FY 2012 Budget is Top Priority as Congress Returns to Washington - May 3, 2011

Congress returns to Washington this week, with the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget and deficit reduction proposals top on the agenda. While Vice President Joe Biden convenes a bipartisan group of policy makers this Thursday to discuss deficit reduction proposals, the Senate is expected to begin consideration in the coming weeks of its own FY 2012 budget resolution and perhaps a "Gang of Six" deficit reduction proposal. The federal government is expected to hit the statutorily-imposed debt ceiling in early August, adding urgency to the debate over a deficit reduction process, targets and actual policy proposals that could accompany a vote to raise the ceiling.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on bills to repeal certain elements of the Affordable Care Act this week, including funding for the state health exchanges and school-based health centers. While the bills will likely pass the House, they are not expected to move in the Senate. These votes follow action taken by the House before the April recess, when the House voted to defund the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Prevention and Public Health Fund. Again, the Senate does not have the requisite 60 votes to move such a proposal through that chamber. However, House Republicans will likely continue efforts to defund various provisions of the ACA through the FY 2012 appropriations process as it gets underway this month. NAPH and the American Hospital Association sent a letter to Congress in early March opposing actions to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund and state health exchange funding.