House and Senate Release 2018 Schedule; There Are Still Opportunities to Meet Members of Congress at Home this December.

The House and Senate have released their calendars for 2018 – a free, downloadable calendar that shows both their session dates can be found here. Before this year is entirely over, however, please note that Members of Congress will have one last recess in their home states. This recess is be an excellent time to meet with them either to introduce them to provider concerns in general, or advocate on specific issues that still remain to be addressed this year – you will find a short list of those issues below.

In December 2017:

• The Senate is currently scheduled to recess from December 18, 2017 to January 3, 2018.
• The House is currently scheduled to recess from December 15, 2017 to January 3, 2018.

Note that both chambers may have to remain longer in Washington, DC to negotiate funding the government for the 2018 fiscal year. For now the government is only funded through December 22, 2017 because of deep contention surrounding priorities in the 2018 budget.

Despite the potential changes in schedule, it is safe to expect your Members of Congress to be at home for some time in December. If you wish to meet with them, here are some issues that remain on the docket:

• Tax reform;
• The 2018 budget;
• Renewal of CHIP funding; and
• Renewal of the Money Follows the Person program.

Please contact Sarah Meek, ANCOR’s Director of Legislative Affairs, at [email protected] if you have any questions advocacy opportunities for the issues above. Please contact Doris Parfaite-Claude, Government Relations Manager, at [email protected] for advocacy best practices, including how to schedule meetings or other such content.