Policy Corner: January 6, 2023
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
118th Congress Convenes This Week
While Tuesday should have been a routine day for lawmakers to begin the first session of the 118th Congress, the House has yet to elect the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time of this publication. Election of the Speaker is the first order of business in the House as representatives will not be sworn in until the that happens nor can the House adopt rules and appoint committees. Republicans will preside over all House committees and have control of the House agenda.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, the Senate convened on Tuesday and elected leadership and Senators-elect took their oath of office. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was elected Majority Leader and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) became the first woman to be elected president pro tempore. The position typically goes to the most senior member of the majority party, but Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) declined to take on the role. The democrats control the Senate with 48 Democratic members and three Independents, while the republicans are in the minority with 49 Republican members. This means that the democrats will control the Senate agenda and committees, which is different from the last Congress that was evenly split between the two parties with the Vice President able to break tie floor votes.
President Signs FY 2023 Appropriations Bill
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which funds the federal government through September 30, 2023. In addition to programs highlighted in the last issue of Policy Corner, the bill includes budget language accompanying appropriations to federal agencies, including the following:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – With regard to disability and health activities at CDC, the agreement includes an increase of $3,000,000 to continue to strengthen existing programs that address healthy athletes and an increase of $1,000,000 to continue existing activities that improve physical activity and fund health promotion for people with mobility disabilities. The agreement includes an increase of $2,500,000 and recommends CDC use the funds to encourage partnership between national disability organizations and institutions of higher education to conduct implementation science research on health promotion, disease prevention, and intervention strategies for people with disabilities.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – The agreement includes $10,000,000 for health systems research on how best to deliver patient-centered, coordinated care to those living with Long COVID, including the development and implementation of new models of care to help treat the complexity of symptoms those with Long COVID experience. The bill also includes language on disability research. The agreement includes $750,000 for AHRQ to work with stakeholders to develop a research agenda and report for dissemination on health promotion, disease prevention, and intervention strategies for people with disabilities.
The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILR) – The agreement notes the potential of emerging technologies to expand voting access to individuals with disabilities. The Committee encourages NIDILRR to consider a feasibility analysis into the use of emerging technologies to assist with voting access for individuals with disabilities, that includes, but is not limited to, the particular voting challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and how emerging technologies could be utilized.
National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) – The Committee remains concerned that an estimated one out of every 50 individuals in the U.S. has a brain aneurysm and an estimated 30,000 Americans suffer a brain 19 aneurysm rupture each year, with little or no warning. The Committee continues to be concerned about the lack of research focused on prevention and early detection of brain aneurysms and encourages NIH to expand its support for research in this area.
In addition to these language provisions, the funding bill included a two-year extension of some current telehealth flexibilities related to the COVID-19 public health emergency through December 2024. The bill also includes a new policy requiring that all states to cover continuously – no break with regard to changes in circumstances — healthcare for children under age 19 enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for twelve months.
As noted in the December 23 issue, the ACL TBI program received a $1.3 million increase over the last fiscal year and the CDC TBI program received an increase of $1 million for the National Concussion Surveillance System authorized by the TBI Program Reauthorization Act of 2018.
Save the Date for the ACL Virtual TBI Partners Day
Mark your calendar for Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) virtual “Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Partners Day” scheduled for February 28, 2023, 12:00 – 4:00 pm (ET) in observance of March Brain Injury Awareness Month. ACL will feature sessions on aging, employment, the intersectionality of TBI and other medical and social issues, and peer support. Plans are to include state and federal representatives, as well as people living with a brain injury and family members in the sessions. Session participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions during each session. There will be no cost to register for the event. Mark your calendar and watch for further information!