Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House On Track For Infrastructure Bill Vote Despite Rocky Democratic Support
The Hill: Democrats Steamroll Toward Showdown On House Floor
House progressives appear poised for a showdown with their own leadership team as Democrats steamroll toward a Monday vote on a Senate-passed infrastructure bill that is a key part of President Biden’s agenda. Progressives on Thursday — one day after a high-profile White House meeting — insisted they’ll vote against Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, which some call the “BIF,” if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) goes ahead with a vote she promised to deliver to centrists in her caucus by Sept. 27. (Lillis and Wong, 9/23)
Roll Call: Many Lingering Questions Despite 'Framework' For Reconciliation Offsets
Top Democratic leaders and tax writers have narrowed a “menu of options” on how to pay for their multitrillion-dollar budget reconciliation package that takes a controversial inheritance tax proposal off the table but leaves many others with shaky support. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer made a brief appearance at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s weekly news conference Thursday morning with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen to announce they “reached agreement on a framework” on how to pay for sweeping social spending measure that will fund new programs on paid leave, child care, climate and much more. (McPherson and Weiss, 9/23)
The Hill: Democrats Surprised, Caught Off Guard By 'Framework' Deal
Several Senate Democrats on Thursday said that they hadn't seen a "framework" for how to pay for their sweeping social spending bill and appeared to be caught off guard by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) announcement of a deal between the Senate, House and White House. Schumer, speaking at a press conference and separately with reporters, described it as a deal on the "menu of options" that Democrats will use to pay for the eventual bill, which will cover climate change policies, health care and a host of other party priorities. (Carney, 9/23)
Will the Democrats be able to agree on a deal? —
Politico: Dem Leaders Try For Unity — And Only Get More Tough Questions
Democratic leaders' efforts to infuse momentum into turbulent negotiations over President Joe Biden's social spending plans are falling flat so far with key players on Capitol Hill. And as Congress hurtles toward a crucial week that could make or break Biden’s agenda, centrists and progressives remained largely unmoved from their entrenched positions. That leaves Speaker Nancy Pelosi days away from a vote on a $550 billion Senate-passed infrastructure bill without a clear path to passage. (Caygle, Ferris and Scholtes, 9/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Democratic Leaders Scramble To Find Areas Of Agreement On $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill
Democratic leaders raced Thursday to find enough agreement around a roughly $3.5 trillion spending package to assuage concerns between the party’s dueling centrist and liberal factions that threatened to derail a separate vote on an infrastructure package next week. Liberal Democrats have said the two bills are linked and have balked at voting for the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package on Monday in the House unless the broader healthcare, education and climate-change package has passed. The infrastructure bill has already cleared the Senate with bipartisan support, and moderates have urged leadership to bring it to the floor in the House. (Duehren and Rubin, 9/23
Also —
The Hill: Manchin Fires Warning Shot On Plan To Expand Medicare
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is firing a warning shot at progressives' hopes of using a sweeping social spending bill to expand Medicare, arguing Democrats should first focus on shoring up the program. Manchin, leaving the Capitol after a vote on Thursday, was asked about expanding Medicare to cover hearing, vision and dental, something included in House Democrats' $3.5 trillion plan and being championed in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). (Carney, 9/23)
KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Autumn Of Democrats’ Discontent
Democrats in Congress and the White House are feverishly negotiating to pass as much of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda as they can agree on, even as Republicans who oppose much of the increased spending threaten to shut down the government and default on the nation’s debt. Meanwhile, confusion over so-called booster shots for covid-19 continues, and advocates on both sides of the abortion debate try to test Texas’ novel abortion law that the Supreme Court allowed to take effect Sept. 1. (9/23)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
Capitol Beat News Service: Ossoff, GOP’s Grassley Team On Opioid Epidemic Legislation
In a nation’s capital seemingly more hopelessly split by intense partisan rhetoric than ever, Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley from Iowa have introduced a bill designed to help rural communities fight the opioid epidemic. On Wednesday, Ossoff and Grassley introduced the Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act, which they said would help ensure rural communities experiencing a high level of opioid overdoses have the resources they need to respond to the crisis. (Darnell, 9/23)
CNBC: Facebook Exec Will Testify At Senate Hearing After Report Finds Instagram Harms Teen Mental Health
Facebook agreed to send Antigone Davis, global head of safety, to testify before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection on Sept. 30, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. The Washington Post reported the news earlier Thursday. The hearing comes after The Wall Street Journal published a series of reports detailing internal discussions at Facebook, based on documents it obtained. (Feiner, 9/23)
