House Ways And Means To Huddle Next Week When Congress Is Out

In this Nov. 6, 2015, photo, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in his office on Capitol Hill in Washing... In this Nov. 6, 2015, photo, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House's newest and perhaps most powerful committee chairman is a 60-year-old Texas Republican who began life in a South Dakota Democratic family and lost his father at age 12 in a courtroom shooting. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

There is a lot of work to do next year, which is why House Ways And Means Chairman Kevin Brady will gather with his Republican members next week when Congress is out of session to go over the agenda.

It’s a rare phenomenon when members huddle in recess, especially a recess so close to the holiday break. However, Ways and Means will be central to next year’s most contentious fights including trade, the overhaul of the Affordable Care Act and tax reform.

Brady told Politico’s Playbook that there wasn’t time to waste and that the conference will give members of the committee time to get a jump start on the new year.

Brady was vague about exactly what an Obamacare overhaul would look like, but this is what he told Playbook.

“The game-changing alternative shift that we’re proposing is to go from health care directed by Washington to a health care focused on the individual and their family. Replacing … the wooly mammoth of an ACA that is quickly becoming obsolete, to the concept of a health care backpack. Health care that’s designed for you and tailored for you that you take with you throughout your lifetime. From job to job, state to state, home to start a business or raise a family, and if it’s health care that works for you in your retirement years. The freedom to choose plans as you age.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: