Senate Democrats push revised drug pricing plan as they prep larger Biden economic package

Senate Democrats plan to submit a revised proposal to lower prescription drug prices for a key procedural review in the coming days as they press forward with preparations for a vote on President Biden’s economic package.  

Lawmakers have made some revisions to a deal to lower drug prices and plan to submit it to the Senate parliamentarian in the coming days for a review of whether it can pass muster with the chamber’s complicated rules for avoiding a Republican fili...

The Hill’s Morning Report — Biden heads back to US to homegrown angst

President Biden returns today from an uneasy Europe to confront domestic U.S. confusion about states’ abortion restrictions, unrest over inflation and uncertainty within the president’s party about its political future.

At every turn, the administration finds federal options for action constrained or contested.

During gatherings this week in Germany among the Group of Seven most developed nations and among NATO allies, the U.S. wrest...

Health Care — Republicans face complicated reality post-Roe

Heads up drivers in D.C.: A section of a major road into the city will be closed through the morning because of a so-called work zone fail; cars were getting stuck in wet tar. 

Republicans are celebrating the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, but it may not be the massive political win some hope.  

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The...

Why are laws so long and complicated?

Americans often complain that our laws are too complicated, with many statutes running to dozens or even hundreds of pages of dense language. When the late Herman Cain was briefly the frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, he drew sustained applause by vowing to veto any bill longer than three pages.

More serious political figures in both parties realize that complex issues – such as health care, taxes and national security – must be addressed in detail. ...

Abortion rights proponents file wave of lawsuits challenging bans

Abortion rights activists have quickly filed a slew of lawsuits in states with trigger bans on abortions that went into effect following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last week.

Lawsuits have so far been filed by organizations like Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in about half of the 13 states that had trigger laws dependent on the overturning of Roe.

In Mississippi, where the state government brought forward the ...

Federal government getting ready to open its books and show us the receipts

As members of Congress and staff dig into President Biden’s 2023 budget request, they have a new tool for tracking when, where, and how the president is authorizing federal agencies to spend money — but Congress, and the public, needs to know this new tool exists. It comes in the form of apportionment transparency, an instrument designed to reinforce Congress’s power of the purse.

In Federalist No. 58, James Madison described the power of the purse — or the legislature’s autho...

Justice Breyer’s collegiality and civility will be sorely missed

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will be missed — not necessarily for his votes but for his voice, one that valued collegiality and civility on an increasingly politicized court.   

The 83-year-old Breyer is stepping down after 28 distinguished years on the High Court. He came into public service at a time when compromise and searching for consensus were common in politics and in the courts.

He's leaving at a time when that sort of comity is rare — incl...

Five takeaways from the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling

The Supreme Court made its most dramatic intervention in American life in decades Friday, striking down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had provided a constitutional right to abortion.

The rescinding of the right is likely to lead to the banning of abortion in around half the states in the nation. 

Thirteen states already had so-called ‘trigger laws’ designed to make terminating a pregnancy illegal almost as soon as Roe fell. By Friday evening, nine states had ...