OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Dems denounce ObamaCare ‘exemption’

by Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck - 04/25/13 10:30 PM ET

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said at a news conference Thursday that she wants to remove the few exemptions the law already includes, and require all congressional staff to buy coverage through the exchanges.

{mosads}Seeking an exemption would have been politically dangerous for Democrats — Republicans accused them of trying to set different standards for themselves than for the everyday Americans who will use exchanges. But Democrats said that is not what they are after; talk of an “exemption” is just an overblown response to their efforts to fix a drafting error in the law, they insist.

The Hill has the story.

No regrets: Pelosi said Thursday that Democrats did not lose the House in 2010 because of healthcare — and even if they did, it was worth it.

“I do not subscribe to the notion that we did not win the election because of the healthcare bill,” Pelosi said Thursday during a press briefing in the Capitol. “If we did, for tens of millions of Americans to have healthcare was well worth any of our political careers, in my view.”

The Hill has more.

Sequester effects: The automatic budget cuts known as sequestration will lead to an 18 percent drop in food-safety inspections, according to USA Today. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told the newspaper that the agency will have to conduct 2,100 fewer food inspections because of the sequester.

“All of those programs will be compromised by the cuts,” Hamburg said. “Sequester is a big hit for us. … The cuts are real and will have impacts.”

The full story is here.

By August: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) vowed Thursday to put legislation on President Obama’s desk that would give regulators more power to track prescription drugs. Lawmakers on Thursday examined a draft bill from Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) that attempts to address loopholes in the drug supply system and give regulators tools to close them. While testing the waters for an electronic tracking system, however, the draft bill falls short of implementing one.

Upton said he would schedule a markup on the proposal for May with the goal of sending a bill to Obama “by the August recess.”

“Keeping our prescription drugs safe is a bipartisan issue,” Upton said during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Health. “We have the world’s safest drug supply, but that does not mean we cannot make it even safer.”

Read more about the hearing at The Hill’s RegWatch blog.

Friday’s agenda

President Obama will address Planned Parenthood supporters.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg will appear before the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction of her agency to talk about the 2014 budget.

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing on health privacy rules in the wake of the Newtown shooting.

The House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security will finish the week by discussing the challenges facing the program and its leaders.

The National Venture Capital Association will unveil a report on venture-backed medical innovation at two congressional briefings. The Senate event will including Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

The Secular Coalition for America will hold a Capitol Hill lobby day.

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