MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas)

Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) introduced legislation, H.R. 7520, that addresses the efficiency adjustment in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule by delaying the adjustment to ensure it is more targeted and thoughtful. Currently, the CY 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule introduced a new “efficiency adjustment” policy, and this mandate assumes perpetual efficiency gains in physician services, leading to recurring reimbursement reductions. 

The policy reduces work Relative Value Units (RVUs) and intra-service time for all non-time-based codes by 2.5% in 2026, with additional cuts every three years. CMS assumes services are becoming faster, yet studies show 90% of procedures had the same or longer operative times in 2023 compared to 2019. 

Additionally, the 2.5% cut is a flat rate based on general economy-wide labor productivity rather than actual clinical work or direct patient complexity. Because many physician employment contracts use work RVUs to calculate pay, these cuts will decrease compensation and threaten patient access. 

Lastly, this cut occurs as practice operational costs have increased 59% since 2001, resulting in a 33% decline in inflation-adjusted physician pay. 

Rep. Estes legislation addresses concerns voiced by Kansas Doctors and National Doctors groups regarding this efficiency adjustment which calls for a delay while we work through how to ensure the adjustment is targeted and thoughtful to physicians nationwide. 

“Paying physicians properly is one of the only ways to ensure continued access and quality care for patients nationwide. As your representative in Congress, it is my duty to respond to concerns and fight for our Kansas Doctors such as the concerns raised with this efficiency adjustment,” Rep. Estes said. “Our physicians in Kansas and across our country are committed to the health and wellbeing of all Americans, and I will continue to fight in their best interest in Washington.”  

“Doctors are overwhelmed as it is. They’re suffering from record rates of burnout while spending more time filling out paperwork than with their patients. Asking them to work even faster without properly understanding what actually affects procedure times doesn’t make sense,” Rep. Tom Suozzi said. “This bipartisan bill delays an unvetted and potentially harmful policy from taking effect too haphazardly. Let’s take care of the people who take care of us and make sure they have the time, tools, and support to provide quality care for their patients.”

“The 2.5% reduction to work Relative Value Units (RVUs) that went into effect on January 1 is detrimental to surgeons’ ability to provide quality care. Recent research shows that operative times have increased on average by 3% since 2019 as patient complexity has risen. This critical legislation will put a stop to the flawed across-the-board reduction until CMS is able to provide data on why it is necessary to do such an adjustment.

At a time when too many patients are seeing access to essential medical care delayed, we cannot allow another reduction in the structure of physician payments to drive even more physicians out of medical practice. We must stabilize payments to enable surgeons and physicians to keep their practices open so that they can continue to serve their patients.

Congress must step in immediately and stop the implementation of this flawed plan that will negatively impact surgeons and will limit access to care for millions of vulnerable patients. We thank Congressman Estes and Congressman Suozzi for their leadership on this critical issue,” Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA FACS, Executive Director and CEO of the American College of Surgeons said.

“The Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act builds on Congress’ recognition that cuts fuel consolidation to the detriment of physicians and their patients,” Alexander A. Khalessi, MD, MBA, Chair of the AANS/CNS Washington Committee for Neurological Surgery said. “It helps ensure any future changes to work RVUs are grounded in empirical evidence and stakeholder input. We applaud Representatives Estes and Suozzi for their leadership and urge Congress to advance this legislation.” 

You may click HERE to read the full legislation. 

You may click HERE to read a letter from over 30 organizations supporting this legislation. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

“Finally, Trump’s federal troops are leaving Minneapolis. They never should have been there in the first place. Anyone with basic common sense could predict that sending heavily armed troops equipped for combat into an American city with the promise of immunity for using force would result in people getting hurt. Trump did so anyway.

“We must ensure that the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good see justice served and that the American people receive the answers they deserve about why this violence is happening in our streets.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Kim Schrier, MD (WA-08), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Kelly Morrison, MD (MN-03) led 44 of their colleagues in calling for the removal of two recently appointed anti-vax OB/GYNs to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In January, Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed OB/GYNs Dr. Adam Urato and Dr. Kimberly Biss to ACIP, both of whom are well-documented anti-vaxers. 

“What was once a trusted panel of vaccine experts has become a hand-selected group of unqualified vaccine skeptics who have undermined years of scientific integrity and vetted public health practices,” the lawmakers wrote to Kennedy. 

Urato has said that vaccine science is not “long-settled.” In 2023, he posted a link to a study that looked at vaccines and breastfeeding, saying, “we don’t know the risks this poses.” Studies show that breastfeeding after COVID-19 vaccines is safe. Dr. Biss said that after COVID-19, she was now “anti-vaccine.” At a congressional hearing in November 2023, Dr. Biss repeated the false claim that taking the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy increased the risk of miscarriage.

