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Amanda Gorman shares poem in wake of Texas school shooting

Poet and activist Amanda Gorman shared a poem on Twitter following the news of a school shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

“Schools scared to death. The truth is, one education under desks, Stooped low from bullets; That plunge when we ask Where our children Shall live & how & if,” the poem reads.

At least 14 students and one teacher perished in the shooting. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) identified the suspected shooter as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who was believed to have entered Robb Elementary School with a handgun and possibly a rifle.

The school went into lockdown earlier Tuesday, saying there was an active shooter on the premises.

Gorman, the first person to be named the National Youth Poet Laureate, gained national attention after she spoke at President Biden‘s inauguration last year.

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NotedDC — GOP prepares to take on Stacey Abrams

As voters cast ballots in several key primary contests Tuesday, the GOP is already turning its attention to one key Democratic rival: Georgia’s Stacey Abrams.

Abrams, the Peach State’s presumed Democratic gubernatorial nominee and a star in the party, is making another run for governor after losing the 2018 general election.

Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue (R) — battling for a chance to take on Abrams in November — slammed her this week after she said during a campaign event over the weekend that Georgia is “the worst state in the country to live,” citing incarceration rates and health care.

Abrams later called her remarks “inartful” but they sparked fierce backlash from Kemp, the odds-on favorite to win Tuesday’s GOP nomination, as well as Perdue, who is backed by former President Trump.

Kemp, who defeated Abrams in 2018, responded to the comments by saying at a rally Monday that he’s “glad we’re the No. 1 state in the country for business,” adding, “We are the best state in the country to live, work and raise our families in.”

The Georgia race will be one of the top gubernatorial battles to watch this summer.

Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, juicy gossip, insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan. 

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🇹🇼 Taiwan Caucus chair: Biden was right the first time

President Biden sparked confusion — even reportedly among some of his own aides — with his comment that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s aid militarily if China ever invaded.

A leader of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus says Biden should have stuck to that position.

“I’ve always favored strategic clarity, letting [China] know clearly that we would be there to defend Taiwan if they attacked,” Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, told NotedDC.

While Chabot maintained that he wants to avoid direct military involvement, he “commended” Biden for his initial remark. But he said he was let down when the White House quickly walked it back and clarified it did not reflect a policy change.

• The U.S. had long held onto its “strategic ambiguity” policy, purposefully avoiding answering how the U.S. would respond if China invaded Taiwan, a U.S. ally and trade partner. 
• China does not consider Taiwan as an independent country, and Biden’s initial comment about Taiwan on his first presidential trip to Asia drew praise from both Republicans and some Democrats.
• “President Biden is right. Credible deterrence requires both courage and clarity – and Taiwan’s vibrant democracy deserves our full support,” Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted Monday.

Chabot also said the exclusion of Taiwan from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework showed “weakness and kind of cowering to China because we’re afraid we might offend them.”  

Read more on what the future of “strategic ambiguity” looks like from The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant, Brett Samuels and Amie Parnes. 

CATCH UP FAST

Biden’s four-day trip to Asia included meetings with the “Quad” alliance of leaders from India, Australia and Japan.

Here’s what you might have missed from the trip: 

• Biden met with U.S. Embassy staffers in Tokyo
• During the motorcade to the airport, Fujifilm office workers were spotted watching from their office building, and others lined the sidewalks to watch and take photos
• U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, a former mayor of Chicago and former Obama White House chief of staff, attended Biden’s airport departure
• China and Russia flew nuclear-capable bombers Tuesday in a joint military drill that came as Biden was in Japan, a senior administration official confirmed 
• Watch a video recap from The Hill: Wrapping up Biden’s first trip to Asia

The president left his digs at Tokyo’s Okura hotel on Tuesday for the lengthy flight back to the U.S., which required an hour-long refueling in Alaska.

Biden wasn’t spotted by reporters traveling with the president, per pool reports, but several of his top aides were seen on the tarmac.

The president is expected to address the mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas during remarks on Tuesday night.

Biden heads into Memorial Day weekend facing a series of major challenges, including a new mass shooting, record-high gas prices and inflation concerns.

