Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Stalemate Amid House Democrats Holds Up Key $3.5T Budget Vote
The New York Times: Democrats Scrounge For Votes To Pass $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan
Democratic leaders worked feverishly on Monday to cobble together the votes needed to push their $3.5 trillion budget blueprint through the House, facing an internal revolt from moderates who have vowed to block the measure until a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan is passed. But after a day of frenetic negotiations, Democrats ultimately scrapped tentative plans for a vote on Monday. Lawmakers went home shortly after midnight without a clear agreement on how to pave the way for Congress to move quickly to enact an ambitious expansion of the nation’s social safety net over Republican opposition. (Cochrane and Tankersley, 8/23)
The Hill: House Democrats Punt Key Vote On Budget To Tuesday
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team struggled to round up the votes to move forward with a strategy to enact President Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar domestic agenda, ultimately opting to punt a key procedural vote until Tuesday. After hours of negotiations, Pelosi late on Monday night failed to strike a deal with the leaders of a 10-member bloc of centrists who are demanding a vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill before considering a budget resolution that paves the way for a $3.5 trillion spending plan to expand social support programs and combat climate change. (Marcos and Wong, 8/24)
NBC News: House Democrats, Locked In Standoff, Struggle To Move Biden's $3.5 Trillion Plan
The House made an early return from its August recess Monday, but immediately hit a roadblock as Democratic leaders struggled to string together the votes to advance President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion economic package. There are two measure pending before the House — a budget resolution that will allow them to pass the economic package and a separate bill to authorize $550 billion in infrastructure spending. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and centrist House Democrats, locked in a standoff over the order the House should vote on bills, failed to reach a resolution by sundown as the two sides remained at odds over how to proceed after a series of meetings. (Kapur, 8/23)
In news on evictions —
The Washington Post: Eviction Moratorium: Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Save CDC Program
The Biden administration on Monday urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a moratorium on evictions in parts of the country ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, saying it is a “lawful and urgently needed response to an unprecedented public emergency.” A coalition of landlords and real estate trade groups in Alabama and Georgia are challenging the latest moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued Aug. 3 and intended to run through Oct. 3. (Barnes, 8/23)
Bloomberg: Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Keep Eviction Ban
The Biden administration urged the Supreme Court to keep in place the moratorium on evictions in parts of the country hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the rise of the delta variant has heightened the need for tenant protections. Landlords and real-estate trade associations from Alabama and Georgia asked the court last week to lift the ban, set to run through Oct. 3. The challengers say the moratorium exceeds the authority Congress has given the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stohr, 8/23)
