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Bioscience Bulletin – December 12, 2025

Federal Legislative Updates
Ohio Legislative Updates
G2G Blog

Bioscience Bulletin – December 12, 2025

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G2G Highlights

  • G2G was on Capitol Hill this week and met with Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and the offices of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) to advocate for the National Plan for Epilepsy Act.
  • G2G was at the proposer’s day for ARPA-H’s Making Obstetrics Care Smart (MOCS) program, and engaged with key stakeholders, including MOCS program manager, Dr. Kate Arnold.
  • G2G’s Liz Powell, Katie Collins and Becky Watts attended events hosted by the Greater Cleveland Partnership and with local life sciences entrepreneurs.

Updates from Washington

Congress:
  • FY 2026 Appropriations: Senate appropriators are continuing to advocate for advancement of a minibus of five bills including those that fund Defense and most HHS programs. However, there is no agreement yet on topline figures for these bills, and House appropriators are instead suggesting a smaller bill package to make progress before the holidays.
  • National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): A bipartisan, bicameral agreement to authorize $900 billion for Department of Defense (DoD) activities was released on Sunday. This figure is $8 billion more than the Trump Administration’s request. The bill passed the House by a vote of 312-112 and now heads to the Senate where it is expected to pass, and then by signed into law by the President. NDAA highlights include:
    • $145.7 billion authorized for R&D, and $40.5 billion for the Defense Health Agency (DHA)
    • Restrictions on use of federal funds that may benefit Chinese biotech companies, and on agencies from engaging with services or technologies produced by such entities of concern.
    • National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) recommendations: Includes a DoD Biotechnology Management Office to execute strategy, as well as support for programs for using biological data for AI, biotechnology supply chain resilience, bioindustrial manufacturing and commercialization, and related regulatory frameworks.
  • ACA:
    • Senate: On Thursday, competing ACA proposals failed to clear the 60 vote threshold to advance. Negotiations will continue, but no agreement is expected before December 31, after which premiums will substantially rise
      • The Democratic bill to extend ACA subsidies by three years failed 51-48, with all Democrats and four Republicans voting in favor
      • The Republican bill to fund HSAs for certain ACA plan enrollees in lieu of subsidies, also failed 51-48, with all but one Republican, and no Democrats supporting the plan.
    • House:
      • A vote is expected next week on a Republican healthcare proposal that includes measures on prescription drugs, association health plans, and premium reductions for those on low incomes. It would allow via an amendment, a vote on ACA subsidies.
      • Amendment specifics are unclear, although two bipartisan House coalitions are working to force a vote on one and two-year ACA subsidy extensions via discharge petitions
  • Other Healthcare Activity:
    • Committee Hearings: On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee held hearings on healthcare. The House hearing focused on using technology to lower healthcare costs. The Senate hearing focused on insurance and the ACA.
    • HHS Public Comments: The Senate cleared a procedural vote on a motion led by Sen. Angus King (I-ME) to repeal a HHS rule change from earlier this year, that would waive public comment periods on certain changes to department programs and policies.
    • Drug Pricing Deals: Eight Senate Democrats have sent letters to drug companies, demanding more information on the details of their recent deals with the Trump Administration to reduce prices on their products in exchange for tariff relief.
Administration & Agencies:
  • FDA:
    • The first accelerated approval for a product under the pilot CNPV (Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher) program was announced last week. CNPV is focuses on approvals for products aligned with national priorities, particularly those that can be manufactured in the US.
    • The agency plans to put a ‘black box’ warning on COVID-19 vaccines. Details are limited, but this follows Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Director Dr. Vinay Prasad’s widely condemned comments about pediatric deaths linked to vaccines. The agency is meanwhile investigating potential links between adult deaths and COVID-19 vaccines.
  • CDC:
    • A CDC study found that COVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of emergency or urgent care visits by 76%, despite increasing vaccine skepticism among HHS leadership.
  • White House & Other Departments or HHS Divisions:
    • The President signed an executive order (EO) that aims to block states from creating regulations on AI, citing the need for a nationwide set of standards. However, no AI regulatory framework has been approved by Congress, which has sparked concern among some stakeholders that the EO will hamper advancement and adoption of healthcare AI innovations.
    • HHS recently released its strategy to adopt AI internally, which may offer some insights on more far-reaching measures that may be implemented.
    • In line with the America First Global Health Strategy released in September, bilateral health cooperation agreements were recently signed with Kenya, Uganda and Lesotho, amounting to $1.6 billion, $2.3 billion and $364 million of support, with the aims of building more self-reliant, less aid-dependent health systems in those countries and bolstering disease surveillance. However, implementation of the Kenya deal was suspended following a court decision.