Plan To Target Mental Health Issues Garners Bipartisan Senate Support

Roll Call: Senate Begins Work On Bipartisan Mental Health Package 
Top senators on an influential health committee indicated at a hearing Tuesday that they plan to work on a bipartisan mental health and substance use package this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen record numbers of drug overdose deaths and rises in the number of individuals reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression. Experts have renewed calls for increased resources for children’s mental health, expanding access to mental telehealth and broadening the continuum of care for individuals in crisis situations. (Raman, 2/1)

Modern Healthcare: Senators Eye Workforce Fixes To Improve Mental Health Access
More needs to be done to bolster the health workforce in response to a growing mental health and substance use crisis that the pandemic worsened, senators said during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Lawmakers hope to pass legislation this year to address gaps in the behavioral healthcare system. A growing body of evidence shows the existing workforce is insufficient to meet the public's needs. The status quo especially underserves children and young adults at a time when the rate of deaths by suicide among those groups was rising even before COVID-19 surfaced. (Hellmann, 2/1)

In updates on the FDA nominee —

Politico: Top Republican Throws Cold Water On Struggling FDA Nominee 
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) — one of the handful of Republicans in the upper chamber who the Biden administration had been counting on to save the embattled nomination of Robert Califf to lead the FDA — told POLITICO on Tuesday that he’s skeptical the White House is fully behind the nominee. “I like him,” Blunt said of Califf. “But I haven’t made a final decision on that yet and don’t intend to until the administration appears to be truly ready to push his name forward.” (Ollstein and Lim, 2/1)

In covid news from Capitol Hill —

NBC News: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Has 'Mild Symptoms' After Testing Positive For Covid-19
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday he was experiencing "mild symptoms" after testing positive for Covid-19, making him the latest of dozens of lawmakers to contract the virus during the pandemic. "Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and already received my booster shot," the 82-year-old Maryland Democrat said in a statement. (Gregorian, 2/1)

The Hill: GOP Senator Tests Positive For COVID-19
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 in a breakthrough case of the virus. “While asymptomatic, I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon. I’ve consulted with the Senate Physician and will continue to follow the recommendations of my health care provider,” he said in a statement. (Vakil, 2/1)

USA Today: Senators Try To Root Out Fake Masks
Three Democratic senators are urging the Justice Department to address the proliferation of fake N95 and KN95 masks on the market, a growing problem as Americans seek improved protection from the highly infectious omicron variant. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut point out consumers are increasingly finding fraudulent masks for sale, and it can be difficult to tell if they're legitimate, especially when purchasing online. (Ortiz, Yancey-Bragg, Thornton and Tebor, 2/1)

Also —

Bloomberg: Democratic Senator Lujan Recovering After Surgery For Stroke
Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico is recovering from surgery for a stroke at a hospital in New Mexico but is expected to make a full recovery. The 49-year-old senator began experiencing dizziness and fatigue on Thursday and checked himself into Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. He was transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, diagnosed with a stroke in his cerebellum, affecting his balance. An official statement on his health didn’t say how long Lujan would be hospitalized. (Dennis, 2/1)