�������ýҕ�l

Last-minute efforts to reach agreement on policy to ban surprise medical bills have slowed amid a multi-front lobbying push by healthcare providers and conservative groups. Talks on surprise billing revived in the House over the weekend, but lawmakers haven't reached an agreement on an issue that has stubbornly divided both Democrats and Republicans for more than a year, according to lobbyists and staff familiar with the conversations. (Cohrs, 12/9)

Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday voiced support for lower drug and insurance costs to address health disparities during the pandemic, while diverging on how to make that happen. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), speaking at The Hill’s From Platform to Policy: 2021 Health Care Agenda event, said there’s a role for government to play, particularly amid the coronavirus. (Baker, 12/9)

The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make it easier for scientists to conduct marijuana research in states where the drug is legal. The bill passed on a voice vote with strong bipartisan support. It’s the second piece of marijuana legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled chamber in recent days. On Friday, the House passed a landmark bill that would end federal marijuana penalties and erase some past convictions. (Fertig and Zhang, 12/9)

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) introduced two bills Wednesday aimed at steering some emergency calls away from law enforcement and toward social-service providers, hoping to avert encounters like the one that ended with Philadelphia police shooting and killing Walter Wallace Jr. The proposals, Casey said, would divert “non-criminal, non-fire, non-medical emergency” calls from 911 systems and into state and regional 211 systems, which offer a range of social services, including help for people facing mental health crises or those with disabilities. The bills, which are likely to face a difficult route to passage in a closely divided Congress, would also provide grants to strengthen those 211 systems and train law enforcement officers for encounters with people with disabilities. (Tamari, 12/9)

The defense policy conference report the House adopted Tuesday night included steps to address a toxic set of chemicals linked to liver failure and cancer that are nearly ubiquitous in modern America and are building up in humans’ bloodstreams. Defying a veto threat, House members voted 335-78 to adopt a final version of the legislation, which would authorize $731.6 billion. The Senate aims to take up the conference report this week. (Hulac, 12/9)

California Rep. Ami Bera complained Wednesday that many of his fellow members of Congress still do not wear masks inside the Capitol, and compared efforts to convince them to cover their faces to “talking to a brick wall.” “I see a lot of them, unfortunately,” Bera, a Democrat, said of anti-mask lawmakers during a POLITICO Live panel discussion. (Forgey, 12/9)