Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
On March 14, the Senate passed a full-year continuing resolution (CR) (H.R. 1968) for fiscal year 2025 (FY2025), closing out a prolonged spending cycle and averting a government shutdown. Senate Republicans secured sufficient support from Democrats to advance the CR (54-46) despite significant reservations from a broad base of the Democratic Caucus. On March 10, Democrat Appropriations Chairs Senate Murray (D-WA) and Representative DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced a short-term CR in an effort to avoid a government shutdown while committing lawmakers to advancing a bipartisan funding package, but Republicans did not take up the package.
Ultimately, the CR does not provide details for appropriated funds at the programmatic level. The CR included the following topline numbers for FY2025, which may be subject to adjustments from the Executive branch:
- National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention - $1.391b (+$0)
- Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program - $2.571b (+$0)
- Minority HIV/AIDS Fund - $60m (+$0)
With FY2025 completed, Republicans will now prioritize unifying their bicameral majority behind a fiscal year 2026 (FY2026) package to implement President Trump’s policy priorities through a landmark spending package. Republicans will attempt to leverage the budget reconciliation process, a legislative procedure that enables the majority party to bypass the Senate filibuster and the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass a spending bill via a simple majority that includes major budgetary policies that adhere to specific spending parameters. Democrats will have limited opportunities to block the reconciliation package if the Republican caucus is able to coalesce their majority behind a single, identical bill in both chambers.
NASTAD will continue to monitor the congressional appropriations process and advocate for the highest possible funding for HIV, hepatitis, and drug user health programs.
President Trump Withdraws Nominee for CDC Director
On March 13, the White House withdrew its nomination for Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The withdrawal of the former Congressman’s (R-FL-15) nomination occurred only hours before Weldon was scheduled to appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) for a nomination hearing. Although no reason was formally provided, sources claim that Weldon faced increased scrutiny over his anti-vaccine views after the confirmation of anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a growing measles outbreak. On March 13, Weldon released a statement criticizing Republicans for pulling his nomination at the last minute.
Senate HELP Committee Advances Nominations for FDA Commissioner and NIH Director
On March 13, the Senate HELP Committee advanced the nomination of two cabinet nominees: Jay Bhattacharya (12-11) for Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Marty Makary (14-9) for US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner. Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University, will now face a full Senate vote before being confirmed to lead NIH, where he would oversee federal health research programs during an Administration that has pledged to shrink the nation’s leading health research agency. Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, will oversee federal drug and vaccine approvals as FDA commissioner, where he may have an important role in implementing the Trump Administration’s policies on vaccines and abortifacients. The Senate will likely hold the vote after this month’s Congressional recess, which ends on March 21.
Senate Finance Committee Holds Nomination Hearing for CMS Director
On March 14, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Mehmet Oz for Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Oz, a physician by training, became well-known thanks to his daytime TV talk show, “The Dr. Oz Show,” and later grew popularity with conservatives thanks to his promotion of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 during the pandemic. Oz ran an unsuccessful bid in 2022 to represent the state of Pennsylvania in the US Senate. The Senate Finance Committee inquired whether Oz supported Republican proposals to implement significant budget cuts in the Medicaid program and scale back spending through work requirements and block grant funding structures. The Senate Finance Committee has not yet scheduled a committee vote to advance the nomination to the full Senate floor.
Senate Passes HALT Fentanyl Act
On March 14, the Senate voted to approve the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act (S.331) (84-16), which permanently places fentanyl and related analogues into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a class reserved for drugs that have high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical value. Additionally, the bill expands mandatory-minimum sentencing for criminal offenses that involve fentanyl-related substances (FRS) and creates an alternative registration process to conduct FRS research. Public health advocates warn that the bill could block research for opioid use disorder and new overdose treatments and invests in failed approaches that criminalize people who use drugs. The bill now heads to the House, where it is expected to pass, before arriving at President Trump’s desk for signature.
