Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet Tuesday to discuss recommendations for tackling health care policy in a budget reconciliation package — and again later in the week to consider energy and environment provisions.
“We’re just going through the different options,” committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said in a brief interview Monday evening. “The Budget Committee has listed different options, so I want my members to know what those are, what the underlying pros and cons are of each one and the mechanics of how they all work.”
The House Budget Committee has circulated a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in potential cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect Donald Trump’s top priorities this year through reconciliation, including tax cuts and border security measures. The reconciliation process allows lawmakers to skirt the Senate filibuster rules but has limitations on what can be included.
The list the Budget Committee has floated includes rolling back Biden administration climate programs, slashing welfare, “reimagining” the Affordable Care Act and recouping an estimated $2.3 trillion in savings from the safety-net insurance program Medicaid. Many of the proposals are controversial and would not garner much, if any, Democratic support.
The meetings this week come after Guthrie spoke earlier this month at a House GOP retreat on how his committee would contribute policy recommendations to a reconciliation measure. He discussed potential changes to Medicaid and the so-called site-neutral payment policy in Medicare, which would ensure Medicare pays the same rate for care regardless of where it’s provided.
Guthrie has said health care will be a “big part” of whatever reconciliation bill Republicans can advance.
In a sign of how fast Republicans want to move in this arena, Guthrie is convening members for reconciliation conversations before the Energy and Commerce Committee has even held an organizational meeting to approve its official rules and begin conducting legislative business and holding hearings.
Guthrie said that after Wednesday’s scheduled organizing meeting, he is still weighing what he wants the committee to do first.
