AGD Capitol Connections

On September 9, 2025, HHS released its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, outlining over 120 initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of childhood chronic diseases.

On September 9, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee advanced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill provides a total of $108 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, approximately six percent below the FY 2025 enacted level, and proposes a $456 million reduction in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

On August 27, 2025, Dr. Susan Monarez was dismissed from her role as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director by the White House. Her termination came less than a month after her confirmation by the Senate and was reportedly triggered by her refusal to implement directives that she and her attorneys described as “unscientific” and “reckless.”

As Congress reconvenes this week following its August recess, lawmakers face critical deadlines, including the need to fund the federal government beyond September 30 in order to avoid a government shutdown.

On July 21, 2025, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO-05), alongside Representatives Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Cleo Fields (D-LA-06), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Don Davis (D-NC), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), introduced the Protect Our Treatment for Enamel, Erosion, and Tooth Health (TEETH) Act.

On July 31, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations held a full committee markup of the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which includes significant investments in public health, education, and workforce development.

On August 5th and 6th Legislative and Governmental Affairs Chair Dr. Richard Huot and AGD Manager, Government Relations, Jay Fisher spoke with state legislators from around the country at the annual NCSL Summit in Boston.

On July 31, 2025, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Dr. Susan Monarez, was sworn in by Secretary Kennedy. The Senate confirmed her nomination on July 29, 2025, by a vote of 51-47.

On July 23, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Reagan-Udall Foundation, held a meeting to consider the clinical use and safety concerns associated with orally ingestible unapproved prescription drug products containing fluoride for the pediatric population.

On July 22, 2025, the U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means, Health and Oversight Subcommittees held a joint hearing entitled, Medicare Advantage: Past Lessons, Present Insights, Future Opportunities.

On July 14, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Calendar Year (CY) 2026 proposed rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). In the proposed rule, CMS proposed changes to the physician payment conversion factor and included other key updates that impact primary care and Medicare services.

From July 17th through 19th Dr. Gordon Isbell, DMD, MAGD and AGD staff attended the Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a national organization of state legislators dedicated to free markets, limited government and federalism.

On July 9, 2025, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Dr. Susan Monarez to serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law a reconciliation bill that enacts significant changes to federal health care programs and tax policy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) passed the U.S. Senate on July 1 with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote before being passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 3 by a vote of 218-214.

On June 18, 2025, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) reintroduced the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act.

On June 20, 2025, AGD sent an Organized Dentistry Coalition letter urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to maintain current water fluoridation levels on overseas military bases. The AGD initiated letter highlights the role of water fluoridation as a cost-effective public health measure essential to preventing dental disease and supporting military readiness.

On June 11, 2025, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released its portion of the budget reconciliation bill, which includes several provisions mirroring those in the reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22.

On May 28, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) held the 239th Meeting of the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council (NADCRC).

On June 4, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2483, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025, by a vote of 366-57. Originally enacted in 2018, the SUPPORT Act authorized funding for community-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery programs, many of which expired in 2023.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its reconciliation package containing a harmful provision that would increase taxes on small business dental practices. If enacted, the legislation would prevent these practices from deducting state-level pass-through entity taxes (PTET) on their federal returns.