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.