NASTAD Calls on Congress to Pass Consumer Reforms to Improve the Nation’s Health Care System
On March 12, NASTAD joined a coalition of public health organizations and called on Congress to address the high cost of health care in the US. The coalition called on lawmakers to advance a bipartisan package that would improve transparency, promote healthy competition, and curb industry abuses to lower health care costs. The coalition highlighted health system reforms such as hospital and health plan transparency requirements, reducing waste and inefficiencies driven by corporate health systems, and rooting out conflicts of interest around the role of private equity and corporate ownership in health care.
Administration Activities
HHS Scales Back Public Comment Opportunities for Certain Agency Rulemaking
On March 3, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a policy statement in the Federal Register that announced the rescission of a policy, Public Participation in Rule Making (Richardson Waiver), that required the Department to provide an opportunity for the public to participate in rulemaking through the submission of written data, views, or arguments. As a result of the rescission, HHS now claims that it is exempt from the notice and comment period for “matters relating to agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts.” The new procedural standards in place at HHS will enable the Trump Administration to issue rulemaking more quickly for matters where it is not obligated to hold a notice and comment period by law, such as for a “rule, requirement, or other statement of policy” that changes a “substantive legal standard.”
Resources
“High rates of syphilis and HIV coinfection occur among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Neurosyphilis, ocular syphilis, and otic syphilis (NOO syphilis) can occur at any syphilis stage with or without HIV coinfection.”
Job Postings
HIV & Hepatitis Section Supervisor – Des Moines, IA
Deadline: March 30
The Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis is seeking a dedicated and dynamic leader as our HIV and Hepatitis Section Supervisor (Public Service Manager 1). The HIV and Hepatitis Section Supervisor may work remotely in the state of Iowa or a contiguous state.
Executive Director of Programs – New York City, NY
The New York City Health Department is seeking an Executive Director of Programs to join its Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STIs (BHHS). The Executive Director of Programs will provide day-to-day oversight and operational support to BHHS’s HIV Care and Treatment Program, HIV Epidemiology Program, HIV Prevention Program, STI Program, and Viral Hepatitis Program, which comprise the majority of the bureau’s staff. The Executive Director of Programs will report to BHHS’s Assistant Commissioner and work alongside the Assistant Commissioner and BHHS leadership to ensure these Programs are supported to function optimally and collaboratively, and that BHHS is well-positioned to implement its strategic priorities and achieve its mission to improve the lives of New Yorkers by ending transmission, illness, stigma, and inequities related to viral hepatitis, HIV, and STIs. For more information or to apply for the position, visit the job posting on NYC Jobs, here.
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, analyzing exposure data utilizing epidemiological and statistical methods.
News Bulletin
HHS braces for a reorganization
“The Trump administration is readying to slash the Department of Health and Human Services workforce again, according to seven people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the changes. The announcement could come soon, three of the people said.”
Dozens of Laid-Off CDC Workers Push to Get Their Jobs Back
“A group of former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees is fighting to get their jobs back after being abruptly laid off last month. In a letter sent Monday to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC leadership, they argue their dismissals were unfair and violated due process. Now, with a looming deadline that could officially end their employment status, they’re pushing for immediate action.”
Universal Syphilis Screening in the ED Catches More Cases
“Using only targeted models of syphilis screening in the emergency department (ED) would miss large proportions of active syphilis cases as well as new HIV diagnoses and acute HIV cases, according to new research. Only screening patients for syphilis who came to the ED for gonorrhea and chlamydia testing would have missed 76.4% of positive syphilis screens as well as 68.7% of new HIV diagnoses, reported Kimberly Stanford, MD, MPH, of the University of Chicago Medical Center.”
RFK says most vaccine advisers have conflicts of interest. A report shows they don't
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to purge conflicts of interest from the government agencies he's now in charge of, alleging close ties between employees and the pharmaceutical industry. In his confirmation hearings for the role, he took aim at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee that plays a key role in setting policies around vaccine schedules and access, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.”