Healthcare

With House passage of H.R. 1213, the House at about 6:30 p.m. began debating amendments to H.R. 1214, which would terminate a provision allowing for $100 million in spending in the next two fiscal years for the construction of school-based health facilities.

Members quickly debated and approved by voice vote two amendments. One would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report that the funds have been rescinded, and another would require a study on which schools might need federal help to construct on-premises health facilities.

Republicans indicated they would not oppose these amendments, but Democrats nonetheless asked for recorded votes.

These amendments and others are expected to be voted on Wednesday, along with final passage of the bill.

-- This post was updated at 6:50 p.m.

The House on Tuesday passed legislation that repeals billions of dollars spending under last year's healthcare law in aid to states to help create local health insurance exchanges.

The bill, H.R. 1213, was approved in a 238-183 vote in which just five Democrats supported the Republican effort. 

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday warned her Democratic colleagues that House Republicans will continue to attack last year's healthcare law until all of it is repealed.

"Mr. Chairman, we're going to keep revisiting this until we get single every piece of this bill off the books," she said.

House Republicans on Tuesday returned to their first substantive piece of legislation since mid-April by attacking billions of dollars in planned spending over the next decade to help states create health insurance exchanges.

The exchanges were established in last year's healthcare law, and the Congressional Budget Office expects $14 billion to be spent on the exchanges over the next decade.

"Quite simply, our country is broke, and we cannot continue to spend money like we have in the past," Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) said in his opening remarks on the floor.

The House convenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday for morning speeches, then begins consideration of two bills at noon that would repeal two parts of last year's healthcare law.

H.R. 1213 would repeal federal funding to states for the purpose of setting up health insurance exchanges. The bill would save an estimated $14 billion over 10 years.

The House Rules Committee made five amendments in order, which will each be given 10 minutes of debate today. One from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to post a public notice saying the funds were rescinded — these sorts of amendments from Democrats have been successfully included in recent legislation.

The House Rules Committee on Wednesday afternoon updated its agenda for next week by adding another energy bill, implying the House could act on two pieces of legislation by next week.

On Wednesday, the committee will meet at 3 p.m. to approve rules for H.R. 1229, the "Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act," and H.R. 1230, the "Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act."

H.R. 1230 is the newly added bill for the week, and it would require the administration to conduct offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and near Virginia.

The House Rules Committee on Thursday announced it will hold two early meetings next week in order to approve rules for four bills that will be considered on the House floor later in the week.

On May 2, the committee will meet at 5 p.m. to approve a rule for H.R. 1213, which would end federal funding to help states set up health insurance exchanges. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that ending these grants would save $14 billion over the next decade.

House Republicans next week will resume their quest to eliminate last year's healthcare law one piece at a time, this time by terminating a grant program that funds school-based health center construction.

The House Rules Committee will meet as early as Monday to approve a rule for H.R. 1214, which would end the grant program established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The program currently allows the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award up to $50 million in grants per year for the construction of health centers in schools.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray (D) is preparing a response to last week's letter from House and Senate Republicans requesting "detailed information" about how he will comply with a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions in the District.

The ban was reinstated earlier in the month when Congress approved a spending bill for the remainder of FY 2011, H.R. 1473. Part of the agreement between the White House and Congress was to reinstate the so-called Hyde amendment for the District, but Republicans in an April 19 letter noted that D.C. has not always complied with the prohibition in the past.

Republicans also said they were "disappointed" that the mayor's office has ignored "repeated requests" in the past for information about abortion funding, although Gray's office said a response would be forthcoming.

"Unlike previous administrations, Mayor Gray will send a response," his office said. "Since receiving the first letter in January, the Mayor's staff have been in communication with congressional staff about this issue." Gray has been in office since Jan. 2, after winning an uncontested election in November.

Conservative Republicans on Friday encouraged their colleagues to support the Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget resolution for FY 2012, which would cut spending even more than the mainstream Republican proposal over the next decade and provide a solvency path for Medicare and Medicaid.

"The RSC budget … keeps tax rates low because we believe in economic growth, starts the process of saving Medicare and Social Security, protects national defense, which is after all is that area we are supposed to constitutionally spend taxpayer dollars," RSC Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said. "But most importantly, what the Republican Study Committee budget does is it balances."