{"id":1449,"date":"2024-12-30T14:35:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T14:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.hhs.com\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2024-12-30T14:37:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T14:37:47","slug":"congress-averts-government-shutdown-with-scaled-back-cr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.hhs.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/30\/congress-averts-government-shutdown-with-scaled-back-cr\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Averts Government Shutdown with Scaled Back CR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congress Averts Government Shutdown with Scaled Back CR \u2013 <\/strong>Congress has passed a stopgap spending measure that funds the federal government at current levels through March 14, narrowly averting a government shutdown that was set to take place at midnight on December 20. The continuing resolution (CR) appropriates $100 billion in disaster relief and $10 billion in assistance for farmers. The package passed the House of Representatives 366-34, with the support of 196 Democrats and 170 Republicans, on Friday. The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 85-11 just after midnight and President Biden signed it into law.<\/p>\n

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Government funding negotiations were temporarily derailed last week when President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk demanded that Congress raise the national debt ceiling and reduce federal spending. The initial bipartisan package negotiated by lawmakers, which stood at more than 1,500 pages, included a number of provisions to extend expiring authorities or funding, including a two-year extension of telehealth flexibilities originally authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic and a one-year, 3.53% increase to Medicare bonuses for alternative payment model participation. The\u00a0legislation would have increased\u00a0Medicare physician payments by 2.5% for 2025, mitigating\u00a0nearly all\u00a0the 2.83% cut to the Medicare physician fee schedule scheduled to take effect on January 1.\u00a0The initial package also included a slate of measures to reform the pharmacy benefit manager industry and reauthorize the SUPPORT Act and PAHPA. Following objections by Trump and Musk, House Republican leadership attempted to advance a Trump-backed, slimmed down CR that included a suspension of the debt ceiling. The proposal was voted down 235-174, with 38 Republicans voting against the package.<\/p>\n

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While the CR that successfully passed on Friday did not include a Medicare physician payment fix and was stripped of many of the health care provisions that were featured in the original bill, it does include a three-month extension of telehealth authorities such as removing geographic requirements and expanding originating sites . The package also prevents a pending 4% cut to government spending under \u201cPAYGO\u201d rules. Incoming GOP Doctors\u2019 Caucus co-chair Greg Murphy, MD (R-N.C.) said in an interview last week that he has received assurances from the Trump transition team that the next government funding package will include a measure to address the physician pay cut, and that the eventual doc fix will apply retrospectively.<\/p>\n

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Senate Passes Childhood Cancer Research Bill, NDAA \u2013 <\/strong>The Senate passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0\u00a0<\/em>(H.R. 3391) by unanimous consent on Friday. The bill includes $60 million in funding over five years to reauthorize the National Institute of Health\u2019s\u00a0Gabriella\u00a0Miller\u00a0Kids First Pediatric Research Program, which was created in 2014 to support lifesaving research on treatments and cures for childhood cancer. The bill previously passed the House of Representatives in March and will now be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The Senate\u2019s version of the legislation (S. 1624), which included $190 million in funding through 2033, had been included in the initial stopgap spending bill released last week but was stripped from the end of year package that was eventually passed by Congress.<\/p>\n

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The Senate also passed the fiscal year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week. The $884 billion defense authorization bill (H.R. 5009) was approved in an 85-14 vote on Wednesday. The bill contains a few health care related provisions, including a measure to restrict gender affirming care for minors covered by TRICARE. Service members would continue to be permitted to travel to obtain an abortion under the legislation. The bill also requires the Director of National Intelligence to develop a plan to secure those U.S. biotechnology supply chains deemed critical to national security. The legislation, which cleared the House of Representatives earlier this month, will now be sent to the President for his signature.<\/p>\n

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RFK on Capitol Hill Ahead of Confirmation Proceedings \u2013 <\/strong>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been on Capitol Hill this month to meet with members of the Senate ahead of the chamber\u2019s consideration of his nomination to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While Kennedy has shifted his messaging around vaccines to focus on the need to increase transparency around the government\u2019s regulatory processes, he came under criticism from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a childhood polio survivor, last week in light of a recently published report which revealed that one of RFK Jr.\u2019s attorneys had called on the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. McConnell stated that \u201cefforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed \u2014 they\u2019re dangerous.\u201d If all Democrats vote against him, Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican votes to be confirmed. \u00a0A group of 800 medical professionals have sent a letter<\/a> to the Senate urging lawmakers to confirm RFK as HHS Secretary. The letter was released by a Super PAC aligned with the nominee. It urges the chamber to \u201cseize this historic opportunity to confront America\u2019s chronic disease crisis.\u201d The letter counters that sent earlier in the month by a group of 77 Nobel laureates urging Senators to oppose the confirmation.<\/p>\n

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Make America Healthy Again Caucus Established<\/strong> \u2013 Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall, MD (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) announced the formation of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Caucus last week. The caucus aims to promote the goals of RFK Jr.\u2019s MAHA agenda on Capitol Hill. The group\u2019s stated goals<\/a> include:<\/p>\n