Appropriators Discuss FY 2026 Budget with USDA Secretary Rollins; Democrats Criticize Program Cuts

Appropriators Discuss FY 2026 Budget with USDA Secretary Rollins; Democrats Criticize Program Cuts

The Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies each held hearings to discuss the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. Much of the hearings focused on agricultural issues, but some legislators included nutrition programs in their remarks. Democrats noted their concerns about staff reductions,… (McClurg, May 7, 2025) #Nutrition

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OIG Identifies $17 Billion in Potential Federal Health Care Savings Through Program Reforms

OIG Identifies $17 Billion in Potential Federal Health Care Savings Through Program Reforms

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) released a report identifying up to $17 billion in potential cost savings if Congress acts on a subset of recent OIG findings highlighting major opportunities to improve efficiency in HHS programs. Key areas of potential savings include: $6.9 billion by strengthening risk adjustment in Medicare Advantage,… (Eisen, May 6, 2025) #Costs, #Medicare Advantage, #Physicians

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President Trump Issues EOs to Promote Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and End Funding for Gain-of-Function Research

President Trump Issues EOs to Promote Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and End Funding for Gain-of-Function Research

President Trump issued executive orders aimed at promoting domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and improving the safety and security of biological research. Additional details for each follow. Regulatory Relief to Promote Domestic Production of Critical Medicines (fact sheet) – The fact sheet details that building new manufacturing capacity for pharmaceutical and critical inputs can take as long as five to ten years,… (Slifer, May 5, 2025) #Prescription Drugs

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FTC and DOJ Direct Federal Agencies to Identify Anticompetitive Regulations

FTC and DOJ Direct Federal Agencies to Identify Anticompetitive Regulations

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division issued a joint letter to agency heads across the federal government, instructing them to identify and report anticompetitive regulations that may hinder competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation. This directive is part of the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14267 on Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers. The Executive… (Eisen, May 5, 2025) #Hospitals

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Sens. Hawley and Welch Reintroduce Prescription Drug International Reference Pricing Bill

Sens. Hawley and Welch Reintroduce Prescription Drug International Reference Pricing Bill

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-OR) reintroduced the Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act, which would establish international reference pricing for prescription drugs (press release). The reintroduction of this bill comes amid reports that the White House is pushing for the inclusion of a Most Favored Nation policy for Medicaid reimbursement of prescription drugs in the… (Slifer, May 5, 2025) #Drug Pricing, #Prescription Drugs

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President’s ‘Skinny’ FY 2026 Budget Outlines Deep Cuts to Health and Human Services

President’s ‘Skinny’ FY 2026 Budget Outlines Deep Cuts to Health and Human Services

Today the Office of Management and Budget shared (fact sheets) the toplines of President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 discretionary budget request with Congress, outlining proposed spending levels across federal agencies. The budget asks Congress to cut spending on non-defense programs by more than $163 billion, a 22.6% cut from current enacted spending levels. Political Context: Director Vought’s letter to… (Testa, May 2, 2025) #Budget, #Grants, #Health Equity, #Housing, #National Institutes of Health, #Nutrition, #Public Health, #Women’s Health

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CBO Requests Research on The Budgetary Implications of Adding Nutritional Standards to SNAP

CBO Requests Research on The Budgetary Implications of Adding Nutritional Standards to SNAP

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) posted a call for research on the budgetary impacts of nutrition standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Currently, while there are some restrictions on SNAP purchases (e.g. no hot food), there are no nutritional requirements. CBO notes that lawmakers have expressed interest in adding nutritional standards to SNAP that limit allowable purchases. CBO will use… (McClurg, May 2, 2025) #Nutrition

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Committee Holds Hearing on NIH Cuts and Future of U.S. Biomedical Innovation; Republican Senators Split Over NIH Cap on Indirect Costs

Committee Holds Hearing on NIH Cuts and Future of U.S. Biomedical Innovation; Republican Senators Split Over NIH Cap on Indirect Costs

The Senate Appropriations Committee convened the first of a two-part hearing series titled “Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation” to examine the future of U.S. biomedical research in light of the Trump administration’s controversial funding cuts and policy changes affecting the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The hearing focused on the impact of the administration’s plan to implement a… (Colocho, May 1, 2025) #Budget, #Grants, #National Institutes of Health

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HHS Targets Gender-Affirming Care and Undermines Medical Consensus in New Review

HHS Targets Gender-Affirming Care and Undermines Medical Consensus in New Review

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Population Affairs, released a 400-page review of research on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Although the report does not issue clinical guidelines or formal policy recommendations, it casts doubt on widely accepted standards of care, minimizing the documented… (Eisen, May 1, 2025) #Health Equity

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Committee Marks Up Education Portion of Reconciliation; Democrats Highlight Concerns about Medicaid and Nutrition Program Access for Students

Committee Marks Up Education Portion of Reconciliation; Democrats Highlight Concerns about Medicaid and Nutrition Program Access for Students

The House Education & Workforce Committee held a markup of its reconciliation text concerning education programs and student loans. While most of the markup was focused on proposed changes to student loan programs, a few Democrats took the opportunity to offer amendments that highlight their concern about the impact of the larger Republican reconciliation plan on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),… (McClurg, April 30, 2025) #Insurance Coverage, #Nutrition

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