The FY2017 omnibus appropriations package that was passed by both chambers earlier this week was officially signed into law by President Trump earlier today. His signature officially wraps up the FY2017 appropriations process, enabling the Congress and the Administration to now focus on FY2018, which starts October 1.
News and updates
What We’re Reading This Week, May 1 – 5
Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.
Comedians Love Trump – It appears that late-night talkshow hosts love President Trump. According to an analysis by George Mason University, he is on pace to be become the butt of the hosts’ jokes after his first year more often that any of his predecessors. Read more in Politico here.
Suffering from Election Withdrawal?– Anyone suffering from election withdrawal? Our Presidential election is over, the two gubernatorial elections in 2017 are not until later this year, and the Congressional elections are not until next year. Well, those who need their election fix can learn about the impending Presidential elections in France and South Korea.
Senate Obamacare Repeal Slog – Don’t expect quick Senate action on the Republican bill to repeal large portions of the 2010 health law. Aides caution that, regardless of House passage on Thursday, it could be weeks before the Senate can begin any significant work on the legislation. The lack of analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office will be a major contributor to the slowdown. Read more on Roll Call.
Trumpcare’s Impact on Harborview – House Republicans claimed victory after pushing through their legislative centerpiece that would scuttle much of Obamacare. The health-care bill’s pathway through the U.S. Senate is less clear. Harborview Medical Center’s executive director said Friday that the hospital by 2026 would lose $627 million in federal revenue under the health-care bill passed Thursday by the House of Representatives. Read more from The Seattle Times.
On International Students – Students from abroad have become a rich revenue source for many state colleges and their towns. What happens if the Trump administration’s anti-immigration sentiment and policies drive them away? Read more from Governing Magazine.
NIH to Impose Grant Cap – In a major policy shift that is reverberating across the biomedical research community, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, says it plans to cap the number of grants an investigator can hold in order to free up funding for early-career scientists and those struggling to keep their labs afloat. Read more in Science Magazine.
House Passes AHCA, the ACA Repeal
By a vote of 217-213, the House passed a bill that would repeal parts of the 2010 health care law and change Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement system to one that limits states’ federal funding.
Passage fulfills a core Republican campaign promise of the past seven years. The measure, HR 1628, moves to the Senate, where supporters will face major challenges in passing it.
The legislation would replace the income- and cost-based subsidies for insurance in the health care law with an age-based tax credit beginning in 2020. It would effectively end the law’s expansion of Medicaid in 2020. It would block federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year.
The bill would result in the loss of medical coverage for 24 million people by 2026, under a March Congressional Budget Office projection that did not take into consideration recent amendments. That analysis has not been updated. The Senate will not take up the measure until a new projection is released.
The bill would repeal taxes in the 2010 law for wealthier people with investment income, medical device manufacturers, health insurers and others. The CBO estimated the bill would reduce deficits by almost $337 billion over 10 years, under the earlier projection in March.
The House modified the original version by adding three amendments. One, by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) would let states get waivers so they could exempt insurers from Obamacare minimum benefit rules and a ban on charging sick people higher prices. Another, by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) would provide $8 billion over five years to help people with medical conditions whose insurance premiums rose after a state got a waiver. The third, by Reps. Gary Palmer (R-AL) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) would create a $15 billion federal program to help cover the costs of high medical claims.
Senate Clears Omnibus
The Senate passed H.R. 244, the FY 2017 Omnibus appropriations bill today which will fund the government through Sept. 30. The $1.07 trillion legislation now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate tally was 79-18 . The omnibus legislation includes the 11 unfinished appropriations bills and intelligence authorization legislation, as well as funding for retired coal miners’ health care, supplemental defense money and funding to avert a Medicaid shortfall in Puerto Rico.
Trump is expected to sign the legislation, which must be enacted before the current continuing resolution expires at midnight Friday
House to Vote on ACA Repeal Today
Following an amendment that won the support of two Republican hold-outs on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), House GOP leaders move to consider the AHCA today. This vote will be a defining moment for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, to say nothing of the rank-and-file Republicans.
The GOP also is planning to vote on a separate bill that would eliminate AHCA’s exemptions for members of Congress and their staff to avoid Budget Reconciliation issues with the MacArthur Amendment, which was unveiled last week. The latest amendment, from Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), would add $8 billion to $9 billion in funding over five years for high-risk pools aimed at subsidizing more expensive premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. The amendment has persuaded reluctant House Members – including House Freedom Caucus member Billy Long (R-MO) – to switch their votes to support this new version of the bill..
Republicans have a members-only meeting planned for 9 a.m. to talk strategy, and the vote could be as et 1 p.m. Some members want a quick vote and to promptly leave for recess, but the need for arm-twisting and the potential for delays could push the vote itself late into the day.