Billions In Foreign Aid Can Remain Frozen Or Terminated, Court Rules
A federal appeals panel voted 2-to-1 against a group of international aid groups, ruling they did not have the legal standing to bring a lawsuit. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has ordered a six-month stockpile of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients; drug companies have formed a group to present research on the negative effects of Medicare drug price negotiations; and more.
The Washington Post:
Appeals Court Panel Says Trump Officials Can Withhold Billions In Foreign Aid
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration can withhold tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid, handing the president a significant — if possibly temporary — victory in his push to exercise greater authority over spending mandated by Congress. A panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted a federal judge’s preliminary injunction that ordered the Trump administration to appropriate the money for food, medicine and development. The 2-1 ruling came over the sharp objections of the only Democratic-appointed judge on the panel. (Jouvenal, 8/13)
Devex:
The Future Of US Foreign Aid
After six months that shook the foundations of U.S. foreign aid, the question now is: Where do we go from here? (Igoe, 8/11)
On drug stockpiles, Medicare drug prices, and health care equity —
Axios:
Trump Orders Stockpiling Of Advanced Drug Ingredients
President Trump on Wednesday ordered his health officials to secure a six-month supply of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients for drugs the administration determines are critical for national health and security. (Bettelheim, 8/14)
Stat:
Drugmakers Form New Group To Lobby On Impact Of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
A handful of drug companies have formed a group to present lawmakers with research on what the industry sees as the negative impacts of Medicare drug price negotiations, according to lobbying records. (Wilkerson, 8/13)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Scraps Research Into Health Disparities
The federal government has for decades invested vigorously in research aimed at narrowing the health gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups, pouring billions of dollars into understanding why minority and low-income Americans have shorter lives and suffer higher rates of illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Spending on so-called health disparities rose even during the Trump administration’s first term. But in its second, much of the funding has come to a sudden halt. (Caryn Rabin and Hwang, 8/13)
On homelessness policy —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Trump’s D.C. Homeless Crackdown Raises Stakes For Atlanta’s Pre-World Cup Plans
When Atlanta revealed its ambitious plans to clear homeless camps downtown ahead of the FIFA World Cup next summer, city officials said their goal was to house people, not throw them in jail. That housing-first approach appears at odds with President Donald Trump, who on Monday launched a federal takeover of the Washington, D.C., police force and ordered 800 National Guard troops to the capital, stating he wanted to crack down on violent crime and homelessness. (Reynolds, 8/13)
AP:
What We Know About Trump's Plan To Move Homeless People From DC
President Donald Trump says homeless people in the nation’s capital will be moved far from the city as part of his federal takeover of policing in the District of Columbia and crackdown on crime. With his exact plans unclear, there is concern among advocates and others who say there are better ways to address the issue of homelessness than clearing encampments, as the Republican administration has pledged to do. Washington’s status as a congressionally established federal district gives Trump the opportunity to push his tough-on-crime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime. (Kinnard, 8/13)
On the immigration crisis —
The Washington Post:
Judge Orders Manhattan ICE Detention Center To Improve Conditions
The Trump administration must improve conditions at a Lower Manhattan immigration holding facility where a government lawyer acknowledges detainees are sleeping on the floor, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is packing detainees into a holding area without beds, showers or medical support, according to a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of detainees. For more than a week, people go to sleep each night on a concrete floor next to toilets without medication nor a way to bathe, and they receive “at most only two small meals a day,” attorneys for the detainees wrote. (Brasch, 8/13)
The Washington Post:
Lawmakers Visit Baltimore ICE Site Accused Of ‘Inhumane’ Conditions
Two weeks after most of Maryland’s congressional delegation staged a sit-in at a controversial immigration enforcement facility in Baltimore, lawmakers returned for a guided tour on Wednesday and said they were still being stonewalled about how detainees are being treated inside. “We leave here with more questions than we came in with,” said Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland). (Munro and Cox, 8/14)
KFF Health News:
‘A Fear Pandemic’: Immigration Raids Push Patients Into Telehealth
Jacob Sweidan has seen his patients through the federal immigration raids of the 1990s, a sitting governor’s call to abolish birthright citizenship, and the highly publicized workplace crackdowns and family separation policies of President Donald Trump’s first term. But in his 40 years as a pediatrician in Southern California serving those too poor to afford care, including many immigrant families, Sweidan said he’s never seen a drop-off in patient visits like this. (Mai-Duc, 8/14)
