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CMS Finalizes 2020 Exchange Rule Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its 2020 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, the annual rule that establishes standards for health plan issuers and the exchanges. Although CMS had proposed three prescription drug-related provisions, it finalized just one of them to allow plans to exclude […]

Last Week in the House The Floor   On Tuesday, Democratic leadership was forced to pull its proposal to increase spending caps by $17 billion for defense spending and $34 billion for non-defense spending following an intense intra-party disagreement, as members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus indicated that they would not support the bill without […]

The Week in Review Prior to leaving Washington for a two-week recess, House Democrats pulled their proposal to raise discretionary spending caps from the floor amid disagreements over non-defense spending levels. The legislation would provide for a $17 billion increase above FY 2019 budget caps for defense spending and a $34 billion bump above that […]

Senators are set to wrap up their legislative work week today and leave town for a two-week district work period. On the floor, the Senate will hold a confirmation vote on Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s nomination to lead the department permanently. Bernhardt’s nomination is expected to pass despite concerns from lawmakers about possible conflicts […]

House Democrats have pulled their proposal to raise discretionary spending caps from the floor amid disagreements over non-defense spending levels. The legislation would provide for a $17 billion increase above FY 2019 budget caps for defense spending and a $34 billion bump above that level for non-defense. Members from the Congressional Progressive Caucus wouldn't support the underlying […]

House Democrats are set to follow through key campaign promise to rebuke the Trump administration’s action on Net Neutrality. Lawmakers will begin consideration of a bill (H.R. 1644) that would undo the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order, as well as 12 amendments to the underlying text. The bill is […]

Both chambers will reconvene for legislative business today prior to leaving for a two-week recess. In the House, Democratic leadership has teed up a bill (H.R. 1644) that would undo the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order. The bill — which cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee on a party-line […]

The Week in Review Last week, Senators failed to advance a sweeping supplemental disaster aid relief bill for states impacted by recent natural disasters amid a fight between Democrats and President Donald Trump over relief aid for Puerto Rico. Congressional Democrats have argued that the funding included for Puerto Rico's nutritional assistance program is inadequate […]

Last week, in a lengthy post on LinkedIn, investor Ray Dalio put forth his ideas on “Why and How Capitalism needs to be reformed.”  Refraining from questioning how certain Republican Congressmen would quantify Mr. Dalio’s position, his essay raises significant questions about whether or current structure of government is able to take on the very serious […]

Both chambers of Congress have wrapped up their legislative work for this week and will reconvene next Monday. In the House, Democratic leadership has teed up a bill (H.R. 1644) that would undo the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order. The bill — which cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee […]

Yesterday evening, Senators failed to advance (51-48) a change to the Senate rules that would speed up the presidential nominee confirmation process due to opposition from Senate Democrats. The resolution (S.Res. 50) — approved by the Senate Rules Committee in February — would limit the post-cloture debate time from 30 hours to two for executive […]

Both chambers of Congress are set to begin another legislative work week this afternoon. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has queued up a change to the Senate rules that would speed up the presidential nominee confirmation process. The resolution — approved by the Senate Rules Committee in February — would limit the post-cloture debate time from 30 hours to two for executive branch […]