Lawmakers To Vie For House Ways And Means Gavel
With Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) expected to succeed Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) as Speaker of the House, some Republican lawmakers are eyeing the opening Rep. Ryan would leave behind at the helm of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Several congressmen are expected to vie for the chairmanship, including Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Pat Tiberi (R-OH), and Devin Nunes (R-CA). Of note, Rep. Brady is Chairman of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, and he took a lead role in successfully shepherding H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, through the House earlier this year. Also known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) package or the “permanent doc fix,” the bill permanently repealed Medicare’s often-criticized physician payment system. Rep. Brady is more senior than Rep. Tiberi, who is Chairman of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade. Rep. Nunes is Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
This Week’s Hearings:

  • Tuesday, October 27: The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a joint hearing titled “VA and DoD IT: Electronic Health Records Interoperability.”
  • Wednesday, October 28: The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing titled “VA Mental Health: Ensuring Access to Care.”
  • Thursday, October 29: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “Examining the Regulation of Diagnostic Tests and Laboratory Operations.”
  • Thursday, October 29: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will hold a hearing titled “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in America: Priorities, Challenges, and Opportunities.”