White House Request For More Covid Funds Sets Up Fight In Congress

The Hill: White House Requests $22.5B For 'Immediate' COVID-19 Response Needs
The Biden administration is requesting $22.5 billion from Congress for the COVID-19 response, setting up a tussle with Republican lawmakers who have resisted new funding.  In a letter to Congress dated Wednesday, the White House said the additional funds are crucial for efforts around vaccines, treatments, and testing. In addition, $5 billion of the funding will go towards the global COVID-19 response, including vaccinating other countries, which is key to helping stop new variants from arising.  (Sullivan, 3/3)

AP: Biden Seeks $10B For Aid To Ukraine, $22.5B For Coronavirus 
[Acting OMB director Shalanda] Young said in the blog post that the money was urgently needed. The $10 billion to Ukraine would be a rapid escalation of the $1.4 billion provided by the United States since 2021, a reflection of the crisis caused by the Russian offensive that began last month. ... Republicans have balked at the request for added COVID-19 funds. But if that money is included in a single, mammoth package also financing government agencies and helping Ukraine and NATO allies, that would be a tough bill to vote against. (Boak, 3/3)

Stat: The Pandemic: A Series Of Failures, A Few Miracles — And A Lesson For Next Time, Global Health Experts Say 
As the nation exhales at the sight of descending curves of Covid-19 infection and death, top global health experts assessed the Biden administration’s handling of the pandemic, and the reviews weren’t good. “I think we’ve done very, very bad this year,” said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist, immunologist, and physician who has been a leading voice — and an often critical one — during the Covid crisis. From a lack of preparation, to “an inability to look past the moment,” and stymied creativity in facing the nation’s public health crisis, U.S. leaders have repeated the same mistakes, year over year, said Mina during a panel discussion at Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics on Thursday. (Cueto, 3/3)

USA Today: COVID-19 Relief Funds Getting New Federal Scrutiny To Root Out Fraud
President Joe Biden highlighted the enormous challenge this week in his State of the Union address when he announced plans for a special prosecutor to “go after the criminals who stole billions of relief money.” While the White House cited as examples identity theft by criminal syndicates and widespread fraud of pandemic relief programs for small businesses and unemployed workers, experts say programs that have shelled out billions on COVID-19 testing and medical care also have been subject to fraud and misspending. (Alltucker, 3/4)

And more details on initiatives spotlighted at the State of the Union —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Biden Administration Said It Will Set A Staff Ratio Requirement For Nursing Homes
President Joe Biden’s vow in his State of the Union speech Tuesday to increase oversight of nursing homes drew praise from patient advocates, but instant pushback from the nursing home industry in Georgia, who said it would damage them without helping them meet the goals. In initiatives detailed this week, the Biden administration said it will set a staff ratio requirement for nursing homes, in hopes of ensuring they always have enough staff to handle the patient load. It will also increase fines and penalties for facilities with poor records of caring for patients, and look for ways to phase out patient rooms with roommates in an effort to decrease infection spread and provide privacy. (Hart, 3/3)

KHN: ‘What The Health?’: A Health-Heavy State Of The Union
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine took the headlines for President Joe Biden’s first official State of the Union address, but Biden made a point to highlight several of the administration’s high-priority health issues, including covid, mental health, nursing home regulation, and ailments among military personnel from toxic burn pits. Also this week, the Biden administration unveiled a program aimed at getting the country better prepared should another covid surge take place. Congress is also starting work on pandemic preparation legislation, although some lawmakers might be reluctant to spend still more money on the effort. (3/3)

Columbus Dispatch: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Visits Nationwide Children's Hospital
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, visited Nationwide Children's Hospital Wednesday to push President Joe Biden's focus on mental health of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourselves," said Emhoff to health care workers, as he toured the hospital's behavioral health treatment and research center, the largest on a pediatric campus in the United States. (Wu, 3/2)

In other news from the Biden administration —

Modern Healthcare: HHS Again Delays 'SUNSET' Rule, Which It Already Proposed Nixing
The Health and Human Services Department is again postponing the start date of a rule from President Donald Trump's administration that would require it to assess nearly all regulations after 10 years and automatically eliminate rules not reviewed within five years. The policy, known as the SUNSET rule, is now delayed until Sept. 22, HHS disclosed in a Federal Register notice Thursday. The rule was originally supposed to go into effect last March after the Trump administration finalized it in the final days of the president's term. Under President Joe Biden,, HHS first delayed the rule until this month after several organizations filed a lawsuit against it last year. The plaintiffs claim the regulation is a "ticking timebomb" that could severely disrupt the healthcare system by creating regulatory confusion. The complaint alleges more than 17,000 rules could sunset by 2026. (Goldman, 3/3)

Politico: Biden Admin To Applicants: Maybe Don’t Invest In Weed Companies 
Smoking weed may no longer be the only potential impediment to getting a job with security clearance in the Biden administration. Investing in cannabis companies could now trip up applicants, too. The Biden administration has expanded its employee conduct guidelines to potentially deny security clearance to individuals who have invested in companies that are involved in the marijuana business, according to an internal executive branch presentation shared with POLITICO. (Thompson and Fertig, 3/2)