New Congress Wrestles With ACA And Budget Challenges: Rich Universities A Funding Source?

By John McManus, The McManus Group

The 116th Congress convened under the shadow of a partial government shutdown with Republicans handing the gavel to newly elected Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). House Democrats have made it clear that healthcare will be a key priority, second only to investigating the Trump administration.

On January 3, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping rules package, which delineates how Democrats will approach two key issues:

1. direction to the House general counsel to defend the Affordable Care Act from the recent Texas ruling, which held that the ACA is unconstitutional
2. reimposition of “PAYGO” (pay as you go) rules, which require new entitlement spending or tax cuts to be financed with tax increases or other entitlement spending cuts.