AGD Capitol Connections

AGD led a coalition of 15 dental organizations in sending a letter of support to Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) on June 28 for her bipartisan legislation, the Foster Youth Dental Act of 2021 (H.R.1794).

AGD Hill Day is an opportunity for member dentists and dental students to meet with their members of Congress and discuss AGD priority legislative issues. This year, the event will be entirely virtual, beginning with guest speakers and advocacy training on Thursday, July 8, and Virtual Hill Day meetings on Tuesday, July 13.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, recently introduced the Doctors of Community (DOC) Act (H.R.3671/S.1958), which would authorize substantial funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program through 2033.

On June 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued revised reporting requirements (press release) for health care providers who received funding from the Provider Relief Fund.

AGD sent a letter of support to Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), thanking her for reintroducing H.R.2295, the HIV Epidemic Loan-Repayment Program (HELP) Act, on June 9.

On June 10, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) describing specifically what certain health care industry employers must do to protect their workers from exposure to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance on Thursday, May 13, that recommends that fully vaccinated individuals can stop wearing masks in most non-healthcare settings.

On May 26, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced their plans to develop legislation to establish a federally administered public option for health coverage.

President Joe Biden put forward his proposed FY2022 budget on May 28, which would amount to approximately $6 trillion in government spending. The budget accounts for many of the provisions the President has detailed in his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.

On May 26, the Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Dr. Rena D’Souza, announced that the twenty-year follow-up report to Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General will be released in the fall of 2021.

AGD sent letters of support to the House and Senate sponsors of the DOC Access Act on May 26, thanking them for taking the lead on this critical piece of legislation.

The AGD sent a letter of support to the sponsors of the Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee (RAISE) Health Benefits Act on May 10.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has sent its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review, a step before the ETS is made public.

AGD, along with allies from organized dentistry and other health stakeholders, sent a letter that was spearheaded by the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D. on May 5, requesting a quick release of the pending 2020 Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health.

On May 5, AGD signed on to a letter along with a coalition of organizations and businesses representing millions of employees urging President Biden and his administration to support the bipartisan Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act (S.537/H.R.1944) to protect the safety of workers, customers and the public. The bipartisan bill would create a tax credit for qualified expenses that help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

On April 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would be advancing two tobacco product standards to significantly reduce disease and death from using combusted tobacco products, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2021-20 PDF on April 22 for certain businesses that received first-round Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans but did not deduct any of the original eligible expenses because they relied on guidance issued before the enactment of tax relief legislation in December of 2020.

President Joe Biden detailed his "American Families Plan" (fact sheet) in a speech to Congress on Wednesday, April 28. The President's plan will seek to expand federal support for lower-income and middle-class Americans, offset by a series of tax increases on wealthy Americans' incomes, investments, and estates.

On April 22, the House Democratic leaders reintroduced H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. The legislation would allow the federal government to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs and cap seniors' out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year.

On April 29, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law is holding a hearing at 1:00 pm (ET) entitled "Treating the Problem: Addressing Anticompetitive Conduct and Consolidation in Health Care Markets."