| The Senate is expected to vote Monday evening on a proposal to temporarily delay a far-reaching Office of Management and Budget rule that would expand political appointees’ power over federal discretionary grants. Senate appropriators from both parties want to block the rule through Dec. 11. The plan is part of a short-term spending bill, released Sunday, to keep the government funded through that December date, report The Post’s Jarrell Dillard and Theodoric Meyer, so keep an eye out for updates to their story after the procedural vote. The Senate is expected to leave for its August recess soon. The Senate proposal would have to be approved by the House when the chamber returns in September and then signed by President Donald Trump. The rule delay, while short-term, is a “notable rebuke of the president by senators from his own party,” wrote The Post’s Riley Beggin in a separate story Sunday. Under the OMB proposal, political appointees would review grants before they’re awarded to ensure they match the president’s priorities — and allow appointees to halt grants that were already given out. Agencies could end grants at any time, limit collaboration with researchers in China, Russia and certain other foreign countries, and impose more requirements for foreign researchers working in the United States, Beggin wrote. The unusual OMB proposal generated about a half-million public comments, as we reported last month. Officials from industries such as biotech companies, drugmakers and chemical manufacturers were among those raising alarms that the rule could harm innovation by abruptly stopping multiyear projects that had already begun. Among the groups cheering the potential delay were bipartisan organizations such as the National Association of Counties. The resolution to continue spending also would extend some expiring provisions through Dec. 11. Those include several programs for veterans, including nursing home care to certain veterans with a service-connected disability, a suicide prevention grant program, mental health support to veterans’ family caregivers, and ambulance cost reimbursements for certain veterans. A bipartisan group of senators worried about the increasing resistance of germs to antibiotics plans to tackle part of the problem with a bill set to be unveiled Tuesday, according to Capitol Hill aides who shared the legislative text exclusively with Health Brief. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee members Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) plan to release a bill to authorize a grant program through the National Institutes of Health to conduct and facilitate clinical research studies throughout the world on antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Zoom out: So-called superbugs, bacteria or fungi that are not killed by standard antibiotics, are a growing global threat. One in six common bacterial infections globally were resistant to antibiotic treatments, according to a World Health Organization report in October. Details: The bill, known as the Stop Superbugs Act, would require the NIH to award a competitive grant for the group to work toward goals such as: - Supporting rapid recruitment of clinical trial participants;
- Conducting clinical trial recruitment outreach in community settings;
- Pairing better diagnostics and new antibiotics during clinical trials; and
- Developing patient-reported outcomes in clinical research.
It would update the Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group grant, which was created in 2013 but never authorized by Congress. Hassan plans to discuss the legislation in a Senate Finance Committee health care subcommittee hearing Tuesday on biotech development. By the numbers: The powerful antibiotic-resistant germs infect more than 2.8 million people each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 35,000 people die after being infected. The annual cost for patients and the health care system is about $5.7 billion, according to a new two-page issue brief by the minority staff of the Joint Economic Committee, where Hassan is the top Democrat. “Doctors who are treating patients with a resistant infection often have to try multiple antibiotics, and in some cases, no treatment options exist,” Hassan plans to say at the subcommittee hearing. What’s next? Although there are few days left in the congressional calendar, supporters hope it will be tucked into catchall legislation during the lame-duck session after the midterms. The bill is supported by the Sepsis Alliance, a patient advocacy organization, and ASM, representing microbial scientists around the globe. “It seems like this would be a straightforward, bipartisan inclusion in end-of-year legislation,” said Amalia Corby, director of federal affairs for ASM. Why now? Scientists have been experiencing funding delays. “The need for this program is real, and the timing of the bill is important,” said Corby. Without the legislation, Corby said the “substantial consequences” include “laying off highly skilled personnel.” Hassan is expected to tie the public health problem to American security. “Developing new antibiotics is a priority not just for the health of our people but for our national security, because as we face the challenge of combating superbugs and defending against other outbreaks, our foreign adversaries are growing increasingly sophisticated in their own biotechnology,” say Hassan’s prepared hearing remarks. “If the United States does not keep up with the science and innovation coming from countries like China, we risk falling behind and becoming reliant on critical new medications that are only available abroad.” Subcommittee Chairman Todd Young (R-Indiana) is also concerned about antibiotic resistance and has backed another bill on that topic, which would incentivize antimicrobial development. Beyond just the development of antibiotics, Young is also focused on the industry-wide global security aspects of drug development. The hearing is expected to explore ways to strengthen medical supply chains, address emerging health threats and ensure the U.S. stays ahead of global competitors in biotechnology through policies intended to support innovation. “Biotechnology is no longer constrained to the realm of scientific achievement,” Young said in a statement for Health Brief. “It is now an imperative for our national security, economic power and global influence.” “In letter to cousin RFK Jr., health advocate warns of threats to disability care,” writes Daniel Wu of The Washington Post. “Earlier lifeline for rural hospitals faces test under ‘Big Beautiful’ law,” report Sarah Jane Tribble and Tony Leys of KFF Health News for States Newsroom. “What to know about cancer risk if it runs in your family,” writes Mikkael Sekeres for The Washington Post. This newsletter is published by WP Intelligence, The Washington Post’s subscription service for professionals that provides business, policy and thought leaders with actionable insights. WP Intelligence operates independently from The Washington Post newsroom. Learn more about WP Intelligence. | 
