This week: 2012 budget fight takes the stage

With lawmakers striking a deal to keep the government running through 2011, the focus will turn to what will be an even bigger fight: the 2012 budget. The House will begin consideration of the Republican budget proposal on Thursday, and a full vote is expected Friday.

Democrats have mounted a strong offense against House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) plan to transform Medicare into a voucher-like system and to block-grant Medicaid, but the party doesn’t yet have its own vision for making the entitlement programs sustainable over the long term. That changes on Wednesday, when President Obama outlines a deficit-reduction plan that will take on entitlements.

House Republicans will take another shot at the healthcare reform law Wednesday, when the full House votes on repealing the overhaul’s $17 billion prevention and public health fund.

Meanwhile, the House will host a couple of health-related hearings on the Hill next week. The Energy and Commerce Oversight subcommittee is scheduled to hold a Wednesday hearing on the Food and Drug Administration’s screening efforts at the border. The House subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science will hold a Thursday hearing on a bill cracking down on excessive prescriptions of narcotic painkillers.
 
The American Hospital Association has some serious star power for its annual meeting. Featured speakers on Monday include Medicare Administrator Don Berwick and fiscal commission co-chief Alan Simpson. Tuesday’s lineup includes Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).
 
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America comes to the Hill for an annual conference, and its members will likely make the case for tweaking a healthcare reform regulation they argue will hurt their bottom lines. That’s because they’re counted as an administrative cost in new federal rules that requires insurers to spend 80 percent of every premium dollar on medical costs. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) are scheduled to speak Wednesday.
 
On the legal front, the Supreme Court on Friday is scheduled to consider Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s (R) request for fast-tracking the Obama administration’s appeal of his successful challenge to healthcare reform’s individual mandate. Meanwhile, “friend of the court” briefs are due in federal court Monday in the administration’s appeal of a federal judge’s decision to strike down the entire law.
 
As Massachusetts is struggling to get healthcare costs under control, Gov. Deval Patrick (D) will tout the state’s 2006 healthcare reform, which has expanded coverage to 98 percent of residents. Patrick will speak at the Center for American Progress on Wednesday, alongside representatives from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
 
The Small Business Administration is teaming up with the pro-reform Small Business Majority for a series of webinars on the healthcare law throughout next week.