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THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016

Press Types
Daily Leader
For Immediate Release:
2016-11-30T00:00:00
Contact Info:

Mariel Saez 202-225-3130

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House Meets At:First Vote Predicted:Last Vote Predicted:

10:00 a.m.: Morning Hour
12:00 p.m.: Legislative Business

Fifteen “One Minutes”
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

H.Res. 934– Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 6392Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2016 (Rep. Luetkemeyer – Financial Services) and the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 34 – 21st Century Cures Act (Rep. Upton – Energy and Commerce/Ways and Means)(One hour of debate).  The Rules committee has recommended one Rule which provides for consideration of 2 measures.

ForH.R. 6392, the Rules Committee has recommended a structured Rule that provides for one hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services.  The Rule allows for 1 amendment, debatable for 10 minutes equally divided between the offeror and an opponent.  The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the legislation. 

For the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 34, theRules Committee has recommended a Rule that provides for eighty minutes of general debate on a motion to concur, with sixty minutes equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ways and Means.  Members are urged to VOTE NO.

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 34 – 21st Century Cures Act (Rep. Upton – Energy and Commerce/Ways and Means) (Eighty minutes of debate).  This measure provides for $4.8 billion over ten years for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $500 million over ten years to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), $1.8 billion over ten years for the Vice President’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, and $1 billion over two years for grants to states to help combat the opioid epidemic.  It is important to note that, while fully offset, this funding will need to be allocated on a yearly basis, through the annual appropriations process.

This measure modifies current federal regulatory processes involving medical research, developing drugs and other treatments, and testing and approving those medical products in an effort to accelerate the development and delivery of cures to diseases and medical conditions. The bill directs funds towards high-risk, high-reward research performed by early stage investigators. NIH is encouraged to use the new influx of dollars to address areas of unmet medical needs, including but not limited to, biomarkers, precision medicine, infectious diseases, and antibiotics. The measure would promote the maintenance of the best biomedical workforce in the world by increasing the cap on the NIH student loan repayment programs to $50,000 annually and expanding the types of research that clinician scientists can pursue.

The House Amendment modifies the FDA’s regulatory framework for “precision drugs” that can be targeted to treat patients with a specific genotype of disease – consistent with President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative put forward in the State of the Union address.  Additionally, this measure will help the FDA compete for qualified experts by allowing greater flexibility and resources to hire and retain staff by abolishing a hard cap on the number of staff the FDA is authorized to hire under its “senior service” core.

The House Amendment also includes reforms to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and initiatives intended to address mental health issues and substance use issues facing our communities. The bill establishes an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders and reauthorizes numerous grant programs aimed at suicide prevention, crisis intervention and preventing substance use disorders. This section of the legislation also includes language to ensure successful implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, as well as a provision to allow law enforcement to use funds for mental health response training and crisis intervention.  Congressional Democrats have long advocated for policies to address mental health issues in America, and while these provisions take steps in the right direction, additional resources will need to be provided to facilitate access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment that so many Americans lack.

This measure also refocuses efforts to ensure that our nation’s Electronic Health Records (EHR) are interoperable. While the vast majority of hospitals and doctor’s offices in the United States have been using EHRs for years, it is essential that those records can exchange information with each other in a meaningful way so patients can be sure they are receiving the best care possible, without fear of conflicting advice, and doctors get the most accurate information available.

In an effort to address Medicare hospital payments, the House Amendment expands the exemption from “site neutral payments” for hospitals that were under contract to build new hospital outpatient departments at the time that the budget agreement was passed in 2015.  

Offsets in the House Amendment include the sale of 25 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Suspensions (13 bills)

  1. H.R. 6302 – Overtime Pay for Secret Service Agents Act of 2016 (Rep. Chaffetz – Oversight and Government Reform)
  2. H.R. 6303 – To designate facilities of the United States Postal Service, to establish new ZIP Codes, and for other purposes (Rep. Chaffetz – Oversight and Government Reform)
  3. H.R. 5384 – Federal Register Printer Savings Act of 2016 (Rep. Russell – Oversight and Government Reform)
  4. H.R. 6009 –  Federal Agency Mail Management Act of 2016 (Rep. Russell – Oversight and Government Reform)
  5. H.R. 6186 – Follow the Rules Act (Rep. Duffy – Oversight and Government Reform)
  6. H.R. 6304 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 501 North Main Street in Florence, Arizona, as the "Adolfo 'Harpo' Celaya Post Office" (Rep. Gosar – Oversight and Government Reform)
  7. H.R. 5948 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 830 Kuhn Drive in Chula Vista, California, as the "Jonathan 'J.D.' De Guzman Post Office Building" (Rep. Davis (CA) – Oversight and Government Reform)
  8. H.R. 6138 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 560 East Pleasant Valley Road, Port Hueneme, California, as the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion "Seabees" Fallen Heroes Post Office Building (Rep. Brownley – Oversight and Government Reform)
  9. H.R. 6282 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2024 Jerome Avenue, in Bronx, New York, as the "Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. Post Office Building" (Rep. Serrano – Oversight and Government Reform)
  10. H.R. 2992 – Merchant Marine of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act (Rep. Brooks (IN) – Financial Services)
  11. S. 1555 – Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 (Sen. Hirono – Financial Services)
  12. S. 2234 – Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act (Sen. Blunt – Financial Services)
  13. H.R. 6393 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Rep. Nunes – Intelligence)

Postponed Suspension (1 bill)

  1. H.R. 5047 – Protecting Veterans' Educational Choice Act of 2016 (Rep. Hice – Veterans Affairs)

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, December 1: The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.  The House is expected to complete consideration of H.R. 6392 – Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2016 (Rep. Luetkemeyer – Financial Services).  The House is also expected to consider a supplemental funding resolution providing further expenses for the Energy and Commerce Committee. 

The Daily Quote

“Congress is expected to pass a short-term bill to keep the government funded through the end of March, but Senate Republicans have misgivings over the strategy. The most vocal critic is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, but other Republicans have privately voiced concerns about setting up a messy spending fight...”

      -    The Hill, 11/29/2016