House Energy & Commerce Chair Greg Walden (R-OR) said Thursday (Jan. 11) he hopes Congress will pass a stand-alone six-year CHIP funding bill next week, and committee ranking Democrat Frank Pallone (NJ) said he also would be fine with passing CHIP separate from government-spending legislation. However, Walden also reportedly said stand-alone means no health care extenders, though provider lobbyists say that is a negotiating position and the matter is not settled. The Congressional Budget Office told lawmakers this week that...