THE DAILY WHIP: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017
Press Types
Daily Leader
| HOUSE MEETS AT: | FIRST VOTE PREDICTED: | LAST VOTE PREDICTED: |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m.: Legislative Business Five “One Minutes” | 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. | 10:45 – 11:15 a.m. |
After weeks of negotiations to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Community Health Centers (CHCs) and other important public health programs, which have always been bipartisan priorities, House Republicans have decided to bring a partisan bill to the Floor. This bill will only further delay the reauthorization of these programs, many of which expired on September 30th. The bill passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee at the beginning of October with no Democratic support. Democrats in Committee instead offered a package that invests in our children and safety net providers, and does not sacrifice the nation’s health. Democrats have made it clear for weeks that the pay-fors in this bill are problematic. Rather than working toward a bipartisan agreement, Republicans revised their bill to include even steeper cuts to public health programs, in addition to undermining the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The bill includes woefully inadequate funding for Medicaid programs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are facing unprecendented demands on their health care systems following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello last week requested $1.6 billion annually to deal with the state’s underfunded Medicaid program that is expected to be further strained by the short- and long-term health implications of the natural disaster. The approximately $1 billion over two years in Puerto Rico Medicaid funding included in the Republican bill is not only insufficient, but it would also require Puerto Rico and the USVI to match those dollars at a time of increased demand and revenue collapse in both territories, exacerbating delays in recovery.
This bill also seeks to cut $6.35 billion to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). The Prevention Fund was created by the ACA to make national investments in prevention and public health, to improve health outcomes, to enhance health care quality, and reduce health care costs. It has been used to increase awareness of and access to preventive health services, such as cancer screenings, tobacco cessation and childhood vaccines – as well as concentrating on preventing chronic disease to help more Americans stay healthy. Cutting these funds will have a devastating impact on public health initiatives at the federal, state and local levels.
Republicans are also shortening the grace period for missed premium payments from ninety days to thirty, which would result in up to 688,000 people losing health coverage. House Republicans are insisting that in order to provide some of our most vulnerable Americans with coverage, it must be paid for by cancelling the health insurance of other Americans after a single payment is missed.
While Republicans are pushing for tax cuts for the wealthy that explode the deficit, when it comes to health coverage for children and low-income Americans, Republicans are insisting that it be paid for at the cost of weakening our health care system and pushing other Americans off health insurance.
Additionally, Chairman Walden offered an amendment to H.R. 3922 that was self-executed upon adoption of the Rule yesterday. Chairman Walden’s amendment adds back a provision increasing Medicare means testing to require Medicare beneficiaries earning over $500,000 to cover 100% of costs for Medicare. This provision will take away a benefit American seniors have paid into their entire lives. The amendment also revises the cut to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) from $10.5 billion to $6.35 billion, consistent with the language in the bill reported out of the Energy & Commerce Committee with no Democratic support. The inclusion of this amendment is a last-minute attempt to save this legislation, as the most conservative Members of the Republican Conference threatened to vote against this bill if changes were not made.
States have begun to use emergency funding, cut benefits, and will soon begin sending disenrollment notices to thousands of families if CHIP is not reauthorized. Republicans’ decision to advance a partisan bill rather than a compromise has very real consequences for families across the country. Members are urged to VOTE NO.
The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
| THE DAILY QUOTE |
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“The controversy [over the tax bill] is over who will gain the most: the rich and corporations. The GOP bill would cut the corporate rate well below previous attempts, eliminate a tax on inheritance that affects only people with many millions of dollars, and take other actions that do not provide direct benefits to most Americans… [I]n this case, Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation estimated Thursday that the tax plan would be paid for by $1.5 trillion in additional borrowing over the next decade. Much of that reflects tax reductions benefiting the wealthy and companies.” - Washington Post, 11/2/2017 |