Finance Committee Continues Momentum in Second Session of 114th Congress

Back to Work for the American People

In step with the Republican-led Senate, the Finance Committee produced significant bipartisan policy achievements for the American people in the second session of the 114^th Congress. From equipping American job creators with the tools they need to grow the economy to introducing legislation aimed to curb tax refund fraud and protect taxpayers, the Committee added to its growing list of bipartisan products aimed to produce real results for American families and the economy.

So far, over the course of the 114^th Congress, the Finance Committee has reported 39 bills out of the Committee with 27 of those being later signed or incorporated into law.

The first half of 2016 saw several significant bipartisan policy successes:

Two Pro-Growth Trade Bills Signed into Law: Two trade bills reported out of the Finance Committee this year, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act and the Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, were signed into law capping a historic era in trade policy achievements for the Committee and American job creators and manufacturers.

Advanced Two Bipartisan Bills to Protect Taxpayers, Reduce Identity Theft and Refund Fraud: The bills, the Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Prevention Act, S. 3157, and the Taxpayer Protection Act of 2016, S. 3156, were each approved by voice vote in a Committee markup held in April.

Introduced Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Keep More Children Safely at Home: Finance Committee members introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Families First Prevention Services Act, S. 3065, to reduce the reliance on foster care group homes and keep more children safely with their families.

Delivered Key Medicare Improvements Aimed to Fight the Opioid Addiction Crisis: Finance Committee members led bipartisan efforts to ensure commonsense Medicare reforms aimed to combat the opioid addiction and abuse crisis were included in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which was sent to the President’s desk for signature in July. The Committee previously explored ways to combat the opioid epidemic in a February hearing.

The Committee also continued its rigorous hearing schedule and oversight activities, working to provide more solutions, transparency and accountability for American families and job creators.

Continued Oversight of Proposed Section 385 Regulations: For the first time since 2012, a Joint Committee on Taxation meeting was convened to examine how the Treasury Department’s proposal to reclassify debt and equity under section 385 of the Internal Revenue Code could affect American businesses here at home.

Shed Light on Surgeons Who Invest in Medical Devices: The Committee continued oversight over physician-owned distributorships (PODs), highlighting potential conflicts of interest for physicians that have a financial stake in medical devices who recommend invasive surgeries for patients.

Prioritized Seniors Access to Life Saving Medicines: In a hearing, the Committee examined the proposed Medicare Part B rule that risks disrupting delivery models for health providers and overall care for vulnerable seniors across the country.

Provided Analysis to Modernize the Stark Law: Building on past work, the Committee released a white paper detailing stakeholder experiences with the now-antiquated Stark law, and in a July hearing, examined potential reforms to the Stark law as hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers move to alternative, more cost-effective payment models.

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