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New House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for tough work requirements and cuts to safety net programs as he sketches a vision for congressional Republicans for 2017 and beyond. In a speech Thursday that his staff is billing as his first major address, the Wisconsin Republican who took over the House gavel just over a month ago says Republicans must go beyond trying to undo President Barack Obama’s agenda, “as if we could time-travel back to 2009.” (Werner, 12/3)

Senate Democrats plan to force a vote on keeping guns out of the hands of people convicted of violating laws protecting the entrances of health care clinics. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has introduced the amendment, which would ban gun ownership by people who have been convicted of misdemeanors under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law meant to prevent violence and harassment at abortion clinics. (Haberkorn, 12/2)

A day after undergoing chemotherapy, 9/11 first responder Robert Digiovanni stood angrily outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office, railing about politics interfering with life-or-death issues. (12/3)

Advocates for people living with mental health and substance use issues reaffirmed their opposition to the federal “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.” The legislation is more commonly known as the “Murphy bill” for its sponsor, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), a psychologist. Opponents object to provisions in the bill they believe would restrict the privacy of people with mental health issues and their freedom to determine their own future. They also believe the bill would deprive people of care that advances recovery. A primary point of contention in the Murphy bill is the funding of incentives for states to implement assisted outpatient treatment initiatives, which allow a court official to order outpatient services as an alternative to institutionalization. (Sisk, 11/30)