The Congressional election on November 6, 2018 produced a new split Congress with a House Democratic majority and a Senate Republican majority starting in January 2019. The difference between the outgoing 115th Congress, with a Republican House and Senate, and the 116th Congress starting in 2019 will be significant for U.S. businesses.

While the divided Congress brings opportunities to advance bipartisan legislation involving infrastructure, energy, and pharmaceuticals, the new House Democratic majority in the 116th Congress will produce a series of new committee chairs who will use their power to oversee and investigate the Trump Administration, U.S. businesses that have benefited from the Republicans’ deregulatory agenda of the past two years, and even some businesses on less friendly terms with the Trump Administration.

One of the first examples of this will be in the energy and environmental sectors. The expected chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee has already announced plans to hold oversight hearings in the new year focusing on the chemical industry and implementation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the recent amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. The House Energy & Commerce Committee along with the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee are also planning a series of hearings on the Trump Administration’s plans to address climate change and regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The leadership of EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior can expect to testify on Capitol Hill to explain why they are replacing the Clean Power Plan and Waters of the U.S. rule, rolling back environmental protections for federal lands, and favoring oil and gas companies and the mining industry, as opposed to promoting renewable energy and protections for endangered species. These committees will likely also summon senior executives of those same oil and gas, mining, and related energy companies to explain what role they have had in influencing the Trump Administration’s regulatory reform agenda and why they are not taking more proactive measures to address climate change and global warming. Furthermore, House Democrats are likely to revive the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which was discontinued by Republicans following the Red Wave of the 2010 midterm elections.

Another example of this will be the health care industry. The same House Energy & Commerce Committee, and its Subcommittee on Health, will require the leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Food and Drug Administration to explain what they are doing to reduce drug pricing. Although this issue resonates personally with the President and is one that the Administration has already begun to address, the House Democrats will demand that the Administration do more to make drug prices cheaper for Americans. Thus, the same committee will also call on senior executives of U.S. drug manufacturers, health insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers, and others to press them for plans and commitments to reduce drug prices. They will likewise press some of these same companies on their actions with regard to curbing the opioid crisis.

A final example will be the financial services industry. The House Financial Services Committee, among others, under the control of Democrats, will bring senior leaders from the Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other agencies to Capitol Hill to explain why they have moderated the consumer protections in the Dodd-Frank Act and given more power and flexibility to banks and financial institutions. They will likewise bring the leaders of some of those institutions up to Capitol Hill to explain their behavior and the risks they might pose to the U.S. economy.

On November 15th, the Crowell & Moring Government Affairs Group held a webinar entitled – “Post-Midterm Elections: What to Expect in 2019.” The webinar covered the following topics:

  • How will the election results impact the November and December 2018 lame duck session?
  • Will Nancy Pelosi return to the Speaker’s chair?
  • Who will lead the major committees of each chamber?
  • What issues are most ripe for bipartisan compromise in the new Congress?
  • Does the 116th Congress promise legislative productivity or political posturing and gridlock?
  • Will House Democrats exercise their newly gained majority for rigorous oversight and investigations of the Trump Administration to the exclusion of significant policy work?
  • How would increased oversight by House Democrats affect industries that have benefited from the Trump Administration’s regulatory reform agenda, and can these industries expect to be the target of any increased oversight?
  • Are Senate Republicans prepared to work on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation or will that chamber spend much of the next two years on judicial confirmations?
  • Which health care issues are likely to dominate the headlines in 2019?
  • Can the two parties find any common ground on energy and environment issues?

The Crowell & Moring Government Affairs team brings experience that includes former senior staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), former Congressional healthcare, environmental and investigative staff from both House and Senate personal offices and Committees, and legal and regulatory professionals with extensive experience representing organizations on health care, environmental, and trade matters before the U.S. government.

 

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Photo of Jim Flood Jim Flood

Jim Flood is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and assists health care, energy, and financial services clients with legal, legislative, and regulatory issues. He is also chair of the firm’s Government Affairs Group.

A former federal prosecutor and counsel…

Jim Flood is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and assists health care, energy, and financial services clients with legal, legislative, and regulatory issues. He is also chair of the firm’s Government Affairs Group.

A former federal prosecutor and counsel to Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Jim has more than 20 years of experience assisting clients facing issues before the White House, Congress, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other federal agencies. He also works with the firm’s Healthcare Group and healthcare fraud practice team to counsel clients on issues related to Medicare, Medicaid, Part D, long-term care, health care fraud, the False Claims Act (FCA), and the anti-kickback statute.

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Photo of Byron Brown Byron Brown

Byron R. Brown is a senior counsel in the Washington D.C. office. He is in the firm’s Government Affairs and Environment & Natural Resources groups. Byron has almost two decades of experience working at the intersection of law and policy and has experience…

Byron R. Brown is a senior counsel in the Washington D.C. office. He is in the firm’s Government Affairs and Environment & Natural Resources groups. Byron has almost two decades of experience working at the intersection of law and policy and has experience negotiating legislation, drafting regulations, managing congressional investigations, preparing regulatory comments, and developing and executing government affairs strategies before Congress and the executive branch. Earlier in his career, Byron worked for more than a decade as an attorney in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel, including several years as associate deputy general counsel during both the Bush and Obama administrations. After leaving EPA, Byron served as senior counsel and director of oversight and investigations for the Committee on Natural Resources for the U.S. House of Representatives and then as senior counsel for the Committee on Environment and Public Works in the U.S. Senate. He also has experience as a legislative fellow in the personal office of a U.S. Senator. Prior to joining the firm in August 2018, Byron served as deputy chief of staff for policy at the EPA, where he coordinated the agency’s work on infrastructure and led several rulemaking initiatives.

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Photo of Scott Douglas Scott Douglas

Scott Douglas is a senior policy director in Crowell & Moring’s Government Affairs and Health Care groups. His practice focuses on assisting clients with legislative and regulatory issues. Scott uses his significant health care public policy experience to assist health care companies, managed…

Scott Douglas is a senior policy director in Crowell & Moring’s Government Affairs and Health Care groups. His practice focuses on assisting clients with legislative and regulatory issues. Scott uses his significant health care public policy experience to assist health care companies, managed care, long-term care, long-term care pharmacy facilities, trade associations, and others with legislation before the U.S. Congress.

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Traci Vitek

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Photo of Tim Shadyac Tim Shadyac

Tim Shadyac is a director in the Government Affairs Group, where he assists clients with legislative and regulatory issues. Tim’s areas of focus include the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other health reform efforts, the Medicare program, drug pricing policy, and…

Tim Shadyac is a director in the Government Affairs Group, where he assists clients with legislative and regulatory issues. Tim’s areas of focus include the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other health reform efforts, the Medicare program, drug pricing policy, and the broad impact of politics on health care policy.

Tim has experience working in a variety of health care sector settings. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Tim advised clients on a number of health care policy issues at Avalere Health, a D.C.-based health policy consultancy. Throughout his time at Avalere, Tim specialized in matters of importance to the life sciences industry and worked closely with various patient advocacy groups. His work was largely concentrated on issues related to the outcome of presidential and congressional elections, drug pricing policy, and Medicare Part D benefit design. Tim also served in the federal government affairs, public policy, and advocacy groups at Sanofi for nearly four years. There, he monitored and analyzed federal health policy to assess the business impact and developed strategies for response. In his role with the advocacy group, Tim sought opportunities to reflect the patient voice in regulatory guidance and identified opportunities for partnership with patient advocates.

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