Congress Returns for Three Weeks

Lawmakers are back in Washington, DC, after a week-long recess. Both chambers will be in town for three weeks before a two-week Easter recess in mid-April. With the government funded through the end of this fiscal year, focus will be on advancing reconciliation and confirming Trump appointees.

The bulk of work this week will happen behind the scenes. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will meet on Tuesday to discuss aligning their budget resolutions. The House and Senate each passed differing resolutions earlier this year, and now they must pass a unified budget resolution through both chambers of Congress in order to move the reconciliation process forward. The House version included an extension of Trump-era tax cuts and a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, including at least $880 billion from House Energy and Commerce Committee jurisdiction. Given the committee’s jurisdiction, many of those savings would come from Medicaid. The Senate’s “skinny” budget resolution focused on energy and immigration policy, with the goal of completing an additional reconciliation package later this year that would include tax cut extensions. Republicans aim to pass their aligned budget resolution before the Easter recess, in order to complete reconciliation as expeditiously as possible.

The Congressional Budget Office is also expected to release its debt limit prediction this week, which will include the “X date” when the United States is predicted to reach the debt limit. That date is expected to fall as early as this summer, and it will influence reconciliation. The House budget resolution included raising the debt limit, but if the reconciliation timeline slips, lawmakers may have to address the debt limit through separate legislation, which would likely need bipartisan support to pass.

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the nomination of Mehmet Oz, MD, to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He is expected to advance out of committee. He will join other healthcare nominees – including Martin Makary, MD, nominated for US Food and Drug Administration commissioner, and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, nominated for director of the National Institutes of Health – who await full Senate confirmation. Their floor votes could happen as early as next week and are likely to be advanced before the Easter recess.

Today’s Podcast

In this week’s Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss what’s brewing on Capitol Hill, including budget reconciliation, the debt limit, and pending agency leadership nominations.