ACA Repeal Votes Continue: As part of a rare Senate Sunday session to consider a bill to replenish the highway trust fund for six years, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) brought up an amendment to repeal the ACA—in addition to other proposals, including one that would renew the Ex-Im Bank. Yesterday’s vote to repeal the ACA failed in a party line vote,49 to 43; however, Republican lawmakers expect additional votes on the health care repeal. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is expected to ask the Senate again to reconsider the amendment, while also proposing a procedural motion to allow the Senate to repeal the ACA with a simple majority of 51 Senators. While the ACA repeal continues to bubble under the surface, other priorities, such as the highway bill, Ex-IM bank, and tax extenders will likely continue to take up the Senate’s time in the days before August recess.

Obama Administration State Priorities Continue to Take Shape: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell that cemented a big victory for the Obama Administration with regard to the health insurance exchanges, much speculation has surrounded what health policy issues would top the agenda going forward. Most analysts believed that Medicaid expansion would continue to be a major issue as more states, who had previously been unwilling to expand Medicaid for largely political reasons, would now feel less political pressure to oppose all facets of Obamacare.