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Links to South Africa have emerged in an expansive matter involving a global medical services provider alleged to have falsely represented contract requirements for work it did at US State Department and US Air Force facilities in Iraq.

The company at the centre of the allegations is Comprehensive Health Services LLC, which is based in Florida. Its website describes it as one of the nations largest and most experienced providers of medical management solutions and humanitarian program support.

Daily Maverick has established that Comprehensive Health Services, established in 1975, now falls under the umbrella of Acuity International, which was established in 2021.

Last Tuesday, 8 March 2022, the US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that the company agreed to pay a $930,000 (about R14-million) settlement in the matter.

This was to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by falsely representing to the State Department and the Air Force that it complied with contract requirements relating to services it provided to those departments facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The settlement involved two actions brought under whistle-blower provisions of the US False Claims Act.

In last weeks statement, the US Attorneys Office explained that Comprehensive Health Services was contracted to provide support services at its government-run facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This required the company to provide medical supplies, which included controlled substances, approved by either the US Food and Drug Administration or European Medicines Agency and manufactured in accordance with federal quality standards.

Bypassing US controls via SA

Links to South Africa emerged in this arena.

According to the US, between 2012 and 2019 Comprehensive Health Services falsely represented to the State Department and Air Force that certain substances provided under those contracts were approved by the Food and Drug Administration or European Medicines Agency.

The company allegedly did not have a Drug Enforcement Agency licence to export controlled substances from the US to Iraq.

It was alleged the company got hold of controlled substances by having [company] physicians based in Florida send letters requesting that a South African physician prescribe the controlled substances.

A South African shipping company then received controlled substances that were not approved and sent them to [the company] in Iraq, where [it] supplied the unapproved controlled substances to patients under the State Department and Air Force contracts.

It was therefore alleged that Comprehensive Health Services sidestepped US-imposed controls by operating via South Africa.

But it was accused of doing so from the US and, without that governments approval, for the US.

Neither the name of the South African physician nor that of the shipping company was divulged.

Questions from Daily Maverick to South Africas Health Department had not been responded to by the time of publication.

Daily Maverick sent queries to email addresses listed for Comprehensive Health Services, but these were not responded to.

Acuity International also failed to respond to questions.

How armed gangs steal fuel worth millions from buried Transnet pipelines

Data breach

In another set of allegations, the company submitted claims to the US State Department relating to the cost of a secure electronic medical record system.

This was meant to store all patients medical reports including the confidential identifying information of United States service members, diplomats, officials, and contractors working and receiving medical care in Iraq.

However, between 2012 and 2019 Comprehensive Health Services allegedly failed to disclose to the State Department that it had not consistently stored patients medical records on a secure electronic medical record system.

When [company] staff scanned medical records for the system, [they] saved and left scanned copies of some records on an internal network drive, which was accessible to non-clinical staff, the US alleged.

Even after staff raised concerns about the privacy of protected medical information, [the company] did not take adequate steps to store the information exclusively on the [electronic medical record] system.

A statement on the Comprehensive Health Services website from last month said it learned of a data security incident relating to a limited number of people.

In September 2020 it had detected unusual activity within its digital environment following discovery of fraudulent wire transfers.

Comprehensive Health Services launched an investigation.

On November 3, 2021, [the company] learned that certain personal information may have been impacted in connection with the incident, the notice on its website said.

[We] then worked diligently to identify address information required toeffectuatenotification.

On 20 January and 11 February 2022, the company sent notifications to individuals who may have been affected, it said.

In last weeks statement about the Comprehensive Health Services settlement, the US made it clear that the claims resolved via the $930,000 settlement were only allegations and there has been no determination of liability.

Elisabeth Kaminsky, a special agent in charge of the US State Departments Office of Investigations, said the settlement demonstrated its commitment to protecting personnel.