“We are deeply concerned that the addition of Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss to ACIP do not make pregnant women and their children healthier. Instead, their false, harmful ideologies put women and their children’s lives at risk. The opinions of Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss are not founded in evidence-based science, but in anti-vaccine rhetoric that harms public health as a whole,” the letter continues. 

The medical community broadly rejects the connection between COVID-19 and miscarriages. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all pregnant and breastfeeding women receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine or booster. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) also strongly recommends that pregnant women receive the vaccine.

In June 2025, Sec. Kennedy fired all 17 sitting ACIP members, which has put all Americans at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases, like measles, COVID-19, and even polio.

“We urge you to remove vaccine skeptics from ACIP and reinstate the 17 experts who were previously fired,” the lawmakers conclude. 

The letter was also signed by Representatives Becca Balint (VT‑AL), Nanette Díaz Barragán (CA‑44), Sean Casten (IL‑06), Emanuel Cleaver (MO‑05), Steve Cohen (TN‑09), Herbert Conaway (NJ‑03), Angie Craig (MN‑02), April McClain Delaney (MD‑06), Maxine Dexter (OR‑03), Debbie Dingell (MI‑06), Lizzie Fletcher (TX‑07), John Garamendi (CA‑08), Robert Garcia (CA‑42), Jimmy Gomez (CA‑34), Pramila Jayapal (WA‑07), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Robin Kelly (IL-2), Rick Larsen (WA‑02), Summer Lee (PA-12), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Jennifer McClellan (VA‑04), Seth Moulton (MA‑06), Donald Norcross (NJ‑01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC‑AL), Jimmy Panetta (CA‑19), Brittany Pettersen (CO‑07), Emily Randall (WA-06), Luz Rivas (CA‑29), Deborah Ross (NC-02, Jan Schakowsky (IL‑09), Terri Sewell (AL‑07), Brad Sherman (CA‑32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Greg Stanton (AZ‑04), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Mark Takano (CA-39), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25). 

You can read the full letter here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL)

Washington, D.C. —Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) and the New Democrat Coalition, which he chairs, released their Affordability Agenda, a policy roadmap to help make life more affordable for Illinoisans by focusing on lowering the five core costs that are too high for hardworking people: health care, housing, energy, family care, and household essentials like groceries.

Despite promising to lower prices “on day one” and “end inflation,” President Trump and Republicans in Congress have failed to lower the cost of living as their billionaire-first agenda makes life more expensive across the board for hardworking Americans. 

With the Affordability Agenda, Rep. Schneider and the New Democrats are offering a better path forward to lower everyday costs in the short- and long-term by rolling back harmful policies pushed by Republicans in Washington, promoting competition and supporting small businesses to boost consumer choice, and breaking down regulatory barriers across the government to meet the needs of everyday Americans.

“New Dems have always fought for economic growth and opportunity to enable hardworking Americans not to just get by, but to get ahead,” said New Dem Chair Brad Schneider. “That’s why we’re now taking on the cost-of-living crisis to make it easier for people to afford their home, feed their family, pay for healthcare, and still have enough money left to take a vacation and save for the future. Our Affordability Agenda represents bold policy ideas from some of the brightest minds in Congress, and a path forward for lawmakers to empower everyday people to reach their full economic potential.”

Affordability Agenda Toplines

Groceries & Household Essentials

• Restore certainty by rolling back Trump’s tariffs and advancing smarter, durable trade policies.
• Support small producers and crack down on price-gouging corporations to increase competition in the food marketplace.
• Lower internet bills by restarting the Affordable Connectivity Program.
• Increase the minimum wage and ensure workers have a seat at the table.

Health Care

• Reduce monthly costs by extending ACA tax credits and expanding access to prescription price caps.
• Protect patients from surprise medical bills and aggressive debt collection.
• Expand access to care by fully funding Medicaid and strengthening Medicare’s guaranteed benefits.
• Increase competition and transparency while cracking down on fraud and abuse.

Housing

• Cut red tape and update permitting and zoning to build four million homes in the next decade.
• Level the playing field by eliminating unfair tax breaks to private equity and large investors.
• Utilize innovative construction technologies to accelerate home production.
• Build more affordable homes by increasing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations and community benefits.

Energy

• Reform permitting rules to make it faster and cheaper to build energy transmission and generation infrastructure.
• Ensure energy is available and abundant by establishing a level playing field for all forms of energy.
• Reallocate electric grid costs to protect consumers from price hikes due to manufacturing and data center development.
• Invest in energy efficiency and home heating & cooling to lower residential energy costs.

