This Week in Congress: Repealing Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax & Expanding Health Savings Accounts

Obamacare and President Donald Trump’s Cabinet will be the talk of the Capitol this week, with the House expected to take up bills to repeal Obamacare’s medical device tax and expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) while the Senate votes on the confirmation of Robert Wilkie as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

The House convenes Monday when it’ll consider 20 bills under the fast-track “suspension of the rules” process, including bills to expand the availability of broadband internet in rural areas and protect private property rights from the use of eminent domain. Tuesday will feature another 17 suspension bills, plus a vote on a bill to repeal the 2.5% excise tax on medical devices imposed by Obamacare. The rest of the week will primarily be focused on two bills that aim to expand the availability of HSAs, allow them to be used for more healthcare expenses (including over-the-counter drugs), and give all consumers the choice of buying low premium, high deductible health plans.

The Senate starts its week Monday, when it will vote on the confirmation of Robert Wilkie to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It will then start the consideration of a minibus appropriations bill that includes funding for the Dept. of the Interior and federal financial regulators.

Check here throughout the week to see the vote results and updates to the schedule.

Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern.

House

Monday after 6:30pm (all suspensions)

• H.R. 2345: National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, as amended Passed 379-1.
• H.R. 1689: Private Property Rights Protection Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3994: ACCESS BROADBAND Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5709: PIRATE Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• S. 2245: KIWI Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4881: Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, as amended Passed 378-4.
• H.R. 959: Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 1676: Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3728: EMPOWER Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5385: Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5954: Anti-terrorism Clarification Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4100: Foundation of the Federal Bar Association Charter Amendments Act of 2017 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 2630: La Paz Conveyance Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 1220: To establish the Adams Memorial Commission to carry out P.L. 107-62, and for other purposes, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3045: Eastern Legacy Extension Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5875: To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, to provide parity for United States territories and the District of Columbia, to make technical corrections to such Acts and related laws, and for other purposes, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5979: Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 6077: National Comedy Center Recognition Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• S. 2850: To amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5613: Quindaro Townsite National Historic Landmark Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.

Tuesday after 12pm

• H.R. 184: Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2017 Passed 283-132.
• H.R. 1201: EACH Act Passed by voice vote.
• House Amendment to S. 1182: National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2018 Vote postponed.
• H.R. 5882: Gold Star Spouses Leasing Relief Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 2409: To allow servicemembers to terminate their cable, satellite television, and Internet access service contracts while deployed, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 1476: Native American Health Savings Improvement Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 519: Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2017 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3500: Ensuring Integrity in the IRS Workforce Act of 2018 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 6084: Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4952: Improving Seniors Access to Quality Benefits Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 6138: ASC Payment Transparency Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 6124: Tribal Social Security Fairness Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5864: VA Hospitals Establishing Leadership Performance Act of 2018, as amended Vote postponed.
• H.R. 5938: Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5974: VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act, as amended
• H.R. 2787: VET MD Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5538: To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the inclusion of certain additional periods of active duty service for purposes of suspending charges to veterans' entitlement to educational assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during periods of suspended participation in vocational rehabilitation programs Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5649: Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Bill” Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvements Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.

Wednesday after 12pm

• H.R. 6311: Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans and Expanding Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018 Passed 242-176.
• H.R. 6199: Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Savings Accounts Act of 2018 Passed 277-142.
• House Amendment to S. 1182: National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2018 Passed 366-52.
• Concurring in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2353: Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act Passed by voice vote.
• House Amendment to S. 756: Save Our Seas Act of 2018 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5535: Energy Diplomacy Act of 2018, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 6414: To amend title 23, United States Code, to extend the deadline for promulgation of regulations under the tribal transportation self-governance program Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5864: VA Hospitals Establishing Leadership Performance Act of 2018, as amended Passed 417-0.
• H.R. 5693: Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.Res. 981: Condemning the violence, persecution, intimidation, and murders committed by the Government of Nicaragua against its citizens, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.Res. 1009: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the lack of timely and predictable funding unnecessarily undermines the mission of the United States Special Operations Command and jeopardizes the security of the United States Passed by voice vote.
• H.Res. 1010: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Air Force faces significant readiness challenges due to insufficient personnel levels, a shrinking and depleted aircraft fleet, and maintenance deferrals, all of which are affected by budgetary uncertainty and impede the Air Force’s ability to meet ongoing and unexpected national security threats, putting United States national security at risk Passed by voice vote.
• H.Res. 1007: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that not fully resourcing the United States Army in a timely manner erodes the Army’s ability to maintain readiness and poses risk to the Army’s ability to conduct military operations Passed by voice vote.

Thursday between 9am and 3pm

• Conference Report for H.R. 5515: John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 Passed 359-54.

Friday

• No votes are expected.

Senate

Monday after 5:30pm

• Confirmation vote on the nomination of Robert Wilkie to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs Confirmed 86-9.
• Motion to proceed to H.R. 6147: Appropriations Minibus II (Interior, THUD, FSGG, Agriculture) Agreed by voice.

Tuesday

• H.R. 6147: Appropriations Minibus II Amendment votes only.

Wednesday

• H.R. 6147: Appropriations Minibus II Amendment votes only.

Thursday

• H.R. 6147: Appropriations Minibus II Amendment votes only.

Friday

• No votes are expected.

You can tell your reps how to vote on this week's bills using the "Take Action" button!

— Eric Revell