GOP control of the House means covid investigations

Republicans who are deeply skeptical of the nation’s scientists can now issue subpoenas

Republicans will control the House next year, granting the party sweeping power to investigate President Biden’s covid-19 response and stymie his legislative agenda. 

The GOP recaptured the House majority last night, eight days after Election Day. The victory, though narrow, ends full Democratic control of Congress and grants the party deeply skeptical of the nation’s scientists the power to issue subpoenas. 

The Republican win also dealt a final blow to Democratic leaders’ ambitions of taking another crack at an economic package that could have included major health policies, such as expanding Medicare coverage.

On Capitol Hill, there are two words to describe the next few years: Partisan gridlock. Control of Congress will now be split ahead of a high-stakes presidential contest in 2024, which could make party leaders all the more reluctant to compromise on wide-ranging bipartisan legislation. 

Even among Republicans, finding consensus may prove difficult. Some House races haven’t yet been called, but the broad outcome of the midterms is a slim House majority where party leaders will need to wrangle their ideologically fractious caucus, as our colleagues Hannah Knowles, Marianna Sotomayor and Colby Itkowitz note.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.):

Did we mention House Republicans’ agenda revolves around oversight? Committee leaders are planning a slew of probes into the origins of covid-19, prescription drug middlemen, pandemic relief dollars, key federal health agencies and more. 

There are a few reasons for this. 

Top GOP leaders have been itching to set the agenda for the chamber’s committees, compel testimony and obtain documents — power House Republicans haven’t had for the duration of the pandemic. Votes showcasing Republican priorities are, of course, certainly still possible, but the bills won’t get enacted into law with a Democrat in the White House, putting more weight on probing the Biden administration instead.

Republicans have shied away from bold health reforms ever since the party’s failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017. That’s not expected to change. 

In September, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) rolled out a campaign season agenda that was light on legislative details, pointing instead to broad themes like price transparency, competition and “save and strengthen” Medicare.

But other caucus groups have issued more detailed proposals that could lay the groundwork for legislation or committee work next year. 

This includes a 17-member task force McCarthy created to craft health-related policies. The proposals the lawmakers drummed up included an array of wonkier items, like codifying rules requiring hospitals and insurers disclose their prices, setting data standards for electronic health records and promoting medicines made domestically.

Meanwhile, the conservative Republican Study Committee unveiled a sweeping 122-page budget in June that included several divisive changes to Medicare, such as increasing the eligibility age to 67 and then indexing changes to life expectancy.

Also of note: House Republicans could come under intense pressure from antiabortion advocates to pass restrictions on abortion and other related legislation. In September, Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) introduced legislation to limit abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The bill has garnered 100 Republican co-sponsors.

These are the House committees to watch on health policy and pandemic probes, one of which has a three-way race for the top slot. 

Ways and Means Committee: There’s a fierce contest between Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) to lead this powerful panel. 

Energy and Commerce Committee: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) is the top Republican on the panel with sweeping health jurisdiction and is expected to lead the committee next year.

Oversight and Reform Committee: Rep. James Comer (Ky.), the panel’s ranking Republican, is expected to assume the chairmanship of the House’s chief investigative committee. 

One question: Will the select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis continue in the next Congress? Comer told reporters yesterday that it’s up to McCarthy, and that he didn’t think a decision had been made. McCarthy’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

What will Sanders do? Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she intends to pursue the top slot on the powerful Appropriations Committee, meaning she’d no longer chair the Senate’s sweeping health panel.

That opens up the leadership post to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a self-described democratic socialist who has championed policies such as allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and Medicare-for-all. Both are technically in the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction, but the top slot on the health committee could give him a platform to discuss such issues and pursue other policies, like allowing drug importation from overseas. 

In a statement, Murray spokesperson Anali Alegria said Murray will keep a focus on her core health priorities while helming the Appropriations Committee, such as mental health, reproductive health and veterans’ care. 

Also ? : In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will announce her decision today on whether to run for another term in leadership. She took two versions of her floor speech home last night: one where she announces she’s stepping back, and the other where she runs again, per our colleagues at The Early 202.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff:

Before FTX collapse, founder poured millions into pandemic prevention

Last week’s sudden collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX has rippled across the public health world, as numerous pandemic-prevention projects funded by founder Sam Bankman-Fried and steered by his brother have come to a screeching halt, The Post’s Dan Diamond reports.

