The Latest on the Government Shutdown

The Week in Review With the Senate remaining in recess, the House reconvened from the winter break and set to work on a legislative agenda that highlighted a deep partisan divide on healthcare and regulatory issues. Most notably, the House approved Senate-passed budget reconciliation legislation (H.R. 3762) that would repeal key provisions of the Affordable […]

While the Senate will remain in recess until Monday, January 11, a new year in Congress starts tomorrow as the House is scheduled to reconvene from its winter break. House lawmakers are set to begin on a highly partisan note with the consideration of the Senate-passed budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 3762) that would repeal key […]

Our Take The First Session of the 114th came to a close last week, fittingly with the passage of the FY16 spending bill and a tax measure dealing with a series of expiring provisions, to tie a bow on a year whose schedule had been dictated by statutorily imposed deadlines.  Despite some Sturm und Drang […]

The Week in Review  The first session of the 114th Congress ended on a high note as Democratic and Republican lawmakers were able to work through their differences and pass a mammoth $1.6 trillion spending and tax deal that will fund the government for the remainder of the 2016 fiscal year. On Friday morning, House […]

Legislative action for the year is set to finish today as both chambers complete work on a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill (omnibus text; section-by-section summary), and an accompanying tax measure (tax package; section-by-section summary). The House has already passed the ‘tax extenders’ package and is poised to pass the omnibus this morning before combining […]

Congressional leaders last night unveiled a broad package of spending and tax legislation that would avert a U.S. government shutdown, delay Obamacare’s medical device tax and Cadillac tax for two years, and lift the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, among other policy provisions. In a pair of measures around midnight last night, Congress released the […]

This post, penned by Thorn Run's Billy Wynne, originally appeared in Health Affairs Blog. Despite the passage of a 2010 law addressing such medicines, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval this year of the first biosimilar has prompted a flurry of regulatory activity aimed at filling gaps left by the statute. For a helpful […]

This post, penned by Thorn Run's Billy Wynne, originally appeared in Health Affairs Blog. Despite the passage of a 2010 law addressing such medicines, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval this year of the first biosimilar has prompted a flurry of regulatory activity aimed at filling gaps left by the statute. For a helpful […]

Looking Ahead Near Term Congress has till Wednesday to resolve differences over the remaining issues — ranging from Syrian refugees to oil exports — that continue to be the impediment to passing a bill to fund the government for the remainder of FY16. Debate and discussions also continue around the tax “extenders” package, including whether […]

This week will test the ability for Democrats and Republicans to work through their differences towards compromise as lawmakers rush to complete a $1.1 trillion spending measure to fund the government and a package of tax breaks before the winter recess. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said the text of a broader omnibus spending […]

The Week in Review The government was set to shut down last Friday, but the passage of a very short-term continuing resolution bought Congress five more days to resolve differences over issues ranging from taxes to Syrian refugees that stand in the way of funding the government through next September. The measure (H.R. 2250), which will […]

With highway funding and reconciliation settled, Congress is geared to begin a busy legislative week. Lawmakers will only have five days to complete an omnibus package funding the government beyond current funding’s expiration on December 11. The text of a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill may be posted today, which would allow the House to take […]