OME Advocate Newsletter

The Senate began a vote-a-rama Monday morning following a 51-49 procedural vote over the weekend to move forward with debate and consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 1. The Senate Budget Committee released an updated version of the bill over the weekend, reflecting compliance with the Byrd Rule after the Parliamentarian’s review.

The Budget Committee text adopts the Senate's institutional accountability framework in place of the House risk-sharing plan. However, the new draft changes the earnings formula from 10 years after enrollment to 4 years after program completion. AACOM is very concerned that this new formula will penalize medical schools by counting earnings during residency, and we are working hard to modify this provision to only count earnings post-residency.

AACOM also maintains strong concerns with the effect that proposed changes to education and student loan programs, including eliminating the Grad PLUS Loan Program and capping federal borrowing, will have on medical student affordability and access. AACOM has continued sharing these concerns with lawmakers, including through a comment letter submitted to the Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Sanders (I-VT).

Last week, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that several provisions in the HELP bill— including the exclusion of loan payments made by medical residents from counting toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness—were not compliant with the Byrd Rule. To preserve the bill's eligibility for passage by a simple majority, the Senate removed this provision.

President Trump has indicated that he wants the final bill passed and on his desk by the 4th of July. Once the Senate passes its version, the bill will return to the House, where it may be amended further or passed as is. AACOM continues to monitor these developments closely and remains actively engaged with congressional offices.

For more information on the HELP Committee proposal and a comparison with the House bill, see AACOM’s summary. We encourage you to contact your congressional offices to share how these changes will impact you and make it harder to train the next generation of doctors.

Tell Congress to Preserve Grad PLUS!

Thanks to the comprehensive efforts of osteopathic advocates and stakeholders, congressional support for the Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, H.R. 2314, is growing. Just this month, Representatives Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Don Bacon (R-NE) agreed to cosponsor H.R. 2314. This important bipartisan legislation ensures that Medicare-funded residency programs accept DO applications and their licensing exam, the COMLEX-USA. Advocate today for your representative to cosponsor and pass the FAIR Act to ensure graduate medical education (GME) transparency and parity for DOs!

Advocate!

• On June 25, 2025, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a markup of seven bills, including the Accreditation for College Excellence (ACE) Act of 2025, H.R. 2516, and the Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act, H.R. 4045.
• The Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025 would prohibit accreditation standards from requiring, encouraging or coercing institutions to adopt specific partisan, ideological or social viewpoints.
• The Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act requires accreditors to use measurable student-success outcomes, provides an on-ramp for capable new accreditors, mandates that accrediting agencies have substantive change policies and adds new committee member participation requirements for individuals serving on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity.
• Both bills were passed through the committee and are expected to be brought to the House floor later this year. AACOM is monitoring both pieces of legislation to determine their impact on COMs. View AACOM’s markup summary for further information.

• On June 25, 2025, the HELP Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Susan Monarez, PhD, to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology and is a past federal health official.
• During her testimony, Dr. Monarez outlined her priorities to restore trust, strengthen the public health infrastructure and use rapid, evidence-based responses. If confirmed, she will be charged with acting on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations.
• In questioning from members of the committee, Dr. Monarez stated that vaccines ‘absolutely save lives’ and rejected any connection between vaccines and autism but stopped short of saying how she would handle differences with Secretary Kennedy’s recommendations.
• For more information, see AACOM’s summary of the Senate HELP Committee hearing.