On the Hill: Congressional Funding Measures, House Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee Hearing on Medicare Advantage

House GOP appropriators have scheduled full-committee markups for three fiscal year 2026 bills this week as they prepare for August recess - Interior, National Security-State, and Commerce-Justice-Science. These House Republican proposals stick largely to President Trump's "skinny" budget plan, which calls for $163 billion in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, which House Democrats and the Senate, as a whole, oppose.

Senate majority leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) top priorities include a key FY2026 funding vote and possible consideration of the annual defense policy bill this week. Senator Thune has scheduled a vote on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which advanced through the Senate Appropriations Committee with strong bipartisan support in a 26-3 vote. However, it is unclear how Senate Democrats will handle votes on the floor for appropriations bills given the reconciliation and rescission packages that Republicans recently passed without any Democrat support.

Committee Activity This Week 

The House and Senate are in session Monday through Thursday, with the Senate also convening on Friday. This will be the House's last scheduled week in session before the August recess.

The Ways and Means Health and Oversight Subcommittees will hold a joint hearing to examine lessons learned after more than two decades of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, the challenges and opportunities associated with the rapid growth in MA enrollment, and targeted improvements that allow MA to continue facilitating quality outcomes for beneficiaries and value for taxpayers. The hearing will take place on July 22, at 2 pm, in 1100 Longworth House Office Building.

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