News & Media
Coronavirus April 22 Update: Details on the New Relief Package, the House’s New Proposal for Proxy Voting, and Health Groups Among Top Lobbying Spenders
Newly passed Senate bill authorizes more hospital, testing funds
The fourth economic aid bill (HR 266) addressing the coronavirus pandemic passed the Senate Tuesday afternoon, mere hours after leadership from both parties struck the deal. The bill includes $75 billion for medical providers and $25 billion to increase testing capacity—an amount that President Donald Trump said Tuesday night is "far more money, in my opinion, than we'll need."
What's included: The new bill would direct $11 billion to state, local and tribal governments for testing and contact tracing, and to support testing by employers. The remaining $14 billion in testing funds would bolster the federal government's response, with specific allocations for various agencies. The bill also sets aside $1 billion more to help cover the cost of testing for the uninsured.
What's missing: The bill does not include two provisions that rural and safety-net providers were angling for—a clarification ensuring public hospitals are eligible for the small business loans, and a reduction of a 10 percent interest rate in Medicare's advance payment loan program.
But the administration has agreed to support changes to Medicare's loan interest rate in the next legislative package, according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who recently led a letter on the issue with Louisiana Republican Bill Cassidy and 32 other senators.
Members of the House Congressional Black Caucus are also pushing for stronger language on the collection of demographic data. Robin Kelly, who chairs the CBC Health Braintrust, said she and other members would be meeting with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma and leaders at the National Institutes of Health on the issue."This administration has proven time and time again that we cannot trust them, quite frankly," she said. "Congress needs to ensure through law that this data is collected and properly analyzed."
And some medical groups say the funding is not enough. The American Medical Group Association is requesting $318 billion for medical providers. The funding scramble has also triggered a tug-of-war among provider groups, which will likely continue.
House unveils proposal for remote committee work and proxy votes
Under a proposed rules change unveiled overnight, House committees could meet remotely and even mark up legislation related to any topic during a 60-day emergency period, but proxy voting on the House floor could only happen on bills related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rules Committee, dominated by Democrats, will meet at 5 p.m. today to consider the historic resolution, with opposition expected from Republicans. The 13-members will meet in one of the largest rooms on Capitol Hill, 1100 Longworth, to facilitate social distancing. The room is often used by the 42-member Ways and Means Committee.
“The Office of the Attending Physician recommends all individuals maintain 6-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable when in the Capitol Complex. Additionally, the OAP recommends the use of a face covering by attendees of this proceeding, including witnesses,” according to a memo from the Rules Committee.
A Thursday floor vote is expected on the resolution, but if it passes, it would not allow members to vote by proxy immediately. Under the proposal, an additional special order resolution would be needed for the Speaker to initiate proxy voting authority for a 60-day period. Proxy voting would be limited to legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within the same 60-day period, House committees would have the authority to conduct hearings and markups remotely. There would be no limitations on the hearing or legislative topics that can be covered remotely.
“To ensure committees are able to continue their essential oversight and legislative functions, the authority is not limited to specific measures,” according to a Rules Committee document on common questions about the resolution.
The resolution would allow both House members and witnesses to appear remotely, and for lawmakers to cast votes. There are no details about what technology committees would use.
“The resolution does not specify technology that must be used. Those choices will be made by individual committees in consultation with the Committee on House Administration on the cybersecurity of platforms,” according to the Rules Committee.
As a change to House rules, the measure would not need to be adopted by the Senate for it to take effect.
House Administration Committee ranking member Rep. Rodney Davis cast doubt on the fast pace of implementation of remote committee proceedings proposed by Democrats.
“How in the world do they propose to implement a system without studying the effects and the capabilities of the House to implement a technology-based committee process without sitting down and putting people at a table who are going to be tasked with putting these new policies in place?,” Davis, of Illinois, said in an interview with CQ Roll Call.
Republican leaders in the House are whipping against the proxy voting rule change and some GOP lawmakers came back to Washington early to testify against the measure today’s meeting.
Read the full story on RollCall.com.
Senators wary of cyber attacks on healthcare systems
A bipartisan group of senators is calling for cybersecurity officials to coordinate against a rise in cyber attacks on the U.S. healthcare system and pharmaceutical companies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Mark Warner, D-Va., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., wrote in a letter that private intelligence companies have reported Russian, Chinese, Iranian and North Korean hacking threats during the pandemic, a critical time for health care infrastructure.
"The cybersecurity threat to our stretched and stressed medical and public health systems should not be ignored. Prior to the pandemic, hospitals had already struggled to defend themselves against an onslaught of ransomware and data breaches," they wrote.
The lawmakers want the military's U.S. Cyber Command and the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency to share intelligence with the health care sector. They also urged coordination with officials across the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services.
Health groups among top lobbying spenders at start of pandemic
Though lobbyists have worried about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their industry, so far, lobbying spending has held strong during the health crisis, Kate Ackley reports. Health care groups were some of the top spenders in the first three months of the year, as organizations focused on aid legislation moving through Congress.
Drug industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America was the third biggest spender with $9 million, a 9 percent drop from the first quarter of 2019, but more than the $6 million per quarter average for the rest of 2019.
PhRMA was followed by the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, rounding out the top five K Street spenders among all groups.
Lobbyists say they expect more spending on coronavirus-related issues to show up in future disclosures, as much of the money is being spent this month. Some health groups are looking to get federal approval for new products, drugs or COVID-19 testing supplies.