WASHINGTON, DC UPDATE
Congressional Appropriations
To date, no appropriation bill has successfully reached President
Obama’s desk. Last minute efforts in the Senate to move the
Mil-Con Zika bill failed before the Senate left for recess on
July 14. With both chambers out of session until September, and
the looming elections, the further movement of any appropriations
in 2016 is unlikely, leaving little question that FY 2017 will
begin with a continuing resolution. Each of the 12 discretionary
spending bills currently stand as shown:
 Opioid Abuse Legislation
In a 92-2 vote on July 14, the Senate passed the Comprehensive
Addiction & Recovery Act which would authorize the Attorney
General and Secretary of Health and Human Services to award
grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid
abuse and heroin use, and to provide for the establishment of an
inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best
practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication.
The bill was first introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and
passed the Senate in a 94-1 vote on 3/9/16. It then passed the
House with a substitute amendment that incorporated 18 other
opioid abuse bills in a 407 – 5 vote. The bills
subsequently passed through a conference committee to reconcile
the two versions of the bill. Concerns remain that the bill,
while authorizing funding for treatment and recovery programs, is
not sufficiently funded after attempts to add $600 million in
emergency funding to the bill failed in both the House and
Senate. The bill currently awaits the President Obama’s
signature
GMO
Food Labeling Measure
The White House announced on July 13 that President Obama would
likely sign the GMO food labeling bill as resolved in the House
on July 14. The bill, S 764, would subject food producers to a
mandatory labeling procedure for all non-meat genetically
modified organisms (GMO). The provision would require the US
Department of Agriculture to develop a standardized label for
GMOs within two years of enactment that would include the
creation of a threshold for GMO content necessitating labeling
The measure would bar any consideration of bioengineering during
the safety evaluation of a product and would preempt existing
state regulations on the issue of GMO labeling. The bill defines
a GMO as any item that contains genetic material modified through
genetic recombination, referred to as recombinant DNA, that
couldn’t be achieved through conventional breeding or isn’t
otherwise found in nature.
The bill passed over the concerns of consumer groups that oppose
the exemption of meat products.
House
Mental Health Bill
In a 422-2 vote on July 6, the Helping Families in Mental Health
Crisis Act passed through the House. The bill authored by Rep. Tim Murphy
(R-PA) would make available psychiatric,
psychological, and supportive services for individuals with
mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would
create new federal organizations and positions designed to
address mental health care and expands the resources available to
individuals with mental health disease. It also includes
provisions which would expand Medicare Incentive payments for
meaningful EHR use to clinical psychiatrists. However, the Senate
presently lacks a suitable companion bill.
DoT
TIGER Grants
The Department of Transportation is in the process of awarding
$500 million in funding for forty national transportation
projects under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery (TIGER) program established by the Obama Administration.
Among the awards is a $19 million grant to connect downtown
Pittsburgh to surrounding communities. Currently, President Obama
is seeking $1.25 billion in funding for FY 2017, far more than
the House proposal of $450 million & the Senate proposal of
$525 million.
Healthcare
Industry Anti-Trust Lawsuit
The US Department of Justice is suing to stop the merger of Anthem Inc. &
Cigna Corp. as well as Aetna Inc. &
Humana Inc. Justice Department officials are
concerned that the deals would decrease competition in the health
insurance market as the five largest companies could become
three.
Child
Nutrition Programs
The Senate is close to passing a school nutrition reauthorization
bill that would extend funding for the National School Lunch
Program, School Breakfast Program, & the Summer Food Service
Program, among other free & reduced-price meal programs for
children. The various programs would receive $30 billion in
funding over the five-year authorization. While the Senate
reauthorization has bipartisan support, the House companion has
only Republican support due to partisan provisions. However,
there remains hope that a conference committee may be able to
approve a reauthorization this fall.
FDA
Fitness Tracker & App Regulation
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) declined to regulated
fitness trackers and mobile health & wellness applications in
a guidance published July 28. The FDA defined exempt technologies
as those tools intended only for general wellness, such as weight
management, physical fitness, sleep, or mental acuity trackers,
applications, and games. The guidance clarified that the FDA
would seek to regulate any product that claims the ability to
treat or diagnose a specific disease or condition.
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