Yesterday, the FEHBlog said that Congress is out of town this week. My bad. The House is out of town this week but the Senate is here for a few days. The Washington Examiner reports that the Senate passed an FY 2018 defense authorization bill which will now go to a conference committee with the House. It’s interesting to watch the Graham – Cassidy ACA replacement bill gather steam. Fortune reports that the bill may be one vote away from Senate passage. It’s unfortunate that this bill does not include a repeal of the health insurer tax which punishes the FEHBP. The Washington Examiner reports that

[House Speaker Paul] Ryan, who had previously spoken positively about the legislation, noted that the House would not have time to amend the bill if the Senate did clear it. Instead, it would face having to simply approve the Senate measure.
“A conference committee is probably not possible,” he noted.
Republicans in the House “acknowledge and understand” that they wouldn’t have time before the end of the month for anything other than a vote to approve the Senate legislation, he added.