Illustration: Annelise Capossela / Axios
Congress is trying to clear its decks before the July 4 break, leading to an especially stacked schedule of health hearings this week while the reconciliation debate grinds on.
Here's what we're watching.
Monday:
The House Appropriations Committee resumes its markup of the FY26 Ag-FDA bill at 7:30pm ET.
- The panel worked overtime but couldn't get through all of the Democratic amendments before the House broke for recess last week.
- The bill would fund the FDA at $6.79 billion, in line with President Trump's budget request and relatively flat compared with this year.
- Democrats have expressed concern over language requiring the FDA to review the widely used abortion pill mifepristone.
Tuesday:
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears for the first time at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, at 10am ET, to defend the administration's FY26 HHS budget.
- E&C Democrats have been pressuring Chair Brett Guthrie to bring Kennedy before the committee, so expect them to mount attacks on Kennedy for his overhaul of health agencies and sweeping layoffs.
- Some agency heads have their own ideas on funding levels that differ from the president's budget, so we'll also be watching Kennedy for that.
Wednesday:
The Senate HELP Committee holds a confirmation hearing for CDC director nominee Susan Monarez at 10am ET.
- Monarez was nominated in March after Trump withdrew the nomination of his first choice, former Rep. Dave Weldon. The agency has lacked a full-time political leader amid the layoffs and cuts to health spending.
- Monarez is a career government scientist with leadership experience at the CDC and ARPA-H. She would be the first CDC director nominee to go through the Senate confirmation process under a 2023 law prompted by criticism of the agency's role in the pandemic response.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will examine the White House rescissions package at a hearing with OMB director Russ Vought at 2:30pm ET.
- The rescissions include $900 million affecting global health programs. Appropriations Chair Susan Collins opposes the PEPFAR cuts, so it's possible the bill could be amended.
- We'll be watching to see if Collins or another senator proposes a carve-out for PEPFAR that could pass both chambers.
The House Ways and Means Committee has a digital health data hearing at 9am ET.
- Kristen Holmes, principal scientist at wearable fitness tracker company Whoop, and Jackie Gerhart, chief medical officer at health software company Epic, are testifying.
