The Latest on the Government Shutdown

Like all good things, this two week recess has come to an end.  Congress returns and with tax day cometh, the House is set to take up a series of financial services and tax bills.  In order to help you plan your week, we wanted to share a few of the key items on tap […]

After a two-week recess, Congress returns today to confront an expired deadline on Medicare payments to doctors and other unfinished business. The Senate is under pressure to act on a House-passed bill (H.R. 2) to stop a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments that kicked in April 1. Lawmakers have acted 17 times since 2003 […]

The House and Senate are in recess until April 13. When lawmakers return, the Senate is expected to vote on a Medicare deal (H.R.2) that passed the House on March 26. Additionally, both chambers are likely to begin the Fiscal 2016 annual appropriations process and try to beat a May 31 deadline to renew federal […]

As we close the books on one of the most productive weeks in Congress this year (and perhaps in recent memory), we can’t help but note that it occurred just before the convergence of the Easter and Passover holidays this year.  Perhaps it is just coincidence, but one can’t help but wonder if we should […]

Following one of the most productive weeks of the 114th Congress, lawmakers made their way home last Friday to begin a two-week recess. Before adjourning, House and Senate Republicans passed their preferred budget resolutions and the House voted overwhelming to permanently repeal Medicare’s flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. Early last Friday morning, the Senate […]

Looking Ahead   Near Term  An incredibly packed week as both the House and Senate try to wrap up this work period.  The House week will be highlighted by a vote on the so-called “Doc fix” while the Senate will subject itself to the drama that is the vote-a-rama. In the Committees, House Financial Services […]

A partisan dispute over abortion language included in a human trafficking bill (S. 178) brought the Senate to a halt again last week, with Democrats using procedural votes to block the legislation from moving forward. In response, GOP leaders indefinitely delayed a vote on Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. Democrats, however, are threatening to continue […]

With just five legislative days scheduled before the March 31 expiration of the current patch to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), we thought it would be helpful to provide a brief overview of the current state-of-play with respect to the negotiations to permanently replace Medicare’s flawed physician payment formula.  As we have previously reported, several […]

Despite having the fewest members since the Hoover Administration, the fact that Speaker Boehner has had deal with a disparate and  unruly group of Republicans contrasted with the minority’s more uniform cohesion and then combine that with a similar framework in the Senate, the reality is that Democrats, even House Democrats  have real power in […]

Last week saw the Senate debate anti-human trafficking legislation (S. 178), but the chamber failed to advance the measure after a partisan dispute arose over an anti-abortion provision. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed cloture on the measure Thursday, as lawmakers try to find a way forward on the Justice for Victims of Trafficking […]

The drama surrounding the eventual resolution of the Department of Homeland Security funding made two things very clear.  First, that despite having majorities in both Houses, Republicans still have intra-chamber differences, and second, because of those differences Democrats still matter.  With Leader McConnell reaffirming his commitment not to let the nation default on the debt […]

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the King v. Burwell case, which challenges the legality of tax subsidies in the 37 states that have opted to use the federal government’s marketplace instead of creating their own. A divide among the justices was clear, with the liberal wing largely backing the Obama […]