Policy Updates and Issue News September 2020

First Presidential Debate

On September 29^th, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden clashed in the first of the 2020 Presidential Election debates moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News and hosted by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The debate was one of the most contentious ever, with the candidates clashing on the coronavirus, the courts, and the economy. Unfortunately, viewers who were hoping to gain insight into either candidate’s rural policy portfolio were disappointed as no questions were asked which directly addressed key issues such as agriculture, rural infrastructure, or rural healthcare, and neither candidate even said the word ‘rural’. The only vague references to rural interests came in attacks from Trump on Biden’s climate policy, which he argued would “take out the cows,” and attacks from Biden on Trump’s trade policy.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett Nominated to Supreme Court

On Saturday September 26^th, a week after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, President Trump formally nominated 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. Despite Democratic Senators arguing that considering a Supreme Court Justice with only a month until remaining before election day is improper, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced that hearings on Barrett’s appointment will take place on October 12-15, and a final vote on her nomination could be expected on October 22^nd.

Government Funding Extended into December

In the final days of September, Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill averted a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution extending government funding until December 11^th.  The deal on a continuing resolution was first struck earlier this month between Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin but faced hurdles once it reached Congress. Specifically, members clashed over funding for the Commodity Credit Corporation and nutrition programs, but both parties were ultimately able to strike a deal and push major funding fights until after the election in November.

Coronavirus Relief Negotiations

The roller coaster of negotiations over a second coronavirus relief package took more unexpected turns in late September. Recently, Democratic House leadership has renewed calls for negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans over another relief package and released a new trimmed down $2.2 trillion proposal. Republican leadership has also shown a new willingness to negotiate, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows went to Capitol Hill early in the final week of September with a $1.5 trillion counteroffer. The outcome of these high-level relief negotiations remains unclear, but with the House expected to enter recess on October 2^nd little time remains for a deal to be struck. Meanwhile, a group of rank-and-file Republican House members are attempting to force a vote on a bipartisan small business relief bill with the support of some moderate Democrats; however they have not yet gained enough support. As of yet, neither the leadership-level or rank-and-file relief efforts have been able to make substantial progress and with only a few days remaining before recess it seems unlikely that a deal will be struck.

Chronic Pain Awareness

Washington’s Morning Consult newsletter on September 29 highlighted Pain Awareness Month with an op ed by National Grange president Betsy Huber.   Rural citizens experience chronic pain more often than their urban neighbors. Years of hard work, accidents, injuries, lack of insurance, cost of treatment, distance from medical services, and closure of rural medical facilities all contribute to a higher incidence of rural chronic pain.   A recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 24 percent of rural adults suffer from chronic pain. Rural America has also been tragically affected by the opioid crisis in its battle against pain. We must find effective ways to treat pain with new therapies and non-addictive drugs.

Patient Groups Urge Pain Management

Organizations representing patients, families and clinicians, including the National Grange, are calling for the development and availability of new treatments for both acute and chronic pain. The 33 groups are challenging Food and Drug Commissioner Hahn and National Institutes of Health Director Collins to move forward to find new treatments and medicines for the different kinds of pain that are non-addictive and will prevent acute pain from becoming chronic pain.

President Targets “Surprise” Medical Bills

The President issued an executive order in late September calling for Congress to pass legislation by January 1 to prevent “surprise” medical bills. If Congress doesn’t act by then, the President promises to take executive action by instructing HHS Secretary Azar to pursue other actions including regulations. Patients are surprised when an astronomical bill arrives from a member of their medical team who is out of their insurance company’s network (anesthesiologist for example) who charges higher out-of-network fees.

Imported Drug Rule is Final

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its Final Rule and Guidance 0n Prescription Drug Importation in late September. HHS Secretary Azar followed with a letter to Hill leadership clarifying that importation can be done safely and will save the U.S. money. These actions allow states and pharmacies to set up new programs to import prescription drugs from Canada and other “most favored nations.” National Grange remains concerned that prescription drug prices to patients may not actually go down, transshipment of fake drugs may still be possible, and the medical community may lose confidence that the drugs they prescribe are safe and effective. The Grange has suggested a better solution might be to cap Medicare out-of-pocket costs to patients and to streamline the drug approval process so that more products have increased competition to drive down prices.

Voting for Broadband

It’s certainly no secret to Grangers that 18-20 million Americans are without access to reliable, affordable highspeed broadband internet and that the majority of those are in rural areas.  What’s different now is the coronavirus is shining a spotlight on the digital divide, both rural and urban.  The urgency for remote learning and telehealth connectivity hasn’t been lost on our fellow citizens.  A recent voter poll by Morning Consult found that over 90% said that the current lack of universal broadband access is a problem and a big majority want Congress to fix the problem immediately.  Over half of those polled said they would be willing to dig into their own pockets to solve the problem.

K-12 Bridge to Broadband Initiative Gains Momentum

K-12 Bridge to Broadband is a national effort to connect more students for remote and hybrid learning through a partnership with the non-profit group EducationSuperHighway.  The program enables school districts to identify students without broadband and purchase service for low income families.  USTelecom-The Broadband Association says its companies, in partnership with school districts and states, will work to identify student households that are unconnected but serviceable and will offer arrangements to connect students this school year.  NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association is also collaborating with the consortium and encouraging its member “hometown providers” to talk with local schools about the best local approach.