“It’s déjà vu all over again.” We’re back again this week for an important round of hearings in HELP and Finance where we will be paying close attention to the tone emanating from the hearings especially after Chairman Hatch’s blunt op-ed Friday. We’re half way through the four scheduled hearings in HELP so we will also be watching for signs that a bipartisan agreement is within reach. Chairman Alexander has made it clear he is looking for a “small, balanced stabilization bill,” and is leaning on the committee to produce another bipartisan piece of legislation after a string of successful bills in recent years.

Late last week President Trump essentially cleared the deck

son an end of September funding showdown, signing a continuing resolution (CR) that provides disaster relief, extends the debt limit and maintains current funding levels through December 8, 2017. As a result, this potentially sets up for a large package in December that could include the extenders from MACRA, another debit limit extension, and funding the government.