Archive for category: News

Congressional leaders and the White House announced a budget deal at the end of July to raise federal spending limits for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and outlined an informal agreement to avoid partisan policy riders, clearing a path for action on fiscal 2020 appropriations this fall. The Senate passed the budget bill by a vote of 67-28 after the House passed the same measure by a vote of 284-149. The two-year budget deal sets top-line spending levels, but Congress still needs to approve a package of 12 appropriations bills, or pass a temporary funding extension, to avoid a government shutdown when current funding expires at the end of this month.

The final four months of 2019 will be a “now-or-never” time for Congress to take substantive action to lower prescription drug prices. So far in the 116^th Congress, the House and Senate have each taken actions on this issue. The House held nearly a dozen congressional hearings to examine the rise of drug prices, marked up and reported out about a half-dozen bills from three different committees. Of these, the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee dedicated more hearings on the issue and also seemed to have packaged together a broader bill than the other committees. The More Efficient Tools to Realize Information for Consumers (METRIC) Act (H.R. 2296), passed the E&C Committee last month shortly before the House left town for the August recess. In short, the METRIC Act would increase public disclosures of drug pricing information as well as more oversight over pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The bill awaits House floor consideration once the House comes back from its recess in September.

LGN’s Federal Relations Group is closely monitoring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) proposed rule change that was released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) on July 24^th, 2019. This proposed rule entitled “Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” would eliminate “broad-based categorical eligibility,” a voluntary standard that states can use to automatically qualify recipients of non-cash welfare assistance for SNAP benefits. Once enacted, this proposed rule would have significant direct impacts on state and local governments, families and children.