Congress returns to Washington this week, and though Syria is the main topic of concern, the House will vote on two domestic policy bills. First, a bill sponsored by Rep. Dianne Black (R-TN) would halt cost-sharing subsidies for health care coverage until the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guarantees that applicants’ coverage requirements and household income can be verified. The Senate is not expected to take action on this bill. House Republicans are also working on a bill to extend the continuing resolution to keep the government funded through mid-December. The current continuing resolution expires Sept. 30.
Finally, last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that delaying the individual mandate by one year would reduce the federal deficit by $35 billion over the next 10 years. The delay would prevent $9 billion in new tax credits to help low-income households pay for their premiums and would cut Medicaid spending by $17 billion since fewer people would seek coverage.