U.S. Reps. James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) sent a "Dear Colleague” letter to encourage fellow House members to join a new bipartisan healthcare study group they’re co-chairing.
The caucus plans to hold regular educational briefings on Capitol Hill to inform members of Congress and their staffs about the work of public-health experts and the health-protection efforts they undertake. The concept for the study group emerged from a Capitol Hill staff field trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last August.
Staff members “were saying how depressing it was that the CDC was doing all this amazing stuff” that lawmakers weren’t aware of, said Karl Moeller, executive director of the Campaign for Public Health, a not-for-profit coalition that sponsored the field trip, and will be contributing ideas to the new study caucus.
A date hasn’t been set yet for the first hearing on chronic disease, although CDC Director Julie Gerberding has expressed an interest in attending, Moeller said. Senate members will also be invited to the briefings, although they won’t be able to join the study group because of different rules in the House and Senate on what constitutes a caucus, he added. Public-health experts from industry, local government and the not-for-profit sector will also be invited.
[ via Jennifer Lubell, Modern Healthcare's Daily Dose ]