Updates

Democrats Dressed Down Dumbfounded Pharma Executives at Fiery Congressional Hearing on Drug Prices
Blake Montgomery, The Daily Beast

Several Democratic representatives blasted pharmaceutical executives over the prices of their companies’ drugs during a Wednesday House Oversight Committee hearing that caught the chief of Bristol Myers Squibb subsidiary Celgene and Teva flat-footed. Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) drew a stark connection between bonuses the former Celgene CEO, Mark Alles, had received in recent years and price hikes for the cancer therapeutic Revlimid, which has risen in price from $215 in 2005 to $763 today. When Alles could not succinctly answer whether the drug had improved alongside the price hikes, Porter replied, “To recap here: The drug didn’t get any better, the cancer patients didn’t get any better, you just got better at making money, you just refined your skills at price gouging.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) pointed to internal documents from drugmaker Teva that calculated the return on investment from charitable donations when she said, “Your pharmaceutical company makes these so-called charitable donations so you look like you give a shit about sick people.” Teva’s CEO Kåre Schultz failed so badly to win over lawmakers that one told him he “might as well get off the screen” of the virtual hearing. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) told Schultz, “It would have been nice to come, maybe, equipped a little bit better.”

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Sarbanes on talks about coronavirus relief
Jason Newton, WBAL-TV (NBC)

It has been six months since Congress passed the coronavirus relief act for the coronavirus pandemic, and talks between the White House and lawmakers are stalled over another round of relief. Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes talks about what's happening in Washington now.

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Maryland Congressional Delegation Over $240K For Chesapeake Bay Education Initiatives
WJZ-TV (Online)

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Congressman John Sarbanes (all D-Md.), announced $242,858 in federal funding on Wednesday for the Chesapeake Bay Trust to expand environmental education programs.

The funding, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training grant program, will help local school districts and educators create and maintain environmental education programs for students throughout the area.

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Maryland postal workers, lawmakers urge public to rally behind Postal Service as Frosh considers lawsuit
Jeff Barker, The Baltimore Sun

Postal workers, union officials and Maryland political leaders urged citizens Monday to rally behind the U.S. Postal Service, saying public pressure can help reverse significant cuts at an agency “under attack.”

“We need everybody,” said Sherry McKnight, president of American Postal Workers Union Local 181, which represents about 1,600 Baltimore-area postal workers.

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We are grateful for Baltimore’s firefighters and first responders, who answered the call and saved the lives of our fellow community members after this morning’s terrible gas explosion. My heart goes out to the families, neighbors and friends of the victims.

Maryland congressional delegation requests $32 billion more relief funding for U.S. transit systems
Colin Campbell, The Baltimore Sun

Maryland’s congressional delegation is asking for an additional $32 billion in coronavirus relief funding for U.S. public transit systems — and for a larger share to go to transit systems serving mid-sized cities, such as Baltimore, where people depend heavily on the regional buses and trains.

Public transit is an essential government service, and additional aid “is necessary to sustain operations across the country,” U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and U.S. Reps. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume and John Sarbanes said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Friday.

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Census Door Knocking Cut A Month Short Amid Pressure To Finish Count
Hansi Lo Wang, NPR

The Census Bureau is cutting short critical door-knocking efforts for the 2020 census amid growing concerns among Democrats in Congress that the White House is pressuring the bureau to wrap up counting soon for political gain, NPR has learned.

Asked by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., if he was aware that the Trump administration reportedly wants to wrap up counting quickly so that the president can receive the census apportionment numbers by the end of the year, Dillingham replied: "I'm not aware of all the many reasons except to say that the Census Bureau and others really want us to proceed as rapidly as possible."

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Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) secured $3 million in federal funding for the National Health Care Workforce Commission as part of the Fiscal Year 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) funding bill, which passed favorably out of the House Appropriations Committee today and will soon receive a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

FIREFIGHTERS RECEIVE $400,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDING
SUZANNE POLLAK, Montgomery Community Media

Maryland’s federal legislators announced July 16 the awarding of almost $400,000 for firefighters in Montgomery County to continue purchasing personal protective equipment.

Montgomery County will receive $357,800 and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad will receive $45,780 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters – COVID-19 Supplemental program.

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