Last week, four Republican senators unveiled a proposal that could present a path forward on health insurance reform. The proposal, introduced in the form of an amendment to the House-passed version of H.R. 1628, is far from perfect, and it's not the repeal of ObamaCare that was promised. Nevertheless, FreedomWorks is treating it as what is likely to be the last serious attempt at health insurance reform before the September 30 deadline for reconciliation under the FY 2017 budget resolution.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced today that it planned to reduce the budget to promote health plans available on the ObamaCare exchanges from the roughly $100 million spent during the last open enrollment period to $10 million for the upcoming open enrollment period, which is set to begin on November 1 and end on December 15. There will also be a reduction in funding for Navigators, from $62.5 million last year to $36.8 million this year.

September may be the busiest month of 2017 for Congress. There is a long list of must-pass legislation on the agenda, including the debt limit and appropriations for at least part of FY 2018, when Congress reconvenes on Tuesday, September 5. The calendar, however, isn't kind. There are only 12 legislative days scheduled in the House and 17 in the Senate.

A recent Wall Street Journal article has surprisingly good news: US companies are seeing the highest profit growth in two years with “two consecutive quarters of double-digit profit growth for the first time since 2011.” This surprisingly comes not from policies pursued in Washington, but the hard work of the private sector.