April 4, 2025
ACEP in Washington DC
Action On Capitol Hill
ACEP-Supported MISSION ZERO Trauma Readiness Bill Reintroduced
Late last week, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) reintroduced the MISSION ZERO Act (H.R. 2414) to reauthorize the Military and Civilian Partnership for Trauma Readiness Grant Program. This program enables military trauma teams to embed in civilian trauma centers, improving care for severely injured patients while allowing military clinicians to maintain their skills and team cohesion between deployments.
ACEP President Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP, was quoted in the members’ press release marking the introduction of the legislation, stating: “The MISSION ZERO Act is a vital investment in trauma readiness that strengthens emergency care on both the battlefield and at home. By embedding military trauma teams in civilian trauma centers, we can enhance the care for severely injured patients, share knowledge and hands-on experience, and foster invaluable collaboration between military and civilian clinicians, ensuring military trauma teams can maintain their skills and team cohesion between deployments. We thank Representatives Castor and Hudson for their leadership in reintroducing this lifesaving legislation.”
ACEP has long supported this program, which was authorized at $11.5 million annually through the end of 2023. The reauthorization for the program was previously included as part of the effort during the 118th Congress to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) that was also part of the bipartisan, bicameral health package that fell out of the end-of-year continuing resolution to fund the government. As the path forward on PAHPA reauthorization in the 119th Congress remains unclear, the introduction of the standalone MISSION ZERO bill is an important step to continue momentum and support for trauma readiness.
ACEP-Supported Workplace Violence Bill Reintroduced
On Tuesday, Reps. Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Don Bacon (R-NE) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) reintroduced the ACEP-informed and -supported “Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act” (H.R. 2531/S. 1232), bipartisan legislation that would compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an enforceable standard to ensure that employers provide health care workers with safe workplaces. The legislation has twice passed the House of Representatives during the 116th and 117th Congresses, with the bill receiving 254 bipartisan votes on the floor in the 117th.
ACEP President Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP, was quoted in the legislators’ press release, stating: “Nearly every emergency physician has been assaulted or threatened on the job and the problem is only getting worse. Health care workers should be able to focus on saving lives without fearing for their safety. ACEP is deeply grateful to Rep. Courtney and Sen. Baldwin for their work to protect emergency physicians and ensure that we can continue to fulfill our promise to care for anyone, anytime.”
ACEP continues to prioritize efforts to address the worrying and increasing rates of violence in emergency departments and to protect emergency physicians from violence so that they can continue to care for patients in their hour of need.
ACEP and Trauma Coalition Send Bed Tracking Care Coordination Letter to Congress
On Wednesday, ACEP, along with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), Trauma Center Association of America (TCAA), and other members of the Trauma Coalition, sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, urging the committees to develop legislation and pursue efforts to expand utilization of bed tracking capabilities and regional care coordination efforts across the country.
The letter highlights the ongoing emergency department (ED) boarding crisis and how comprehensive, real-time data systems that track hospital bed capacity and manage patient flow can help alleviate some of the pressures that contribute to boarding, as well as how the concept of Regional Medical Operation Coordinating Centers (RMOCCs) as developed by the ACS Committee on Trauma and ACEP, can use these systems to increase transparency, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen the overall resilience of the health care system in everyday operations and especially during times of crisis.
The Trauma Coalition letter is part of ACEP’s continuing efforts to work with Congress and the Administration to inform and develop innovative solutions to the boarding crisis.
Reconciliation Process Moves Forward
With the introduction in the Senate of the Concurrent Budget Resolution, Congress moves into the next stage in the reconciliation process, which requires the Senate and House to pass a unified budget resolution. Rather than resolving the different approaches of the previously passed resolutions in the two chambers, the resolution unveiled in the Senate this week takes the unusual, but permitted, approach of having the Senate and House stick with their own preferred policies and funding levels. This would defer the tough decisions – including agreements on the level of spending cuts, tax extensions, and raising the debt limit – until later in the process.
In regard to health care, this would mean that the House maintains its instructions to the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion, much of which is anticipated to come from Medicaid, while the Senate instructs the Finance Committee (which has jurisdiction over Medicaid) to achieve a minimum of $1 billion in spending cuts.
The Senate cleared a procedural hurdle on the budget resolution and is moving toward advancing the measure by this weekend. If the Senate passes the resolution, the House plans to advance it next week, which would require near-unanimity among House Republicans.