Our hope is that this outcome will send a clear message that cutting corners on State Department contracts has significant consequences, she said. DM

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CONTRACT FIDDLE: SA link to US medical firm accused of sneaking unapproved drugs to military patients in Iraq - Daily Maverick

We alsosupported the response to the outbreak in Mosul, in Ninewa governorate, temporarily transforming our 64-bed post-operative care facility in the east of the city into a COVID-19 treatment center for suspected and confirmed cases. In mid-November, we opened an additional 15-bed intensive care unit at Al-Salam hospital to offer advanced care for patients with critical and severe forms of the virus.

At other facilities in Ninewa, as well as in Erbil, Diyala, Kirkuk, and Dohuk governorates, we provided training sessions, with a focus on infection control. In addition, we set up a 20-bed isolation unit and treatment facility at Laylan displacement camp in Kirkuk, in preparation for a potential spike in COVID-19 cases.

In the rest of the country, we continued to run general and specialist health services at our ongoing projects for displaced people, returnees, and vulnerable communities. In all locations, including our COVID-19 centers, we maintained our emergency room andmental healthservices.

As a result of the pandemic and the closure of private clinics, our maternity and pediatric teams in west Mosul and Sinuni saw a sharp increase in demand for care and admissions.

In Ninewa, we provided emergency and intensive care, burns treatment, physiotherapy, and mental health care at our hospital in Qayyarah, until October, when we handed over all our activities to local government hospitals. As part of the process, we trained staff and donated medical supplies and other equipment. Until October, at the Qayyarah displacement camp, MSF also offered general health care,maternity services, and treatment and follow-up for non-communicable diseases, until we handed over our activities to another organization.

We also had teams working in general health care centers in the towns of Hawija and Al-Abasi in Kirkuk governorate, and in Sinsil Al-Muqdadiya in Diyala governorate, where we supported maternity services, sexual and reproductive health care, treatment for non-communicable diseases, health promotion, and mental health care. Ourgeneral health care services were also available in Laylan camp(Kirkuk),until its closure in November, and in Alwand and Sinsil camps (Diyala), until August,when MSF handed over these activitiesto the Department of Health and other organizations.

In Baghdad, MSF continued to collaborate with the nationaltuberculosis(TB) program, with the introduction of a new, more effective oral treatment for drug-resistant TB.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we were forced to temporarily suspend our activities at the Baghdad medical rehabilitation center, where people injured in violent incidents or accidents receive comprehensive care, including mental health support. However, we were able to maintain our support to patients through online physiotherapy and mental health consultations, for example using Skype, and restarted activities later in the year.

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Iraq | Our Work & How to Help - Doctors Without Borders (MSF-USA)

The House will vote on ending permanent normalized trade relations with Russia and Belarus on Thursday, a move that would allow the U.S. to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods and take other actions.

The bill will use an expedited process requiring the support of two-thirds of lawmakers for passage.

I urge my colleagues on both sides to join in voting to hold them accountable, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a tweet.

The legislation has bipartisan support and will come to the floor one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Congress for additional sanctions on Russia.

Revoking the status, which in the U.S. requires legislation, would put Russia in the same category as other states viewed by Washington as pariahs, including North Korea and Cuba.

The bill also includes an expansion of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. That would enable the Biden administration to impose further sanctions on Russian officials for human rights violations. The House included Magnitsky language in legislation to ban Russian oil that passed that chamber last week. However, attaching it to the trade legislation may move it through the Senate and to President Joe Bidens desk sooner, though no timetable has been set.

The president last week announced the U.S., along with other G-7 and European Union countries, would revoke the trade status in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Negotiations briefly stalled in the House while Democrats and Republicans were divided over just how much power Biden should have to reinstate Russias status and what Moscow would have to do to regain the standing, lawmakers involved in the talks said. Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas), the senior Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said both parties and the White House reached a compromise that allows for both Congress and the president to be involved in re-establishing a U.S. trade relationship with Russia. Read more from Laura Davison and Billy House.

Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Smoke rises after explosions in Kyiv on Wednesday.

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Jerome Powell won bipartisan support from a Senate panel for another term as Federal Reserve chair on Wednesday evening while Bidens other remaining nominees to join the central bank also advanced. The Senate Banking Committee approved Powell in a 23-1 vote. The panel also backed sending the nominations of Lael Brainard as vice chair and Philip Jefferson as Fed governors to the full Senate. The committee, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, deadlocked 12-12 on Lisa Cooks nomination to the board of governors, which will require another vote on the Senate floor. Olivia Rockeman and Steven T. Dennis have more.

House Democrats want to slap big oil companies with a new windfall tax and return the money to consumers via a monthly rebate, the latest step by Democrats to try and tie gas prices to top fossil fuel producers. Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would establish a re-distributive tax on oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron to fund rebates structured similarly to the stimulus payments that Congress authorized during the pandemic. Its similar to a bill floated last week by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others, Colin Wilhelm reports.

Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown asked Treasury and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to study the growing role of private equity firms in managing retirement insurance products. These risky companies have a track record of undermining pension and retirement programs, Brown (D-Ohio) said in a letter. He asked for a report to Congress by May 31 from Steven Seitz, director of the Treasury Departments Federal Insurance Office; and Dean Cameron, director of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Alisa Parenti reports.

Employers hoping to offer apprenticeship programs to aid workforce development in a tight labor market would get some funding help under a House bill to be introduced Thursday. The legislation comes at a time when the workforce is continuing to recover from the peak of the global Covid-19 pandemic and jobless rates are at a record low in some places. Reps. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) plan to introduce their Apprenticeship Support for Small Employers and Teams, or ASSET Act, Thursday. Read more from Paige Smith.

A House committee will spotlight an FDA process thats been criticized as putting some of the costliest drugs on the market with limited evidence. The House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee will tackle 22 pieces of legislation at a hearing on Thursday about the future of medicine. The hearing comes as Congress considers legislation to reauthorize user fees, which the Food and Drug Administration takes from drug and device-makers to fund its operations. Read more from Jeannie Baumann and Celine Castronuovo.

A key senator reiterated that Chinese companies must comply fully with U.S. rules if they want to keep trading on New York exchanges. Americans are investing money in companies which dont have the transparency that you would expect from other investments, virtually from any company from virtually any part of the world, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said, as U.S.-listed Chinese stocks soared Wednesday. Rubio was discussing a law passed in 2020 that could lead to Chinese companies being booted off exchanges as soon as 2024 if regulators arent able to inspect their corporate audits. Read more from Steven Dennis.

As the end of redistricting approaches, former Attorney General Eric Holder is more hopeful about Democrats competitive positioning over the next decade, but just as disheartened by the overall state of U.S. elections. Holder has focused as chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee on leveling the playing field after the GOP dominated the previous round of district line-drawing. In an interview with BGOV reporters, Holder said Democrats stopped Republicans from drawing their way into a permanent majority in Congress. Read more from Emily Wilkins and Greg Giroux.

Celebrity physician Mehmet Oz said he will renounce his Turkish citizenship if hes elected to the Senate from Pennsylvania after Republican rival David McCormick made it an issue in their GOP primary and questioned whether he could have conflicting loyalties. McCormick, the former Bridgewater Associates CEO, criticized Oz for his dual citizenship. His campaign had questioned why Oz served in the Turkish military rather than the U.S. military and held a call Wednesday with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who cast doubt on Ozs ability to receive classified briefings if he were a Turkish citizen. Read more from Mark Niquette.

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Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin tested positive while in D.C. for St. Patricks Day celebrations, according to news reports. The Press Association reported Martins positive test Wednesday. Martin left the Ireland Funds Gala in Downtown Washington after learning of the result, according to CBS News. A White House spokesman said Biden spoke at the event but he was not in close contact with Martin. Jordan Fabian has more.

