RULES ADVANCES HHS BILL — The House Rules Committee voted 8-4 Monday night on a bill to fund the departments of Labor, Health and Education — the latest move in House Republicans’ precarious attempts to pass all 12 government spending bills in the coming weeks and avoid a shutdown, Alice reports. Democrats on the committee pleaded for their colleagues to vote no on the bill, calling its deep cuts to medical research and public health programs and its anti-abortion and other culture war policy riders a “disaster.” How we got here: Lawmakers have long used the Labor-HHS bill as a vehicle for anti-abortion provisions — including the decades-old Hyde Amendment that bars government spending on abortion. But House Republicans went much further this year in this and other spending bills, tucking in controversial provisions that would eliminate funding for family planning and teen-pregnancy prevention programs. It would also bar the NIH from using fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion for medical research and Planned Parenthood from participating in any federally funded health program. What’s next: Whether the bill can pass on the House floor is an open question. Republicans have recently pulled other spending bills after it became clear they couldn’t pass due to divisions over anti-abortion and other provisions within the GOP. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), chair of the health subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday he’s “optimistic” the bill can pass despite “maybe one or two” Republicans opposing it. Republicans have a four-seat majority. The House is set to consider Tuesday a stopgap measure to fund the government temporarily under suspension of the rules, meaning a two thirds vote would be needed. That bill would set two funding deadlines — one on Jan. 19 and another on Feb. 2, which would include the HHS bill. ALCOHOL, DRUG, TOBACCO MISUSE RISES — More than 49 million Americans ages 12 and older had a substance use disorder in 2022, an increase of nearly 3 million from 2021, according to survey data released Monday from SAMHSA, leading the Biden administration to call for more resources from Congress. Biden administration officials pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic, social media and bullying as potential causes for the rise, POLITICO’s Carmen Paun reports. The survey found that 29.5 million people had an alcohol use disorder, 27.2 had a drug use disorder and 8 million had both. Three quarters of people with substance use disorder aren’t getting the care they need, said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The ask: The Biden administration cites the figures in lobbying Congress to provide supplemental funding this fall to combat illicit drug use and treat those with substance use disorder. “It’s time for Congress to step up … to expand essential lifesaving services and crack down on illicit drug trafficking,” Gupta told reporters, referring to the nearly $2.8 billion supplemental funding for fiscal 2024 that the White House requested. VA IN ON PSYCHEDELICS — The Department of Veterans Affairs is “committed” to evaluating whether psychedelics, including MDMA, can help with post-traumatic stress disorder, a top agency official is expected to tell Congress on Tuesday. In prepared testimony ahead of a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, assistant undersecretary for health, will say the agency is conducting studies and leaning on outside research to determine whether psychedelics can help with mental health conditions, including treatment-resistant depression. Clancy said studies are being conducted at VA facilities but funded by outside groups. “Based on our assessment of the literature to date, there is still much to learn, and much yet to be understood,” Clancy wrote. The bigger picture: The VA’s statement comes as Democrats and Republicans have united behind psychedelics to address the nation’s mental health crisis. The FDA has approved one psychedelic for depression and is pushing for more study of their potential. ANOTHER DOC DEPARTS — Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, won’t seek reelection after more than two decades in Congress, he said Monday. Burgess sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health subcommittee and leads the House Budget Committee’s health care task force. He’s the second doctor in the chamber to make such an announcement in less than a week, along with fellow co-chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio).
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