He will be the featured speaker at the Naval Academy graduation on Friday in Annapolis, Md., and at the University of Delaware, his alma mater, on Saturday. 

📺 Here come the Jan. 6 hearings

The House select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack will hold six public hearings in June, The Guardian reported Monday. Here’s what to expect:

When will they be held? The first and last hearing will be held in primetime on June 9 and June 23. The others will start at 10 a.m. on June 13, 15, 16 and 21. All are scheduled to last around 1.5 to 2.5 hours, according to The Guardian.

What will be the focus? The hearings are expected to present the committee’s findings on how former President Trump and his allies attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Much of the committee’s investigation has relied on witness testimony through subpoenas and White House phone and visitor logs. 

Who is the committee waiting on to testify? Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) are scheduled to testify Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Friday and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) on May 31. 

It is unclear whether they will comply with the subpoenas. Brooks told NBC News Tuesday he never received a letter, even though committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) addressed one to him on May 12.

Looking ahead: The committee has its eyes on Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) for information after it claims it reviewed video footage of him giving a tour the day before the attack, which he denies. If Loudermilk doesn’t voluntarily testify, a subpoena might not be out of the question. 

🎥 Media shakeups

Chris Stirewalt, who was ousted from Fox News, is making his way back onto television as NewsNation’s new political editor, where he is expected to provide analysis throughout the election cycle.

His abrupt departure from Fox came after he correctly called Arizona for then-candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election, angering avid Fox News viewer President Trump and his allies.

Another Fox News alum, Greta Van Susteren, will join Newsmax for her new show “The Record with Greta Van Susteren.” She will join her former Fox News colleagues Eric Bolling and James Rosen at the conservative network. 

And MSNBC confirmed that former White House press secretary Jen Psaki will be joining the network. She will get her own show early next year but will appear on NBC platforms and programs starting in the fall as part of its politics coverage.

Keep up with the latest media news from The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo

💊 The next health crisis

Lawmakers are turning their attention to trying to prevent other public health crises following the COVID-19 pandemic, including infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told editor-in-chief Bob Cusack during The Hill’s Antibiotic Resistance: A Looming Public Health Crisis event Tuesday that it presents a “global opportunity for us to lead in terms of innovation.” 

The PASTEUR Act, which Bennet introduced in December 2020, would allow the government to enter subscription contracts with manufacturers for “critical-need” antimicrobial drugs. 

Bennet said it would help “smaller drug companies in particular know that they’re going to stay in business while they work on something that may not be that important to us today but can be very important to us tomorrow.” 

Bill sponsor Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) warned that bacteria are “evolving at a very quick rate for a lot of different reasons,” saying new technologies are needed.

Bennet said he thinks the pandemic has made many on the Hill “change the way they think about things,” suggesting more Americans want investments in public health. 

Watch the rest of Tuesday’s event here

RACES TO WATCH TONIGHT

Tuesday’s primaries include a number of key races. Here’s what to watch:

Georgia: Beyond the gubernatorial battle, the Peach State also has a high-profile Senate race this year. Trump has endorsed NFL legend Herschel Walker, a Republican who is polling with a strong lead. The winner will face Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) in the fall. Warnock was the first Black senator elected from Georgia last year.

Texas: On the GOP ballot for Texas attorney general, incumbent Ken Paxton faces a challenge from George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush. Bush is currently the state’s land commissioner and seen as a possible rising star in the Bush political dynasty, but Trump has backed Paxton in the race.

Alabama: Republican Sen. Richard Shelby is leaving an open seat in the Senate that could ultimately prompt a June 21 GOP runoff. Former Shelby aide Katie Britt is seen as the slight favorite over rivals Mike Durant and Rep. Mo Brooks. Trump initially endorsed Brooks but took it back over Brooks’ position on the 2020 election.
 

Arkansas: Trump’s one-time White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, is the favorite for the GOP nomination in the race for Arkansas governor. Incumbent Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is term-limited. Five candidates are jockeying for the Democratic nod.

Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you tomorrow.

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Equilibrium/Sustainability — Cannabis industry faces product safety concerns

Cannabis varieties with identical names can differ wildly in the chemicals they contain — leaving customers in danger of unpredictable, unpleasant or unwanted effects, a new study has found.

