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The first Senate health committee markup under Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and ranking Republican Bill Cassidy (La.) was rocky from the start — and it only went downhill from there. The committee was supposed to consider several bills to reform drug middlemen practices and make changes to laws governing generic drugs. But the markup was marred by procedural disagreements and ultimately adjourned unexpectedly, over Sanders’ efforts to continue. (Wilkerson, 5/2)

President Biden on Tuesday needled House Republicans for providing no explicit protections for veterans programs in the bill they narrowly passed last week that would condition raising the debt ceiling on deep spending cuts across much of the federal government. House Republicans have insisted military and veterans spending would be shielded, but a lack of specificity in the legislation has left them open to attacks by Democrats and caused grave concern among veteran advocacy groups. (Wagner, 5/2)

House Republicans are trying to get a handful of swing-state Democrats in the Senate to support tougher work requirements for food assistance programs. But most have resoundingly rejected the idea. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has signaled he could be open to beefing up work requirements, potentially backing tighter rules for people who are “capable and able to do it.” House Republicans are quick to highlight Biden’s own embrace of welfare reform during the Clinton administration in the 1990s, when the position was less fraught among Democrats and Biden was a sitting senator — but the stricter work rules getting pushed by today’s GOP go beyond those. (Scholtes, Emma, Tamborrino and Stratford, 5/2)

House Democratic leadership has been working behind the scenes on a long shot plan that could allow their party to go around Speaker Kevin McCarthy and force a vote to raise the debt limit, even if an agreement isn't reached with the Republican majority. The strategy centers on what's called a discharge petition -- a rare and complicated procedural tool that allows members of the House to move a bill out of a committee and bring it to the floor without the support of the majority party leadership. ... In Israel on Monday, where he is leading a congressional delegation, McCarthy said he was ready to negotiate but that "we will not pass a debt ceiling that just raises it without doing something on our debt." (Scott, Pecorin and Peller, 5/2)

If the government defaults on its debt – something the U.S. has never done - financial markets could tank, hurting 401(k)s and other investments. It would mean higher home and auto loan rates and credit card payments, officials have warned, and could stop payments on government programs such as Social Security and military salaries. Bondholders would also not be paid what they're owed on time, and a domino effect could trigger a recession and stock market crash, economists have said. (Woodall, 5/3)

President Biden’s presumed pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, Monica Bertagnolli, will face a slew of questions on the multibillion-dollar agency’s spending and oversight in her upcoming confirmation battle. (Owermohle, 5/3)