Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.
Comedians Love Trump – It appears that late-night talkshow hosts love President Trump. According to an analysis by George Mason University, he is on pace to be become the butt of the hosts’ jokes after his first year more often that any of his predecessors. Read more in Politico here.
Suffering from Election Withdrawal?– Anyone suffering from election withdrawal? Our Presidential election is over, the two gubernatorial elections in 2017 are not until later this year, and the Congressional elections are not until next year. Well, those who need their election fix can learn about the impending Presidential elections in France and South Korea.
Senate Obamacare Repeal Slog – Don’t expect quick Senate action on the Republican bill to repeal large portions of the 2010 health law. Aides caution that, regardless of House passage on Thursday, it could be weeks before the Senate can begin any significant work on the legislation. The lack of analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office will be a major contributor to the slowdown. Read more on Roll Call.
Trumpcare’s Impact on Harborview – House Republicans claimed victory after pushing through their legislative centerpiece that would scuttle much of Obamacare. The health-care bill’s pathway through the U.S. Senate is less clear. Harborview Medical Center’s executive director said Friday that the hospital by 2026 would lose $627 million in federal revenue under the health-care bill passed Thursday by the House of Representatives. Read more from The Seattle Times.
On International Students – Students from abroad have become a rich revenue source for many state colleges and their towns. What happens if the Trump administration’s anti-immigration sentiment and policies drive them away? Read more from Governing Magazine.
NIH to Impose Grant Cap – In a major policy shift that is reverberating across the biomedical research community, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, says it plans to cap the number of grants an investigator can hold in order to free up funding for early-career scientists and those struggling to keep their labs afloat. Read more in Science Magazine.