Wednesday: House to start work on FY 2011 budget, healthcare

The House opens at 10 a.m. for morning speeches, then returns at noon to begin consideration of the fiscal 2011 spending bill. Members on Wednesday will debate and vote on the rule for the full-year spending bill, H.R. 1473, and then plan to debate and vote on the bill itself on Thursday.

The rule considered today also allows separate votes on two amendments to H.R. 1473 that would defund last year's healthcare law and block federal funding for Planned Parenthood. But even if the House approves these amendments, they will not take effect unless the Senate approves them, and that is not expected to happen.

The House today also takes up a third healthcare item, H.R. 1217, which would eliminate the Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created in last year's healthcare law. Democrats have already indicated they would oppose efforts to kill this program, which has been funded $1.25 billion in the last two years.

Democrats will seek to add amendments that would require studies of the impact of killing the program and require the government to post a notice describing how much in unused funding was rescinded.

The Senate returns at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to continue its work on a bill reauthorizing small-business programs.