The House and Senate returned from recess Monday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces a packed agenda. Speaker Johnson is pressing Budget Committee Republicans to finalize a spending blueprint for a third reconciliation package, prioritizing funding ongoing foreign conflicts and passing contentious election reforms. He is seeking an accelerated timeline, with the goal of quickly advancing the resolution through committees and potentially securing House passage as soon as this week on a party-line vote. This is an ambitious timeline considering recent divides in the House Republican Conference. Ongoing pushback from conservatives has left House Republican leaders unable to secure approval for a floor rule in three weeks, effectively stalling major legislative business. The deadlock became so severe that Johnson was forced to cut short the House schedule and begin the July 4 recess early. Senate Republican leadership has not committed to a third reconciliation package and there are serious questions as to whether they have the ability to pass such a package.
Bipartisan 340B Legislation Introduced in the House
Last week, Representatives Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Dr. John Joyce (R-Pa.) introduced the SECURE 340B Act, which aims to modify the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This bill is also cosponsored by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.).
America’s Essential Hospitals has strongly opposed the bill, given that it would narrow the definition of a patient, restrict child-site eligibility, increase administrative and reporting burdens, require provider user fees, and reduce the flexibility required to operate complex safety-net health systems. We have been in touch with all offices leading this bill to communicate our concerns. We did express gratitude for the thoughtfulness behind select provisions that would protect contract pharmacy access, preserve upfront 340B discounts, prevent manufacturer, PBM, and payer discrimination, and increase accountability for manufacturers. We encourage you to contact your House member(s) to share your concerns with this bill.
The Senate is in session Monday through Friday, and the House is in session Monday through Thursday, but the House continues to face a “block” on all votes led by a small number of House Republicans, causing the suspension of floor action several times over the last few weeks.
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