AGD Capitol Connections

On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order (EO) entitled, Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.

On October 25, 2023, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee voted to advance the nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli for Director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by a vote of 15 to 6.

On October 25, 2023, Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) was elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. All 220 Republicans voted in favor of his Speakership and 209 Democrats voted against him. The successful vote follows three weeks of turmoil.

Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) recently introduced S.5073, the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2022, in the U.S. Senate.

The AGD joined Tobacco Free Kids and 69 other health, medical, education, and community organizations in a letter to congressional appropriators, urging them to fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) at $261.5 million for fiscal year 2023.

Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) recently introduced S.5073, the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2022, in the U.S. Senate.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized their Calendar Year 2023 Physician Fee Schedule rule that expands access to behavioral health services, Accountable Care Organizations, cancer screenings, and dental services deemed “medically necessary” under Medicare.

The AGD recently signed onto an Organized Dentistry Coalition letter, urging leaders on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to include S.754, the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA), in any package scheduled to be taken up by the Senate before the end of the year.

In an effort spearheaded by AGD, the Organized Dentistry Coalition (ODC) recently sent a letter to the leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its respective Health Subcommittee in support of the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act (H.R.4555). The letter was delivered ahead of the Health Subcommittee's October 20 hearing on "Enhancing Public Health: Legislation to Protect Children And Families", during which the AGD's President, Dr. Bruce Cassis, DDS, MAGD, testified on the subject of oral health literacy and in support of the H.R.4555.

On October 28, the White House released its framework for the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package with a topline cost of $1.75 trillion. Notably, the framework removed a proposal to create a dental benefit under Medicare Part B that was previously included in legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives.

One of the first actions anticipated by President-elect Joe Biden's Administration will be implementing mandatory workplace safety rules that employers must follow to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure.

The Senate Appropriations Committee published working drafts of its 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending bills on November 10.

On November 12, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced S.4894, the Dental and Optometric Care (DOC) Access Act, which helps ensure fairness in contracts between doctors and dental insurers and supports a healthy doctor-patient relationship.