House Debt Limit Bill Passage Puts Pressure On Senate
Democratic leaders in the Senate say the measure passed by the House last week — that includes controversial work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP recipients, among other health policies — is dead on arrival. But the economic clock is ticking for lawmaker action.
AP:
What GOP's Plan For Medicaid Work Requirements Would Mean
More than a half million of the poorest Americans could be left without health insurance under legislation passed by House Republicans that would require people to work in exchange for health care coverage through Medicaid. It’s one of dozens of provisions tucked into a GOP bill that would allow for an increase in the debt limit but curb government spending over the next decade. The bill is unlikely to become law, though. It is being used by House Republicans to draw Democrats to the negotiating table and avoid a debt default. (Seitz, 4/30)
The Hill:
Attention Turns To The Senate After House GOP Passes Debt Limit Bill
Attention will turn to the Senate this week as the standoff over raising the debt ceiling continues, with pressure mounting on the upper chamber to act after House Republicans cleared a bill that would raise the borrowing limit and implement spending cuts. The House GOP bill — which marked the conference’s opening salvo in debt limit negotiations — put the ball in the Senate’s court as the stalemate over the borrowing limit drags on. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said the measure is “dead on arrival,” but House Republicans are now pushing the chamber to respond to their legislative offer. (Schnell, 5/1)
The Hill:
GOP Furious At VA Claiming Debt Bill Cuts Veteran Benefits: ‘Shamelessly Lying’
House Republicans are fuming over the Department of Veterans’ Affairs claiming that the GOP’s debt limit and spending cut bill would endanger services and benefits for veterans. “In my nine years as a member of Congress, I have never seen the use of an agency that is so vitally important to so many people be used as a political hammer, to deliver a message that is false, so that it would stir people up to cause our veterans to be used as pawns in a political game,” House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) said in a press call on Sunday afternoon. (Brooks, 4/30)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
CIDRAP:
US Lawmakers Hold Hearing On Antimicrobial Resistance
Experts in infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were on Capitol Hill [Friday] to discuss the rising threat of drug-resistant pathogens to the US healthcare system and federal efforts to address the issue. At a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the experts focused on the need for new antibiotics and antibiotic stewardship, more and better diagnostic tests, more infectious disease (ID) professionals, and better data on the prevalence of AMR in US healthcare facilities. (Dall, 4/28)
