Home Moves For COVID-19 Relief; Protracted national emergency

This week’s dose

Xavier Becerra, a candidate for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), testified before two Senate committees as the House continued to advance the coronavirus (COVID-19) relief program.

Congress

House Democrats move COVID-19 relief legislation. On Monday, the House budget committee met to compile the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, that Democrats are preparing to push through reconciliation . Bill includes public health funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid policy changes, extends unemployment insurance benefits, and provides direct stimulus payments of $ 1,400 to some Americans . The House Rules Committee released new text Thursday evening, accompanied by 216 amendments. The entire House is expected to approve the package today and then send it to the Senate. Senate rules require that reconciliation bills include only provisions that directly affect federal spending. Senate Republicans should oppose any provisions they consider inconsistent with this rule. Thursday evening, the parliamentarian ruled that the provision to increase the federal minimum wage does not respect the rules of reconciliation, and that it will ultimately not be included in the final reconciliation bill. However, that does not prevent Democrats from including a tax penalty on employers who do not meet minimum wage requirements or from working on a bipartisan basis with Republicans on a minimum wage increase through another legislative instrument. In addition, the bill could still be amended once it is transferred to the Senate. Stakeholders are also planning future legislation later this year to meet their priorities.

The candidate for the Secretary of Health and Human Services testified before two Senate committees. Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s candidate for head of the US Department of Health and Human Services had two Senate committee confirmation hearings this week. the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Work and Pensions (HELP) the hearings focused on his approach to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic while the California attorney general, including the distribution and administration of vaccines. Senate Republicans questioned his experience with health care and noted the positions he has taken as attorney general on the affordable care and abortion law. Despite the partisan environment, the hearings went largely without fanfare or new arguments that would jeopardize Becerra’s nomination. The Senate finance committee could vote on his nomination as early as next week, then sending him to the entire Senate for a vote.

Administration

President Biden signs an executive order on the supply chain in the United States. The aim of the Executive Decree (EO) is to help create more resilient and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods, which have become key issues during the pandemic due to the shortage of health equipment. personal protection and ventilators. The OE is leading an immediate 100-day review at federal agencies to address vulnerabilities and requires the secretary of HHS to submit reports to the president that identify risks in the supply chain for pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as policy recommendations to deal with these risks. ). Following the presentation of the reports, the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs and the Assistant for Economic Policy are to make recommendations on actions to be taken to improve supply chains.

President Biden is extending the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The national emergency was initially declared on March 13, 2020 and began on March 1, 2020. The national emergency is declared under Stafford Act and allows the federal government to deploy multiple agencies to respond to the pandemic and expires after a year of declaration. , unless canceled by the president. It’s in Comparison with the declared public health emergency which provides flexibilities to the Department of Health and Human Services to redistribute funds and staff to respond to the pandemic and a declared public health emergency (PHE) must be re-issued every 90 days . Some of these flexibilities would continue to exist even if the declaration of national emergency ended, as long as the PHE remained in force.

Quick shots

• the The Ministry of Justice asked the Supreme Court to set aside a hearing next month on an appeal regarding Medicaid’s work requirements programs in Arkansas and New Hampshire.

• The House Appropriation Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) held an audience titled “Ready or Not: US Public Health Infrastructure” to discuss the country’s public health infrastructure, its strengths and weaknesses, and the impact of COVID-19 on the system.

• The Senate HELP Committee held a appointment hearing for Vivek Murthy to serve as medical director in the regular body of the public health service and general surgeon of the public health service, and Rachel Levine to serve as deputy secretary of the HHS.

• the COVID-19 Health Equity Working Group Held Virtual Meeting discuss today reducing health inequalities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and preventing such inequalities in the future.