Tuesday: House tries bipartisan ObamaCare bills

The House returns to work in the afternoon on several suspension bills, including a package of three bills to tweak ObamaCare.

Unlike past healthcare bills, the three up today have some level of bipartisan support, which gives them a chance to pass with a strong bipartisan majority that could create some momentum in the Senate.

{mosads}ObamaCare legislation up today would create new exemptions under the healthcare law for religious people, veterans, and emergency responders. Those bills are:

— H.R. 1814, the Equitable Access to Care and Health (EACH) Act,

— H.R. 3474, the Hire More Heroes Act, and

— H.R. 3979, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act.

A fourth healthcare bill is tentatively scheduled for today — H.R. 4160, the Keep the Promise to Seniors Act. This bill would block a rule from the Health and Human Services Department that Republicans say would limit pharmaceutical choices for seniors.

But on Monday, the Obama administration said it would not move ahead with the rule. That prompted Republicans to indicate that they may not hold a vote on this bill today.

Other suspension bills up today are:

— H.R. 311, the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship (FUELS) Act,

— H.Res. 506, directing the House to display a bust of former Czech Republic President Va’clav Havel in the Capitol,

— H.Res. 499, condemning Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, and

— H.R. 3675, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act.

The Senate was open all Monday night and into Tuesday morning, as Democrats talked about the need to address climate change (see the many updates on the blog).

When it ends, senators will return to work on series of Executive Branch nominations. On Monday, the Senate voted to end debate on the nomination of Carolyn McHugh to be a judge in the Tenth Circuit.

Starting at 11:30 a.m., senators will hold similar votes to end debate on four district judge nominations, all of whom would serve in the Eastern District of Michigan. Votes are expected on Matt Leitman, Judith Levy, Laurie Michelson and Linda Parker.

On Wednesday, final confirmation votes will take place on those four nominations, plus McHugh.