News

President Signs Executive Order on Vaccines

June 1, 2026

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• Administration
• Capitol Hill

President Signs Executive Order on Vaccines – President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday acknowledging a recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) scientific assessment on childhood vaccines as a guiding resource for the federal government.  The assessment compared U.S. childhood immunization recommendations with those of peer nations, analyzed vaccine uptake and public trust, evaluated clinical and epidemiological evidence and knowledge gaps, and examined vaccine mandates. The executive order directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the assessment and take any appropriate steps to update the U.S. childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule, while instructing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to consider ways to provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors through recommendations for timing and sequencing of the administration of routine immunizations.

 

Independent Dispute Resolution Operations Final Rule Issued – The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury released the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Operations final rule on Thursday, May 28^th. The final rule addresses essentially all the areas the Departments touched in the proposed rule with some modifications. Updates to the IDR framework include requirements that health plans use specific claim adjustment reason codes (CARC)/remittance advice remark codes (RARC) on remittance advice to clearly distinguish whether claims fall under state or federal surprise billing protections; and submit information to the IDR registry to receive an IDR Registry Number that can be used to initiate Open Negotiation and initiate IDR. The Departments did not propose specific ID card changes.

 

OMB Proposes Major Overhaul of Federal Grant Guidance – On Friday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced proposed revisions to its Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance.  The proposed rule is explained as aiming to strengthen oversight and accountability across federal grants, cooperative agreements, and other forms of assistance. The notice identifies the following goals of the proposed revisions: ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, maintaining compliance with law and policy, and holding recipients accountable for performance. The proposals also emphasize upholding equal opportunity principles throughout the award process and eliminating unlawful discrimination. Additional reforms include clarifying the regulatory status of OMB requirements, streamlining procedures for future updates, and reducing administrative burdens on grant recipients. Critics of the proposed rule argue that the changes are intended to control scientific research by requiring proposals to be consistent with the administration’s priorities, restricting who is eligible for funding, and diminishing the role of scientific peer review. Comments on the proposed rule are due by July 13.

 

Cassidy Continues Healthcare Cybersecurity Investigation – Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD has sent a letter to the CEO of Hims & Hers regarding a recent cybersecurity incident threatening the private health data of the company’s customers. Sen. Cassidy asserts that “additional transparency is needed about what information hostile actors accessed, how Hims & Hers safeguarded protected health information prior to the incident, and steps that the company intends to take going forward.” The letter poses a series of questions regarding Hims & Hers’ cybersecurity practices and the data breach that took place earlier this year, requesting a response by June 8.

 

Bipartisan Group Writes Administration on Animal Testing in Federally Funded Research – A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is encouraging the Trump administration to revise regulations related to animal testing within federally funded research. The letter specifically cites the case of Ridglan Farms, a large-scale beagle breeding facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, which holds a USDA Class A breeding license despite allegations of animal welfare violations. The lawmakers express support for directing USDA to automatically review a facility’s Class A License eligibility in the event that the operator relinquishes an equivalent state-level commercial breeding license. “We believe this should be a commonsense practice,” the letter states. “If a facility is cited for hundreds of animal welfare violations and forced to surrender state-level licenses, there should be an appropriate federal review process as well to help ensure absolutely no taxpayer dollars continue to prop up an entity that is engaging in inhumane and unethical treatment of animals.”

 

Kennedy Announces Plan to Combat Lyme Disease and Advance Treatment – HHS Secretary Kennedy announced several initiatives this week aimed at addressing Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The department aims to reduce the incidence of new Lyme disease cases by 25 percent by 2035 compared to 2022. Among the newly announced initiatives are a multi-million dollar pilot program led by the CDC to “develop and deploy practical strategies to target and eliminate ticks on wildlife before they can spread disease to humans;” three new LymeX innovation challenges totaling up to $2.5 million in prize funding; and a new Alpha-gal syndrome program with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Alpha-gal program would allow companies to provide promising products that could prevent individuals from developing Alpha-gal following a tick bite to the NIH, which would support and fund clinical research to evaluate the effectiveness of the products. The announcement comes approximately one week after the House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted unanimously to advance H.R. 4348, which would reauthorize the Kay Hagan Tick Act.

