TRUMPING TRUMP: Congress first exerted their frustration with the president’s disregard for order, by overwhelmingly passing a sanctions bill limiting his ability to negotiate (exclusively) with Russia. The president reluctantly signed the direct challenge to his authority, knowing Congress had the ability to override a veto, but not without a jabbing last word. As concerns about Trump and the Kremlin seep through Congress, there is a new effort to restrain the president's power; both chambers have included language in their defense spending bills to develop medium-range missiles banned in the INF Treaty (Russia is accused of violating this treaty earlier in the year). At the very least, this is a huge headache for Trump and undermines his strength in foreign relations. The back and forth between Congress and the president continues - with two Senators from across the aisle introducing a bill that revokes Trump’s ability to fire a special prosecutor in an investigation and would allow the fired prosecutor to appeal to a panel of judges within 14 days. While this new law may be about the integrity and independence of our institutions, anyone who says that this is a regular order of checks and balances needs to review the retroactive date on the bill. Tip, it's the same as the day Robert Mueller was hired.
MNUCHIN’S MISSION: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has gained consensus on a clean raise of the debt limit from the Administration and Congressional Republican leaders, after months of meetings, negotiations, and pressure; even OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, who was highly critical of raising the limit, rolled over. Now they are calling on Congress to lift the debt ceiling by September 29th. However, Congress still has to address several spending expirations before the 30th and there is still a lot of division within rank and file members of the party. Republicans who oppose a clean lift will likely try to attach policy sweeteners to the legislation, including a possible continuing resolution (CR) to extend spending levels and fund the government, should we not have a FY18 budget by then. Ahem.
CHINA’S TRADE SECRETS: President Trump is expected to give a speech today calling on the office of the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate China. Companies gripe that the Chinese government requires unnecessary disclosures in order to get patent and trademark approvals, a problem Ivanka Trump had not long ago. But is this the Administration’s final attempt for a broader investigation into China’s unfair trade practices? This investigation over trade secrets is the gateway for further economic actions. If those don’t work to curb China’s behavior towards North Korea, there’s always Twitter.
RECESS RESTRICTION: Last night Republican Senators secured nine “pro forma” sessions over the month of August, meaning they won’t technically adjourn, and President Trump will not be able to make any recess appointments. The Senate has been gearing up for this motion ever since President Trump said it was “unfair” that AG Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. Sessions is one of the Senate’s own, with long-standing relationships in that body who also happens to be pushing elements of the Republican agenda within the Administration the hardest. Loyalties run deep in the ‘world’s most exclusive club.’ Senators will hold a meeting every three days in August, employing an old tactic to prevent the president from using the recess to his advantage.
BEHIND THE SCENES: Maybe the most noticeable changes since President Trump took office are the quick and steady rollbacks of Obama era energy and environmental policies. Through executive orders and agencies, the Administration has approved the Keystone XL pipeline, the Dakota Access pipeline, moved on arctic drilling, moved on offshore drilling, dismantled the Clean Power Plan, postponed water rules and studies, restructured the EPA and DOE, and now even has the DHS waiving environmental rules to build the border wall. According to the president, next week will bring the biggest numbers yet for American energy dominance.
CALL INVITE | VITAL SIGNS OF JULY 2017 | THEMES UPDATE: Our Senior Health Policy Analyst Emily Evans is hosting a video conference call and live Q&A on Monday, August 7th at 11am ET. Get the event details here.
HOSPICE PAYMENT UPDATE: REGULATORY OUTLOOK STILL CLOUDY (AMED, KND, LHCG): Our Senior Health Policy Analyst Emily Evans wrote payment increase is not a surprise; CMS continues to signal ongoing review of payment system, more changes and program integrity response. Read the full piece here.
IT IS IRF (AND SNF) DAY! CMS FINALIZES ANNUAL PAYMENT UPDATE AS EXPECTED: Our Senior Health Policy Analyst Emily Evans wrote that the Congressional 1% update override takes a lot of the excitement out of this year's rules. Action is with SNF payment system changes. Read the full piece here.
SPRINT/T-MOBILE: THE REGULATORY PROSPECTS (S, TMUS, CHTR, CMCSA, VZ, T): Our Senior Telecom Analyst Paul Glenchur writes cable and wireless convergence is the story du jour, but Sprint/T-Mobile is still on the table with reasonable regulatory prospects. Read his full piece here.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: With August "recess" upon us, we will not be publishing regularly and will resume our normal schedule after Labor Day. Please email or call us if you have any questions or need us to track down an issue.
