AGD Capitol Connections

The 117th Congress officially began on January 3, which will reset the legislative docket and entail members of Congress introducing new legislation and reintroducing many bills that were not enacted into law over the last two years.

Congress passed a $1.4 trillion "omnibus" government funding package for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on December 21, after several delays due to pending negotiations on the latest COVID-19 relief bill.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on December 16 that the next round of Provider Relief Fund distributions was starting, as it had completed reviews of Phase 3 applications.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 16 years of age and older.

Following months of negotiations and the passage of several short-term funding extensions to prevent a government shutdown, Congressional leaders finally reached a deal on December 20 to provide additional pandemic relief for Americans and U.S. economy through a $900 billion legislative package.

The AGD has worked diligently with constituents to help address issues during the COVID-19 emergency.

Following the release of the Senate's Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending bill working drafts, AGD sent a letter to leaders of relevant House and Senate funding subcommittees to reaffirm support for funding critical oral health programs.

AGD has prepared a quick-reference guide for members on applying for loan forgiveness under the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The AGD has developed a new section of the AGD COVID-19 website to provide members with the most current credible vaccine information available.

AGD recently sent a letter to the "Four Corners" of Senate and House leadership, which urges Congress to advance a supplemental COVID-19 relief package to address the general dentistry community's key priorities.

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 House Committee on Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing on November 19 entitled "Insuring against a Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions for Policyholders and Insurers."

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.

House Republicans released a $47 billion Covid-19 relief proposal (H.R.14) on October 30 intended to be a "serious, targeted proposal" to address the pandemic (summary).

On October 22, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the reporting guidance for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payment recipients had been amended to increase flexibility around how providers can apply PRF money toward lost revenues attributable to coronavirus.

AGD is working to address the most pressing issues faced by our members as we advocate to government entities for general dentists.

AGD, along with 28 other allied health organizations, including AAOMS and ADA, sent a letter to the leaders of the House Education & Labor Committee on October 15, voicing support for H.R.1379, the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA).

On October 8, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less.

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that $20 billion in new funding for providers, including eligible dentists, would be available in a Phase 3 General Distribution from the Provider Relief Fund created under the CARES Act.