Today on the Hill: CBO Releases AHCA Analysis; House Enjoys Snow Day While Senate Overturns Labor Rule

The Congressional Budget Office released its highly-anticipated score of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – the Republican plan to repeal and replace parts of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA). Both supporters and detractors of the AHCA will find favorable information in the score; the CBO projects federal deficit savings of $337 billion over the next ten years, but at the cost of coverage losses for 24 million people in that same timeframe. The proposal’s effect on premium prices, the stability of the non-group market, and Medicaid spending are also detailed in the CBO’s analysis.

Floor action today has been partially derailed by the snowstorm barreling through the Northeast. While Washington was spared the worst of the snow totals, the unseasonal storm was enough to force the House to postpone their session. The lower chamber will convene tomorrow to vote on four suspension bills before moving to consideration of veterans’ affairs measures later this week.

The Senate will brave the weather today and meet this afternoon to consider a House-passed disapproval resolution (H.J. Res. 42) that would overturn a Labor Department rule limiting which federal employee applicants can be subject to drug testing as a condition of employment. A vote on the resolution could come today, which would allow the chamber to then move on to consideration of the nomination of former senator Dan Coats to be Director of National Intelligence and a formal waiver allowing Lt. Gen. Herbert McMaster to maintain his rank while serving as National Security Advisor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has filed cloture on both items and they will likely take up the remainder of the Senate’s week. While the snow did not delay floor action, some hearings in the upper chamber have either been delayed until this afternoon or postponed to a later date.