This Week on the Hill: House Democrats Queue up Drug Pricing, ACA Legislative Package

Key health care legislation will be on the House floor again this week as Democratic leadership has set up votes on a package (rules committee print) of bills aimed at addressing prescription drug pricing and rolling back Trump-era ACA regulations. While a significant portion of the legislation pertaining to drug pricing enjoys bipartisan support — such as provisions that target “pay-for-delay” settlements (H.R. 1499) and generic “parking” (H.R. 938) — the addition of legislation rolling back some Trump Administration regulations (H.R. 1010) and providing new funding for state-run Exchanges (H.R. 1385) and the Navigators program (H.R. 1386) has ensured that the full package will not receive substantial Republican support. A final vote on the comprehensive health care package is expected later this week.

For the balance of the week, the House is expected to take up 13 bills under suspension of the rules, including a Financial Services measure (H.R. 2578) that would extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through Sept. 30. The short-term reauthorization for NFIP is expected to be swiftly taken up by the Senate, as funding for the program is set to expire at the end of the month. Additionally, lawmakers will consider an anti-discrimination measure (H.R. 5) that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation. 

In the upper chamber, Senators will resume clearing the presidential nominations queue. In addition to approving a host of judicial nominees, the Senate is expected to hold a final confirmation vote on the nomination of Jeffrey Rosen to be Deputy Attorney General of the United States.