Families

• Create a national paid family and medical leave program that covers all Americans.
• Support working families with expanded access to tax cuts and universal pre-K.
• Leverage federal resources and foster public-private partnerships to enhance care options and paid leave access.
• Invest in the home health and long-term care workforce to care for aging Americans.

You can read the full Affordability Agenda here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14)

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, delivered the following remarks at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hearing on the potential impacts of a DHS shutdown:

“Let’s be clear about why we are here.

Republicans have allowed ICE and Border Patrol to operate out of control, abuse their authority, trample civil rights, break the law, violate the Constitution, and kill U.S. citizens—all while lying to the public about actions we can plainly see with our own eyes.

So, if my Republican colleagues were serious about keeping the American people safe, we’d be discussing how to protect citizens from their own government.

Today, we should be hearing from Secretary Noem and the leaders of the agencies that are terrorizing and killing Americans.

Instead, we’re having a sham hearing with Republicans trying to shift blame, even though our Democratic leadership has already offered a funding proposal with safeguards to protect Americans from misconduct by federal agents.

It seems the White House would rather shut down agencies like FEMA during historic winter storms than accept the bare minimum of accountability and transparency for ICE and Border Patrol, so here we are.

Just to level set, Secretary Noem has not appeared before this committee since last year—before her agents killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti, before Greg Bovino terrorized my constituents in Illinois during Operation Midway Blitz, before more than 170 U.S. citizens were illegally detained by federal agents, before 5-year-old boy Liam Ramos was snatched on his way home from school because ICE wanted to use him as bait, and before countless other atrocities were committed on her watch. 

So where is she today?

Since day one, Secretary Noem has violated our Constitution and the oath she took to defend it. 

DHS’s leader behaves as though Congressional oversight is optional—and her negligence is enabled by my Republican colleagues. That negligence is visible across the Department. 

Four of the five DHS components represented today are being run by acting officials—not because qualified leaders do not exist, but because Republicans have abandoned even the pretense of governing. 

And now, after failing to confirm permanent leaders, refusing congressional oversight, and starving the components they do not care about, Republicans want to lecture this Subcommittee about the impacts of a shutdown on the agencies THEY have neglected all along.

But I don’t think it’s going to fool the American people. The real Republican priorities are painfully obvious. 

My constituents can understand what it means that FEMA recently denied Illinois’s request for a major disaster declaration after severe storms. 

Mr. Phillips, I’m not going to waste our time today asking you why this decision was made—I think we all know why.

My constituents see what’s happening here. They paid their federal taxes, but now that they need help to rebuild, FEMA tells them they’re on their own.

That’s not a result of a funding lapse. That’s a policy choice.

It’s a policy choice that reflects a pattern of governance that treats some missions and some communities as expendable.

Apparently the Trump administration has enough money for immigration agents to rappel down from helicopters to raid an apartment building on Chicago’s South Side – resulting in zero criminal charges – but not to address flooding when heavy rain overwhelmed the sewer system a few miles away.

And under Kristi Noem’s failed leadership, it’s not just disaster response that’s getting shortchanged in order to pay for the secret police terrorizing American communities.

Cybersecurity. Transportation security. Maritime safety. Our nation’s most valuable resources and secrets. All being sold out by the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, agencies like Border Patrol and ICE—whose actions are opposed by 63 percent of American voters—got a blank check in the Big Ugly Bill last summer, and now my Republican colleagues want to give them another one with no strings attached.

So spare us the fiction of Republican concern about paying federal employees or sustaining critical services. This is not about resources. This is about choices.

And it’s also a choice to hold this sham hearing today instead of bringing Secretary Noem in to answer for the unlawful abuses of power the American people have experienced under her leadership. 

That tells me everything I need to know, so I have no questions for these witnesses, and just one question for Secretary Noem: when will YOU stop hiding behind your subordinates and come explain yourself to this committee?”

Video of Underwood’s remarks can be viewed here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04)

Congressman Baird Joins President Trump for White House’s Beautiful, Clean Coal Event

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) today introduced the Kids Need Lunch Act, legislation to guarantee that every child in Illinois and across the country has access to a free school lunch so no student is forced to go hungry while they are trying to learn. With food insecurity continuing to affect families across Illinois, many children rely on school meals as their most dependable source of food during the day.

“No American child should go hungry when they should be focused on learning in school,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “Yet in communities across Illinois, too many students attend school hungry. This bill ensures every child can count on a meal at school, without stigma or barriers, so they can focus on learning and growing. Feeding children is not just an act of compassion — it is a commitment to their education and our future.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, roughly one in nine Illinois children experiences food insecurity, highlighting the critical role school meals play in helping students learn without hunger. The Kids Need Lunch Act amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand access to free lunches for all students and provide lasting stability for schools and families. By making school lunch a universal guarantee, the Kids Need Lunch Act helps ensure Illinois children have what they need to learn, grow, and succeed — regardless of their family’s income.