Key context: Since October 2021, Sam and Gabe Bankman-Fried have spent at least $70 million on research projects, political campaigns and other initiatives intended to improve biosecurity and prevent the next pandemic, according to a review of lobbying disclosures by The Post. Their efforts gave the brothers access to corridors of power, securing meetings with Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and multiple Biden administration officials to advocate for their pandemic prevention agenda.

But the Washington lawmakers who embraced Bankman-Fried’s donations a week ago are now distancing themselves from FTX, after the company filed for bankruptcy last Friday following reports that customer funds were being used to prop up a sister trading firm. The House Financial Services Committee scheduled a hearing next month to probe what went wrong with the cryptocurrency exchange.

It remains to be seen what will happen to FTX-backed projects, most of which have ceased operations for the time being. Gabe Bankman-Fried stepped down on Monday as director of Guarding Against Pandemics, an advocacy organization that he founded in July 2020, which was fueled by his brother’s cash. Leaders of the FTX Future Fund, a spinoff foundation that committed more than $25 million to preventing bio-risks, resigned in an open letter last Thursday, acknowledging that some donations from the organization are on hold. Neither of the brothers commented for Dan’s piece.

Blood tests for Alzheimer’s are here

Simple blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease have hit the market, representing a potentially powerful tool to help diagnose the devastating, memory-robbing illness that afflicts 6.5 million Americans. But some experts are raising concerns about the reliability of the new technology, our colleague Laurie McGinley reports.

The details: Today, three tests — by C2N Diagnostics, Quest Diagnostics and Quanterix — are available in the United States. They’re designed to detect tiny amounts of abnormal proteins in the blood, including a sticky version called amyloid beta, to determine whether the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s are present in the brain.

Some neurologists argue that the tests could make identifying the notoriously difficult to diagnose disease easier and help determine which patients should get the new treatments. But before prescribing the tests, many doctors say they want to see more data about how they perform given the high stakes involved. Regardless, use of the tests is unlikely to take off until coverage improves, since they cost hundreds of dollars or more and aren’t currently covered by Medicare or most private insurers.

The tests are emerging just as major developments in treatment are also on the horizon. For instance, the FDA is scheduled to decide whether to approve an experimental drug, called lecanemab, by Jan. 6. If federal regulators approve the drug, or any therapies currently under review, and Medicare subsequently decides to cover them, demand for the drugs could surge.

FDA warns e-cigarette makers over products with child-friendly packaging

The Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to five companies yesterday for allegedly selling unauthorized e-cigarette products packaged to attract young people.

The move comes as the Biden administration faces intensifying criticism from lawmakers and advocates for not doing enough to ensure the agency authorizes every vaping product sold in the United States.

The details: According to the FDA, the manufacturers have been marketing 15 e-cigarette devices designed to look like toys, food or cartoon characters that appeal to children, none of which the agency signed off on. The companies were ordered to pull the products off the market and were warned that continuing to sell or distribute the devices would violate federal law. None of the five companies responded to The Health 202’s request for comment.

FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products: 

• A dozen Senate Republicans joined all 50 members of the Democratic caucus yesterday to advance a bill that would enshrine marriage equality into federal law, an effort that was galvanized after the Supreme Court overturned constitutional abortion rights earlier this year, our colleague Amy B Wang writes.
• A federal judge gave the Biden administration five weeks to stop using Title 42, a Trump-era policy used by U.S. border officials to expel more than 1 million migrants at the Southern border because of the coronavirus pandemic, CBS News reports.
• New Jersey has paid more than $75 million for a controversial health-cost savings program that’s under fire by public workers due to soaring medical premiums in the state, Bloomberg News reports.

Covid’s Mutations Leave Doctors With Far Fewer Antibody Drugs to Treat Virus (By Madison Muller | Bloomberg News)

After decades of setbacks, scientists make strides toward the holy grail of male birth control (By Eleanor Cummins | Stat)

A Judge Let UnitedHealth Make a Deal That Gives It Key Data From Insurance Rivals (By Cezary Podkul | ProPublica)

Thanks for reading! See y’all tomorrow.