This Week in Congress

House

The House will return on November 13, 2022.

Senate

The Senate will be back in session on November 14, 2022.

Mid-term Elections

Polls

With 11 days until Election Day, some polls are now rating 218 House seats, the number needed for winning a majority, as at least “leaning” Republican.

Ballot Measure

On November 8, voters will also be making decisions on 132 ballot measures across 37 states. The ballot measures worth watching are as follows:

• Abortion: Not only will abortion be a key issue in federal elections, but five states will vote directly on the issue. California, Michigan, and Vermont will vote to preserve reproductive rights in their constitutions. Kentuckians will vote on an amendment affirming that their constitution does not include a right to abortion (similar to the initiative rejected in Kansas in August). Montana will vote on a measure declaring that all “infants born alive,” at any stage of development, are “legal persons” and deserve medical care to preserve their life. In Michigan, a key battleground state where the fate of abortion rights is currently up in the air, a state judge has blocked a 1931 law banning the procedure. An amendment on the ballot would overturn the 1931 law.
• Marijuana: Five states will vote on measures to legalize recreational marijuana: Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Currently, 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana use; if all five states approve their measures next month, weed will be legal in nearly half of the 50 states. With the exception of Maryland, this crop of referenda will be an interesting test of weed legalization’s support in Republican-controlled territory. A nationwide poll in 2021 found 47% of Republicans support recreational marijuana legalization, a change from just a few years ago but still less than the 72% of Democrats who support legalization.
• Slavery: More than 150 years after slavery was abolished, slavery is on the ballot for voters in five states. Currently 20 state constitutions include language that permits slavery as a punishment for committing crimes or failing to pay debts; the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide, also includes such language. Voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will have a chance next month to strike that language from their constitutions, banning slavery completely in the states.
• Voting laws: Connecticut and Michigan will vote on measures that would ease voting rules: Connecticut to allow in-person, no-excuse early voting, and Michigan to allow ballot drop boxes, nine days of in-person early voting, and no-excuse absentee voting. Arizona and Nebraska will vote on expanded voter ID requirements, while Ohio will vote on a constitutional amendment prohibiting local governments from allowing non-citizens to vote. Nevada, which could become the third state, after Alaska and Maine, to institute ranked-choice voting for state and federal elections.

Other Legislation and Happenings Around the Nation

Monkeypox

Death

Six individuals across four states have died from monkeypox over the last week according to health agencies. As the United States continues to battle and provide protection against Monkeypox, more individuals are dying from the viral disease, according to reports from state health departments and the CDC. Since last week, two individuals died in Illinois, two in New York state, one in Nevada, and one in Maryland. Across the United States, the CDC has recorded more than 27,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox. The patients in New York had prior health conditions that contributed to their deaths

Vaccines Reaching More Minority Groups

Disparities among groups receiving the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine have narrowed somewhat, with vaccine receipt proportions more than doubling in Black people and increasing almost 50% in Hispanic groups, according to recent data from the CDC.

HIV

Nearly all Americans hospitalized for monkeypox infection had weakened immune systems, most often because of HIV infection, according to the CDC.  Of 57 hospitalized patients, 82% had HIV. More than two-thirds of the patients were Black and nearly one-quarter were homeless, reflecting racial and economic inequities seen in the outbreak overall.  The report can be found here.

Rural Communities

Experts say the response to the monkeypox virus in rural America may be affected by the patchy resources and politics that are a legacy of the pandemic—challenges that some worry could allow sporadic infections to gain a foothold. The article can be found here.

Pregnancy

This week, during a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity call, officials from the CDC recommended that pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children who have been exposed to monkeypox be tested promptly if they show any symptoms. The officials also said pregnant or breastfeeding women should be offered the Jynneos vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) if they have a known close exposure to the virus. The article can be found here.

COVID-19

Variants

BA.5 is still the dominant variant in the U.S., but three new variants of interest – BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7 — now collectively make up nearly a quarter of cases ahead of the expected winter rise.

Vaccine Side Effects

People who reported experiencing side effects to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines such as fever, chills or muscle pain tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination, according to new research.

Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pills

Reproductive health advocates and Democratic lawmakers are intensifying calls for the FDA to make contraceptives available without a prescription ahead of a closely watched advisory panel meeting next month.

Abortion

Georgia

The State’s ban on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy is causing distress among women denied the procedure and confusion among doctors. This week abortion providers testified at a trial to determine whether the state can continue enforcing the restriction.

Mississippi

The State’s health officials expect 5,000 more births each year as a result of the Supreme Court ruling upending abortion rights, children are more likely to die before their first birthday than in any other state. Mississippi has the nation’s highest — fetal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, highest pre-term birth rate and is among the worst states for maternal mortality. Black women are nearly three times more likely to die due to childbirth than white women in Mississippi.