Welcome back from a much needed recess following the conclusion to 2017 (yes, three months after the calendar flipped). Congress will be in session nine of the next eleven weeks with numerous issues on the table ranging from appropriations and immigration (it’s not going away) to growing concerns around Facebook’s digital privacy. Amidst conversation around these issues, time will be devoted to nominations for several key Cabinet positions, not to mention a push for appointments to federal benches across the country.

In health care, it’s all about opioids. Unless it’s not. It’s reasonable to expect Congress to take bipartisan action in this space. But quietly, there’s an effort brewing to prepare for a Christmas tree at some point in 2018. Remember 2016? CURES? In the end, CURES became a legislative vehicle that carried a wide variety of policies across the finish line...