Congress

HHS Secretary Alex Azar missed House Energy & Commerce Democratic leaders’ Friday (Sept. 18) deadline to brief them on his role in a slew of reported efforts by HHS political appointees to change scientific documents and communications coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and on how he would prevent future political interference.

The House has pushed back its highly anticipated floor vote on a bill that would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act -- a bill experts have asserted would take authority away from the Drug Enforcement Administration and potentially put it into the hands of FDA.

HHS’ top communications official, Michael Caputo, is taking a 60-day leave of absence following his reported efforts to alter scientific data coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his senior policy advisor, Paul Alexander, who accused CDC of intentionally undermining the president, will leave the department, HHS announced Wednesday (Sept. 16).

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and oversight subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) on Monday (Sept. 14) demanded HHS Secretary Alex Azar participate in an immediate briefing to respond to reports that appointees from the White House are working to review and change scientific COVID-19 public health reports and quiet public health officials.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed 26 health bills on Wednesday (Sept. 9), including three meant to boost Medicare patient protections and mental health services, sending them to the House floor.

A slimmed-down version of the Senate Republicans’ coronavirus relief bill died as expected in the Senate on Thursday (Sept. 10) after a vote to end debate on the legislation failed, 52-47, with every Democrat voting against the bill.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee on Wednesday (Sept. 9) sent to the House floor a bipartisan bill that would require FDA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to issue guidelines on the production of marijuana, as part of the legislation’s larger goal to make marijuana accessible to researchers for medical purposes.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday (Sept. 8) unveiled their latest coronavirus relief package, a more targeted approximately $500 billion version of their previous proposals from earlier this summer, with liability protections for health care facilities, paycheck protection program money and funding for state COVID-19 testing.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), chair of the House oversight committee’s consumer policy subcommittee, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) are urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to encourage college campuses to go tobacco-free after a recent study showed that 13- to 24-year-olds who smoke both cigarettes and e-cigarettes are seven times more likely than non-smokers to be diagnosed with COVID-19.