Bidens crypto executive order put the nations two federal consumer protection regulators front and center in regulating digital currency. The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have largely taken a back seat to other financial regulators when it comes to crypto. But Bidens order on March 9 directed the CFPB and FTC to analyze how they can police crypto transactions for fraud and abuse. Theyve taken the position that crypto is not a consumer product, but as of [March 9] that position is done, one former CFPB attorney said. Evan Weinberger has more.

States and companies cant keep using Trump-era formulas to estimate social costs of greenhouse gas emissions for future energy and infrastructure projects while they battle over Biden administration calculations that are roughly twice as costly. The federal appeals court in New Orleans on Wednesday granted the White Houses request to temporarily let federal agencies use Bidens new cost-benefit analysis rules, which seek to slow climate change by making activities that emit greenhouse gases far more expensive. Read more from Laurel Brubaker Calkins.

The U.S. wants to broaden efforts to boost the energy sectors cybersecurity defenses, shoring up the U.S. supply chain of power equipment to spot vulnerabilities more quickly amid rising concerns from Russia and China. The Department of Energys four-year-old cybersecurity office, with an 18% bump in funding approved by Congress this month, is stepping up coordination with other agencies and private industry, Puesh Kumar, director of the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, told Bloomberg Law. Read more from Daniel Moore.

Ketanji Brown Jacksons work on the U.S. Sentencing Commission led her and members of different ideologies to reach consensus on hot-button issues. Consensus in contentious matters on the Supreme Court can be more elusive, but Jacksons experience on the sentencing commission at a pivotal moment in its history will help her and the court if shes confirmed, according to lawyers with commission experience and scholars whove studied the organization. Jackson, Bidens choice to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, will begin nomination hearings in the Senate next week. Read more from Jordan S. Rubin.

To contact the reporters on this story: Giuseppe Macri in Washington at gmacri@bgov.com; Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com;

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Loren Duggan at lduggan@bgov.com; Michaela Ross at mross@bgov.com

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What to Know in Washington: House to Vote on Russia Trade Status | Bloomberg Government - Bloomberg Government

Is it possible to reinvent yourself? The question has been on Susan Rigettis mind since 2017. It was then that she, under her maiden name Susan Fowler, wrote a viral blog post that thrust her into the spotlight at just 25 years old. Titled Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber, the post described the rampant sexual harassment she experienced as an engineer at the ride-share company. It sparked a headline-grabbing internal investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, that underlined serious cultural problems at the company, leading to the eventual resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick. Susan Fowler became a household name, a leading figure in bringing the #MeToo movement to Silicon Valley, and the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Whistleblower, which told the full story of what she had endured.

People told me many times, If you say anything about this, youll never work in engineering again, she says, looking back on her decision to speak out. So I said, OK, Ill have to start all over.

Read More: TIMEs Person of the Year 2017 Is the Silence Breakers

That new beginning includes the title shes been waiting to claim most of her life: novelist. On April 5, as Rigetti, shell make her fiction debut with Cover Storya frothy thriller that draws inspiration from scandalous headlines about other figures who have set out to reinvent themselves. The book chronicles the antics of Cat Wolff, a grifter making her way in the high-powered worlds of tech and media, who, with her ambiguous European background, hotel residence, and penchant for defrauding banks, is clearly modeled in part on Anna Delvey Sorokin. When Cat meets Lora, a naive Elle magazine intern whos aching to become a writer and who has just lost her scholarship at New York University, the two immediately see each other as a means to their respective ends: Loras writing skills will help Cat produce fiction, and Cats name and standing in New York will help Lora get published and pay for school. At least thats the plan Cat sells to Lora.