“The prevailing labeling system is not an effective or safe way to provide information about these products,” Brian Keegan of University of Colorado Boulder said in a statement. 

Even in six states where the drug is legal and regulated, product names and mandatory labeling requirement give customers little insight into the potential impacts of the products they are about to purchase, according to the study published in PLOS One. 

Different cannabis strains can have widely divergent effects — with some better suited to aid sleep or relieve pain, and others indicated to increase appetite or alleviate depression. 

But by surveying 90,000 samples across six states, the CU Boulder team found that neither variant names (like Durban Poison or Blue Dream) nor classic distinctions (indica, sativa and hybrid) bore much consistent resemblance to the chemical composition — and therefore effects — of a given product. 

Two similarly-named plants from different dispensaries, in other words, were liable to have quite different impacts — a lack of predictability that poses “a real challenge for an industry that is trying to professionalize itself,” Keegan added. 

“A farmer can’t just pick up an apple and decide to call it a Red Delicious,” said study co-author Nick Jikomes, who runs the science department at cannabis marketplace Leafly.com.  

“But that is not the case for the cannabis industry,” Jikomes added.

Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Today we’ll take a look at the latest steps California is taking in an effort to mitigate the impacts of ongoing drought conditions and how air pollution may worsen COVID-19 infections.

Californians may need to cut back more water 

As Californians continue to grapple with ongoing drought conditions, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned residents on Monday that mandatory cutbacks could occur if statewide water use doesn’t significantly decline.  

“Every water agency across the state needs to take more aggressive actions to communicate about the drought emergency and implement conservation measures,” Newsom said during a Monday meeting with leaders from the state’s largest urban water suppliers. 

Voluntary reductions weren’t enough: Last July, Newsom declared a drought emergency and called upon Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15 percent.  

But by the end of March 2022, after the state failed to meet this goal, the governor issued an executive order asking local agencies to boost their response to the ongoing drought, according to his office. 

Stepping up efforts: Local water agencies have pushed for increased flexibility on water conservation and drought response, which they have argued are more effective than statewide mandates, the governor noted. 

While Newsom acknowledged that he embraced this approach, he called upon water agencies on Monday to step up their efforts amid extreme drought conditions. 

Making every drop count: If those localized conservation efforts fail to prove sufficient this summer, Newsom warned that the state could be forced to enact mandatary restrictions. 

“Californians made significant changes since the last drought but we have seen an uptick in water use, especially as we enter the summer months,” Newsom said.  

“We all have to be more thoughtful about how to make every drop count,” he added. 

Statewide measures under discussion: The California Water Resources Control Board spent all day Tuesday debating whether to prohibit the watering of “non-functional” turf — lawns that serve only as decoration — in commercial, industrial and institutional settings. 

What’s non-functional turf? This type of turf serves “solely ornamental” purposes and is not used for recreational activities, sports or community events, Chris Hyun, of the Water Board’s Office of Research, Planning and Performance, explained at Tuesday’s meeting.  

Also under discussion was a measure requiring local agencies to implement water use restrictions — to account for the possibility that supplies could be 20 percent lower due to extreme weather. 

A vote on these issues had not yet occurred by Equilibrium’s press time.  

Leaning in: “Coming into the summer months here, we know here we need to prepare for a drier next year,” E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the Water Board, said at the Tuesday hearing.  

“We need to activate Californians and really lean in to the conservation that we’re needing to see,” he added. 

Air pollution may worsen COVID-19  

Certain air pollutants may worsen the impacts of a coronavirus infection, in turn increasing the likelihood of hospitalization and possibly even death.  

Scientists have found that Ontario, Canada, residents who lived in areas with higher levels of three major pollutants — fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone — were at greater risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit for COVID-19. 

Risk of death: Chronic exposure to ozone in particular carried an elevated risk of death from COVID-19, according to their findings, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday.  

Looking back at 2020: To draw these conclusions, researchers from the Canadian government’s Health Canada analyzed data from all 151,105 people ages 20 years and older who had confirmed coronavirus infections in 2020 in Ontario.  

Three common culprits: Information about fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone was readily available to the researchers, as these substances are all regularly monitored by the Canadian government, the authors noted.  

