This week, the Senate has a packed schedule for their last week before returning home for the final stretch of midterm campaigning.
The Senate voted on Monday on the bipartisan college sports legislation, regarding athlete compensation, transfers, and eligibility, which passed. Senators will also vote on a data centers bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act, on Wednesday. The House passed its version of the ratepayer bill earlier this month with overwhelming bipartisan support, but there is a rising uncertainty amongst Senate Democrats.
Senate Democrats are focused on ensuring health research funding before the fiscal year deadline on Wednesday. A letter led by Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the top Democrat on the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, was sent to the Office of Management and Budget. Democratic appropriators are especially troubled by funding slated for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The contents urge the office to suspend efforts to politicize federal grantmaking at the National Institutes of Health.
Nomination Progress Update
Last week, Chairman Cassidy delayed all nominee votes in the Senate HELP Committee. The committee was set to vote on Nicole Saphier to be surgeon general, Timothy Westlake to be Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Mary Lazare to be Assistant Secretary for Aging, HHS. The vote has been rescheduled for this week.
In the Senate Finance Committee, Chris Klomp’s nomination for HHS deputy secretary was approved with a 15-12 vote well as Ge Bai’s nomination for HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, on a 14-13 vote. Finance ranking member Ron Wyden announced he would oppose Klomp’s nomination due to his shifting views on vaccines and involvement in White House drug pricing deals. Both nominees will move forward for a full Senate floor vote.
Committee Activity This Week
The House is adjourned until after the midterm elections.
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