Rescissions update

There continues to be no clear decision on the rescissions package. Rick Mulvaney with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) met with Republicans yesterday to urge them to vote for the rescissions package. We expect that the bill will pass through the House but will face some opposition in the Senate. We will keep you updated as we hear more!

FY19

Senate Republic Leader Mitch McConnell is hoping to hold votes on the FY19 spending bills before recess. In hopes of not having an end-of-year crunch the Senate Republicans have discussed extending the Senate session to August, or not having a summer recess at all. McConnell has also suggested stalling on some other Senate decisions to try to ensure that the votes happen for the FY19 spending bills. LHHS chair, Roy Blunt, has indicated that his subcommittee will have a 1.1% increase in discretionary funding from FY18. More to come…

“Gag” Rule

Rumors abound that the Trump administration is poised to drop a domestic “gag” rule this afternoon. This could have potential implications for how federal STD money can be allocated to partner family planning clinics. NCSD is monitoring this and will issue a statement upon its release.