Yesterday the House passed a bill that would stop the Bush administration from going forward with several regulations intended to cut Medicaid services. The administration developed the regulations under the guise of "fiscal integrity," arguing state Medicaid programs are using loopholes to inappropriately claim federal funds. Bush has threatened to veto the bill. Fortunately, the bill passed the House in a 349-62 vote which, if the margin holds, would be enough to override a veto. State governments also support the bill. According to the Associated Press, "The governors of all 50 states…oppose the rules." If all this bipartisanship and widespread agreement make you uncomfortable, fear not — the U.S. Senate is on the case.

Contracting -- House OKs Three Accountability Bills: The House voice voted three bills yesterday requiring those seeking federal contracts to disclose information about their companies:

• Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act (H.R. 5712) -- requiring prosective federal contractors disclose their involvement in administrative and legal proceedings initiated by the federal government

Supplemental -- Hoyer Expects Bill Late Next Week: Amid reports that congressional Democrats haven't settled on a strategy yet regarding the president's $108 billion war spending supplemental request, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters yesterday that the House and Senate could take it up on the floor by the end of next week. "Democratic leaders have repeatedly said that, in the end, US troops in the field will be funded. But expectations are high that finally Congress will be able to extract a significant policy concession for that money." Story.

For the second time in as many weeks, the New York Times tries to make sense of the nation's housing crisis and editorializes in favor of expanded bankruptcy protection and against "voluntary" efforts to forestall further foreclosures and foster re-financings, but it flies in the face of the facts: Most important, Congress must not continue with efforts that have not worked to date, namely, appeals to the mortgage industry to act voluntarily to help distressed borrowers. Instead, lawmakers should allow bankrupt homeowners to have their mortgages modified under court protection.