House Passes $2.2 Trillion Stimulus Bill That’s Likely DOA

Modern Healthcare: Prospects Dim For COVID-19 Relief As House Passes Partisan Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that will likely go nowhere as negotiations between House Democrats and the White House have failed to produce a bipartisan deal. The bill included several priorities for healthcare stakeholders, and prospects for a deal before Election Day appear grim as House lawmakers are scheduled to return to their districts on Friday. The scaled-down version of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act passed the House on a 214-207, largely party-line vote. (Cohrs, 10/1)

Reuters: U.S. House Passes Democratic COVID-19 Aid Plan After Bipartisan Deal Proves Elusive 
No Republican voted for the Democratic plan, [and] 18 Democrats voted no, many of them moderates from swing districts who have been urging Pelosi to bring a bipartisan proposal to the House floor. “Today’s package is another partisan exercise that will never become law,” Representative Abigail Spanberger, one of the Democrats who voted no, said. (Cornwell and Morgan, 10/1)

Lawmakers vow to investigate 'systemic racism' at VA —

The Washington Post: VA Will Be Investigated After ‘Staggering Accounts Of Racism,’ Sen. Warren Says 
The Government Accountability Office will investigate claims of systemic racism within the Department of Veterans Affairs, lawmakers said Thursday, two months after a government union said most of its surveyed members saw racism as a problem inside the agency. The survey of 1,500 union members who are VA employees concluded that nearly 80 percent of staffers said racism is a moderate or serious issue, with more than half reporting they had witnessed racism aimed at veterans, according to the American Federation of Government Employees. (Horton, 10/1)

NPR: Senate Report Highlights Pandemic's Racial Disparities 
The disproportionate harm people of color have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic serves as an "appalling reminder of the deep inequities" of the American health care system and demands congressional remedies, according to a new Senate committee report. The report cites research showing that Black people are dying from COVID-19 at 3.4 times the rate of white people, when adjusted for age. It notes that COVID-19 accounts for 1 in 5 deaths among Latinos. And American Indian or Alaska Native patients are hospitalized at more than four times the rate of white people, according to the analysis undertaken by Democrats on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). (Neighmond, 10/1)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Politico: House Oversight Expands Probe Of Pandemic Ad Blitz
A House oversight panel is expanding its probe of the Trump administration’s $300 million ad campaign to boost confidence in its pandemic response, citing POLITICO reports in questioning if contracts are being steered to people with ties to a senior administration official. The administration "appears to be misusing taxpayer dollars to fund a political propaganda campaign — disguised as a public health effort—just weeks before a presidential election,” House Oversight select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis Chair Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), wrote in letters to Atlas Research and video firm DD&T. (Diamond and Roubein, 10/1)

The Hill: Asbestos Ban Stalls In Congress Amid Partisan Fight 
Democrats and Republicans are each accusing the other of holding up a bill to ban asbestos that had been expected to pass with little controversy this week. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act exited committee with just one no vote and was expected to sail through the voting process without amendments. But Democratic aides on the Energy and Commerce Committee say that progress has stalled as GOP lawmakers object to a provision that assures the legislation would have no impact on ongoing litigation over injuries tied to use of talcum powder. (Beitsch, 10/1)