HHS spending bill stalled by House impasse

The Senate Appropriations Committee's consideration of the spending measure will likely be largely symbolic and the actual spending it covers will be handled later this year. The appropriations process, however, has been used by Republicans to attack the health law's funding.

The Hill: HHS Spending Bill Stuck In Impasse
Two conservative Republicans are holding up the Health and Human Services spending bill. The two lawmakers, Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), say the spending measure costs too much and are demanding spending reductions, sources tell The Hill. Last week they sent a letter to House leaders saying they want spending levels for the bill to be in line with the budget put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and approved by the House instead of the debt ceiling deal (Pecquet, 9/20).

Politico Pro: Senate To Take Up HHS Funding Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to mark up the bill funding HHS on Wednesday -; an exercise that's likely to be merely symbolic, since the department's actual funding will probably be worked out later this year. Still, Republicans are expected to propose an amendment to eliminate funding for the health reform law during Wednesday's markup of the Labor-HHS spending bill. On Tuesday, when a subcommittee approved the bill, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said the bill authorizes $4.5 billion in spending to fund the law. Republicans have used the appropriations process as a way to attack the health law's funding (Haberkorn, 9/21).