These pollutants are emitted from a variety of different sources, including fuel combustion and reactions of volatile organic compounds or other chemicals. 

Possible pathways: Long-term exposure to air pollution, the authors explained, could increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19 by several different mechanisms.  

For example, air pollutants can reduce immune responses and antimicrobial activities in the lungs, thereby boosting viral loads, according to the authors.  

These substances can also cause chronic inflammation and the over-production of a specific receptor protein that enables the entry of coronavirus into human cells, the researchers added.  

Public health implications: “Given the ongoing pandemic, our findings that underscore the link between chronic exposure to air pollution and more severe COVID-19 could have important implications for public health and health systems,” the authors stated. 

To read the full story, please click here. 

Frackers hold off on new drilling

Even with oil and natural gas prices soaring, the fracking industry hasn’t stepped up new drilling initiatives. 

That’s bad news for price-conscious consumers, fossil fuel-dependent drivers and energy-strapped power companies but good news for fossil fuel company investors.

No more ‘pay to drill’: CEOs of fracking companies like Pioneer Natural Resources are no longer based on how much oil and gas they produced, after such policies crashed prices throughout the 2010s, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

Restoring financial order: Instead of spending on new drilling, Pioneer is funneling its windfall into buying back stock and paying off debt, according to finance news site SeekingAlpha. 

Stock buybacks allow companies to raise the value of existing shares, according to Forbes. 

Scant relief for gas prices: Fracking is one of the quickest forms of fossil fuel drilling to yield a marketable product — so the decision of those companies to stay out means little prospect that gas prices will fall this summer. 

How high? Some analysts say average prices could top $6 per gallon nationwide this summer, according to CNET. 

Weighing drilling: The consequences of high fossil fuel prices have to be balanced against the danger of more drilling, as Fatih Birol, chief of the International Energy Agency, told CNBC at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

Evaluating the disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Birol said that the “response should not lock in our energy infrastructure to a terrible world.”  

Carbon reduction isn’t enough: Slashing fossil fuel emissions alone — without also reducing pollutants like soot, nitrous oxide and methane — won’t be enough to head off dangerous levels of global warming, according to a study in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

That’s because particulate pollution from fossil fuels also slightly cools the climate.

Cut ’em all or else: “If we don’t also bring down non-CO2 warming, we cook,” University of London climate scientist Euan Nisbet told Reuters. 

Ailing nuclear offers relief for renewable delays 

Supply chain problems are hampering the rollout of wind and solar energy — even as major investors and energy organizations clamor for the pace of that development to increase. 

That has many environmentalists fighting for a power source they long sought to shut down: Nuclear energy. 

But even with that support — and backing from the Biden administration — the fate of three such zero-emission plants hangs in the balance. 

Recommitting to renewables? Hesitation from major investors like BlackRock to commit to renewables has led to a policy seesaw between investment in fossil fuels and green energy, the Financial Times reported. 

But the solution is “not to abandon the energy transition but to double down,” Ben Caldecott of the U.K. Center for Greening Finance and Investment told the Times.  

Supply problems strangle investment: Complicating matters further are ongoing shortages and soaring costs in supplies of steel, critical materials and photovoltaic cells, The Guardian reported. This situation is leading to bottlenecks in the rolling-out of new renewable power plants, according to The Guardian. 

Coupled with shipping delays from China, the sector is experiencing what one insurer described to The Guardian as “the perfect storm right now.” 

Renewal for nuclear: Those immediate supply chain problems — and the perpetual problem of what to do when wind and solar aren’t meeting base-level electricity demand — has some old-line environmentalists rethinking a long-held opposition to nuclear energy, The Washington Post reported. 

“If the pace of shoving fossil fuels off the grid and out of the economy were five times faster, I would not have spoken up,” former anti-nuclear activist Charles Komanoff told the Post, regarding his newfound support for nuclear energy. 

One down, two on life support: Komanoff has been particularly speaking up in favor of Diablo Canyon, a facility located between San Franscisco and Los Angeles. 

The aging nuclear plant is one of several to receive funds from the Biden administration — and $6 billion from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill — aimed at keeping them running, Reuters reported. 

