Health Care — Romney says he’s making progress on COVID aid

Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here.

Mark your calendars: The House is poised to vote on a marijuana legalization bill as soon as next week. With the support of Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerRomney working on GOP counteroffer to new Dem COVID-19 funding plan Advocacy groups: Title 42 ‘undermines our trust in the administration’ Romney says Dems to send him new COVID-19 funding proposal Wednesday MORE (D-N.Y.), advocates hope this year it will advance through the Senate.  

There’s still no agreement on further funding the COVID-19 response in Congress, though Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyHealth Care — Romney says he’s making progress on COVID aid Romney working on GOP counteroffer to new Dem COVID-19 funding plan WaPo: Senate GOP has treated Jackson ‘worse’ than Democrats treated Kavanaugh MORE says he’s making some progress on a new compromise.  

For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Send us tips and feedback at psullivan@thehill.com, nweixel@thehill.com and jchoi@thehill.com.

Let’s get started. 

Romney working on GOP counteroffer for funding

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Thursday that he is working with GOP leadership on a COVID-19 funding counterproposal after receiving a new offer from Democrats.  

“I got a proposal from them, and we’ve got a counterproposal we’re working on with our leadership,” Romney told The Hill. 

He said the proposals contain new ways to pay for the pandemic funding, and that Democrats proposed one set of pay-fors and Republicans will counter with a different set. He did not detail what the possible offsets are. 

“I think we’re making progress,” Romney said. 

A $1.5 trillion government funding bill signed into law earlier this month was going to include $15.6 billion in COVID-19 spending, but it was stripped out after a group of House Democrats objected to one of the offsets, namely using a portion of state aid from a previous relief bill. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said earlier in the week that he was “working with Senator Romney and other Republicans in good faith to find some pay-fors that are acceptable to Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate.” 

The White House has been sounding the alarm that the funding is urgently needed and calling on Congress to act.  

Read more here.

HOUSE CHAIR PRESSES FDA ON CONTAMINATED BABY FORMULA 

The chairman of a House Oversight subcommittee on Thursday opened an inquiry into why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had what he said was a “delayed response” in responding to contaminated infant formula now linked to five hospitalizations and two deaths.    

Rep. Raja KrishnamoorthiSubramanian (Raja) Raja KrishnamoorthiHealth Care — Romney says he’s making progress on COVID aid House chair presses FDA on ‘delayed response’ to contaminated baby formula ‘Urgent’ COVID-19 funding hangs in balance amid partisan fight MORE (D-Ill.) wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf pressing for answers on the agency’s oversight of infant formula from…