GOP debt ceiling uncertainty grows

GOP debt ceiling uncertainty grows-thehill: Congressional Republicans are uncertain about the best path forward now that the deadline for increasing the nation’s debt ceiling is approaching faster than expected.

Senate Staff Beginning to Draft Health Care Bill Over This Week’s Recess

Senate Staff Beginning to Draft Health Care Bill Over This Week’s Recess-rollcall: Senate leadership staff will huddle this week with their colleagues on three key committees to begin drafting the chamber’s legislation to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law.

GOP senators gloomy about repeal prospects, but watch out for House repeat

GOP senators gloomy about repeal prospects, but watch out for House repeat-modernhealthcare: The seeming impasse among Senate Republicans to reach an agreement on how to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act feels like déjà vu all over again.

Debt fight blindsides Congress

Debt fight blindsides Congress-politico: President Donald Trump’s top economic aides are urging Capitol Hill leaders to raise the debt ceiling by the end of July. And Congress is totally unprepared to do so.

Senate Strategy on House Health Care Bill: That’s Not Ours - See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/senate-strategy-house-health-care-bill-thats-not#sthash.9EdtoqwM.dpuf

Senate Strategy on House Health Care Bill: That’s Not Ours-rollcall: Senate Republicans have a plan to avoid answering questions on the House legislation to repeal large portions of the 2010 health law: to say it’s not their bill.

Trump tweet on health care spending at odds with White House budget

Trump tweet on health care spending at odds with White House budget-stat: President Trump urged spending more on health care, in a tweet Sunday night —  to “make it the best anywhere” — even as his administration’s budget proposal last week called for broad cuts to health programs, including Medicaid, public health, and medical research funding.

Trump calls for end to filibuster

Trump calls for end to filibuster-thehill: President Trump on Tuesday called for the Senate to end the filibuster and allow legislation to pass with a simple majority, saying it would allow his agenda to pass “fast and easy.”

House May Need to Vote Again on GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill

House May Need to Vote Again on GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill-bloomberg: House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month, and they now face the possibility of having to vote again on their controversial health measure.

House held back ObamaCare repeal bill for potential second vote

House held back ObamaCare repeal bill for potential second vote-thehill: House Republicans have not yet sent their ObamaCare replacement bill to the Senate due to the possibility that the House could have to vote on it again if it fails to meet certain budget rules.

Senate GOP short on ideas for stabilizing ObamaCare markets

Senate GOP short on ideas for stabilizing ObamaCare markets-thehill: Senate Republicans are floating a short-term fix to stabilize the ObamaCare insurance markets before next year.

Mitch McConnell, Still Playing the Long Game

Mitch McConnell, Still Playing the Long Game-rollcall: It’s difficult to get Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to play anything but “The Long Game,” the Kentucky Republican’s political strategy, encapsulated by his 2016 memoir of the same name.

Durbin okays Dem meeting with GOP centrists on ObamaCare

Durbin okays Dem meeting with GOP centrists on ObamaCare-thehill: Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said Tuesday it is alright if Democrats talk with two GOP authors of a more centrist Republican plan on healthcare because the pair is looking “beyond repeal.”

McConnell Won't Guarantee All Tax Cuts Stay in Health-Care Bill

McConnell Won't Guarantee All Tax Cuts Stay in Health-Care Bill-bloomberg: Passing an Obamacare replacement won’t be any easier in the Senate than in the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday while refusing to guarantee that his chamber’s plan will keep all of the House bill’s tax cuts.

Bipartisan health care talks pick up steam in Senate

Bipartisan health care talks pick up steam in Senate-politico: Bipartisan talks to repair Obamacare are gaining traction among a group of Senate moderates, threatening to disrupt strategies from both parties’ leaders to keep members in line.

Trump taking aim at drug pricing

Trump taking aim at drug pricing-thehill: The Trump administration is working on actions it can take without Congress to fight high drug prices, according to people who have attended listening sessions officials are holding on the issue.

Cruz, Paul want to go ‘nuclear’ on Obamacare repeal

Cruz, Paul want to go ‘nuclear’ on Obamacare repeal-politico: Conservative GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are pushing to test the limits of how much of Obamacare can be repealed under Senate rules, setting up a potential “nuclear” showdown.

