This Week in Congress

House

This week the House began floor debate on the FY’24 appropriations bills. By a vote of 219 to 211, the House approved the Military Construction/VA bill. The Agriculture/FDA bill was also scheduled for floor debate this week, however, action on the bill was postponed until September because of Freedom Caucus and Republican objections over a provision that would nullify a Biden administration rule allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be sold in retail pharmacies and by mail with prescriptions from a certified health care provider.

Summaries, bill texts and reports (where available) for all twelve bills can be found here

Senate

This week the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on the remaining four FY’24 bills:  Department of Defense; Interior/Environment; LHHS; and Homeland Security.

The press releases, summaries, bill texts and reports for the four bills can be found here

The Senate LHHS bill includes $174.3 million for STI prevention, the same level proposed by the House and enacted in FY’23. The House and Senate recommended levels are big wins for our field given the budget constraints imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act negotiated between the President and Congress. A summary of the relevant funding levels and language provisions can be found here

NDAA

This week the Senate passed its version of the FY’24 defense authorization bill (S 2226) by a vote of 86-11. The Senate adopted a number of amendments including funding for a firefighter cancer initiative and for 9/11 responders; combating global corruption and a new program aimed at increasing the quantity of U.S.-produced low-enriched uranium. The Senate did not take up an amendment offered by Senator Ernst to roll back the Defense Department abortion policy but the amendment was contained in the House version of the bill, setting up a contentious fight for conference.

Other Legislative Happenings Around the Nation

Abortion

Indianapolis:

Indiana Attorney General Rokita has joined 18 other states’ attorneys general in asking the federal government to allow local governments to obtain medical records of patients seeking out-of-state abortion care in certain cases. Rokita earlier this month signed onto a letter asking the Department of Health and Human Services to abandon a proposed rule change to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The draft rule would bar local governments in states where abortion is illegal from obtaining medical records of patients who sought legal abortion care in another state as part of civil or criminal investigations.

Iowa

Governor Reynolds can proceed with an appeal on a temporary block on the state’s new, restrictive abortion law, the Iowa Supreme Court said. Reynolds announced her intentions to appeal last week and the lawyers for the state filed the request this week. The Iowa Supreme Court had to say whether the request could move forward.

Ohio

Support for a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights spotlights the potential power of the issue to drive voter turnout and affect races up and down the ballot, even in Republican-leaning states. A new USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University survey of Ohio showed the amendment guaranteeing access to reproductive services backed by a double-digit margin, 58%-32%. Significant support crossed partisan lines, including a third of Republicans and a stunning 85% of independent women, a key group of persuadable voters. The Ohio Secretary of State said that Republican lawmakers would not try to ban contraception if the threshold for passing a state constitutional amendment is raised.

LBGTQ

Arizona

The reason Arizona is blocking two transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports is because they have a medical condition, the state’s top GOP legislative leaders say in a new court argument. That rationale means the state law isn’t discriminatory, they also argue. In a new court filing, the attorney for Senate President Petersen and House Speaker Toma asks federal Judge Zipps to delay an order she issued last week allowing two transgender girls to take part in their schools’ girls’ sports teams. Petersen and Toma want the state to keep barring their participation.

Bisexual Women

While lesbian, gay and bisexual  patients as a whole experience health outcomes twice as poor as heterosexual people, bisexuals are the worst affected among this already marginalized community, according to a new study published on July 24 in the Journal of Sex Research, with bisexual women four times more likely than heterosexuals to suffer from long-term issues. The researchers suggest that this may be a result of biphobia, or discrimination from heterosexuals as well as gay and lesbian people.

Florida

The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine recently released six new informed consent forms that will be required for transgender people to sign in the next six months to continue gender-affirming care like puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries. Critics say the forms are inaccurate, intentionally vague, and full of transphobic language that could scare patients from getting care and doctors from providing that care.

Missouri

Families of transgender children sued to block a new Missouri law banning gender-affirming health care for minors which was to take effect on August 28. The law will prohibit Missouri health care providers from providing puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries to minors. Minors prescribed puberty blockers or hormones before Aug. 28 would be able to continue to receive those treatments.

Tennessee

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is being sued by its transgender clinic patients, who accuse the hospital of violating their privacy by turning their records over to Tennessee’s attorney general. Two patients sued saying they were among more than 100 people whose records were sent by Vanderbilt to the Attorney General.  His office has said it is examining medical billing in a “run of the mill” fraud investigation that isn’t directed at patients or their families. Vanderbilt has said it was required by law to comply.

Virginia

Several school districts in Virginia said they will reject Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s model policies requiring students to use bathrooms and pronouns that match their biological sex. The updated Virginia Department Of Education’s 2023 Model Policies include “clear and useful” suggestions to school districts for preferred pronoun usage, maintaining student records, the identification of students and enforcing sex-based dress codes. Under the new guidelines, students must use bathrooms and other private facilities that correspond with their biological sex instead of gender identity unless required by federal law. Students are also required to receive parental permission to be referred to by a different name or gender.

HIV Prevention Drug

GSK Plc (GSK.L) said this week that its HIV-focused injectable drug and tablets got marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency. Cabotegravir is recommended in combination with safer sex practices for pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce the risk of sexually-acquired HIV-1 infection in high-risk adults and adolescents of a certain weight.

Maine CDC Director

A doctor who led the successful COVID-19 response in the Navajo Nation in Arizona is returning to Maine to serve as director of the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Puthiery Va earned her medical degree at the University of New England in Maine. She has extensive experience in primary clinical care, epidemiology, and public health emergency response, making her well-equipped to deal with Maine’s public health challenges, said Jeanne Lambrew, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.