The House and Senate are back in session today and tomorrow, respectively, to begin a post-shutdown and year-end legislative stretch with plenty of questions about what will get done and how. The continuing resolution (CR) deal to end the shutdown left lawmakers with two upcoming deadlines: 1) Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-SD) commitment, regarding an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expiring at the end of 2025, "to having that vote no later than the second week in December;" and 2) the new January 30 expiration of government funding. There is interest in acting on expired and expiring trade and tax provisions, but it remains too soon to tell if and how that could happen.

There is already a focus on that upcoming ACA credits vote, although the details of what will be considered by the Senate are still developing. Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) November 7 proposed a different approach to the credits altogether using a pre-funded Federal Flexible Spending Account (FSA). President Trump expressed an interest in the plan. On CBS' "Face the Nation" yesterday, Chairman Cassidy said, "The president is proposing that we take the $26 billion that would be going to insurance companies if we just do a straight-out extension [of ACA credits] … give it directly to the American people in an account in which 100 percent of the money is used for them to purchase health care."

Cassidy further said, "the kind of proposal I am proposing — Republicans are, and I hope Democrats will join — is, let's take that money, and we have a mechanism to do so. We [are] giving it to the patient — by giving her that money, she can choose a bronze-level plan, which is to say lower premiums. So, now her premiums are down, but she has money in an account to help with the deductible. And I think we can figure that out about as easily we can figure out what we would do if we just did a straight-out extension."

Democrats don't appear inclined to support that proposal, at least while the credit expiration looms. On the same show, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said, "I agree with Senator Cassidy, this should be a bill that is not partisan, but it should be a bill to extend those premium tax credits because, as everybody has talked about, there is real urgency to get this done. And if we don't address it, then people are going to see huge rate increases. So, we can work together. We can extend the credits, but we probably can't implement [the] significant reforms that Senator Cassidy was talking about in the timeframe that we've got."

There have been member meetings on the ACA credits issue and those will continue. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) said on NBC's "Meet the Press," "We are going to have a meeting of the Finance Committee on Wednesday, again, focusing on health care. I'm on that committee. A number of physicians are also on that committee. I think that we need to make sure people understand the costs and give them choice and give them control." Politico reported that House committee chairs will hold listening sessions on the expiring enhanced ACA credits this week.

Of course, most Democrats had held out on providing votes for a continuing resolution (CR) if an extension of the credits wasn't attached, at least until it was apparent that wasn't going to happen. One of the group of senators to craft the deal to reopen the government, Tim Kaine (D-VA), said on MTP yesterday, "I viewed the situation last weekend as we had no path, none, to a health care fix until we reopened government. Now, we have a path, not a guarantee. But we at least have a path. And Democrats need to do all we can to put the best proposal on the table within a month and then force everyone, Democrats and Republicans, to declare whether they're going to stand on the side of the American public and reduce health care costs."

Other priorities — Whether a bipartisan compromise can be reached could determine if a potential ACA credits bill could be paired with other bipartisan issues. There is continued interest in moving health, tax and trade items. Punchbowl News last night reported House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) as saying, "Would love to see some bipartisan trade items taken care of. AGOA is something I think would be great. Some bipartisan health care would be nice. And there's some bipartisan tax that I'd like to fix. So it's gonna be busy. If people will work together, it will be good."

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired September 30, and Republicans have proposed bills to provide an extension. Also, Chairman Smith has previously said he wants to roll back the deduction for 90% of gambling losses that takes effect in 2026 and restore the 100% deduction, which is supported by members of both parties.

More generally, some observers say the issues Republicans are currently focusing on in Congress aren't sufficient to help the country nor the GOP ahead of the midterm elections. "Democrats will run against Republicans next year on the cost of health care and enhanced pandemic-era subsidies for Obamacare. Republicans can dodge the subject and hope voters don't notice, which is a losing strategy. Or they could offer a health freedom agenda that would create more private insurance options … " said an editorial, "An Agenda-Less GOP Congress," in the November 15 Wall Street Journal. "How about pro-growth tax policy? Republicans have a rare chance to use budget reconciliation again during this Congress to dodge the Senate 60-vote rule for tax and spending bills. The news here is that Republicans don't seem to have any idea what they would put in such a bill."

Trade — On Friday, November 14, President Trump signed an executive order, "Modifying the Scope of the Reciprocal Tariff with Respect to Certain Agricultural Products," providing that certain agricultural products shall not be subject to the reciprocal tariff imposed under Executive Order 14257, "Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large And Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits," and providing updated annexes to that EO and Executive Order 14346 entitled, "Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners." Affected products include coffee and bananas.

Schedule — House votes begin today at 6 p.m. on measures including the Senate-passed Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (S. 2392) and bills under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Committee.

The Senate begins its workweek with votes starting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, with a procedural vote related to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission nomination. There is no longer expected to be a vote in the full Senate this week on the nomination of Donald Korb to be chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department. President Trump announced on social media November 14 that he was withdrawing the nomination.

The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing, "The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for all Americans," for Wednesday, November 19 at 10 a.m.

Prior to the hearing, the Committee will hold an executive session to vote on the nominations of:

• Arjun Mody to be Deputy Commissioner at the Social Security Administration
• Jeffrey Goettman to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Africa, Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, Environment, Labor, and Industrial Competitiveness)
• Julie Callahan to be Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Thomas Bell to be Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services

The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing, "Modernizing Care Coordination to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease," for Wednesday, November 19 at 2 p.m.