Vaccine Costs Throw Wrench In Congressional Emergency Funding Plans

The Hill: Vaccine Costs Emerge As Roadblock To Coronavirus Funding Deal 
Vaccine affordability has emerged as a final roadblock to getting a deal on billions in funding to combat the coronavirus. Negotiators in Congress are hoping to unveil a funding deal soon, but as of early Tuesday evening,  lawmakers and top staff were haggling over the final sticking points. (Carney, 3/3)

Politico: Coronavirus Emergency Bill Stalled Over Vaccine Cost Concerns
The biggest issue, according to several people familiar with negotiations, involves a Democratic attempt to control the costs of vaccines and other treatments that are developed in response to the outbreak. Other issues include details of hospital reimbursement for uninsured patients and whether to pay for a provision to help expand telemedicine, which would cost roughly $500 million. “Vaccines should be affordable. It’s just as simple as that,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a top appropriator, said as she left a Democratic leadership meeting on Tuesday night. (Ferris, Caygle and Owermohle, 3/3)

The Hill: Senators Hit Trump Health Officials Over Coronavirus Testing Delays 
Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed frustration Tuesday with Trump administration officials over coronavirus testing delays, arguing that many more unknown cases could be circulating in the U.S. Faulty tests developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have led to delays in states where the virus has been detected. Officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told senators at a hearing Tuesday that testing will ramp up in the coming days, but lawmakers were skeptical. (Hellmann, 3/3)

The Hill: Pence Pressed Over Coronavirus Response In Testy Senate Briefing 
Senators pressed Vice President Pence in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday over the administration’s response to coronavirus, questioning the official charged with leading the administration’s response over a lack of testing for the virus. Democratic senators in particular asked sharp questions of Pence and administration health officials during a visit to their lunch meeting. (Sullivan, 3/4)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Roll Call: Lawmakers Looking For Guidance On Coronavirus 
Sen. Lindsey Graham fist-bumped a young man on the Senate subway Tuesday instead of offering a handshake and Sen. Bill Cassidy offered squirts of hand sanitizer to reporters peppering him with questions, two signs of how Congress is adjusting to the potential threat of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 spreading on the Capitol Hill campus. As lawmakers continue to negotiate a deal to fund a multibillion-dollar response to the coronavirus disease, they’re also thinking about the health and safety of themselves and their staff if a coronavirus outbreak were to emerge in Washington, D.C. (Tully-McManus, 3/3)

Roll Call: Politicians Have Many Ways To Keep The Germs At Bay
Running for office is a germfest, and being an expert doesn’t always help.“You cannot live germ free,” Sen. Bill Cassidy reminded me. He would know — the Republican from Louisiana was a gastroenterologist before coming to the Hill. “We do the crawfish boil handshake,” Cassidy said of his strategy on the campaign trail. “You bump elbows.” (Lyons, 3/4)

Roll Call: Coronavirus: Chao Pressed On Making Airlines Send CDC Passenger Data
The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said the U.S. Department of Transportation has failed to implement a plan to prevent the spread of contagious diseases via aircraft despite a recommendation to do so five years ago. Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said the Government Accountability Office recommended the Department of Transportation craft a comprehensive response plan in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. “That hasn’t happened,” he said during a hearing Tuesday of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation. “Through two administrations it hasn’t happened and now it’s a little late.” (Wehrman, 3/3)

ABC News: Democratic Lawmaker On HHS Memo Linked To Whistleblower Complaint: ‘Totally Insufficient’ 
Lawmakers are criticizing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after receiving a memo in lieu of a briefing in response to questions over allegations reportedly made in a whistleblower complaint. “This is totally insufficient,” said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., in response to the memo. “We need to be briefed to know if there is any risk to our constituencies — yet HHS has refused to be transparent and communicative throughout the process.” (Tatum and Parkinson, 3/3)

PBS NewsHour: With Novel Coronavirus Deaths Rising, Health Officials Face Grilling On Capitol Hill 
As states discover increasing numbers of new novel coronavirus cases, public health officials are scrambling to respond — while also facing questions from a Senate panel on Tuesday about why the U.S. has been so slow to roll out effective tests for the virus. (Branghan, 3/3)