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Congress returns this week with little time to pass annual spending bills that fund agencies including the Health and Human Services Department — but a new fight over migrant voting threatens to derail those efforts. Lawmakers are supposed to pass 12 appropriations bills before the start of each new fiscal year Oct. 1. When lawmakers left town at the end of the July, the House had passed just five, despite Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) pledge to pass them all. The Senate had passed none. (McAuliff, 9/9)

It’s that time again. The last act of Congress funding the federal government expires on September 30. So, unless Congress passes new funding legislation by then, much of the government will shut down. (Millhiser, 9/9)

The House Monday passed a bill by 306 to 81 votes to make drug companies stop doing business with some Chinese biotechs within eight years if they want to remain in good standing with the federal government. (Wilkerson, 9/9)

If Congress does not include extra funding for Department of Veterans Affairs medical services in an upcoming stopgap spending bill, the department will struggle to keep up with demand for care, administration officials are warning. On a conference call with reporters Monday, VA officials confirmed they are asking Congress to include an extra $12 billion for the department's medical budget in the upcoming stopgap spending measure — which must be passed into law by the end of the month — to ensure outreach to veterans and growth of the system can continue apace without compromising wait times and staffing levels. (Kheel, 9/9)

Years ago, when a brand-name medication’s patent expired, consumers had to wait a long time for a more affordable generic version to come to market. But in 1984, a little-known law put an end to that waiting period and paved the way for the large quantity of generic drugs available today. (Yeo, 9/10)

Health insurance companies will have to upgrade their mental health benefits to match the coverage they offer for other care under a final rule three federal departments issued Monday. The latest mental health parity regulation from the Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury departments, first proposed in July 2023, builds on decades of policymaking designed to promote access to behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. (Early, 9/9)

Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. The commonality reflects a major shift toward broad public support for legalization in recent years and marks the first time that both major-party presidential candidates support broad cannabis reform, according to the U.S. Cannabis Council. (Whitehurst and Matat, 9/9)

Nearly a year and a half after it was announced, the Cannabis Research Institute is getting operations underway in Chicago, with the goal of studying, among other things, how marijuana could help or harm people. The institute’s leader hopes to break new ground in finding medical uses for cannabis, possibly for the treatment of cancer. Researchers also can help with the creation of a new state reference lab to check for accuracy in the testing of commercial pot. And they could track down a virus that threatens to ruin crops. (McCoppin, 9/9)