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House Approves FY 2008 Budget Resolution

Finance Committee to Consider Drug Price Negotiation Legislation

Congress Aims to Improve Delivery, Quality of Veterans' Medical Care

Congress in Recess April 2 - April 9, 2007

Top Story

House Approves FY 2008 Budget Resolution

On Thursday, the House narrowly passed it fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget resolution by a vote of 216-210.

The $3 trillion budget plan provides about $25 billion more in discretionary spending than requested by the President and about $7 billion more than the Senate's budget resolution (approved on March 23, 2007).

The House budget would require strict compliance with the budgetary pay-as-you-go rule and projects a surplus of $153 billion by FY 2012. However, Republicans argued that the Democrats' plan assumes large tax increases and offered an alternate plan that would have reduced entitlement spending by almost $280 billion over the next five years. The Republican proposal was ultimately defeated.

Like the Senate budget resolution, the House measure would establish a reserve fund of up to $50 billion over five years for the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

House and Senate leadership hope to have a final FY 2008 budget resolution conferenced by early May.

Also this week, the Senate approved a $123 billion supplemental spending bill passed by the House last week. Although the bill is meant to primarily fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it also includes $745 billion in SCHIP funding for FY 2007. The supplemental funding for SCHIP is meant to assist those states experiencing shortfalls in FY 2007.

The House and Senate bills have yet to be reconciled. The President has threatened to veto the final bill because both versions currently contain troop withdrawal timelines.

Health Care News

Finance Committee to Consider Drug Price Negotiation Legislation

Immediately following the upcoming Congressional recess, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to consider a bill which would allow the federal government to negotiate the prices of Medicare prescription drugs with pharmaceutical companies.

It is reported, but not confirmed, that the bill may take the form of a "Sense of the Senate" resolution and would lift the ban on the government's ability to negotiate for lower Medicare prescription drug prices, a practice barred by the 2003 Medicare law. The language is expected to be less stringent than that of the House bill, passed in January, which requires that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary negotiate drug prices.

Allowing the government to bargain with prescription drug companies was a key issue for the Democrats during the 2006 congressional campaigns, but many Republican leaders are strictly opposed to any measure lifting the ban. In fact, the Administration has threatened a veto of the House bill.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has expressed support for lifting the ban, but has not openly endorsed the House bill's requirement for price negotiation. Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) has stated he is opposed to any direct negotiations between the government and pharmaceutical companies for the Medicare drug benefit.

The Finance Committee's Medicare drug bill will be second in line for a full vote on the Senate floor following the recess, according to Senate Majority Leader Reid's schedule.

Congress Aims to Improve Delivery, Quality of Veterans' Medical Care

This week, the House unanimously approved the "Wounded Warrior Assistance Act," legislation that would create a system of counselors and case managers for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as improve the coordination of medical records between the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. The legislation would also set up a hotline to assist in the reporting of treatment problems.

The legislation comes at a time when Congress and the Administration are feeling great pressure to improve the quality and delivery of medical care to injured service members. This week the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee heard from Iraqi War veterans, the families of service members, and medical experts on needed changes to the veterans' health care system.

While supportive of the goals of the legislation, the White House has said the legislation is premature and encourages Congress to wait for the findings of his recently appointment Commission charged with investigating the treatment of injured service members in the VA health care system.

Also this week, Senators Clinton (D-NY) and Collins (R-ME) announced a legislative initiative that would improve the detection, assessment, treatment of traumatic brain injury as well as enhance the support systems available for service members with traumatic brain injury and their families.

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Congress in Recess April 2 - April 9, 2007

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