The result is a page-turner thats hilarious in its dedication to vamping on viral news stories about real-life strivers and cons from Delvey to Instagram personality Caroline Calloway, whose former friend accused Calloway of exploiting her for her writinga delicious read for anyone who, like Rigetti, perhaps ironically, cant resist a scandal. I wanted to write something that felt to read as it did to scroll through peoples socialmedia posts, read all their blog stuff, and try to piece together this narrative of evidence, she says. I just want to gossip about the book with other people.

Rigetti, now 30, is a self-described rule follower. Shes fascinated by the processes people follow to advance or change their lives. Im always trying to figure out how the world works, she says. You want to write a movie or a bookhow do you do that? How do you get there? There are all these rules. Her life before Uber was marked by hardship and a determination to succeedshe grew up in rural Arizona, one of seven children, with barely any formal education. But she always wanted to write. While her childhood and adolescence were full of painful setbacks due to her familys financial situation, she was a hungry reader and taught herself what she needed to know to get into college. She learned the rules to get to where she wanted to be, and she followed them.

"Cover Story" follows a glamorous scammer in New York City

Michelle Watt for TIME

Which is why Rigetti has been fascinated with scammers for as long as she can remember. She loves the movie Catch Me if You Can. One of her favorite pastimes is plunging into internet holes about cons. When I read about scammers, I have to know everything, she says. I cant get enough of it. Shes not alone: Inventing Anna, the Shonda Rhimes Netflix drama based on Sorokins story, and The Dropout, the Hulu series about Elizabeth Holmes and the lies on which she built Theranos, are two of the buzziest shows streaming right nownot to mention Showtimes Super Pumped, which revisits the very story of what Rigetti experienced at Uber.

In Cat, Rigetti has constructed a character who learned the inner workings of powerful institutions, from venture-capital funds to fashion media, and understood how she could manipulate them to fund her lavish lifestyle. Lora is guided by the precedent that shes seen play out in the movies: she got the dream internship, and she believes that if she works hard enough and makes the right connections, then everything else will fall into place. Once she meets Cat, Lora hangs on the dazzling womans every wordeven when those words dont really make sense, and even when they get Lora into trouble. Its Loras drive to succeed, fueled by her insecurities about her humble Pennsylvania upbringing, that makes her so susceptible to Cats schemes.

Rigetti remembers what it was like to be Loras age and to feel like an outsider just trying to get her foot in the door. The bulk of the book is written in the form of Loras diary entries, and Rigetti turned to her own journals from her youth to sift through vulnerable moments and develop Loras voice. She noticed her younger selfs fixation on being taken seriously. Youre looking around, trying to figure out: How on earth do I fit into this? she recalls. Theres that feeling of wanting so badly to prove yourself and to have the chance to claim your ambition without people thinking youre getting ahead of yourself.

As much as Rigetti identified with Lora, she also needed to understand Catthis woman whos fighting to keep her position in a moneyed world through lying, stealing, and adopting multiple identities. Rigetti had to ask herself: What makes a person choose that life? Cat ends up doing terrible things, making a total mess of herself at a young age, piling on more and more until shes in so deep that this is all she can do now, she says. She doesnt see another way to live.

After speaking out against Uber, Rigetti gave up her career in software engineering and pivoted, taking editing jobs at a startup and the New York Times. During that period, she found herself an object of interest, constantly confronted by people asking her how she viewed herself in the world. Writing the novel was her escape, a touchstone shed turn to during lunch breaks and late at night. The whole time I was working on this book, I was trying to figure out: Who am I? she says.

For one, shes the center of a family. She married her husband Chad Rigetti, the founder of a quantum computing company, in 2017, and theyve since had two children. She tried her hand at editing and now is focused on writing her own stories, working on fiction and screenplays. And shes made a point to have more fun. She uses the word more than 30 times in our conversationfun is the backbone of the book, the sensibility that she was chasing while writing, and what she wants readers to experience while reading. Rigetti remembers, after coming up with the idea for Cover Story, how she pulled her husband out of his office to take a walk and explained the twisting plot to himeach tech-world detail a small joy. I was telling him: It has PowerPoints! Shell go to Y Combinator! Therell be an article about her age to get on this 30 under 30 list! she says.