Geopolitical concerns: A revival of nuclear power in the U.S. would run up against its own supply problem, as Russia dominates uranium-refining supply chains, CNBC reported. 

Tuesday Troubles 

Hurricanes brewing in the Gulf, climate change fuels India’s heat wave and Africa’s Great Green Wall needs funds and government support. 

US hurricane season coming in strong 

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is projecting that 2022 hurricane activity will be above average for the seventh year in a row, Zack Budryk reported for The Hill, with 14-21 named storms and about 10 hurricanes likely to happen between June 1 and Nov. 30.   

Climate change made deadly heat wave 30 times more likely 

• The effects of climate change increased the odds of India and Pakistan’s ongoing extreme heat wave by 30 times, a report from international climate science collaborative World Weather Attribution has found. 

Africa’s prospective forest wall under threat 

• An ambitious plan to hold back the growing Sahara with nearly 5,000 miles of forest — dubbed the “Great Green Wall” — is stalling amid funding challenges, security threats and political deadlock, The Associated Press reported. 

Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Abrams clinches governor's nod in Georgia primary

Stacey Abrams is once again the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor.

The Associated Press called the race for Abrams as soon as polls closed in the Peach State at 7 p.m. ET.

There was never any doubt that the former state Senate minority leader and voting rights advocate would advance to the November general election. She faced no opposition in the primary and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, recognized Abrams as the nominee months ago.

Still, with Tuesday’s primary out of the way, Abrams will now have access to the benefits of a Georgia gubernatorial nominee, particularly when it comes to fundraising.

A law signed last year by Gov. Brian Kemp allows certain Georgia political leaders – including nominees for governor – to form so-called leadership committees that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money. With the nomination locked up, Abrams will be able to form such a committee of her own.

Abrams is widely expected to face Kemp for a second time after narrowly losing to him during her last bid for governor in 2018.

Kemp is facing a primary of his own against former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. But recent polling in the race shows the incumbent governor with a staggering, double-digit lead and is widely expected to win renomination on Tuesday.

While Abrams has run against Kemp before, she will make her second bid for Georgia governor in a very different political environment than she did in 2018, a year that saw Democrats recapture control of the House in a wave election that symbolized mounting opposition to Trump and full GOP control of Washington.

With Democrats now in full control of Congress, as well as the White House, the party is heading into the 2022 midterm elections facing strong historical and political headwinds.

For one, the party in power almost always loses ground in midterm elections. What’s more, Democrats are also scrambling to counter Republican attacks over everything from rising inflation and gas prices to increases in crime.

Still, Abrams has proven herself to be a deft candidate and strong fundraiser who has been embraced by Democrats, not only in Georgia, but nationally.

Early polling, however, suggests that she’ll have some ground to make up. A survey released last month by The Hill and Emerson College showed Kemp leading Abrams by a 7-point margin, while Perdue held a 5-point lead over her in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

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Texas Democrat says school shootings are 'American problem' that many lawmakers 'refuse to solve'

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) said Tuesday that school shootings are “unfortunately, An American problem that it seems many lawmakers refuse to solve.”

Escobar was responding to reports of another recent mass shooting in the states – this time at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that has so far eft 14 children and one teacher dead.

“The problem is that firearm homicides have increased 40 percent for people between the ages of 10 and 24-years-old in America. Those are the stats for 2020. It’s unacceptable and I can’t believe lawmakers refuse to act,” Escobar told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Escobar said it was imperative to acknowledge the community’s “deep trauma and pain that they are going to suffer from, not just in the weeks to come, but frankly, in the years to come.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed the deaths of 15 people, including 14 children. The suspect was identified as an 18-year-old man who opened fire with a handgun in Robb Elementary School, about 85 miles west of San Antonio.

“He shot — horrifically, incomprehensibly — 14 students, and killed a teacher,” Abbott explained Tuesday, adding that the shooter himself “is deceased and is believed that responding officers killed him.”

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Princeton fires tenured professor after sexual misconduct investigation

Tenured Princeton professor Joshua Katz was fired by the Ivy League university on Monday following a sexual misconduct investigation, the school confirmed to The Hill Tuesday.

