Summary
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold four days of confirmation hearings on President Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Last year, three Republican senators (Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)) voted with Democrats to confirm Judge Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit. Like with other big Senate votes, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has not yet confirmed his support for Biden’s pick, is one to watch. Judge Jackson will need a simple majority to be confirmed (e.g., all 50 Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote).
As for the stand-alone COVID supplemental package that House leaders had hoped to vote on last week, a major breakthrough on the funding standoff appears unlikely this week, despite warnings from the White House that failing to provide the requested $22.5 billion would have “severe and immediate consequences.” The House is on recess this week, and Republicans will hold their caucus retreat Wednesday through Friday.
“Those consequences are dire: fewer monoclonal antibodies sent to states, an inability to purchase additional treatments, fewer tests available to Americans, less surveillance for future variants, and a risk of running short on vaccines,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Last week, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced claims for COVID-care for the uninsured will stop being processed beginning this week “due to a lack of sufficient funds.” On March 22, the COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment. On April 5, the COVID-19 Uninsured Program and Coverage Assistance Fund will stop accepting vaccination claims.
On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will convene a hearing to inform its bipartisan legislation addressing mental health and substance use disorders discuss. Committee members will question agency leaders about opportunities, challenges, and emerging issues for federal programs. The panel features heads of HRSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute on Drug Abuse. At the last hearing on the topic, Democrats and Republicans expressed strong interest in working together to pass bipartisan legislation (WHG summary). Their priorities include strengthening the workforce, increasing access to mental health services for children and young people, ensuring mental health parity, and improving delivery of care.
The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the health care workforce and home and community-based services. The panel features a policy expert from the Bipartisan Policy Center and advocates for home-based care, caregivers, and people with disabilities.
Regulatory Update
The proposed rule to fix the “family glitch” recently arrived at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The proposed rule is pursuant to a 2021 executive order that directed federal agencies to review current policies to ensure they aligned with Administration’s goal of strengthening the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (WHG summary). The family glitch is based on a 2015 Department of Treasury interpretation of the ACA tax credits such that family members were blocked from accessing tax credits if a worker had an employer offer of affordable self-only coverage and was offered a family plan, even if the family’s coverage expenses were to exceed 9.5 percent of income.