Congress returned to Washington, DC Monday following a one-week recess, and will be in session for the month of June. After a one-week recess during the first week of July, the House will be in session for the following three weeks and the Senate the following four weeks. After the Senate adjourns on August 2, Congress will be in recess until the second week of September.
The big items on Congress’ agenda for the rest of 2019 will be raising the debt ceiling, which will likely have to be done before early October, and addressing end-of-fiscal-year issues including raising budget caps, funding the government, and passing an extenders package. The end-of-fiscal-year issues must be addressed by October 1. It remains unclear how Congress will prioritize these items. There is also a growing desire among House Democrats to increase oversight activity, which could disrupt Congress’ agenda.
GNYHA’s top Federal priority in the coming months is ensuring a delay of the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) cuts, which are set to go into effect on October 1, 2019. We will remain engaged on our other priorities, particularly graduate medical education (GME) funding and hospital infrastructure funding. A full outline of our agenda for the 116th Congress is attached—feel free to use the document in your advocacy efforts.