Bipartisan group of senators meets to talk health care

Bipartisan group of senators meets to talk health care-axios: A small group of Republican and Democratic senators met Monday night to discuss whether there's any path forward together on health care. While there was no firm conclusion, members emerged hopeful they'll meet again.

New FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Reorganizing Inspection Staff

New FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Reorganizing Inspection Staff-bloomberg: Federal inspectors who ensure the safety of the nation’s food and medical products will begin specializing in certain areas, as new Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb enters his first full week at the agency.

Policymakers Face Pressure to Act on Drug Pricing

Policymakers Face Pressure to Act on Drug Pricing-rollcall: A proposal that would open the door for the import of low-cost prescription drugs from Canada was defeated at a Senate markup Thursday, but the proposal is unlikely to be gone for good. Lawmakers from both parties seem to want to demonstrate concern about drug prices to voters.

Rival Senate healthcare group seeks to make waves

Rival Senate healthcare group seeks to make waves-thehill: A rival group of Republican senators is seeking leverage to influence the direction of the Senate’s ObamaCare replacement bill.

Behind the scenes, GOP working group runs into a few early obstacles

Behind the scenes, GOP working group runs into a few early obstacles-cnn: Negotiations to repeal and replace Obamacare are fully underway now in the US Senate, where Republican lawmakers are grappling with how they can find consensus between their moderate and conservative factions while still managing to get the 50 Republicans they need to gut the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Takes Baby Steps on Health Care Overhaul

Senate Takes Baby Steps on Health Care Overhaul-rollcall: Senate Republicans remain in the very early stages of revamping a House bill to repeal the 2010 health care law: the ideas stage, as one of them puts it.

Crucial Health Bills Have a Fraught Path Amid Partisan Blowups

Crucial Health Bills Have a Fraught Path Amid Partisan Blowups-rollcall: A highly anticipated markup of a must-pass Food and Drug Administration bill was postponed Wednesday because of partisan sparring over the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey.

FDA user-fee extension breezes through Senate committee

FDA user-fee extension breezes through Senate committee-modernhealthcare: A Senate committee easily passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the FDA's ability to collect user fees from drug and device makers.

Comey turmoil postpones Senate health care markup

Comey turmoil postpones Senate health care markup-axios: The Senate HELP Committee called off a health care markup this morning after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked all Democrats to be in the Senate chamber at 9:30 a.m. to protest President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey.

CBO will finally score House Obamacare bill 'early' in week of May 22

CBO will finally score House Obamacare bill 'early' in week of May 22-cnbc: Two weeks late might be better than never.

Health-Care Bill’s Tax Cuts Aren’t a Done Deal

Health-Care Bill’s Tax Cuts Aren’t a Done Deal-wsj: Don’t count on a retroactive tax cut just yet.

4 deal-breakers that could blow up a Senate Obamacare repeal bill

4 deal-breakers that could blow up a Senate Obamacare repeal bill-politico: The Senate’s fresh attempt to dismantle Obamacare is already running into its first roadblock — the growing list of demands from GOP lawmakers eager to leave their own mark on the legislation.

Senate Republicans face their own divisions in push for health-care overhaul

Senate Republicans face their own divisions in push for health-care overhaul-washingtonpost: Sen. Ted Cruz, a defiant loner whose feuds with Republican Party leaders have made him a conservative favorite, suddenly felt an itch to collaborate.

Scott Gottlieb wins confirmation as FDA commissioner

Scott Gottlieb wins confirmation as FDA commissioner-stat: Dr. Scott Gottlieb is headed back to the Food and Drug Administration.

Who will decide what the Senate’s health bill looks like? Follow the Medicaid-state senators.

Who will decide what the Senate’s health bill looks like? Follow the Medicaid-state senators.-washingtonpost: The Senate has broken into a series of “working groups” to begin writing its own version of legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act. There’s the leadership-driven group, a group of moderates and there was talk about a more conservative group before it was mostly absorbed into the leadership group.

The Fiscal 2018 Budget: It’ll Be a Slog

The Fiscal 2018 Budget: It’ll Be a Slog-rollcall: With fiscal 2017 spending finally done, lawmakers are belatedly poised to begin working on fiscal 2018 funding, say CQ Roll Call's budget editor Jane Norman and Budget Tracker editor David Lerman. But the freshly passed House health care bill is likely to consume lawmakers’ time, further jamming up budget work, adds Lerman.

