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Congress recently returned from its two-week recess with an
extensive to-do list. Between now and the August recess, the House
will be in session for a total of 32 legislative days, and the
Senate will be in for 54 legislative days. With such a short
timeline until the August recess and the start of campaigning for
many Members, Congress and the White House look to quickly
accomplish many of its priorities.
In the month of May, the conference committee will begin to
negotiate the differences between the America COMPETES Act and
USICA. Congress will continue its negotiations on additional COVID
and Ukrainian aid, while appropriators begin to lay the groundwork
on appropriations for the next fiscal year. Finally, Senator Joe
Manchin is leading the charge on a new reconciliation package and a
new climate change package.
See below for greater detail regarding what’s coming in this
month’s edition of What’s Next in Washington?
presented by the Foley & Lardner Federal Public Affairs
team.
- Manchin leads the charge on new reconciliation and climate
change packages
- Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) recently met with Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to discuss a new reconciliation package. The
bill would reform the tax code and a portion of the revenue would
be allocated to reduce the national deficit in an effort to combat
inflation.
- Manchin has outlined that he would like to increase the
corporate tax rate from 21% to 25%, raise the top capital gains
rate from 23.8% to 28%, and close the “carried interest”
loophole. - Manchin, citing inflation, has indicated that he would like no
social spending to be included within the reconciliation package,
including that of paid-family leave and childcare.
- Manchin has outlined that he would like to increase the
- Manchin and Republican Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have also led
discussions in crafting a new bipartisan package that would take
key provisions from President Biden’s Build Back Better’s
climate agenda.
- Manchin has stated that the goal of the bill is to reform the
federal oil and gas leasing process. Additionally, the bill would
further investment in clean energy and aim to reduce American
dependence on foreign energy. - Other areas of focus could include that of domestic pipeline
aid, efforts to bolster production of liquefied natural gas, and
new tax credits for clean energy. - Through a working group of Senate Democrats and Republicans,
this new climate package would attempt to replicate the dynamic of
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which passed the House and
Senate in 2021 with bipartisan support.
- Manchin has stated that the goal of the bill is to reform the
- Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) recently met with Majority Leader
- The conference committee is set for the America COMPETES
Act/U.S. Innovation and Competition Act
- In early April, Congressional leadership announced over 100
selections for the conference committee to resolve differences
between the two bills. Stark contrasts remain between the two, most
notably on issues related to trade, climate change, supply chain,
research funding, and foreign relations towards China.
- To see the full list of conferees, please click here.
- Negotiations are set to begin in early May. Lawmakers and
industry groups have urged Congress to quickly pass this
legislation.
- In early April, Congressional leadership announced over 100
- Agency budget hearings continue through May as appropriators
begin discussions on the fiscal year 2023 budget
- Following the release of President Biden’s budget in March,
various heads of federal agencies; including Health & Human
Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Michael Regan, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin,
have testified on Capitol Hill regarding their respective
priorities for the next fiscal year. Topics have included pandemic
relief, climate change regulation, and aid to Ukraine.
- Agency heads will continue to testify Congress throughout
May.
- Agency heads will continue to testify Congress throughout
- The “Four Corners,” the top appropriators for the
House and Senate, have begun discussions regarding fiscal year 2023
appropriations. - House appropriators have made tentative plans to mark up their
spending bills in mid to late June, potentially setting the stage
for July floor votes.
- Subcommittee markups could take place between June
13th – 22nd, full committee markups
could take place between June 22nd –
30th. - Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently indicated that he hopes to have a deal on
top-line figures “in the next couple of weeks”.
- Subcommittee markups could take place between June
- This will be the last appropriations cycle for Senate
Appropriations Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Richard Shelby
(R-AL), both are retiring at the end of the term. Leahy and Shelby
have both indicated that they hope to finalize FY2023
appropriations prior to their departure from Congress.
- Following the release of President Biden’s budget in March,
- Congress continues negotiations on supplemental Ukrainian and
COVID-19 aid
- Prior to the two-week recess in April, a $10 billion COVID-19
relief package stalled out in the Senate.
- Senate Republicans insisted on a vote on Title 42, a Trump-era
regulation that allowed both the Trump and Biden Administration to
turn away immigrants at the border due to the public health
crisis. - The Biden Administration has looked to lift Title 42 on May
23rd. Following litigation halting the rollback,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
unveiled a new plan to reform Title 42 and manage a potential
migrant surge in May.
- Senate Republicans insisted on a vote on Title 42, a Trump-era
- Democrats are expected to attach additional Ukrainian aid to a
supplemental COVID-19 relief package. President Biden has requested
an additional $33 billion in supplemental funds for Ukraine. The
Pentagon recently reported that they have nearly exhausted the
funds that were allocated in March.
- Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), have
stated that they do not want to combine Ukraine and COVID aid, and
have indicated that they would vote against such a bill. - A major sticking point of the package is that of global
vaccination funding, the funding has been opposed by Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been a major proponent for
the funding.
- Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), have
- Prior to the two-week recess in April, a $10 billion COVID-19
- Possible action could occur on several pieces of health
legislation and regulatory policy in May -
- User Fee Reauthorization:
- User Fee programs for human prescription drugs and biologics,
medical devices, and generic drugs and biosimilars that were last
reauthorized under the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 are set to
expire this year on October 1st, 2022 (each has a
five-year authorization period). - The Senate HELP Committee and the House Energy and Commerce
Committee held several hearings last month and will continue to
discuss reauthorization legislation for the Prescription Drug User
Fee Act (PDUFA), Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA),
Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA), and Medical Device User Fee
Amendments (MDUFA). - As this is a must-pass piece of legislation, Members have
already begun discussing possible additional priority regulatory
policies as riders.
- User Fee programs for human prescription drugs and biologics,
- Pandemic and ARPA-H:
- Recently, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
(HELP) Committee voted 20-2 to report the PREVENT Pandemics Act (S.3799) favorably out of committee. The
legislation includes authorizing language to establish the Advanced
Research Project Authority for Health (ARPA-H). The legislation
also works to modernize various aspects of public health, including
data collection, strengthening the domestic supply chain, and
providing more accountability for the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
- You can read more about it here.
- The bill will soon be considered, with the intention of passing
it before the end of the year.
- Other major biomedical innovation and pandemic preparedness
bills in consideration currently include CURES 2.0 (H.R. 6000) and the ARPA-H Act (H.R. 5585) in the House.
- Discrepancies remain over where to house ARPA-H, either within
the National Institute for Health (NIH), or as its own separate
entity. - At a hearing in late April, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), chair of
the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, said she
continues to disagree with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra that ARPA-H
should be housed within the NIH and report to Becerra. Several
bipartisan lawmakers on relevant committees agree with Rep.
Eshoo.
- Discrepancies remain over where to house ARPA-H, either within
- Recently, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Insulin Cap:
- The House recently passed H.R. 6833, a bill that would cap
monthly insulin costs at $35 for people with insurance. The bill
passed by a vote of 232-193 in March. - In mid-April, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins
(R-ME), along with Reps. Dianna DeGette (D-CO) and Tom Reed (R-NY)
– the bicameral co-chairs of the Senate and House Diabetes
Caucuses – unveiled draft legislation aimed at lowering
insulin costs. The authors have been seeking input on the language
of the bill and are expected to introduce it soon.
- The House recently passed H.R. 6833, a bill that would cap
- Health Equity:
- Late last month, the Biden Administration released a plan to
ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. HHS Secretary Xavier
Becerra believes the proposed rules will be a crucial step towards
advancing health equity and reducing disparities in tobacco use.
- The FDA has been delayed in the proposed rules because of
pushback from Members of Congress and industry. Meanwhile,
anti-smoking groups sued the agency for taking too long to ban
menthol.
- The FDA has been delayed in the proposed rules because of
- Late last month, the Biden Administration released a plan to
- Mental Health:
- Over the course of the last several months, relevant committees
on both sides of Congress have held hearings to learn more about
various mental health crises affecting Americans of all ages. - Most recently, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing focused
on how the federal government can better support efforts to address
mental health and substance use disorders. Committee leaders are
working in a bipartisan fashion to develop more federal support for
mental health services, including supporting suicide screening and
prevention, reducing overdose deaths, getting more access for
substance use disorder treatment, and addressing various barriers
that make it hard for people to get access to care.
- Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) said in her opening
testimony at a hearing in March that she expects a draft package to be introduced by
early this summer.
- Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) said in her opening
- Additionally, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the
HELP Committee are currently working to reauthorize several
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration programs
(SAMHSA) that will expire this fall. - The Senate Finance Committee held their third hearing on mental
health late last month, which focused on the lack of parity of
treatment and insurance coverage for mental health issues versus
physical health care. Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) noted at a Senate Finance hearing in late
March that the committee is working on a bipartisan basis to fix
the parity law by breaking down the financial barriers of care,
including “ghost networks,” coverage limits, coverage
loopholes, and stonewalling on payment claims.
- Over the course of the last several months, relevant committees
- User Fee Reauthorization:
You can read the Committee’s recently released report on
this subject here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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