Bill H.R.3771 titled “South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2022” was received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must award grants to states for awareness initiatives, educational materials, and research catalogs regarding the prevalence of heart disease, including the association of type 2 diabetes, with respect to the South Asian population and other at-risk populations.
Bill H.R.623 titled “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0” was received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Wexton. This bill directs certain penalties assessed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against pharmaceutical companies for specified violations to that fund. In making allocations from the fund, the NIH must prioritize pediatric research that does not duplicate existing research activities.
Bill S.4675 titled “A bill to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide grants to States to establish positions to minimize administrative burden on families seeking child care assistance” was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Wood Hassan Margaret with John Cornyn as cosponsor.
Bill S.4677 titled “A bill to increase language access to mental health services at certain health centers, and for other purposes” was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich with Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Alex Padilla, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren as cosponsors.
The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee moves forward in some way on one bill per day.
Most bills have a hearing where those involved explain why they are for or against the bill. Roughly 8,000 bills are addressed by committees each year but only about 800 make it to the floor of Congress, according to ushistory.org.
A 2019 report from the Brookings Institute argued committees aren’t capable of delving fully into the issues they address and are forced to rely on lobbyists.
| Bill Name | Sponsor | Action |
|---|---|---|
| South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2022 | Rep. Jayapal, Pramila | Senate |
| Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 | Rep. Wexton, Jennifer | Senate |
| A bill to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide grants to States to establish positions to minimize administrative burden on families seeking child care assistance. | Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood | Senate |
| A bill to increase language access to mental health services at certain health centers, and for other purposes. | Sen. Heinrich, Martin | Senate |
