Healthcare

The Senate passed a bill to expedite the process of releasing generic drugs for animals.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act in March.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tried to pass a Senate resolution that would have condemned illegal abortion practices.

Lee asked unanimous consent to pass his resolution on Wednesday in reaction to the case of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortion doctor who is on trial for performing illegal and unsafe abortions.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) objected, saying he’d prefer to pass his own resolution that condemns all illegal and unsanitary medical acts, including abortions. But Lee objected saying he didn’t have time to read the resolution before it was offered.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said he was “deeply disturbed” that the White House has decided to “cannibalize” the healthcare law by transferring money from a prevention fund to educating the public on the benefits of ObamaCare.

Harkin said President Obama’s administration announced it would move more than $300 million from a prevention and public health fund created under the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare. Harkin said the White House would use that money to educate the public about the about the benefits of the bill and the healthcare exchange systems. More aspects of the healthcare law are set to go into effect in 2014.

“I am deeply disturbed of the White House’s plan to strip $332 million of funding from the prevention and public health fund,” Harkin said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Some people in this administration just don’t get it. … The prevention fund has already been a giant step forward for our public health.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called on President Obama “to be straight with the American people” by telling them about the negative effects coming under ObamaCare.

“He needs to be straight with the American people,” McConnell said Tuesday morning. “He needs to prepare them for everything that’s coming — the wage cuts, the lost jobs, the higher premiums. Everything our country can expect as a result of ObamaCare.”

Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have reintroduced legislation that would set up a commission aimed at ending breast cancer by 2020.

The bill from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in the Senate, and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in the House, would established a Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer. The commission would be tasked with identifying promising research, creating public-private partnerships, and finding other ways to collaborate to help find a cure.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on Monday night argued that the Constitution could be read in a way that implies the right to healthcare and education for all Americans.

Speaking on the House floor, Jackson Lee said the right to these services can be read into the Declaration of Independence, which preserves the rights of Americans to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

House Republicans and Democrats have joined together to re-introduce a bill that would expand the religious conscience exemptions under ObamaCare.

Under the Equitable Access to Care and Health (EACH) Act, individuals would have the option of being exempted from the Affordable Healthcare Act's mandate to buy health insurance. People could avoid the mandate by filing an affidavit as part of their tax return saying their religious beliefs keep them from buying insurance that meets federal standards.

Republicans introduced a bill Friday in response to allegations that top congressional officials are seeking to exempt Capitol Hill from ObamaCare's health insurance exchanges.

The measure from Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) would require that all federal employees — including the president, vice president and Cabinet members — purchase coverage through the marketplaces.

"If the ObamaCare exchanges are good enough for the hardworking Americans and small businesses the law claims to help, then they should be good enough for the president, vice president, Congress, and federal employees," Camp spokeswoman Sarah Swinehart said in a statement. 

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) got emotional Thursday when talking about a Senate resolution designating National Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day. She said she has a personal friend with the disease.

The Senate then passed by unanimous consent S. Res. 116 introduced by Fischer and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that the ObamaCare “train wreck” is no surprise to Republicans.

“Americans can rest assured that Republicans will keep working to repeal this law. I hope more of the President’s allies will join us in that fight too,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday. “I urge my friends on the other side to join with Republicans and stop this ‘train wreck’ before things get even worse.”