AGD Capitol Connections

On January 20, AGD sent a letter to Dr. Rochelle Walensky congratulating her on her recent selection by President Biden to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The CDC Director position does not require Senate confirmation.

The J&J vaccine division, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, reports that their vaccine is 66% protective against moderate to severe COVID-19 infection in a multi-country study.

After his January 20 inauguration, President Joe Biden issued a series of Executive Orders (EOs) in the first days of his term, aiming to advance his Administration’s response to the COVID-19 crisis and other priorities.

AGD and over 500 organizations sent a joint coalition letter to Congress on February 1, urging lawmakers to consider including targeted and temporary liability protections in the next COVID relief package.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a fifth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) on January 28 to add additional categories of qualified persons authorized to prescribe, dispense, and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA) introduced the Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2021 (S.97/H.R.502)(text) on January 28.

The U.S. Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA) rolled out a new round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) last week. Businesses will be able to use PPP funding over a period of eight to 24 weeks. This new round is said to be more flexible and clearly defined than the previous round of loans.

President Biden released high-level details of his COVID-19 vaccination plan on January 15, following public remarks (written) that came a day after the release of his coronavirus relief plan.

The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 1418) was signed into law on January 13. The law repeals the antiquated McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption granted to the health insurance industry decades ago.

AGD Members- Before reading this week's Capitol Connections, please take a moment to review the following information regarding a product recall alert:

The U.S. Senate recently voted on December 22 to pass the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 1418), a bill to repeal the antiquated McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption granted to the health insurance industry decades ago.

On December 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC provided updated examples of its definition of "healthcare personnel (HCP)" that it recommends be among those offered the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

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).