Republicans Defy Trump on Shutdown Threat

Plus: Biden administration sues drug middlemen ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [The Fisc]( By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Happy Friday! Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on reproductive rights this afternoon in Atlanta before heading to Madison, Wisconsin, for an evening event. It’s her fourth visit to the Badger State, a key battleground, since she entered the presidential race in July. Former President Donald Trump wasn’t out on the campaign trail today but is scheduled to hold a rally in North Carolina tomorrow. Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor currently embroiled in a scandal about his alleged posts on a pornographic website, [will not appear]( at the rally. Here's what else is happening. (Sipa USA) Congress Works to Defuse Any Shutdown Drama Congressional appropriators are reportedly preparing a bipartisan government funding bill to be voted on in the House early next week, moving ahead with a plan that always appeared to be the inevitable conclusion to a potential showdown between Republicans and Democrats. Lawmakers are reportedly planning to pull together the details and text of the measure over the weekend so members can review it before a vote early next week. The bill is likely to extend current funding levels, with some tweaks, through December 13, Roll Call [reports]( citing a source familiar with the talks. Democrats are reportedly looking to include $12 billion needed to plug a shortfall in veterans health care funding, plus $24 billion in additional disaster aid. Republicans told Roll Call the disaster aid would be better off if passed separately after the elections. The bipartisan legislation would defuse the threat of a potential shutdown — though it might only heighten the threat to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s job. Conservatives, 14 of whom voted against Johnson’s government funding plan this week, are bound to be upset when the speaker turns to Democrats to help pass a short-term spending bill. The bipartisan bill would also exclude the Save Act, a Republican measure that would require proof of citizenship to vote. Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said there'll be a "lot of disappointment" if Johnson takes that approach, Axios [reports](. And Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, when asked if Johnson would face a revolt if he moved ahead with a clean three-month bill, told Axios: “I sure hope so.” Former President Donald Trump has also pressed Republicans to reject any funding plan that doesn’t include the GOP’s controversial voting measure, but Johnson and other lawmakers have reportedly warned Trump that a government shutdown would be a bad idea — and wouldn’t benefit his campaign for the White House. The bottom line: If the House passes a stopgap next week, the Senate would need to clear some procedural hurdles on its side, but a shutdown would likely be avoided. Poll of the Day: Drawing Even on the Economy Former President Donald Trump has enjoyed a clear edge with voters when it comes to the views of the economy, but a new Associated Press-NORC poll suggests that may be changing. The poll finds voters are now narrowly split on which candidate would better handle the economy, with 43% of voters say they trust Trump more and 41% pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris. “The finding is a warning sign for Trump, who has tried to link Harris to President Joe Biden’s economic track record,” [write]( Josh Boak and Linley Sanders of the AP. “The new poll suggests that Harris may be escaping some of the president’s baggage on the issue, undercutting what was previously one of Trump’s major advantages.” FTC Sues Drug Middlemen for Jacking Up Insulin Prices The Federal Trade Commission on Friday [announced]( it is suing three U.S. companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurance plans, charging they have artificially raised the price of insulin to boost their own profits. The three pharmacy benefit managers — Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx — handle drug coverage for insurers and large corporations, while processing about 80% of all prescriptions in the U.S. The FTC is accusing them of “engaging in anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices that have artificially inflated the list price of insulin drugs, impaired patients’ access to lower list price products, and shifted the cost of high insulin list prices to vulnerable patients.” The FTC says the firms use a “perverse” system of rebates that inflates the list prices of various insulin products. Even when lower-price insulin is available, the companies favor higher-price products that come with higher rebates, limiting their lists of covered drugs, known as formularies, to those high-cost, high-rebate medications. Insulin prices were fairly low, the FTC says, until pharmacy benefit managers used their enormous size to reduce the number of insulin drugs available to patients, while favoring insulin drugs that provided the largest rebates. “Competition usually leads to lower prices as sellers try to win business,” the FTC said in a press release. “But in the upside-down insulin market, manufacturers—driven by the Big Three PBMs’ hunger for rebates—increased list prices to provide the larger rebates and fees necessary to compete for formulary access.” As a result, some patients not covered by large insurance plans were forced to pay the artificially increased retail prices for insulin. