A sprint, patience, speed
To run a race well, to win
Remember to breathe
The Rundown
- E&C holds markup for mental and behavioral health programs and other healthcare priorities
- Congressional schedule tightens as summer session approaches
- Primary elections in NC are next week on Tuesday, May 17
- The latest from our desks
- Join Duke Health Advocacy Network
Federal Updates
E&C introduces bill to reauthorize HRSA and SAMHSA mental and behavioral health programs and advances healthcare legislation
House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee leadership, Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), introduced the “Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022,” which would reauthorize mental and behavioral health programs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This includes programs such as the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to states, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Suicide Prevention program, and the Maternal Mental Health Screening and Treatment grant program. The bill would also make policy changes including eliminating the requirement that an individual be addicted to opioids for at least one year before being admitted for treatment by an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP). A section by section of the bill can be viewed at the link above.
Following introduction of the legislation last week, the House E&C Subcommittee on Health held a markup this week of the “Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022” and five other pieces of legislation. The Subcommittee considered the “Food and Drug Amendments of 2022,” which would reauthorize the prescription drug user fee program, the medical device user fee program, the generic drug user fee program, and the biosimilar user fee program through fiscal year (FY) 2027. These programs provide funding to FDA to meet its mission through funding activities such as the review of new drugs, devices, and biologics and post-market safety activities. More information on FDA User Fee Programs can be viewed here.
Other bills advanced through committee include the “Keeping Incarceration Discharges Streamlined for Child and Accommodating Resources in Education Act,” the “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0,” and the “South Asian Heart Health Awareness Act of 2021.”
Additionally, the Subcommittee advanced a bill to formally authorize the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This version of authorizing legislation would establish ARPA-H as independent from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the Department of Health and Human Services. However, as previously reported, ARPA-H currently resides at NIH.
In, out, and in between
Next week is the last week the House is scheduled to be in session until early June. There’s still some work to be done in setting the table for consideration of FY 2023 appropriations bills; we don’t yet have a COVID supplemental package with cases beginning to rise again around the country; and rallying around bigger ticket legislation will become more challenging the closer the calendar gets to the fall and the midterm elections. Here’s a quick look at where a few key priorities stand this week:
- FY 2023 federal budget and appropriations – There still isn’t a formal agreement on top-line discretionary spending numbers for FY 2023, but negotiations are ongoing and the House remains on track to begin its appropriations subcommittee work in June.
Our office submitted formal written testimony to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee in support of Duke Health funding priorities. We are also preparing to submit related testimony to the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee in the coming weeks. Separately, the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing with leadership for the NIH including: Dr. Diana Bianchi, Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); Dr. Gary H. Gibbons, Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); Dr. Douglas R. Lowy, Acting Director, National Cancer Institute (NCI); Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, NIH Acting Director; and Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
During the hearing, Subcommittee leadership highlighted historical funding increases for NIH. Subcommittee and full Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) noted spending boosts for specific focus areas, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, and the maternal health initiative. ARPA-H was also a topic of interest, with questions about White House recommendations to provide significant funding for the new agency in FY 2023 while many unknowns about its operations still linger. Acting NIH Director Tabak said that their current charge is to focus on administrative issues, and they are bringing in a small group of senior operations people focused on the administrative side, but no program managers that will be driving science will be recruited until the director is in place.
The hearing also featured questions on the number of National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded applications and funding rate compared to NIH overall. Dr. Lowy noted an 11 percent pay line for experienced investigators and 16 percent for early-stage investigators last year and stated that NCI was able to give more awards than ever before - an increase of about 25 percent for experienced investigators over the last four years and 60 percent for early stage investigators.
- COVID supplemental – A $40 billion aid package for Ukraine is moving through Congress this week, but $10 billion in COVID supplemental funding was not attached over continued objections from Republican leadership over potential votes on amendments related to the Biden administration’s border policy. In the meantime, COVID cases are once again on the rise in some areas, and the White House is warning of a potentially severe fall surge if proper funding and mitigation resources are not in place. The $10 billion will likely not be enough on its own, but it’s a start. Democratic leadership is reportedly working to schedule a vote next week before the House gavels out of session for the rest of May.