The Kids Need Lunch Act would:

• Guarantee free school lunches for all students, eliminating income-based eligibility requirements and ensuring universal access.

• Ensure schools are fully reimbursed for meals served, with federal payment rates adjusted annually to keep pace with rising food costs.

• Reimburse schools for existing unpaid meal balances, relieving districts of accumulated school meal debt.

• Prohibit schools from collecting unpaid lunch charges from students or families, ending harmful and stigmatizing practices. 

The text of the legislation is available here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Moolenaar (4th District of Michigan)

Headline: Moolenaar Announces 2026 Art Competition

Congressman John Moolenaar invites all high school students from Michigan’s Second Congressional District to enter their artwork in the 2026 Congressional Art Competition. 

The winning student from the Second District will have his or her art displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year and be invited to attend a reception in Washington, D.C. with other winners from across the country. Additionally, two regional winners from the Second District will have the opportunity for their art to be displayed in Congressman Moolenaar’s offices in Caledonia and Clare. 

The deadline for students to submit their work is Tuesday, March 31st. Entries should be mailed or personally delivered to Congressman Moolenaar’s Caledonia office at 8980 North Rodgers Court, SE Suite H, Caledonia MI 49316 or his Clare office at 431 North McEwan Street, Clare, MI 48617. 

More information on the rules and how to enter the Art Competition can be found online at Moolenaar.house.gov. Interested students who need assistance transporting their art to Caledonia or who have additional questions on the competition should contact Congressman Moolenaar’s office at 616-528-7100. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) Kim Schrier, MD (WA-08), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Kelly Morrison, MD (MN-03) led 44 of their colleagues calling for the removal of two recently appointed anti-vax OB/GYNs to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In January, Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed OB/GYNs Dr. Adam Urato and Dr. Kimberly Biss to ACIP, both of whom are well-documented anti-vaxers.

“What was once a trusted panel of vaccine experts has become a hand-selected group of unqualified vaccine skeptics who have undermined years of scientific integrity and vetted public health practices,” the lawmakers wrote to Kennedy.

Urato has said that vaccine science is not “long-settled.” In 2023, he posted a link to a study that looked at vaccines and breastfeeding, saying, “we don’t know the risks this poses.” Studies show that breastfeeding after COVID-19 vaccines is safe.

Dr. Biss said that after COVID-19 she was now “anti-vaccine.” At a congressional hearing in November 2023, Dr. Biss repeated the false claim that taking the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy increased the risk of miscarriage.

“We are deeply concerned that the addition of Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss to ACIP do not make pregnant women and their children healthier. Instead, their false, harmful ideologies put women and their children’s lives at risk. The opinions of Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss are not founded in evidence-based science, but in anti-vaccine rhetoric that harms public health as a whole,” the letter continues.

The medical community broadly rejects the connection between COVID-19 and miscarriages. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all pregnant and breastfeeding women receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine or booster. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) also strongly recommends that pregnant women receive the vaccine.

In June 2025, Sec. Kennedy fired all 17 sitting ACIP members, which has put all Americans at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases, like measles, COVID-19, and even polio.

“We urge you to remove vaccine skeptics from ACIP and reinstate the 17 experts who were previously fired,” the lawmakers conclude.

The letter is joined by Representatives Becca Balint (VT‑AL), Nanette Díaz Barragán (CA‑44), Sean Casten (IL‑06), Emanuel Cleaver (MO‑05), Steve Cohen (TN‑09), Herbert Conaway (NJ‑03), Angie Craig (MN‑02), April McClain Delaney (MD‑06), Maxine Dexter (OR‑03), Debbie Dingell (MI‑06), Lizzie Fletcher (TX‑07), John Garamendi (CA‑08), Robert Garcia (CA‑42), Jimmy Gomez (CA‑34), Pramila Jayapal (WA‑07), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Robin Kelly (IL-2), Rick Larsen (WA‑02), Summer Lee (PA-12), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Jennifer McClellan (VA‑04), Seth Moulton (MA‑06), Donald Norcross (NJ‑01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC‑AL), Jimmy Panetta (CA‑19), Brittany Pettersen (CO‑07), Emily Randall (WA-06), Luz Rivas (CA‑29), Deborah Ross (NC-02, Jan Schakowsky (IL‑09), Terri Sewell (AL‑07), Brad Sherman (CA‑32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Greg Stanton (AZ‑04), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Mark Takano (CA-39), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25). 

You can read the full letter here.