Energy and Commerce Finishes Health Reform Legislation Markup; Senate Finance Pushes Theirs to September

On Friday, July 31, the House Energy and Commerce voted 31-28--along party lines--to approve the America's Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200). The House Education and Labor and Ways and Means Committees and the Senate HELP Committee have already passed their versions of health reform legislation. The Senate Finance Committee, the only committee of jurisdiction that has not marked up a health reform bill, will not mark up before the Senate recesses on August 7, pushing back the timeline even further for a Senate floor vote. Before the full chamber can vote on a bill, the Senate HELP and Finance Committees must merge their bills. The Senate HELP Committee was the first congressional committee to complete its mark up of healthcare reform legislation, on July 15th.