Senate Committee Advances HHS Assistant Secretary Nomination
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 12-11 along party lines Thursday to recommend that Brian Christine, MD, be confirmed as assistant secretary for health at HHS, in addition to five other Trump administration nominees. “These nominees are vital to advancing President Trump’s pro-worker, pro-family, pro-patient agenda,” HELP Committee Chair Sen. Bill […]
Senators Grill NIH Director Nominee on Drug Prices, Gender-Affirming Care
WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee questioned Monica Bertagnolli, MD, President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the high cost of prescription drug prices, the limits of transgender care, and rebuilding faith in the agency, during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Biden tapped Bertagnolli, […]
Senate Committee Advances Pandemic Preparedness Legislation
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 17-3 with relatively little fanfare Thursday to send pandemic preparedness legislation to the full Senate for a vote. “I don’t think any of us will ever forget we have lost over a million Americans from COVID,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the HELP Committee, […]
After Pandemic Missteps: Senators Seek Lessons for Future Emergencies
Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee played the blame game for false steps during the pandemic. At a hearing on Tuesday, HELP committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the nation was ill-equipped to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic because of a weak and underfunded public health infrastructure. She called for […]