Legislative Activity

Secretary Price to Testify on HHS Budget Request

This Thursday, June 8, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price will appear before the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means to defend the President’s FY 2018 Budget titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness.” The President’s FY 2018 Budget, largely matches the Skinny Budget released earlier this year and calls for cutting federal spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years. Because of its proposed cuts, the Skinny Budget received significant opposition from stakeholder groups and Members of Congress.  The FY 2018 Budget, released on May 23, 2017, received a similar reception. The committee hearings will be the first opportunity for Members of Congress to question the President’s FY 2018 HHS budget request, which proposes drastic changes to the Medicaid program and cuts billions of dollars from public health programs and biomedical research.  Secretary Price will likely discuss proposals within committee jurisdiction including those that affect the Medicare program, health programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and health care reform. While the hearings have yet to be announced, Secretary Price is also expected to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

This Week’s Hearings: 

• On Wednesday, June 7, the Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing on the various nominations including the nomination of Eric Hargan to be deputy Department of Health and Human Services Secretary.

• On Wednesday, June 7, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing titled “Overcoming PTSD: Assessing VA’s Efforts to Promote Wellness and Healing.” The witnesses will be announced.

• On Wednesday, June 7, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing titled “Examining the Veterans Choice Program and the Future of Care in the Community.” The witnesses will be announced.

• On Thursday, June 8 the Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing titled “The President’s FY 2018 Budget.” The witness will be:

  • The Honorable Tom Price, MD, Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services

• On Thursday, June 8, the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “Department of Health and Human Services’ FY 2018 Budget Request.” The witness will be:

  • The Honorable Tom Price, MD, Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services

• On Thursday, June 8, the House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition will hold a hearing titled “The Next Farm Bill: SNAP Technology and Modernization.” The witnesses will be announced.

• On Thursday, June 8, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled “Examining the Role of the Department of Health and Human Services in Health Care Cybersecurity.” The witnesses will be announced.

• On Thursday, June 8, the Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing titled “Economic Aspects of the Opioid Crisis.” The witnesses will be:

  • Professor Sir Angus Deaton, Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Senior Scholar and Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Economics Department, Princeton University

  • The Honorable Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General

  • Lisa N. Sacco, Crime Policy Analyst, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress

  • Richard G. Frank, Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School