- Women’s Health Protection Act – A vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755/S.1975), which would codify Roe v. Wade’s federally guaranteed abortion protections in statute, failed this week, with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (WV) voting with every Republican against the legislation. Absent 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles, there is not much chance of passing this legislation. But, there may be a small bipartisan coalition working on an alternative bill. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization within the next month, and an early leaked majority opinion draft suggests the Court is strongly considering overruling the precedents set by Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. We will continue to monitor this issue closely for its impact on Duke Health, including potential unintended impacts on patient care and research.
- Public Health Emergency (PHE) – The PHE was extended in mid-April through mid-July. The Biden administration has pledged to provide governors and state officials with at least 60 days-notice before winding down the PHE. That 60-day window is right about now. Some reports suggest the administration will likely extend the PHE at least once more through early October, but there have been signals from White House officials that state leaders should begin preparing more earnestly for the PHE’s eventual end. The overall outlook is decidedly mixed, and we expect to know more within the next week. The PHE declaration has provided both federal and state governments with numerous flexibilities to respond to the ebb and flow of the ongoing pandemic. There is growing political pressure for the administration to end the PHE despite so many unknowns about the next phase. We’ll continue to monitor any new developments closely.
It’s primary season, the first steps in remaking the NC congressional delegation
Primary elections for local, state, and federal offices in North Carolina will be held on Tuesday, May 17. Originally scheduled for early March, the date was postponed until next week due to delays associated with the redistricting process. Early voting began on Thursday, April 28 and runs through Saturday, May 14. Early voting locations and times can be found here. Polling locations for day-of voting on May 17 can be found here. You can also visit the State Board of Elections' website for more information about this year’s primaries
Next week’s primaries include races to select the candidates to replace retiring Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Reps. David Price (D-NC-04) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-01); candidates for newly drawn Triangle-area District 13; and candidates for the state’s newest 14th congressional district. The outcomes of Tuesday’s primaries set the stage for the General Election in November, which will reconfigure the current congressional delegation lineup and offer an opportunity to introduce Duke Health to a number of new members of Congress.
From our desk(s): Duke Health GR this week
This week, the Duke Health Government Relations team was pleased to join our colleagues in the Duke State Relations office for a policy presentation during the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Training Academy. We appreciate these opportunities to connect directly with our Duke Health colleagues, share more about our work, and learn about the priorities and issues of importance for various departments and their team members. We’d love to engage more with you, too. If you are interested in having our team join yours for a brief conversation about our work, please contact us at govrelations@dm.duke.edu.
This week our office monitored a discussion of new opportunities at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) National Advisory Council meeting. The discussion was led by AHRQ’s Director, Dr. Robert Otto Valdez, who also shared his vision for the agency.
Our office also participated in a meeting with staff from Senator Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) office to discuss her draft graduate nurse education bill.
We coordinated Duke Health joining a letter to the House E&C and Senate HELP Committees in support of policies that would enhance access to, and diversity of, clinical trials.
We coordinated a meeting for a research scientist in the Department of Neurology and Division on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders with the office of Rep. David Price to discuss a potentially groundbreaking Parkinson’s diagnostic tool. Rep. Price is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Parkinson’s disease.
Our team also joined stakeholders and partners in coalition calls on telehealth, national patient ID, 340B, cancer, and other key issues to discuss legislative and public policy strategy efforts.
Join the Duke Health Advocacy Network!
Looking for more opportunities to connect with fellow advocates and professionals interested in public policy across the health system? Join the Duke Health Advocacy Teams Channel!
Managed and moderated by Duke Health Government Relations and Duke State Relations, the purpose of the platform is for you to connect with your colleagues throughout the health system who are engaged and/or interested in public policy advocacy. We hope the channel will be used as a space for sharing ideas, collaboration, and engaging with the government relations teams on the issues most important to your work.
We encourage you to explore the channel, as we will post relevant news items, policy updates, questions, advocacy resources, and opportunities for engagement. As importantly, this is your space to do the same and to help grow the community.
Click to Join
(Note: This is only open to Duke Health employees. By joining this teams channel, you acknowledge that the platform and your participation are intended for information sharing and connections/relationship building and is not an inducement by Duke Health Government Relations and Duke State Relations, or the channel’s participants, to act as an unauthorized advocacy and/or lobbying representative of Duke Health or Duke University).