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This Week in Congress: Congress Returns for Brief Legislative Sprint

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Congress returns for a truncated legislative work week as lawmakers look to clear crucial agenda items prior to next week’s recess. In significant appropriations news, both chambers are positioned to take up the first conference report on a package of three fiscal 2019 spending bills, which fund agencies including the departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs, as well as military construction projects and Congress itself. Congress will also hold conference committees for the next two spending packages — including FY 2019 appropriations for the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services (HHS), ‘Financial Services and General Government,’ ‘Agriculture and Rural Development,’ ‘Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies,’ and ‘Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, and Related Agencies’ — in hopes of producing final appropriations numbers for the underlying agencies.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

Congress convened last week and began the process of reconciling their respective FY 2019 appropriations bills. The House passed motions to go conference with the Senate on a federal spending package for the Defense, Labor, HHS & Education Departments, as well as an appropriations package (H.R. 6147) that includes spending allocations for: (1) Financial Services and General Government; (2) Agriculture and Rural Development; (3) Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; and (4) Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Both chambers will now hammer out final spending details off the floor in hopes of passing as many spending bills as they can prior to the September 30 government funding deadline

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Financial Services Report

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Our Take
The last week of August saw perhaps the best example of the current cognitive dissonance of American politics.  This refers to the twin events of Senator McCain’s funeral and the Florida Gubernatorial primary.  The primary, which took place on August 28th, resulted in the election of two politicians that come from each parties’ respective bases, and who both beat more moderate, centrist candidates.  This result needs to be viewed against the ethos of bipartisanship, compromise and rebuttal of tribal politics that was the centerpiece of Senator McCain’s funeral and the commentary that surrounded it.   While people claim they want politicians that are willing to embrace the American ideals of compromise, they seem to be continuously electing individuals who instead satisfy a different ideal, that of “fighting” for ideological purity.   Whether this dichotomy will break anytime soon will be determined in fifty-six days.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The Senate finished up work for the week — and the month — after reaching a deal to break the presidential nominee logjam. Under an agreement announced on the Senate floor by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), seven judicial nominations were confirmed Tuesday, including Lynn Johnson to be Assistant Secretary for Family Support at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Richard Clarida to be Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Systee. The agreement allowed senators to depart for events in their home states during the week, as well as to make the trip to Phoenix, AZ for services in remembrance of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

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TRP’s McCarthy Discusses New GOP Preexisting Conditions Bill in Article for IHP

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In a recent article for Inside Health Policy, Thorn Run Partners’ Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy discussed the GOP’s Preexisiting Conditions Protection Bill and its signal towards the end of the GOP’s ability to use the Affordable Care Act as a strategic rallying message. “If last year’s ‘repeal and replace’ effort offered a lens into the GOP’s nuanced positions on Obamacare, the introduction to enshrine the law’s key consumer protections bring those distinctions into even clearer focus,” said McCarthy. “As the Trump administration backs a lawsuit that would gut the law’s insurance reforms, this cadre of ideologically-diverse Republicans are sending the clearest signal to date that they support many of the ACA’s key tenants.” Additionally, McCarthy astutely pointed out that while debates over the law’s subsidy structure may continue over time,  “It’s difficult to contemplate at this point another serious effort to undo the ACA root and branch.”

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The Senate returned to Washington last week and completed its work on the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education appropriations minibus (H.R. 6157). Prior to final passage, the upper chamber approved a large bipartisan amendment package (#3695) following a brief hiccup in the process over an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would have defunded Planned Parenthood. The bill’s passage marks the first time the Senate has passed a labor, health, and education funding bill since 2007.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The Senate returned from a truncated August recess last Wednesday and continued work on its presidential nominations queue and the appropriations process. Following the completion of its scheduled nominations work — confirming Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr. and Julius Ness Richardson to be judges on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court — the Senate officially began consideration of the massive Defense-Labor-HHS-Education minibus (H.R. 6157). While leaders on both sides of the aisle are optimistic that they can avoid partisan fights over “poison pill” riders that could derail the process, this latest appropriations minibus could bring about a contentious debate as senators consider controversial amendments related to Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding, abortion, education policy, and child detention centers.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

Voters in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District went to the polls in the last special election prior to November’s midterm elections, as Republican Troy Balderson squared off against Democrat Danny O'Connor for a House seat that the GOP has held for 35 years. As of today, Balderson still holds a 1,500-vote lead, however, the race is still too close to call as 3,435 provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. The tight margin in this reliably red district — previously represented by former Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Ohio Governor John Kasich — suggests that Democratic House candidates are a threat to compete this fall in districts that have traditional been held by Republicans.

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Financial Services Report

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Looking Ahead

Near Term

The House and Senate are out this week.

Further Out

The Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote on a series of nominations in August.   The vote had been scheduled for last Thursday but was scrapped when the Senate finished up its floor schedule earlier than anticipated triggering an earlier departure for the abbreviated recess.   While a new date has yet to be announced, it is expected to take place during this August work period.

The Senate returns on Wednesday August 15th and will return to the slog of nominations, with two more Judges teed up for consideration. 

The Senate is also expected to take up another minibus spending bill (Defense / Labor HHS). 

Other items that the Senate could take up in August (though not likely) are the FAA bill and the Water Infrastructure (WRDA) bill.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

While House lawmakers returned to their districts for August recess, the Senate reconvened for another week of legislative work prior to leaving for a two-week break. The upper chamber cleared a host of priorities including: (1) a four-bill appropriations minibus (H.R. 6147) containing the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Interior, and Financial Services appropriations packages; (2) a short-term funding reauthorization (S.1182) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); and (3) approving the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report (H.R. 5515). Senators also continued their push to clear the presidential nominations queue, confirming Britt Cagle Grant to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit.

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