July 22, 2022 4:42pm EDT
Hoyer hijacks telehealth bill to give advantage to Cheney, Republicans claim
GOP aide suggests top Democrat trying 'to give Rep. Cheney an edge in her primary'
By Houston Keene | Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan telehealth bill in the House was hijacked by the lower chamber’s Democratic leadership and teed up for Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo, to claim a victory, Republicans contend.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced in an email to congressional offices that he would bring the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act to the floor next week.
The bill’s primary co-sponsor is Cheney, who represents the rural state of Wyoming that would benefit greatly from expanded telehealth access. The bill's passage would be a significant boon as she stares down a tough primary election.
Cheney’s bill, however, may not look the same when it hits the floor next week. A senior House GOP aide told Fox News Digital that the bill will likely be modified to include most of the provisions from a similar, bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and David Schweikert, R-Ariz.
The aide told Fox News Digital that it "seems Democrat leadership's goal with this legislation is to give Rep. Cheney an edge in her primary."
"That's a shame because Republicans have been working across the aisle to improve access to telehealth for over a year," the aide said.
Another House legislative aide told Fox News Digital there is "already a bill with broad bipartisan support that would accomplish our goal of improving access to telehealth" and that instead "of taking up that legislation, Democrat leadership chose politics over a bipartisan policy solution."
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hoyer-hijacks-telehealth-bill-advantage-cheney-republicans-say