Katz, a classics professor, was terminated “effective immediately” following a vote by the University’s Board of Trustees after the university discovered that he allegedly misrepresented facts or withheld information related to the investigation, which began in February of 2021.

The university’s inquiry started after receiving new information from a Princeton alumna who had a consensual relationship with Katz during her time as a student in the early 2000s.

The relationship initially led to a 2018 disciplinary proceeding that placed Katz on unpaid suspension for the academic year of 2018-2019 and three years of probation upon his return. The 2021 investigation focused on new information previously unknown to the university.

Katz allegedly urged the alumna not to participate in the investigation after she had expressed “the intent to do so,” the university said in the statement shared with The Hill. He also allegedly discouraged her from seeking help with her mental health. All of this was done “in an effort to conceal a relationship he knew was prohibited by University rules.”

The statement added, “These actions were not only egregious violations of University policy, but also entirely inconsistent with his obligations as a member of the Faculty.”

Katz, who was hired by Princeton in 1998, lamented the decision in a Monday text message to The New York Times.

“I am both angry and heartbroken, which is a dreadful combination,” he said.

The decision to fire the tenured professor comes after he wrote a 2020 article criticizing the university, the Times noted.

In a journal called the Quillette, Katz slammed anti-racism efforts proposed by students, staff and faculty, which included giving faculty of color course relief and summer salary, among other ideas.

“It boggles my mind that anyone would advocate giving people — extraordinarily privileged people already, let me point out: Princeton professors — extra perks for no reason other than their pigmentation,” Katz wrote.

His piece, which sparked debate about free speech on Princeton’s campus, was the impetus behind Katz’s termination, his lawyer Samantha Harris argued.

“The university’s decision will have a powerful chilling effect on free speech, because anyone who might wish to express a controversial opinion knows that they must first ask themselves if their personal life can stand up to the kind of relentless scrutiny that Dr. Katz’s life was subjected to beginning just days after the publication of his Quillette article,” she told the Times.

Princeton’s president, Christopher Eisgruber, dismissed the allegation, saying, “Political views aren’t a reason to investigate anybody. They’re also not a defense for investigating anybody.”

Harris could not be immediately reached for comment by The Hill.

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Lawmakers warn antibiotic-resistant infections could spur next pandemic

Lawmakers on Tuesday warned that superbugs – microorganisms that have evolved to resist existing antibiotics – pose a looming public health threat that could spur the next pandemic if left unaddressed.   

Calling the coronavirus pandemic a wake-up call for the risk of widespread infections, Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), along with Reps. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), introduced legislation in June to invest in preventative research and innovative drug production.  

“What we have difficulty imagining is what a world looks like when you have an infection, and there is no antibiotic and it’s widespread,” Bennet said Tuesday at The Hill’s Antibiotic Resistance: A Looming Public Health Crisis event. 

“The economic result of that could be catastrophic for the world. And then, obviously, the impact in terms of human life could be enormous.”  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States report, at least 35,000 people die from the more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections that occur in the U.S. every year.  

The bipartisan PASTEUR Act would incentivize development of antimicrobial drugs that target superbugs identified by the CDC.   

Co-sponsored in the House by 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans, the bill would create a subscription model that offers antibiotic companies upfront payments, in exchange for government access to innovative drugs they create to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.   

Medicare and Medicaid patients could then access those medications at no additional cost to the government.  

“I saw this very early on in my dental practice,” Ferguson told The Hill’s Bob Cusack during the event, , which was sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts Antibiotic Resistance Project. 

“This is something that we found constantly – the evolution of bacteria that basically made it more and more difficult to treat very serious infections – and this is something that’s going to continue to be an issue going forward.”  

Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said education is another crucial component of combatting superbugs. She said government agencies have been issuing recommendations for health care providers on how to prescribe antibiotics to avoid misuse. 

“If we lost antibiotics, if they all became resistant to one thing or another, we would lose the ability to do chemotherapy, the ability to do some of these complex surgeries,” O’Connell said. “We’ve come so far in medicine, so it’s really important that we continue to invest in the antibiotic pipeline.” 

Bennet said he and his colleagues designed the legislation as a safety net for the small pharmaceutical companies that study antimicrobial resistance, many of which he said have filed for bankruptcy while working to develop revolutionary medications.  

