G2G Bio Bulletin – July 20, 2026

Congress: Both chambers reconvened after the July 4^th recess

• FY 2027 Appropriations:
  • The House approved its version of the National Security-State appropriations bill, by a vote of 217-209, with all but one Republican voting in favor, and all but one Democrat voting against. The chamber has now passed three of the twelve appropriations bills for FY 2027.
  • Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has announced that the chamber will vote next week on a continuing resolution to fund the government between the start of FY 2027 on October 1, through December 6, while the remaining appropriations bills are negotiated.
• FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): A procedural measure to advance the NDAA in the Senate, failedto clear a 60 vote threshold, and garnered only 50 votes in favor. All Senate Democrats present voted the measure down citing the Administration’s actions in the Iran War and the lack of consensus on spending levels.
• Reconciliation 3.0: House Republicans have released a framework for the third party-line bill this Congress to advance their priorities. The resolution, which will be voted on this coming week, would facilitate spending of $95 B, including $60 B by the Armed Services Committee and $12 B by the Agriculture Committee.
• AI & Healthcare:
  • Senate Democrats attempted to halt the CMS Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) Model, that centers on using AI/ML in Medicare decision making, a few months after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) established that Congress has scrutiny powers over the pilot. The resolution of disapproval to invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) failed by four votes, 46-50, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed.
  • Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) have written to the UnitedHealthcare CEO, asking for records on the company's use of AI in denying care for Medicare Advantage users.
• CDC & ASPR Nomination Hearing: On Wednesday, the nominees for CDC Director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, and HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR), Sean Kaufman, appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee. Highlights of the hearing are as follows:
  • Dr. Schwartz mostly avoided directly answering questions regarding cuts to agency programs, reductions in force, the significant changes to vaccine policy, and whether she would be an independent voice against political interference in agency decision making.
  • In response to questioning from Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), both nominees affirmed that mRNA vaccines platforms were safe and effective. However, Mr. Kaufman defended the Administration's cancellation of $500 M in mRNA R&D grants.
  • The hearing featured contentious exchanges, including one where Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) expressed that he was "flabbergasted that you [Kaufman] would support stopping research on mRNA vaccines because there were some adverse events,” and his concern with Kaufman’s anti-vaccine views as espoused in a social media post. In his opening remarks, Cassidy had indicated he will vote against nominees who questioned vaccine safety and efficacy.
• Other Committee Hearings:
  • House Ways & Means: Committee Republicans advanced on party lines (25-15) the Health Care Price Certainty for All Americans Act, that would that would require hospitals, labs and other providers to post and publish pricing details. The Committee also unanimously advanced health-focused bills that would:
    • Require nursing homes to allow residents to designate an essential caregiver who can attend to them at all times
    • Bolster reimbursement and payments for remote patient monitoring services and anesthesia providers in rural areas
    • Ease access to long-term care hospitals
    • Require Medicare Advantage plans to report financial data and reform prior authorization practices
  • House Energy & Commerce: The Health Subcommittee convened a hearing on Maintaining America's Leadership in Biomedical Innovation: FDA's Role in Advancing U.S. Drug Development. It featured testimony from think tank, hospital, advocacy group and industry representatives. Topics discussed include:
    • Pathways and infrastructure to simplify and expedite clinical trials to remain competitive with China
    • Expanding participation in clinical research, such as including more women trial participants to expand sex-specific data
    • The impacts of political interventions and cuts on FDA capacity and decision making
    • The need for more FDA scrutiny of foreign clinical sites and data, and strategies to improve biosecurity and safety
    • Alternatives to animal testing in biomedical research
    • Reauthorization of prescription drug user fee programs
  • House Select (Chinese Communist Party): The Committee heard from representatives of the Department of Energy, NIH and NSF on vulnerabilities in the US R&D system that are being exploited by adversarial groups in China. Topics discussed include:
    • Barriers to interagency coordination and extramural information sharing required to maintain research security
    • Agency policies and strategies to mitigate the risks of foreign exploitation of American funded research assets
    • How the current federal R&D environment is hampering US-bound foreign scientific talent
  • Senate Aging: The Committee convened a hearing on drug supply chains.
    • The conversation was dominated by the discussion of strategies to address of China’s role in the global biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, clinical trial and manufacturing sectors, as well as oversight of foreign investment in these sectors through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
    • Committee Chair Rick Scott (R-FL), Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) used the hearing to introduce their bill, that would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and CFIUS to file an annual report to Congress on foreign investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing and related sectors. The legislation notably calls out foreign investments in sequencing and storage of DNA, including genome and exome analysis, for special scrutiny.