The Headlines
- Congress and the Administration continue to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
- A Senate committee plans a markup to authorize FY2021 funding for DoD medical research.
- The NIH discusses $100 million for the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx).
This week? proxy votes
Research funds, COVID relief
And Heroes - sounds RAD(x)
(Preview Haiku)
The Details
1. Federal health updates from Capitol Hill and the Administration
While resuming a more regular schedule, new precautions are being put into place to protect Members and staff. The Office of the Attending Physician, which serves Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, has warned that pre-COVID-19 normal operations will not be back in place for quite some time.
While the Senate is in recess, the House returned to session this week in a limited schedule but one that included the option for Members to vote remotely by giving precise instructions by proxy. Committees are also now authorized to conduct fully virtual hearings for the first time. The remote voting procedure, championed by House Democratic leadership, has come under fire by House Republicans, who on Tuesday filed a lawsuit intended to block the new proxy voting system. It is unclear whether or not federal courts will intervene in what has become a partisan dispute over internal House rules. Very few House Republicans are expected to opt in to the proxy voting program, which has also been panned by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has hinted reluctance to taking up any legislation passed through the proxy system.
Utilizing the new proxy system, the House approved legislation (H.R. 7010) that would loosen certain restrictions under the Paycheck Protection Program. TheHouse was also scheduled to consider a bill to reauthorize expired federal surveillance powers, but the legislation was pulled amid bipartisan backlash to the proposed update.
On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee held its first virtual hearing entitled “The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color.” Witnesses included experts from the City of Hope in Los Angeles, University of California San Francisco, Meharry Medical College, The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, and the American Action Forum. During the hearing Rep. George Holding (R-NC-02) discussed the role of non-profits like the YMCA in underrepresented communities. He also asked how to best work with non-profits to bridge food security gaps in underserved communities.
On Thursday, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled “Examining the Federal Government’s Actions to Protect Workers from COVID-19." Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) testified. Subcommittee Chair Alma Adams (D-NC-12) discussed the need for temporary emergency standards to protect health care practitioners and other essential workers during the national health emergency.
Despite initial hesitations to open negotiations on a prospective “Phase IV” stimulus and recovery package, Senate Majority Leader McConnell and other Senate Republicans are signaling that conversations with the White House and House Democrats may begin as soon as mid-June. Senator McConnell has stated firmly that the Senate will not take up the $3 trillion HEROES Act passed by the House on May 15, and Republicans are beginning to outline their own priorities for a fourth comprehensive package, which may include additional tax relief and liability protections for employers.
Duke Health continues to support $26 billion in dedicated funding for research to be included in final “Phase IV” legislation and will work to ensure that critical research funding is prioritized and protected.
The White House is reportedly renewing its push to end “surprise” medical bills as part of any new COVID-19 legislative effort. The Administration is floating a plan that would prohibit providers from charging patients thousands in unexpected expenses but without a clear mandate on how doctors and hospitals would recover costs from insurers. Instead, billing disputes would be resolved on a case-by-case basis. This effort may only serve to reignite Congressional interest on the issue, where several proposals have been introduced over the past six months.
2. Senate plans markup of measure to authorize Defense Health medical research program
The Senate Armed Services Committee has announced its full committee and subcommittee markup schedule for the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is renewed annually and determines the annual budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), including authorized funding for DoD medical research. The Personnel Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), formally allocates funding for DoD research programs and is scheduled to hold its markup on Tuesday, June 9.
Duke Health Government Relations is in close contact with Sen. Tillis’s office and has advocated for robust funding for the full DoD medical research program as well as $15 million, specifically, for the DoD Reconstructive Transplant Program.
The House Armed Services Committee is still working through plans to schedule a markup of its version of the NDAA. Committee leadership is reportedly scouting an alternative location to the current committee space to allow for greater social distancing for the panel’s 57 members. With ongoing delays due to the COVID-19 national health emergency, both the House and Senate face time crunches to pass and reconcile their respective NDAA measures by the end of summer.
3. NIH Discusses $100 million for Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program
This week, the Advisory Council to the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) held a short meeting to discuss and approve concept clearances for Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) projects. This was made possible by $100 million in supplemental funding from Congress to address COVID-19. According to NIH, the goal of the program is to accelerate innovation in, development and commercialization of, and implementation of COVID-19 testing. During the meeting the following concept clearances were discussed:
- $500 million for RADx-UP (Underserved Populations);
- $200 million for RADx-RAD (Radical Non-traditional Approaches);
- $230 million for RADx-ATP (Accelerating Technology Platforms); and
- $70 million for Data Management for Testing for Safe Release.
Detailed information for each of these concepts may be viewed here.