A Look At What Health Items Are In The House Democrats’ Stopgap Spending Bill
Among other things, the bill would extend funding until November for the community mental health services demonstration program, would extend the matching rate for Medicaid funding for U.S. territories and would delay the reduction in the allotments for Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals.
CQ:
Health Extenders Included In Short-Term Funding Bill
A stopgap spending bill unveiled by House Democrats Wednesday evening would temporarily extend funding for community health centers and other health care programs set to expire Sept. 30, while delaying payment cuts to safety-net hospitals. The legislation (HR 4378) would extend funding for community health centers to run through Nov. 21. Congress authorized two years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program in January of 2018, but that will expire Sept. 30. (Raman, 9/18)
CQ:
House Stopgap Bill Would Fund Farm Payments, Health Programs
The House Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting for 9:30 a.m. Thursday to consider parameters for floor debate, with a vote scheduled for later in the day. The stopgap measure is necessary because none of the dozen regular spending bills have become law yet. Congressional leaders and the White House didn't agree on topline fiscal 2020 funding caps until late July (PL 116-37), right before heading home for the August recess. Without President Donald Trump's signature by midnight Sept. 30, the government would partially shut down. (Mejdrich, 9/18)
Politico Pro:
House Sets Thursday Vote On Stopgap Spending Bill Packed With Extensions, Exceptions
The House plans to vote on a nearly two-month stopgap spending bill Thursday that would drag out current funding beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.House Democrats unveiled the 43-page measure, H.R. 4378, on Wednesday night, proposing to kick the next spending deadline to Nov. 21. The Senate is expected to clear the bill next week for President Donald Trump's signature, before all discretionary funding for the federal government runs out at midnight on Sept. 30. (Scholtes, 9/18)
Meanwhile —
CQ:
Senate Releases Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday released their $178.3 billion Labor-HHS-Education spending bill for fiscal 2020, ahead of a procedural vote on a broader funding package but with no bipartisan agreement on the largest domestic spending measure. Markups of the Labor-HHS-Education bill that were supposed to occur last week were postponed over a fight about amendments Democrats planned to offer. Democrats wanted to vote on an amendment to overturn a Trump administration policy that restricts federal funding from going to health care providers that offer or refer people for abortions. (Siddons and Bacon, 9/18)
