HouseHouse Passes USMCA Trade Deal
On Dec. 19, the House passed H.R. 5430, the U.S., Mexico and Canada trade deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a Senate vote on the new North American trade deal would happen in 2020, after the impeachment trial for President Trump in January. The deal removes 10-year patent
FY20 Spending BillsAppropriations Committee leaders reached a deal early this week to fund the government through FY20 and unveiled two packages of spending bills. One combines the Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Financial Services measures; the second including the Agriculture-FDA, Labor-HHS-Education, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, Transportation-HUD, Military Construction-VA, and Legislative Branch measures. The House
Hearings/MarkupsHouse Committee on Energy and Commerce: “Proposals to Achieve Universal Health Care Coverage”
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019: The Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on a variety of plans offered to achieve universal health care.
Why this is important: The committee examined nine legislative proposals that could
Continuing Negotiations on FY20 AppropriationsBicameral Appropriations Committee leadership and the Administration continue to negotiate a deal on FY20 appropriations as the current continuing resolution prepares to lapse at the end of next week.
The Senate may also bring up compromise robocalls legislation that passed the House last week 417-3, though Senator Rand
FY20 AppropriationsWith just a handful of legislative days remaining before government spending authority expires on December 20, House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders met this morning to continue to discuss a path forward for FY20 appropriations.
The Senate spent most of the week on pending nominations, including Stephen Hahn’s nomination to serve
House to Vote on Pelosi Drug Pricing Bill This Week
On Dec. 5, it was announced that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) drug pricing bill, H.R. 3, will be voted on next week in the full House. As of now, there is no complete score of projected savings from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) before
Hearings/MarkupsHouse Committee on the Judiciary: “The Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Appointments Clause: Implications of Recent Court Decisions”
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019: The House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on the patent system and implications of recent court decisions on the system.
Why this is important: On Nov. 20, the
Continuing ResolutionWith government spending authority set to expire on Thursday, the House unveiled a continuing resolution (CR) on Monday to extend funding through December 20. It went on to pass the chamber Tuesday, 231-192 and the Senate followed suit today, 74-20. The President is expected to sign it into law, averting a government shutdown.
Hearings/MarkupsSenate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee: “Examining the Response to Lung Illnesses and Rising Youth Electronic Cigarette Use”
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to examine the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response to
Discussions to Avert a Government Shutdown OngoingThe House and Senate returned to Washington on Tuesday after the Veterans’ Day holiday. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who chair the Appropriations Committees, met on Tuesday to discuss a deal to avert a government shutdown when the current continuing resolution (CR) expires on