They want to avoid a pre-Christmas nightmare.
Congressional leaders on Friday night withdrew a document late Tuesday calling for legislation to avert a looming government shutdown and keep the lights on in government through March 14, 2025 at current spending levels.
In keeping with Congress' Christmas tradition of scrambles in late December, the 1,547-page continuing resolution is packed with a variety of additions that impact everything from drug policy to $100 billion in disaster relief. was.
The measures include tightening restrictions on U.S. investment in China, green light for the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to the grounds of RFK Stadium, provisions targeting intermediaries in drug price setting, a one-year extension of the Farm Bill, and a It also included reauthorization of the bill. and unmanned aircraft systems programs.
The leadership has not yet given a clear plan for when the CR vote will take place. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is on the fence about whether to abide by the 72-hour soft rule, which is meant to give lawmakers time to read the text.
If Johnson sticks to the 72-hour rule, the Senate will have to act quickly on Friday to prevent a shutdown.
A cacophony of Republicans moaned about CR, from the process to some of the additional features, with moderates and far-right members equally displeased.
“After everything I've heard about CR so far, I believe I'll vote NO. Republicans have a majority, but Democrats seem to understand more of their priorities than we do.” ” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York). I filed a complaint with X before the text was published.
“This CR will be a 3-month culmination, resulting in more Democrats voting than Republicans. The Swamp will be the culmination of a 3-month long culmination that will result in more Democrats voting than Republicans. They are using farmers and victims of natural disasters as pawns.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was dissatisfied..
Then she said in a more ominous tone: “Christmas CR’s lump of coal comes with a warning: Beware the Ides of March.”
If CR goes into effect, a nasty spending battle will erupt near the end of President-elect Donald Trump's first 100 days in office.
Congress is tasked with funding the government through 12 spending bills in each new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Congress hasn't done that yet, so it's relying on stopgap measures to move the fight into the future.
Next year, Congress will have to deal with the 2025 and 2026 budgets, the debt ceiling, and the expiring Trump tax cuts.
But the disaster relief portion of the spending patch will keep big-ticket items off next year's agenda. The disaster aid includes funding to rebuild Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when a cargo ship hit it earlier this year, and $10 billion in aid to farmers.
Hardline Republicans were furious both at the process and at the lack of apparent offsets in the massive bill.
For example, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called on Johnson to abide by the 72-hour rule, allow a vote on the toll bill, and vote on a bill to block the sale of border wall material.
“The swamp is turning into the swamp. This is not the way business should be done. We're just fundamentally unscrupulous about spending. You can't shrink government as long as you have a blank check. Government. If we can't reduce the size of the world, we won't be able to live freely,” Roy told reporters.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) similarly criticized the improvisation.
“What will RFK Stadium, $50 billion to Big Pharma, and two new Smithsonian museums do for hurricane-ravaged Americans?” he wrote to X.
Attacks on pharmaceutical intermediaries
Private industry was outraged by CR's attacks on pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs), the intermediaries that help drug companies negotiate prices and manage formulations.
PBMs have long attracted bipartisan scrutiny over concerns that they can drive up drug prices and siphon money from consumers.
Essentially, critics argue, because PBMs negotiate rebates from big drug companies, drug companies raise the list price of drugs in order to lower the net price for consumers to pass through the drug company as an intermediary. I think I want it. From there, PBMs are thought to collect funds from the process through fees. PBMs reject this characterization of their activities.
The CR prohibits tying a PBM's compensation to a drug's list price and strictly requires PBMs to “pass 100 percent of drug rebates and discounts to the employer or health plan.”
The stopgap also includes language aimed at increasing transparency around PBMs, allowing them to be more candid about the details and fees they negotiate with drug companies.
PBMs slammed some of these measures, arguing that they would weaken policy and give drug companies a stronger role at the negotiating table to raise prices.
Katie Payne, senior vice president of communications and director of advocacy for The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, was furious about the measure, saying, “Congress is choosing drug companies over patients, employers, and seniors.”
“Big Pharma could reap billions in windfall profits if the precedent-setting Big Pharma Contribution Spending Act passes,” Payne argued in a statement. “This bill would also mean major government intervention in commercial market contracts. Employers would no longer have final say in contracts with PBMs.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson estimates his control of the House of Commons is slim, and the House of Commons could temporarily slip to a one-seat majority early next year.
Early next month, he will vie for the speaker's gavel in the new Congress, which has proven to be a thorny issue for his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
