Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
On February 7, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the upper chamber’s budget proposal to advance the budget reconciliation process for the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) spending bill. The Senate is planning a two-bill approach to advance President Trump’s policy priorities, putting them at odds with the House of Representatives, who are pushing for one bill that includes all of the GOP policy priorities. Lawmakers have until March 14 to advance the FY2025 spending bill or a pass a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown. Due to the controversial spending cuts proposed by Republicans and disagreements on how to advance the FY2025 and FY2026 spending bills through budget reconciliation, appropriators may have to resort to a full-year continuing resolution for FY2025.
NASTAD will continue to monitor the congressional appropriations process and advocate for the highest possible funding for HIV, hepatitis, and drug user health programs.
Senate Finance Committee Advances HHS Secretary Nomination
On February 4, the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). RFK Jr shored up Republican support to advance his nomination after confirmation hearings revealed bipartisan doubts on his nomination due to RFK’s controversial beliefs regarding vaccine safety. RFK will now face a confirmation vote on the Senate floor, where he is expected to secure the role leading all federal health agencies.
NASTAD Urges Congress to Reject Medicaid Cuts
On February 3, NASTAD and the HIV Health Care Access Work Group (HHCAWG) of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP) urged Congress to reject all proposals to enact cuts to Medicaid in the FY2025 and FY2026 spending packages. Republicans are reviewing Medicaid program changes that they can leverage through the budget reconciliation process to cut spending, including implementing per capita caps or block grants, reducing the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or applying mandatory work requirements on Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid is the most important source of health coverage and life-saving care for people living with HIV, providing coverage for more than 40% of people living with HIV and contributing 45% of all federal funding for domestic HIV care and treatment.
HALT Fentanyl Act Passes House
On February 6, the House of Representatives passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act (H.R.27). The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently schedule all fentanyl-related substances under Schedule I of Controlled Substances Act and create new mandatory minimum sentences for criminal offenses that involve fentanyl and related substances. 98 Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill, signaling a bipartisan interest to scale up enforcement of fentanyl criminalization. Advocates panned the bill’s passage, warning that it could hinder research efforts and exacerbate racial disparities in criminal sentencing for drug offenses.
Administration Activities
Federal Judge Extends Block on Trump Administration’s Funding Freeze
On February 3, a federal judge extended a temporary block that prohibits the Trump Administration from implementing its freeze of federal funding. On January 27, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum to executive agency leaders instructing them to pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” temporarily freezing federal grants and funding for hundreds of programs across the country. Additionally, federal agencies were directed to conduct “a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders” by February 10. The funding freeze was intended to ensure that federal agency workflows are aligned with the Trump Administration’s position against gender diversity, equity, and inclusion. The funding freeze caused widespread confusion and sparked fierce backlash from many stakeholders and lawmakers. On January 29, the Trump Administration rescinded the memorandum while maintaining that the funding freeze is still in effect for programs that do not align with President Trump’s executive orders barring “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies.”
Resources
AIDSWatch 2025 Update: New Dates Announced
Updated Date: March 31 – April 2, 2025
“Over the past few days, Congress released its schedule for 2025 detailing when both the House and Senate would be in session. In an effort to ensure that AIDSWatch participants are able to meet with their elected representatives in Congress, the AIDSWatch planning partners have made the decision to shift the dates of AIDSWatch 2025 from Sunday, March 16 - Tuesday, March 18th, when Congress will not be in session, to Monday, March 31 - Wednesday, April 2nd, when Congress will be in session. We believe that this date change will allow AIDSWatch 2025 to be as impactful as possible and to maximize the ability of the HIV advocacy community to have their voices heard in the halls of Congress. If you have any questions about this date change and the ways in which it might impact your ability to participate in AIDSWatch 2025, please reach out to AIDSWatch@aidsunited.org and AIDS United staff will be happy to assist you.”
Job Postings
Patient Advocate (Community Health Educator II) - Baltimore City Health Department
Apply by: February 15
Patient advocates work in the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) Sexual Health and Wellness clinics (SHWC) and serve as a critical resource for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and those seeking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. The patient advocate role is multifaceted, encompassing nonmedical case management, insurance documentation and coordination, advocacy, education, resource coordination, and emotional support to ensure holistic care for clients irrespective of their HIV status or STI treatment and prevention needs.
Communicable Disease Epidemiologist – Cheyenne, Wyoming
This position will serve as the Communicable Disease AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Coordinator, Wyoming TB Controller, and Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) for the Communicable Disease (CD) Treatment Program. Assist in outbreak response to ensure the safety of Wyoming residents; by interviewing cases for exposure information, updating news outlets on the progress of outbreak control, and analyzing exposure data utilizing epidemiological and statistical methods.
News Bulletin
Health clinics face cuts, closures as Trump's funding fight ripples outside of Washington
“Across the country, health clinics and nonprofit organizations largely serving rural and low-income patients have found themselves unable to access previously allocated federal funds, as a short-lived government funding freeze has continued to disrupt daily operations for a range of programs. The disruption appears to stem from a vaguely worded, two-page memo the Office of Management and Budget sent to all federal agencies early last week directing them to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” that could conflict with President Donald Trump’s agenda.”
Elon Musk's DOGE team visits CDC in Atlanta, reports say
“Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has rapidly expanded its presence across multiple federal agencies, with reports confirming that representatives visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Wednesday, according to the Washington Post. The DOGE team reportedly asked the CDC to give them a list of employees who have been on the job less than a year or who are still in a two-year probationary period.”
UPDATED: CDC withdraws new scientific publications to scrub specific words: reports
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked its staff to withdraw any scientific papers currently under consideration for internal or external publication so that certain words can be removed, according to several reports. The decision was first reported by The Washington Post, with more details provided by Inside Medicine on Substack. Words that no longer comply with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which is designed to end “all agency programs that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology," are to be removed, according to the Post.”