House and Senate Charge Ahead on 2017 Spending Bills

House and Senate Charge Ahead on 2017 Spending Bills-rollcall: Meanwhile, Senate appropriators plan to bolt through two subcommittee markups on Wednesday and send the bills to the full committee on Thursday, as work speeds up in Congress with both houses back in session. The full Senate panel also will disclose its subcommittee allocations, known as 302(b)s, on Thursday.

Senators advance medical cures bill, push for more funding

Senators advance medical cures bill, push for more funding-thehill: The Senate Health Committee on Wednesday advanced a final round of medical innovation bills as lawmakers intensify their push for a deal on funding medical research.  The panel advanced five bills aimed at speeding up Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of new drugs and devices. The measures will be combined with several other bills to become the Senate’s version of the House-passed 21st Century Cures Act.

Judiciary chairman to breakfast with Supreme Court nominee Tuesday

Judiciary chairman to breakfast with Supreme Court nominee Tuesday-thehill: Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will sit down with President Obama's Supreme Court pick on Tuesday.  The Iowa Republican and nominee Merrick Garland will have breakfast next week, the committee announced on its Twitter account.

Senate Health Committee Faces Deadline for Medical Innovation

Senate Health Committee Faces Deadline for Medical Innovation-morningconsult: The Senate faces a tight deadline if it’s going to pass a medical bill this year designed to speed drug and precision medicine developments. The legislation needs to be smoothed of kinks and on the floor within two weeks unless GOP leaders alter their overall schedule for the year.

House Panel Prepping Changes to Puerto Rico Aid Package

House Panel Prepping Changes to Puerto Rico Aid Package-morningconsult: Lawmakers on the House Natural Resources Committee are preparing to publicly release their first round of changes to draft legislation on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis this week, Morning Consult has learned.

In wake of Panama Papers, Obama calls on Congress to fix tax 'inversions'

In wake of Panama Papers, Obama calls on Congress to fix tax 'inversions'-usatoday: President Obama hailed new Treasury Department rules cracking down on corporate tax inversions Tuesday, calling the practice of merging with a foreign company to escape U.S. taxes "one of the most insidious tax loopholes out there."

Reid plots strategy to force vote on Obama nominee

Reid plots strategy to force vote on Obama nominee-thehill: Senate Democrats say they may try to force a vote on President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court with an unusual procedural tactic.  “There are many procedural things we can do,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said Tuesday when asked about the possibility of using a discharge resolution to bypass Republicans.  “That’s one thing we can do. Certainly we’ve got that in our arrow quiver, to do that and other things,” Reid said.