More than 95% of antibiotics in development are being studied by small pharmaceutical companies, rather than by large firms, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center report on global antibiotic development.  

“Smaller drug companies, in particular, can know that they’re going to be able to stay in business while they work on something that may not be that important to us today, but it’s going to be very important to us tomorrow,” Bennet said.  

The $11 billion bill faces an uphill battle as lawmakers address more pressing economic challenges associated with COVID-19 recovery and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Bennet said. 

But Ferguson argued the future savings will outweigh the immediate cost.   

“We’re going to pay for this now, or we’re going to pay for it later,” Ferguson said. “And it’s always cheaper to do it on the front end and be in a preventive mode than it is in a reactionary mode in the middle of a disaster.” 

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Greatest concern among voters is inflation, survey finds

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Lack of healthcare can mean life or death when giving birth in America — it’s up to states to help

Americans hoping to build a family face a stark reality: Childbirth in the United States is dangerous. 

That’s right, our nation has the highest maternal mortality rate of any other developed country. Between 2000 and 2017, the global maternal mortality rate dropped by 38 percent. But here in the U.S., that rate is actually rising. Women of color are particularly at risk — Black women are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. 

Policymakers could seriously curb these risks by ensuring mothers can access better health coverage through Medicaid. But despite broad bipartisan support, our leaders refuse to take simple steps to do so. And as Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, improving maternal care is more important than ever. 

I know this all too well. I lead the Mississippi Center for Justice, which has been pushing for affordable, accessible health care in Mississippi for decades — including ensuring proper care for people giving birth — well after a child has actually been born. 

First, it’s important to understand the many health implications of childbirth. Pregnancy itself is incredibly physically and emotionally taxing. Childbirth comes with a host of potential risks. And in the weeks and months after bearing a child, women can experience serious physical and mental health issues — including depression, heart problems, and blood clots. All of these issues can seriously hurt the entire family — and in the worst cases, lead to a mother’s death. 

The good news: The vast majority of pregnancy-related deaths are entirely preventable. We just need to act.  

Medicaid is a crucial piece of this puzzle. Medicaid pays for four in 10 births in the nation. It’s an instrumental service for low-income women and their newborn babies. It provides an important stopgap for families who don’t have access to health insurance through employment. 

But a dozen states, including Mississippi, have yet to exercise their option to expand Medicaid coverage to even more people who can’t afford insurance, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans without a source of health care. That leaves many women with an impossible choice: Rack up huge sums of medical debt that could bury a family for the long haul, or decline adequate health care. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Research shows that expanding Medicaid reduces maternal mortality, particularly among Black women. It’s appalling that we wouldn’t take such a simple, research-backed step to save lives. 

What’s more, the federal government only requires Medicaid to provide postpartum care for two months following childbirth, even though pregnancy-related health problems can persist long beyond that time. That leaves many women — disproportionately women of color — without health insurance during an incredibly vulnerable time.

A provision in the American Rescue Plan attempted to address this by allowing states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to one year after giving birth. That has made approximately 720,000 pregnant and postpartum people eligible for benefits. 

But states have to opt in to access this. More than 35 states have already done so or are in the process of doing so. But many, including — unsurprisingly — Mississippi, have declined to take action. 

The situation in Mississippi was particularly disheartening. While the Senate voted to expand postpartum coverage by a huge margin – a rare feat in our state — the House allowed the bill to die. And all because of partisan politics. 

This refusal is particularly ironic given the Mississippi legislature’s “trigger law” that will make abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, for which my organization is serving as co-counsel. It’s a prospect that is even more ominous after the leak of the draft majority opinion that would do overturn Roe. What’s absurd is Mississippi’s hypocritical claim of protecting the “sanctity” of life by “protecting” the unborn embryo when its lawmakers fail to devote reasonable attention to ensuring that women and their families have the resources to live healthy, fruitful lives — like basic shelter, food, and health care  

Every person who wants to have a child deserves to have affordable, high-quality health care. This issue cannot continue to be a political bargaining chip. Lives are on the line.

Vangela M. Wade is president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice.

Source: TEST FEED1