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a trade group that represents the pharmacy benefit managers, disputed the FTC’s charges, saying the agency was ignoring progress the industry had made in reducing prices, while suggesting that drug manufacturers rather than the benefit managers were responsible for any pricing issues. “If the FTC had considered the role of the entire supply chain, the commission may have accurately diagnosed the lack of insulin competition in the period analyzed as a result of Big Pharma’s anti-competitive tactics and found that prices on brand name insulin products increased at manufacturer discretion, since rebates are uncorrelated to higher list prices,” the trade group said. “Decisions from Big Pharma companies to lower the price of some insulin products last year, following increased Congressional scrutiny and public outcry, underscore that drug companies can decide to lower prices at any time.” The three firms named in the lawsuit have also disputed the charges individually. Express Scripts said this week that it is suing the FTC over an earlier report that accused pharmacy benefit managers of unfair practices that harm small, local pharmacies. Biden Administration Awards $3 Billion for Battery Production As part of an effort to boost American competitiveness with China in key technologies, the Biden administration is awarding more than $3 billion to U.S. companies to enhance the domestic supply chain for battery production. The funds will flow to 25 companies located in 14 states and cover projects that touch on processing minerals, manufacturing batteries and recycling essential materials. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021. An earlier round of awards provided $1.8 billion to 14 projects. In a [press release]( the Department of Energy said the projects are expected to generate 8,000 construction jobs in the short run and more than 4,000 operating jobs on an ongoing basis. The agency also said that the federal commitment to green energy manufacturing had spurred $120 billion in investments by the private sector. “By positioning the U.S. at the forefront of advanced battery manufacturing, we are creating high-paying jobs and strengthening our global economic leadership and domestic energy security, all while supporting the clean energy transition,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. White House economic adviser Lael Brainard highlighted the international context. “Today’s awards move us closer to achieving the administration’s goal of building an end-to-end supply chain for batteries and critical minerals here in America, from mining to processing to manufacturing and recycling, which is vital to reduce China’s dominance of this critical sector,’' she said. --------------------------------------------------------------- Send your feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com. --------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal News Roundup - [House Eyes Vote Early Next Week on Bipartisan CR]( – Roll Call - [House Republicans Work to Defuse Trump as They Defy Shutdown Demands]( – Politico - [Mike Johnson's Coming Surrender on the Government Shutdown]( – Axios - [The Trump Tax Flip-Flop That Could Help Republicans Win the House]( – Politico - [House Unanimously Passes Bill to Bolster Trump’s Security After Apparent Assassination Attempt]( – The Hill - [High Insulin Prices Spur a Federal Lawsuit Against Three Pharmacy Benefit Managers]( – Associated Press - [Vance Floats New Health Plans for Chronically Ill, Reopening ACA Debate]( – Washington Post - [Child Care Costs More Than Rent Across 100 Largest US Metros]( – The Hill - [U.S. Ranks Last in Health Care Compared With Nine Other High-Income Countries, Report Finds]( – NBC News - [Republicans Rebuff Global Tax Provision as Treasury Implements Possible Workaround]( – The Hill - [Study Supports COVID-19 Origin Theory Linked to Wuhan Animal Market]( – The Hill - [Trump Media Plummets to New Low on the First Trading Day the Former President Can Sell His Shares]( – Associated Press Views and Analysis - [Only Grand Bargains Are Going to Get Us Out of Our Gigantic Fiscal Mess]( – C. Eugene Steuerle, Tax Policy Center - [Trump Repeals His Own Tax Reform]( – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board - [How Trump’s Tariffs Would Radically Redistribute Wealth Upward]( – David Cay Johnston, New Republic - [Harris’ Green Jobs Plan Isn't Enough for Voters]( – Mark Gongloff, Bloomberg - [Americans Are Desperate for Relief. The Rate Cut Is a Glimmer of Hope]( – David Uberti and Justin Lahart, Wall Street Journal - [Which Path Will the Fed Take to Ease Monetary Policy?]( – Nicholas Sargen, The Hill - [What We Need to Know to Judge the IRS’s Effectiveness]( – Janet Holtzblatt, Tax Policy Center - [Congress Should Block Aid to Egypt]( – Allison McManus, The Hill - [For Economists, Defending Big Business Can Be Big Business]( – Peter Coy, New York Times - [Apocalypse Delayed: Trump Keeps Promising a Doom That Never Comes]( – Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News Copyright © 2024 The Fiscal Times, All rights reserved. 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