 

Texas Primary Runoffs See Incumbent Losses – Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was defeated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate Republican runoff election on Tuesday. Cornyn has served in the Senate since 2002, chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2009 to 2013 and serving as the Senate Republican whip from 2013 to 2019. He is currently a member of the Finance Committee. Paxton had received the endorsement of President Donald Trump in the days leading up to the election.

 

Rep. Julie Johnson (D) was defeated by former Rep. Colin Allred (D) in a runoff race to represent Texas’ newly redrawn 33^rd congressional district. Rep. Johnson has served in the House of Representatives since 2025, succeeding Allred, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate. Johnson is the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from a southern state.

 

Rep. Christian Menefee (D) defeated Rep. Al Green (D) in the runoff race for Texas’ 18^th congressional district. Green has represented Texas’s 9^th congressional district since 2005. The 9^th district was redrawn ahead of this year’s election, prompting Green to enter the race against Menefee, who won a special election in January to serve out the remainder of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term.

 

FL Democrat Frederica Wilson to Retire – Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) has announced that she will not seek reelection this year. Wilson, 83, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. She currently serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The full House Press Gallery casualty list of members retiring or seeking other office can be found here.

 

Upcoming Congressional Hearings and Markups

House Rules Committee meeting to formulate a rule on H.R. 8646, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027; and other legislation; 4:00 p.m.; June 2

 

Senate HELP Committee hearing “Protecting Our Children: Exposing the Dangers of Irreversible Gender Transition Procedures on Minors;” 10:00 a.m.; June 3

 

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing “Examining Legislation to Establish a Federal Comprehensive Privacy and Data Security Law;” 10:15 a.m.; June 3

 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing “Plausible Mechanisms of COVID-19 Injections Causing Cancer and Attacks on Scientific Publications;” 2:30 p.m.; June 3

 

Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing to examine the human cost of dangerous foreign drugs; 3:30 p.m.; June 3

 

House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet hearing “Medicines and IP: Balancing Innovation and Access;” 10:00 a.m.; June 4

 

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies markup of FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill; 8:00 a.m.; June 5

 

House Appropriations Committee markup of FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill; 11:00 a.m.; June 9

 

Recently Introduced Health Legislation

H.R.9018 – Fostering Transparency, Understanding, and Support for Veterans Act (Fostering TRUST Act) – To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide to Congress notice of any suicide or attempted suicide of a veteran in a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs or of a Community Care provider, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Min, Dave [Rep.-D-CA-47]; Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs

 

H.R.9015 – To authorize assistance to train and retain obstetrician-gynecologists and sub-specialists in urogynecology and to help improve the quality of care to meet the health care needs of women in least developed countries, and for other purposes; Sponsor: DeLauro, Rosa L. [Rep.-D-CT-3]; Committees: House – Foreign Affairs

 

H.R.9009 – Firearm Freedom Act – To repeal the Hughes Amendment to the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act; Sponsor: Patronis, Jimmy [Rep.-R-FL-1]; Committees: House – Judiciary

 

H.Res.1323 – Recognizing the impact the stigmatization of menstruation has on the lives of women, girls, and people who menstruate, and expressing support for the designation of the month of May as “National Menstrual Health Awareness Month”; Sponsor: Meng, Grace [Rep.-D-NY-6]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Education and WorkforceH.R.9033 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the sharing of health-care resources between the Department of Veterans Affairs and State Veterans Homes, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [Rep.-R-IA-1]; Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs

 

H.R.9040 — To establish fair prices for prescription drugs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sherman, Brad [Rep.-D-CA-32]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Judiciary; Financial Services

 

H.R.9044 — To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Minority Fellowship Program; Sponsor: Watson Coleman, Bonnie [Rep.-D-NJ-12]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce