Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Expected To Submit Funding Cuts That Could Upend Hard-Fought Budget Deal
The Trump administration is preparing to submit to the U.S. Congress up to $25 billion in immediate spending cuts, including possible reductions to social safety net programs, lawmakers said on Wednesday, in a move that could upend a budget deal enacted last month. The White House plan, which has not yet been unveiled, would call on Congress to rescind funding already enacted into law. It likely would be submitted next month, sometime after a recess that ends on May 7. (Cowan, 4/25)
The Senate Health Committee will vote on a bill next month addressing increasing maternal death rates in the U.S., ranking member Patty Murray (Wash.) said Tuesday.聽The bill, sponsored by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), would support state-level efforts to form review committees that specifically track and investigate pregnancy-related deaths, and then look for ways to prevent future deaths from occurring.聽(Hellmann, 4/24)
House Veterans Affairs Chairman Phil Roe said he expects to hold a markup the week of May 7 on an as-yet-unrelased bill to overhaul and reauthorize the Veterans Choice Program, which provides private care options for veterans facing long wait times and long distances to travel to a VA facility. "We'd like to be able to get the bill on the president's desk before Memorial Day if we can," the Tennessee Republican said. "That's a pretty aggressive goal, but that's what I'd like to do." (McPherson and Mejdrich, 4/25)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) has signed on to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation to simplify the medical marijuana research process.聽Goodlatte's spokeswoman, Kathryn Rexrode,聽told Bloomberg that Goodlatte would co-sponsor the bill with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).聽 (Manchester, 4/25)