AGENDA FOR THE WEEK OF September 2, 2025

The Senate and the House both return to session this week following the August recess. While the Senate will devote some time to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the House will focus on appropriations bills, all eyes this month will be on government funding, which is currently set to expire on September 30. Lawmakers will likely need to negotiate another continuing resolution (CR) before the deadline or risk a government shutdown.

 Upcoming Hearings and Markups... This afternoon, the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will mark up the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill. On Wednesday morning, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing about implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on two Health and Human Services (HHS) nominations before proceeding into a hearing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., about the 2026 health care agen

Tariffs... The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the Court of International Trade's ruling that the President does not have the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), but the ruling will not take effect until October 14, giving the Administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court. President Trump clarified in a Truth Social post that all existing tariffs are still in effect. Prior to the ruling, the Trump Administration recently released details of a reciprocal tariff trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union (EU): non-generic pharmaceutical products would be subject to a maximum 15 percent reciprocal tariff, even if tariffs applied pursuant to Section 232 would exceed that amount; generic pharmaceuticals, ingredients, and precursor materials would be subject only to the Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate, or zero percent

CDC Leadership Shakeup... HHS announced last week on X that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez is no longer head of the agency. This announcement followed reporting that Dr. Monarez faced pressure from HHS Secretary Kennedy and other HHS officials to adopt what Dr. Monarez's lawyers describe as "unscientific, reckless directives" and to fire other top CDC officials. Secretary Kennedy reportedly asked Dr. Monarez to resign after she reached out to Republican Members of Congress. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has called for HELP Committee oversight of CDC's leadership changes and suggested the upcoming Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting be postponed, and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) requested a bipartisan Congressional investigation into Dr. Monarez's removal. Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill will serve as acting CDC director pending the nomination and confirmation of a new permanent director

Expiring Health Extenders... Along with government funding, numerous health extenders and programs expire at the end of the month, including Medicare telehealth flexibilities, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), Community Health Center (CHC) funding, Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME), Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME), the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cut extension, the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI), the Hospital at Home waiver, the Medicare low-volume hospital payment adjustment, the Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) program, additional Medicare rural ground ambulance payments, and the 1.0 Work Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) floor. See here for TCG's Health Policy Spotlight on expiring health extenders.

TCG Resources... TCG's rolling tracker of the Trump Administration's Presidential actions is available here.

RECAP OF CONGRESSIONAL NEWS

·    8/15 the Congressional Budget Office released estimates of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act (S-PAYGO) impacts created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

·    8/19 House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) released a statement following a Health Affairs article on hospitals dually classified as "urban" and "rural," strongly criticizing the practice and alleging that dual classification allows hospitals to game the Medicare wage index system to garner benefits designed exclusively for urban and for rural hospitals.

·    8/20 House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) urged Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) to hold an oversight hearing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. regarding staffing cuts and the proposed reorganization of the agency.

·    8/25 the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a letter sent to the chairmen of the House Budget, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees on Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage and eligibility under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule.

·    8/25 Senate HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and HELP Committee Member Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) wrote to Aflac following a cyberattack impacting the company's supplemental insurance systems.

·    8/25 House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) wrote to the medical schools at the University of Illinois, University of California (UC) San Francisco, and UC Los Angeles, seeking answers regarding antisemitic conduct.

·    8/28 Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote to GOP leadership seeking a four corners meeting to discuss plans to fund the government in a bipartisan way, and to address the "healthcare crisis" created by the reconciliation law and the potential causes of increased health care costs this fall, like the enhanced premium subsidy expiration.

·    8/28 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent letters to two pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) companies seeking information about the use of foreign-headquartered group purchasing organization (GPOs).

·    8/28 Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate Banking Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to UnitedHealth alleging the company is engaging in "abusive tactics" to recoup loans to providers following last year's Change Healthcare cyberattack.

·    8/28 Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Wyden wrote to HHS Secretary Kennedy demanding improved transparency and full responses to Democrats' letters and inquiries sent to HHS and its subagencies.

RECAP OF ADMINISTRATION NEWS

·    8/15 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced progress towards a unified strategy to "leverage the synergistic missions" of NIH's Institutes and Centers to advance research on chronic health issues, including chronic childhood diseases and nutrition.

·    8/18 HHS launched a tracking platform following federal and state initiatives to advance the Make America Health Again (MAHA) agenda.

·    8/18 the Texas Department of Public Health declared an end to the measles outbreak in West Texas.

·    8/19 CMS announced it will provide states with monthly reports on immigration and citizenship status of Medicaid enrollees to enable eligibility case review.

·    8/20 CMS began accepting white paper submissions for their "Crushing Fraud Chili Cook-Off Competition," designed to test machine learning tools capable of identifying indicators of fraud in traditional Medicare using fee for service (FFS) claims data.

·    8/20 hundreds of HHS employees signed a letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy and to Congress requesting Secretary Kennedy "stop spreading inaccurate health information" and take other steps to support the CDC and other HHS workplaces following a recent COVID-19-motivated attack on the CDC.

·    8/20 CMS released an evaluation of the first performance period for the Enhancing Oncology Model (July-December 2023).

·    8/21 HHS opened a call for nomination for a new Healthcare Advisory Committee charged with "delivering strategic recommendations directly" to HHS Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz on improving health care financing and delivery across federal programs.

·    8/21 the Trump Administration released details of the trade agreement on reciprocal tariffs between the U.S. and the EU, with non-generic pharmaceutical products subject to a maximum 15 percent reciprocal tariff and generic pharmaceuticals, their ingredients, and precursor materials subject to only the zero percent MFN rate.

·    8/21 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary posted a video on X stating the agency expects to make announcements related to the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher pilot program "very soon."

·    8/21 the Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration's request to lift a stay preventing the NIH from terminating federal grants the agency says promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

·    8/22 NIH released its plan to promote gold standard science across agency activities.

·    8/22 FDA began publishing daily adverse event (AE) data from the FDA AE Reporting System (FAERS) as part of its commitment to "radical transparency."

·    8/25 NIH published two principles to guide research collaboration abroad: research supported at international sites should (1) have a clear scientific rationale to be conducted abroad rather than in the U.S.; and (2) have the potential to generate knowledge to improve, protect, or enhance understanding of Americans' health.

·    8/27 HHS announced via X that CDC Director Susan Monarez is no longer leading the agency. 

·    8/27 HHS released a statement encouraging medical schools implement nutrition education and training.

UPCOMING HEALTHCARE HEARINGS

·    9/2 at 5:00 PM the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a markup of the FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill.

·    9/3 at 10:15 AM the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee holds a hearing titled "Examining Opportunities to Advance American Health Care through the Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies."

·    9/4 at 9:30 AM the Senate Finance Committee holds an executive session to vote on several nominations, including Gustav Chiarello III to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Honorable Michael Stuart to be General Counsel of HHS.

·    9/4 at 10:00 AM the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing titled "The President’s 2026 Health Care Agenda."

HEALTHCARE RELATED LEGISLATION

·    H.R. 4977. A bill to identify and address barriers to coverage of remote physiologic devices under State Medicaid programs to improve maternal and child health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Sponsored by Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL)

·    H.R. 4978. A bill to impose additional duties on imports of goods into the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. Sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)

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