People familiar with Susan Fowlers story might be surprised to hear shes written a novel poking fun at both newsmaking scandals and the world she helped hold to account. But Rigetti refuses to let her past define her when she has so many other stories to tell and versions of herself to be. She doesnt buy into the idea that each life has a single narrative or meaning. The place where its interesting is what it takes to get from one stage of your life to another, she says. The trick is finding a way to prove to the world that you are capable of doing something new.

More Must-Read Stories From TIME

Write to Annabel Gutterman at annabel.gutterman@time.com.

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Susan Rigetti on Cover Story and the Allure of Scammers | Time - TIME

The U.S. has warned European allies that Russia asked China for armed drones in late February as it was beginning its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.

The request has alarmed Biden administration officials who are seeking to prevent ChinaRussias most powerful diplomatic allyfrom coming to Vladimir Putins aid in the war, according to the people, who described the matter on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinas top diplomat, Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi met for six hours in Rome to discuss a range of issues, including Ukraine. One U.S. official described the meeting as intense but declined to say whether the military aid request came up, while Yang after the meeting pressed all sides to exercise restraint in the conflict.

Before the Sullivan and Yang meeting, American officials began disclosing Russias bid for military and economic assistance. Asked about the drone request a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Monday night referred to an earlier statement from Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian. The U.S. has been maliciously spreading disinformation targeting China, he said Monday. We have been playing a constructive part in promoting peace talks.

The Biden administration has sought to persuade Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to help end a conflict thats now entered its third week. The presidents senior advisers have pressured China to enforce sanctions on Russias economy imposed by the U.S. and its European and Asian allies. A top administration official acknowledged on Monday that the White House has deep concerns about Russias alignment with China. Read more from Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer Jacobs.

At the same time, China wants to avoid being affected by U.S. sanctions, according to Foreign Minister Wang Yi in one of Beijings most explicit statements yet on American penalties that are contributing to a historic market selloff. China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China, Wang said. China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. Concerns were rising among investors that Chinese companies would face sanctions after U.S. officials warned that Russia requested military and financial assistance from Beijing. Read more from Bloomberg News.

Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Police standing in front of a residential building heavily damaged by Russian shelling in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The U.S. must create defense alliances based on technology, instead of concentrating exclusively on geographic partnerships, said a key Democrat reviewing the status of recommendations a task force made two years ago. Such technology-based alliances would serve well in deterrence against China, Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a co-leader of the Future Defense Task Force and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said. Moulton is pitching the international technology alliances as his task force releases a report on the progress that Congress and the Pentagon made on recommendations to shake up the security apparatus.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has shown that such alliances are possible, he said, with Turkey sending armed drones that Ukraine has used to strike Russian tanks and disable multiple rocket launch systems. There are interesting bedfellows around the world, Moulton said in an interview. The U.S. should reach out to the countries that lead the way in innovative technology and establish the norms for its use, he added. Read more from Roxana Tiron.

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The Capitol will begin reopening to small groups of tourists, students, and business visitors by March 28, and could be fully open to the public by Labor Day, according to people familiar with the planning. The opening would mark a return to normalcy after the Capitol closed to the public in March 2020 because of concerns about the spread of Covid-19. Other restrictions at the Capitol, such as a mask rule in the House chamber, have recently been dropped. The details for the reopening emerged after a meeting between committees, Sergeants at Arms, and the U.S. Capitol Police. Read more from Emily Wilkins and Billy House.

Senate legislation on a biomedical research agency, ARPA-H, aims to put distance between Washington and new, cutting-edge science, decreeing that the physical location of the entity isnt in the D.C. area. The bill instead nods to major biotech hubs like San Francisco or Boston, saying ARPA-Hs director should consider the characteristics of the intended location and the extent to which such location will facilitate advancement of ARPA-Hs purposes. The Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee will debate the bill to authorize the office Tuesday, Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), said. Jeannie Baumann has more.

