Week ahead: Senate gets a crack at Ryan budget

On Monday, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) will introduce the Small Business Health Relief Act. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business will join Kyl at a news conference to back the bill.

In the House on Tuesday, the Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee will mark up its 2012 spending bill. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is funded through that bill, rather than the Health and Human Services appropriation.

The House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on buying insurance across state lines.

And another bill to cut off funds for healthcare reform is slated for the House floor next week. This time, the target is $200 million in mandatory funding for medical education.

Off Capitol Hill, the Pew Charitable Trusts will hold an event Tuesday to defend new nutrition standards that the Agriculture Department recently proposed for school lunches. That same day, researchers from Northwestern University will release a report with suggestions for improving the controversial process through which the FDA clears some medical devices.

And on Wednesday, the 26 states that are suing the Department of Health and Human Services over the individual mandate in healthcare reform must file their response to the federal government’s latest brief.