House Committees Resume Reconciliation Markups

CMS Adds Star Ratings to All Exchanges The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance last Thursday indicating that it would bring its Star Ratings — long the province of Medicare Advantage and programs like Nursing Home Compare — to all CMS-administered health care exchanges. Starting with the open enrollment for plan year […]

Senators may look to wrap up legislative business for the summer later this afternoon. In addition to a host of presidential nominations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has queued up the bipartisan budget agreement for a vote at some point during today’s session. Final passage of the measure — which would boost spending by […]

Senators will reconvene this afternoon as they look to wrap up key legislative priorities ahead of the August recess. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to swiftly call up the House-passed budget deal (text; summary), as the upper chamber will need to hit the ground running in September on the 2020 appropriations process. In addition […]

House lawmakers cleared (284-149) the sweeping budget package (text; summary) yesterday, addressing both the federal borrowing limit and budgetary spending caps prior to leaving for the six-week August recess. The Senate is scheduled to follow suit early next week, as the upper chamber will need to hit the ground running in September on the 2020 appropriations process. […]

Lawmakers are set to strap in for another busy day of legislative business both on and off the floor. In the lower chamber, House lawmakers are expected to pass the compromise budget deal (text; summary) later today, addressing key fiscal deadlines ahead of the six-week August recess. The deal provides for a $321 billion boost in federal spending […]

Congressional leaders and President Donald Trump have struck a compromise budget deal (text; summary) that would address pressing deadlines for the federal debt ceiling and budgetary spending caps. The deal provides for a $321 billion boost in federal spending over the next two years, with $738 billion for defense spending and $632 billion for non-defense in fiscal […]

White House and Congressional leaders are still working to finalize details of a sweeping budget deal that would address the debt ceiling and budgetary spending caps. Reports suggest that both sides are zeroing in on a deal that would include spending offsets that total less than the administration’s $150 billion demand, as well as a […]

Congress has adjourned for the week as negotiations on a sweeping budget deal continue behind the scenes. Despite reaching a general agreement on the framework for the deal, talks are still ongoing over specific numbers, offsets, and structural issues. Late yesterday, the White House gave House Democrats an extended list of $574 billion in offset […]

House lawmakers will reconvene this morning to begin a busy day of legislative business. In addition to legislation authorizing appropriations for U.S. intelligence operations and a resolution holding key administration officials in contempt of Congress, Democratic leadership has queued up a bipartisan bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) so-called "Cadillac” tax. Designed to curb incentives […]

The White House and Congressional leaders are continuing negotiations on a sweeping budget deal that would address budgetary spending caps, the debt ceiling, and fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations. Despite indications of progress from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the dwindling summer floor time — coupled with the slow pace […]

Both chambers of Congress will return to action this afternoon. When the House gavels in first, lawmakers will begin consideration of 14 suspension bills out of the Foreign Affairs and Small Business Committees. This includes: (1) a measure amending the Small Business Act to require cyber certification for small business development center counselors; (2) legislation […]

House lawmakers are set to dive into a second day of work on the lower chamber’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As of yesterday, over 100 amendments have been adopted to the $733 billion bill as progressives seek to tack on their big-ticket measures that would: (1) restrict the use of military […]