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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 18, October 31, 2023

Reps Elect New Speaker of the House
 
The U.S. House of Representatives elected a new Speaker of the House on a strictly party line vote (220-209). U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) is the new Speaker. He is a 51-year-old attorney who received his undergraduate and law degree from Louisiana State University and was first elected to the House in 2016 from Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District which includes Shreveport, La., and covers much of western Louisiana along the border with Texas. In 2022, he was unopposed for reelection and has received more than 60% of the vote in each election since. He has served on the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees prior to being elevated to the Speaker’s chair.
 
During his address to the House after being elected Speaker, U.S. Rep. Johnson pledged to immediately appoint a Bipartisan Debt Commission to address the country’s financial and fiscal condition and promised to “compromise on our preferences not our core principles.” He told his colleagues that he would decentralize power in the House, getting more Members more involved in decisions and to pursue “regular order.” He stated that the hallmarks of his office would be “trust, transparency, and accountability.”
 
U.S. Rep. Johnson has sent a Dear Colleague letter [ [link removed] ] to Members of the House, outlining his short-term goals and the plan through 2024. While the House Appropriations Committee has yet to report the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, Speaker Johnson plans to bring it to the floor the week of Nov. 13.

U.S. Rep. Judy Chu Re-introduces the POST GRAD Act
 
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) reintroduced the Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt (POST GRAD) Act [ [link removed] ] . The bill, which was re-introduced by U.S. Rep. Chu on Oct. 26, would make graduate students eligible to receive federal Direct Subsidized Loans again. Subsidized loans do not accrue interest while the student is still in school. As a result, a student’s overall debt load is lowered. Graduate student eligibility for federal Direct Subsidized Loans was terminated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 [ [link removed] ] .
 
Inflation and the significant recent interest rate increases have resulted in graduate student loans being at their highest since 2006. To address the shortage of oral health providers, a strong federal role is critical to educating current and future healthcare workforces. U.S. Rep. Chu’s bill provides the important federal support needed to educate the health care workforce.
 
ADEA and other health care professional associations and organizations have endorsed this bill.

Senate HELP Committees Holds Nomination Hearing and Confirmation Vote for NIH Director Nominee Dr. Monica Bertagnolli
 
The U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee finally held a nomination hearing [ [link removed] ] for Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, nominee for Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bertagnolli is currently head of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Her nomination was blocked by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who initially refused to schedule her nomination hearing until he could secure a promise from the Biden administration to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The Biden administration recently pointed to their deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to cap the price of a next-generation monoclonal antibody for treating COVID-19 as an example of the administration’s commitment to cut drug prices. As a result of the Regeneron deal, Sanders agreed to schedule the nomination hearing.
 
During the hearing, Dr. Bertagnolli answered a wide-range of senators’ questions, ranging from COVID-19’s origins to lowering drug prices to whether the NIH should invest taxpayer dollars in research on fetal tissue or transgender health care.
 
“Dr. Monica Bertagnolli is an intelligent and caring person but has not convinced me that she is prepared to take on the greed and power of the drug companies and health care industry and fight for the transformative changes the NIH needs at this critical moment,” U.S. Sen. Sanders said in a statement [ [link removed] ] .
 
Though Chairman Sanders voted “no” on Dr. Bertagnolli’s nomination, the nomination passed out of Committee [ [link removed] ] by a 15 to 6 vote and now heads to the Senate floor for final confirmation. No floor confirmation date has been scheduled yet.

Utah Proposes Collaborative Practice Agreements for Dentists Who Do Not Meet Current Experience Requirements
 
The Utah Division of Professional Licensing has issued proposed rules [ [link removed] ] that would allow dentists who do not meet current experience requirements to practice under a collaborative agreement with a dentist who is licensed in the state. Under the proposal, a dentist who does not meet a statutory requirement [ [link removed] ] of engaging in clinical practice for at least 6,000 hours during the five years immediately preceding an application for licensure, may enter into a collaborative practice agreement with a licensed dentist. The proposed rules outline requirements for the agreements that include scope of practice for the supervised dentist and a process for the supervising dentist to raise concerns about the supervisee and unprofessional conduct under the agreement.
 
Additionally, the proposal also lists documents the Division will accept as proof of having met educational and experience requirements outlined in the statute for dentists and dental hygienists seeking licensure by credentials.
 
Written comments on the proposed rules are due by Nov. 3, 2023.

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ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Varsha Menon
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
Contact Us:
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