| Sign up for The Hill's Newsletters: Policy at The Hill: | Week ahead: Senate returns to abortion fight By Sarah Ferris The leaders of both parties are under intense pressure to end a raucous debate over abortion that has stalled a bipartisan anti-trafficking bill. Senators can continue filing amendments until 5 p.m. on Monday on the unexpectedly controversial Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Senate Republicans had been forced to cancel a planned vote after an uproar from Democrats, who said they did not know the 68-page bill included a ban on abortion funding. While some Democrats accused the GOP of hiding the language in the bill, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) argued it is impossible for members not to know of the measure over the two months the bill was under consideration. Republicans, led by Cornyn, made a last-ditch plea on Thursday for Democrats to shrug off their concerns with the abortion provision, arguing that the same language has been included in most federal budgets under the decades-old Hyde Amendment. On the House side, leaders will continue quietly discussing a permanent repeal of Medicare’s automatic payment cuts to physicians; the cuts are part of the much-maligned sustainable growth rate formula (SGR). Lawmakers are closing in on a deal that would directly pay for $70 billion of the $200 billion proposal, aides said Friday. But the proposal would likely face opposition from conservative lawmakers. ObamaCare will be back in the spotlight on Thursday. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing called “The Affordable Care Act at Five Years.” It will feature witnesses from the Commonwealth Fund, the American Action Forum and National Federation of Independent Business. Veterans health issues are also resurfacing in the national spotlight, after President Obama's long-awaited visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical center in Phoenix, which was at the center of the scandal over long patient wait times. On Monday, the general counsel for the VA will appear at a hearing before the House Committee for Veterans’ Affairs on Monday. Ebola is also back in the headlines. An American aid worker being treated for the disease is in serious condition at the National Institutes of Health’s clinic, as ofFriday. The patient, whose identity has not been disclosed, will likely spark more questions for Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, as he speaks at a health panel hosted by The Atlantic on Wednesday morning. RECENT STORIES: House leaders close in on $200B Medicare deal: http://bit.ly/1NTIVAJ Some taxpayers still waiting for corrected ObamaCare forms: http://bit.ly/18HKfpC 7.7M ObamaCare customers qualify for subsidies in 2015: http://bit.ly/1EitAEi GOP governors scramble for answers on ObamaCare: http://bit.ly/ Dems seek special enrollment period for pregnant women: http://bit.ly/1CdCYeT |
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