House poised to vote on continuing resolution, disaster aid

The House of Representatives is expected to vote this evening on a continuing resolution funding the federal government through Jan. 19. The current CR expires tomorrow. According to a summary of the legislation, the stop-gap measure includes $2.85 billion in funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program through the end of March and $2.1 billion in mandatory funding for the Veterans Choice program; extends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ability to redistribute funds to help states dealing with CHIP-related funding shortfalls; and waives PAY-GO requirements for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, averting Medicare cuts of $25 billion in 2018 and for many years thereafter; among other provisions. In addition, the House is expected to vote on a separate bill that would provide $81 billion in additional emergency assistance for recent hurricanes and wildfires affecting Texas, Florida, California, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If the bills pass, they would be sent to the Senate for consideration.