Divided Senate Republicans Turn to Health Care With a Rough Road Ahead

Divided Senate Republicans Turn to Health Care With a Rough Road Ahead-nytimes: The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has a reputation as a shrewd tactician and a wily strategist — far more than his younger counterpart in the House, Speaker Paul D. Ryan.

Senate ref holds power over Trump agenda

Senate ref holds power over Trump agenda-thehill: Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is the most powerful person in Washington few have heard of.

Five senators to watch in healthcare fight

Five senators to watch in healthcare fight-thehill: The House’s passage of legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare moves the issue to the Senate, where its future is far from certain.

Health Care Will Determine Progress of Rest of Agenda

Health Care Will Determine Progress of Rest of Agenda-rollcall: Last week’s legislative victories — finishing an omnibus spending bill and getting the rollback of the 2010 health care law through the House — are the foundation for the months of battles to come on Capitol Hill.

As some Republicans rush to defend House health bill, Senate GOP warily pauses

As some Republicans rush to defend House health bill, Senate GOP warily pauses-washingtonpost: Several Republican leaders have formed a political barricade around the health-care bill that narrowly passed the House last week, defending how the legislation would change insurance coverage for people with preexisting illness or injury.

GOP looks to heal from healthcare divisions

GOP looks to heal from healthcare divisions-thehill: For Republicans, the successful House vote Thursday to repeal and replace ObamaCare was a moment of celebration. But it also was a time for inward reflection.

How the House Finally Got to ‘Yes’ on Health Care

How the House Finally Got to ‘Yes’ on Health Care-rollcall: The final push on the health care bill started in earnest Monday night.

Senate GOP vows big changes for ObamaCare bill

Senate GOP vows big changes for ObamaCare bill-thehill: Senate Republicans plan to dramatically overhaul the House ObamaCare repeal bill that passed Thursday and are warning the process could take weeks.

The Senate’s Key Health Care Players

The Senate’s Key Health Care Players-rollcall: Competing interests among Senate Republicans could significantly complicate efforts to partially repeal and replace the 2010 health care law. But despite the influence individual members will have, two have enhanced sway among their colleagues: Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

House Schedules Vote on Health Care Bill

House Schedules Vote on Health Care Bill-rollcall: The House will vote Thursday afternoon on the Republican plan to overhaul the health care system.

Why the next funding fight will be tougher for Trump and Congress

Why the next funding fight will be tougher for Trump and Congress-thehill: President Trump by the end of this week will sign a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government open through September, preventing an early shutdown for his administration.

A way forward on health care bill? Key GOP rep has $8B plan

A way forward on health care bill? Key GOP rep has $8B plan-ap: Top House Republicans scrambling to prevent another collapse of their push to repeal much of the Obama health care law may have found a way to win over some moderate GOP holdouts.

G.O.P. Scrambles as a Crucial Voice Shuns the Latest Health Bill

G.O.P. Scrambles as a Crucial Voice Shuns the Latest Health Bill-nytimes: With two days left before an 11-day recess and no vote scheduled, House Republican leaders worked on Tuesday to win votes one at a time for their latest bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act after an influential Republican voice on health care came out against the measure.

GOP changing health bill as Trump leans in hard

GOP changing health bill as Trump leans in hard-politico: House Republicans worked late into the night Tuesday on last-minute changes to their Obamacare repeal bill, as President Donald Trump began rallying support to muscle the stalled legislation across the finish line.

Pushing for Vote on Health Care Bill, Trump Seems Unclear on Its Details

Pushing for Vote on Health Care Bill, Trump Seems Unclear on Its Details-nytimes: After two false starts on President Trump’s promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump administration officials are pressing the House to vote on a revised version of the Republican repeal bill this week, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, administration officials said.

GOP May Again Change Health Care Proposal As They Seek Votes

GOP May Again Change Health Care Proposal As They Seek Votes-rollcall: House Republicans still hope to vote on their health care overhaul next week, though lawmakers said Friday they may need further changes to scrape together enough votes to pass it.

NIH to get a $2 billion funding boost as Congress rebuffs Trump’s call for cuts

NIH to get a $2 billion funding boost as Congress rebuffs Trump’s call for cuts-The National Institutes of Health will get a $2 billion funding boost over the next five months, under a bipartisan spending deal reached late Sunday night in Congress. The agreement marks a sharp rejection of President Trump’s proposal to cut $1.2 billion from the medical research agency in the current fiscal year.