This week in Washington: President sends budget request to Congress.
House Passes Bill to Extend Medicare Sequester Moratorium
On April 13, the House of Representatives voted 384-38 to pass a bill that would eliminate the 2 percent cut to all Medicare payments, known as sequestration, until the end of 2021. In addition, the legislation
This week in Washington: House and Senate return from congressional work period.
House Energy and Commerce Hearing on Substance Use to Consider 11 Bills
On April 14 at 10:30 a.m., the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “An Epidemic within a Pandemic: Understanding Substance Use and Misuse
In This Issue: Department of Education hosts National Safe School Reopening Summit, Senate HELP Committee holds confirmation hearing for Cindy Marten, and earmarks make their return to Congress.
On March 24, 2021, the Department of Education hosted the National Safe School Reopening Summit. According to the Department of Education, the
American Jobs PlanOn Wednesday, March 31, 2021, the Biden Administration released their American Jobs Plan, which constitutes the first of two sections of a larger infrastructure package. This section contains roughly $2.5 trillion in federal spending over eight years, with the majority of that coming in one-time investments.
Takeaways
This week in Washington: The House and Senate are in recess.
Representatives Propose a Permanent Extension of CHIP Funding
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is looking at ways to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expand Medicaid coverage. A proposal by Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Lucy McBath (D-GA) to permanently extend the
About 475 million people worldwide have received a COVID-19 vaccine, and a return to normalcy draws closer. What remains unclear, however, is how state and federal governments will regulate and reimburse for telehealth when temporary telehealth policies expire at the end of the public health emergency.
Read on for a summary of proposed federal regulatory
This week in Washington: Becerra confirmed 50-49 to be Secretary of Health and Human Services
House passes Medicare Sequester Moratorium
On March 19, the House of Representatives passed legislation to extend the Medicare sequester moratorium through the end of the year. The vote was 246-175. However, the bill is not certain to pass the Senate.
This week in Washington: Budget reconciliation package passes and is signed into law; Becerra’s nomination for HHS secretary advances in the Senate.
House Passes Final Budget Reconciliation Bill
On March 10, the House passed the final version of the Senate budget reconciliation bill. One Democrat voted with the Republicans, who were united against the
Earmarks are making a return to Congress. House Democrats have announced their intention to bring back earmarks after a moratorium lasting a decade. Removing the moratorium will give more power to individual lawmakers, especially Congressional members on the appropriations committees and the committees drafting the new infrastructure bill. It also provides stakeholders an opportunity to
American Rescue PlanOn Wednesday, March 10, Congress passed President Biden’s stimulus and COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion package provides additional funding for vaccination efforts, COVID-19 testing, state and local governments, stimulus checks, unemployment assistance, rental assistance, education, child care, and small businesses.
Notably, the final bill is not the