Government Affairs Blog
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2023 State Legislation on Body Art
January 9, 2024 A total of 60 pieces of legislation related to body art were introduced in 19 states and Puerto Rico during the 2023 legislative sessions. Of these 60, 9 were enacted in California, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee. ...
2023: Our Year in Review for Government Affairs
January 5, 2024 Washington, DC, remains as chaotic as ever. Congress spent more time trying to figure out a speaker than floor time on appropriations. The House of Representatives is as far behind as it has ever been on passing the fiscal year (...
House and Senate Have Until January 19 to Finalize Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
December 18, 2023 Congress is much closer to finalizing the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations than the last blog posted on the topic in July, but they still have a ways to go. Top-Line Spending Levels and Other Fund...
2023 Update on State Food Safety Legislation
October 3, 2023 The following table provides a summary of bills related to food safety that have been introduced by state legislations in 2023.Food Safety Topic# of Bills IntroducedRetail food67Food freedom66Food safety51Meat, seafood, or poultr...
Our Story to Tell
October 3, 2023 As I relax here in a cabana near Cabo San Jose in Baja, California, I’m letting myself do one of my favorite forms of relaxation: thinking.Being unencumbered by the noise of everyday life frees me to just sit and think. About wor...
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act
September 5, 2023 The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act (PAHPRA) undergoes review and is reauthorized by Congress every 5 years, the first time in 2018 and again at the end of September 2023. Congress has mark...
FDA Appoints Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Program
August 29, 2023 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the appointment of James “Jim” Jones as the first-ever deputy commissioner for the Human Foods Program. As deputy commissioner of the Human Foods Program, J...
House and Senate Appropriators Remain Far Apart on Fiscal Year 2024 Budgets
August 25, 2023 Congressional appropriators remain where they were earlier this summer regarding budgets that affect environmental health. Not much movement on the appropriation budgets for the Centers for Disease Control and...
House and Senate Continue to Work on Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
July 24, 2023 The appropriation bills for Fiscal Year 2024 are being finalized, with the House Appropriations Committee passing the FY 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bi...
Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Moving Forward, Albeit Slowly
June 26, 2023After the recent debacle over the debt ceiling, Congress is once again working on the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. The Senate is using the agreed-to FY 2023 amount set by the debt ceiling and the House of Representatives is followi...
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
June 6, 2023 On Saturday, June 3, 2023, President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2023, which raises the debt ceiling to allow the U.S. federal government to continue to pay its bills. The deal suspends the deb...
Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill
May 18, 2023The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies marked up the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bill on May 18, 2023. The committee approved a party line ...
We Were Back in Washington, DC, in Early May
May 17, 2023 Our director of Government Affairs was back at the nation’s capital in early May to advocate for the inclusion of the environmental health workforce in the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program. We...
We Advocate for Support of FDA Food Safety Efforts
May 11, 2023 We met with congressional appropriators last month to discuss the importance of Food and Drug Administration(FDA) budgets for food safety to state, local, tribal, and territorial environmental health agencies. Our...
NEHA Meets With the FDA Commissioner
April 10, 2023We were in our nation’s capital the first week of April visiting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Headquarters in White Oak, Maryland.Executive Director Dr. David Dyjack, Director of EZ Rance Baker, Director of Government Af...
NEHA in Washington, DC, 2023
March 2, 2023Our sixth annual Hill Day was held on Thursday, February 23. The NEHA Board of Directors and several of our members met with 53 members of the U.S. Congress from both the House of Representative and Senate and both parties who serve...
Government Affairs Accomplishments in 2022
February 2, 2023Our Government Affairs program continues to expand its influence by reaching out to the current administration, Congress, and federal agencies, as well as engaging in state activities such as tracking state legislation and workin...
Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
Thursday, December 22, 2022dfarquhar@neha.orgCongress has released a bipartisan and bicameral (i.e. both legislative branched) spending package, known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023. The package includes all of the fiscal year (FY) ...
Congress in Negotiations to Finalize the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations
Tuesday, December 6, 2022dfarquhar@neha.org With the midterms over, Congress needs to finish their work on the fiscal year (FY) 2023 budgets. Republicans proposed a top-line of roughly $1.65 trillion in discretionary spending, in line with Presi...
Results of the Midterm Elections on Environmental Health
Tuesday, November 22, 2022dfarquhar@neha.org The 2022 midterm elections are finally over. And we know the results, mostly.The U.S. Senate will remain in control of the Democratic Party, having at least 50 seats and the vote of Vice President Kam...
State Ballot Measures on Environmental Health
November 11, 2022dfarquhar@neha.org On November 8, 2022, voters in the U.S. decided on 133 state ballot measures, including several that addressed water, climate change, health, and cannabis. Most measures get on the ballot in one of two ways: 1...
2021 Year in Government Affairs
Date posted: Monday, January 10, 2022Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDI've completed my first full year as director of Government Affairs for NEHA and, as such, would like to list the accomplishments of the program in 2021.This endeavor is more tha...
Accomplishments So Far
Date posted: Thursday, June 2, 2022 - 13:30Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDEmail of Blog Poster: dfarquhar@neha.orgAs we approach the halfway mark of this year, I thought I would reflect on the activities that our Government Affairs department has...
Congress Finally Enacts Omnibus Spending Package for Fiscal Year 2022
Date posted: Wednesday, March 9, 2022Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDEmail of Blog Poster: dfarquhar@neha.orgThe U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, on an omnibus spending bill that would fund the Centers for Disease C...
Congressperson Rob Wittman Visits Harris Teeter Store
April 25, 2022NEHA organized a site visit for Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA) at a local Harris Teeter grocery store in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Friday, April 22.Representative Wittman, cochair of the Congressional Public Health Caucus, work...
Food Safety Remains Top Government Concern
July 20, 2022Congress must be disappointed with food safety constantly being considered second to drug concerns at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."Food safety is currently a second-class citizen at the Food and Drug Administration", said...
NEHA in Washington, DC, 2022
March 2, 2022The National Environmental Health Association's (NEHA) fifth annual Hill Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 3. The NEHA Board of Directors is scheduled to meet virtually with 30 congressional offices (with more confirmations pendi...
The 2022 Year Ahead in Government Affairs at NEHA
January 10, 2022 The NEHA Government Affairs program had a successful 2021 and we're planning for even more success in 2022.2022 will provide new challenges in government affairs. Being the foremost association advocating for environmental ...
The Biden Administration Tackles Environmental Justice
September 8, 2022NEHA has been long involved with environmental justice. Our position statement, Role of Environmental Health in Addressing Racism as an Environmental Health Issue, recognizes that racism is a threat to public health. The stateme...