Reports indicate that the Senate will move as soon as Wednesday to begin advancing a unified budget plan. The Senate hopes to be able to advance the budget resolution by having the two chambers provide differing instructions to their committees. In other words, they are kicking the can on difficult policy decisions that will still be necessary to successfully enact a reconciliation bill.
As a reminder, budget reconciliation is the process used to pursue an omnibus piece of legislation to address changes in spending, revenue, and/or the debt limit. These changes have historically focused on mandatory spending programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Affordable Care Act (Social Security is barred from being adjusted in this process). A reconciliation bill needs only a simple majority of 50 to pass the Senate.
Before the Senate proceeds, it must still meet with the parliamentarian to determine if it can use the “current policy baseline” approach to scoring tax cuts. This approach would let the Senate extend the current tax cuts without needing to account for the cost.
If the Senate passes the budget resolution this week, the House will be expected to act next. However, it’s unclear if the House can move before the April recess. Some House Republicans have expressed concerns that because the Senate’s budget will not include the same level of cuts as the House’s, and because the Senate’s rules will need to govern reconciliation, the Senate budget numbers could ultimately override House goals. Speaker Johnson, and likely President Trump, have more work to do here.
The Senate will also proceed with nomination hearings, including interviewing the nominees for director and deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget. Mehmet Oz, MD, is also likely to be confirmed as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator this week or next. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold an executive business meeting, the Senate version of a markup, on drug legislation this week.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce will also hold a hearing on drugs that will explore the US Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of over-the-counter monograph drugs. The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will meet to review cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices, and the discussion will likely include artificial intelligence (AI). Several other House committee hearings this week will also examine AI. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce will meet to discuss improving access and affordability in employer-sponsored healthcare.
In the administration, focus remains on layoffs in the federal workforce. Last week plans were announced to downsize the US Department of Health and Human Services by 20% and eliminate or restructure several agencies and offices. We await official communications regarding these plans and how they will be carried out, but we know that staff departures are expected to continue, as they have from the early weeks of the administration.
In this week’s Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss potential movement in the Senate on a budget resolution and the announcement of an HHS reorganization.
