’s debt limit by a November 3 deadline – the date the Treasury Department has determined the country’s borrowing capacity will be exceeded. House Republicans have been deliberating on a solution and considered a proposal last week from the Republican Study Committee (RSC) that would link a $1.5 trillion increase in the borrowing authority with a freeze on all major regulations through July 1, 2017, and a vote on a balanced budget amendment by the end of 2015. However on Thursday, House Republicans backed away from the RSC plan, and a clear path forward has yet to emerge. The issue is expected to dominate discourse in Congress this week as the country slowly inches towards default and the financial turmoil that would likely accompany it. 

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This post, penned by Thorn Run's Billy Wynne, originally appeared in Health Affairs Blog.

In a previous post—now almost one and a half years ago—I described “the coming storm” I anticipated would develop around the 340B drug discount program. After a brief tornado hit the House Energy and Commerce Committee when they considered including 340B reforms in their 21st Century Cures initiative, a slower, hurricane-style churn over the Administration’s proposed guidance on the topic has settled in.

With the October 27 comment window steadily approaching, let’s take a look at what the rule says and what it could mean for interested stakeholders.

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The Week in Review
 
The House and Senate were in a week-long recess for the Columbus Day holiday last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled the Senate to return this afternoon at 4:00 PM and the House is set to return tomorrow morning.

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The Week in Review 

Legislative action in Congress last week was overshadowed by the surprising announcement from Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that he would no longer seek to be Speaker of the House John Boehner’s (R-OH) successor. While McCarthy’s decision caught most observers by surprise, it can be, at least partially, explained by to two key factors. First, the Republican Conference was voting on a rules change that would force candidates for leadership positions within the party to give up their previously held position, meaning that if McCarthy pursued the Speakership, he would be forced out as Majority Leader. Second, even if McCarthy won the majority of votes from the Republican Conference, it is unlikely that he would have secured the 218 votes necessary to be elected as Speaker on the House floor in a vote due later this month – Democratic abstention and opposition from the more conservative members of the Republican caucus would prevent him from reaching the necessary majority on the House floor. 

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