Biden recently signaled he wants to strengthen enforcement of mental health parity rules. That push will include a demand that insurers offer an adequate network of behavioral health providers, including three visits for a patient each year without cost-sharing, and ask Congress to help improve parity. Mental health disorders show signs of worsening for many Americans, and the lack of adequate coverage exacerbates the issue, care advocates said. Almost 40% of U.S. adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in 2021, nearly quadruple the level in 2019, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported. Alex Ruoff has more.

Senators from states rich in the production of oil and renewable fuel urged Biden to stop pressuring the Postal Service to shift to electric vehicles, warning that the approach threatens to make the U.S. more reliant on critical minerals processed in China. The Biden administrations focus on a single technology mandate to reduce emissions from the transportation sector overlooks the overwhelming evidence of economic, environmental and security benefits of liquid motor fuels produced in the U.S., Republican senators Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and John Cornyn (Texas) said in a letter, Jennifer A. Dlouhy reports.

A key House Democrat is warning Republicans may not fully fund the transit programs in last years infrastructure law if they win control of Congress. Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is urging Bidens administration to dedicate as much transit funds as possible in 2022. The infrastructure law approved a surge in money for public transit over five years, but Congress has to appropriate much of it. About $29 billion could be at risk, DeFazio said. Im worried what will happen if the House and Senate change, he said at a American Public Transportation Association conference. Lillianna Byington has more.

The nomination of Alison Nathan, whos overseeing the sex-trafficking case of Ghislaine Maxwell, led a dozen judicial picks readied for Senate votes as members prepare for confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday filed motions to invoke cloture on Nathans nomination to the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and 11 others for district courts. The cloture votes could take place this week. Jacksons Judiciary Committee hearings are set to start March 21. Madison Alder has more.

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The bulk of redistricting might be over, but Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, wants officials and lawmakers to continue to address gerrymandering. The former attorney general told Bloomberg Government in an interview that he knows people at the Justice Department have concerns about our process, our electoral infrastructure. They have, as people serving in the department, a bully pulpit, he said. Thats one of the things Id like to see them do more, just talk more about the concerns that I know they have.

Holder also said lawmakers should continue pushing voting rights legislation. While he conceded that it was unrealistic for wide-ranging bills (H.R 1, H.R. 4) to pass, he said he wants votes on smaller elements like a ban on partisan gerrymandering. Give me a good reason why would you would not support a ban on partisan gerrymandering, Holder said. Challenge people in Congress, the House as well as the Senate, on why they are not in support of that, he told BGOVs Emily Wilkins and Greg Giroux.

U.S. Work-Permit Cliff Is Costing Immigrants Their Jobs: Unprecedented delays in approving work-permit renewals are routinely leaving immigrants in limbo. The government doesnt keep statistics on how many people have had their permits expire while waiting for a renewal, but officials estimate that, at its worst in January and February, hundreds per day were losing permission to work. The average processing time listed online continues to increasefrom 5 months, to 7, to 12. Read more from Dara Lind.

Talks between U.S. and Chinese officials over North Koreas weapons program got a boost from a meeting between officials in Rome on Monday. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi agreed that their staffs should be in touch in the near future over concerns about Pyongyangs recent acceleration in missile tests, according to a U.S. official who briefed reporters on the six-hour conversation. The White House official cited North Koreas missile tests as an escalating situation demanding the attention of both Washington and Beijing. Jenny Leonard and Jennifer Jacobs have more.

To contact the reporters on this story: Giuseppe Macri in Washington at gmacri@bgov.com; Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Loren Duggan at lduggan@bgov.com; Michaela Ross at mross@bgov.com

Read more:
What to Know in Washington: Putin Wants Armed Drones, US Says | Bloomberg Government - Bloomberg Government