Summary
Big Picture. Congress returns on September 14, but the House has cancelled votes for the weeks of September 21 and 28, leaving four legislative days before the chamber recesses for the midterm election break. Conversely, the Senate is currently scheduled to be in session until September 30th, and may use this time to advance nominations and other legislative priorities.
Health Policy to Watch.
- NIH RFI on Draft Policy to Share Summary Level Study Results with Clinical Research Participants: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-113.html”>issueda request for information on a draft policy that would require researchers and institutions conducting NIH-supported clinical research to share summary-level study results directly with research participants in plain language. The proposal would apply broadly to all clinical research supported in whole or in part by NIH, including clinical trials, intramural research, and grants, regardless of the level of NIH funding. For clinical trials, results generally would need to be shared no later than one year after the primary completion date or the applicable ClinicalTrials.gov reporting deadline, whichever is later; other extramural clinical research would generally need to share results by the end of the period of performance or provide participants and NIH with a status update if analyses remain incomplete. Researchers would also need to confirm to NIH that results or required status updates were provided, while noncompliance could result in additional award conditions, termination, or consequences for future funding. NIH is seeking comments through October 26, 2026, including on participant preferences, researcher best practices, implementation challenges, and the costs and infrastructure necessary to implement the policy.