Deep cuts at HHS, including FDA; Canada’s action plan for managing avian flu; Utah’s fluoridation ban; soda; tariffs; eggs - Makary confirmed. On March 25, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Dr. Martin A. Makary as FDA...more
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas has announced that the public charge rule, put in place by the Trump administration in 2019, is no longer in effect. Instead, DHS will return to its...more
In Washington: Two public health experts on President-elect Biden’s COVID-19 task force rejected the idea of broad “lockdowns” like those seen in the spring designed to slow skyrocketing case numbers. Celine Gounder told...more
In Washington - The bipartisan 50-member House Problem Solvers Caucus has drafted a US$1.5 trillion plan, the “March To Common Ground”, to provide coronavirus relief in an attempt to reignite negotiations on a deal before...more
On July 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a nationwide injunction that temporarily suspends the implementation of the Trump Administration’s public charge rule. Under U.S....more
In Washington: As we reported, House Democrats unveiled their $3 trillion “Phase 4” coronavirus stimulus package, H.R. 6800, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act” or the “The Heroes Act.” ...more
Currently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines a "public charge" as someone who is or is likely to become "primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of...more
Following a truncated August recess, the House and the Senate returned to Washington after Labor Day with a full plate of legislative items to address prior to the end of the fiscal year on September 30. That list includes...more
Americans who are poor, middle-class, chronically or mentally ill, disabled, frail, elderly and young — most of us, really — may need to keep our fingers crossed that the relentless attacks on health care access fail again....more
The Trump Administration on Feb. 12 released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request, titled "An American Budget." Unlike last year's budget, which was released in late May, the release of this budget conforms to the typical...more
President Donald Trump on February 12, 2018, submitted his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. The President's full budget calls for approximately $4.4 trillion in total spending. Much of the budget seeks...more
Sonny Perdue, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), released the Trump Administration's 2018 Farm Bill and Legislative Principles on Jan. 24, 2018. "These principles will be used as a road map. They are our...more