Federal Updates
Hearings/MarkupsSenate Committee on the Judiciary: “The State of Patent Eligibility in America: Part III”
Tuesday, June 11, 2019: The Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a hearing continuing its work on patent eligibility, with a large panel of witnesses, most of whom are arguing in favor of statutory reform that would tighten up
Next Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will markup a $4.5 billion supplemental funding bill per the President’s request for more funding to secure the border.
Leader McConnell (R-KY) is also expected to bring the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the floor.
The House will
The Senate spent the week considering another slew of judicial nominations, but on Tuesday, Senate Democrats tried to force a vote on House-passed net neutrality legislation. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Wicker (R-MS) objected. The effort was largely symbolic on the one year anniversary of the FCC repealing Obama-era net neutrality regulations. The Democratic-controlled
HearingsHouse Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Health: “Investing in America’s Healthcare”
The Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on health care extenders, discussing the following legislation:
FY20 Appropriations BillsThe House will start bringing FY20 appropriations bills to the floor next Wednesday with the Senate Appropriations expected to start marking up its bills shortly thereafter.
The Senate will continue considering pending executive branch and judicial nominations, including Edward Crawford’s nomination to be Ambassador to Ireland.
Disaster Aid Legislation Passes, Senate Continues to Process NominationsWith the President in the United Kingdom for a state visit, the House and Senate returned to Washington on Monday after the weeklong Memorial Day recess. The House immediately passed a supplemental disaster aid bill, sending it to the President for his signature. The Senate continued
McGuireWoods Consulting senior vice president, Stephanie Kennan, commented on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in a recent Medicare reimbursement case in a June 3 article for Inside Health Policy.
The court rejected Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) argument that it had broad authority to issue its own legal interpretations of the
Pending NominationsWhen the Senate returns on Monday, it will take up Andrew Saul’s nomination to be Commissioner of Social Security before moving to a number of other pending judicial and executive branch nominations, including Rita Baranwal’s nomination to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy.
The House returns on Tuesday and is expected
The House and Senate are in recess this week coinciding with Memorial Day. Before leaving last week, the Senate reached agreement on a long-stalled disaster aid package and passed it overwhelmingly. The House had already left Washington, but leadership attempted to pass the bill by unanimous consent. Rep. Roy (R-TX) remained in town