Overnight Healthcare: Senators say vaccine science is sound

Senators from both parties stressed the importance of vaccinations on Tuesday amid a measles outbreak and a debate on immunizations that burst into the 2016 presidential race. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, stressed at a hearing that the science is settled. "Too many parents are turning away from sound science," Alexander said. "Sound science is this: Vaccines save lives." The hearing comes as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), both likely Republican presidential contenders, drew criticism for saying that parents should have some choice in whether they vaccinate their children. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), without naming Paul, brought up a phrase he had used last week. Paul said that he knew of children who developed "profound mental disorders" after vaccination, before later saying that he was not implying causation. At the hearing Tuesday, Warren asked Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization at the CDC, "Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause profound mental disorders?" Schuchat replied "no," before adding that some of the diseases themselves can cause mental disorders. Read more here. ... BUT RAND PAUL MISSES HEARING Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was absent from a Senate hearing on vaccines Tuesday -- one week after he came under criticism for suggesting a link between vaccines and mental disorders in children. Paul's office said he missed the hearing because he was attending a classified Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iran sanctions that was held at the same time. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization at the CDC, "Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause profound mental disorders?" Schuchat replied "no." Read more here. FDA CHIEF DISTURBED BY MEASLES OUTBREAK: Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Tuesday urged everyone who has not been vaccinated for measles to do so, emphasizing that there's "no shortage" of the vaccine. In a blog post, Hamburg called the outbreak "disturbing," because measles had been effectively eliminated from the United States in 2000. "There is no shortage of measles vaccine," she wrote as part of the Obama administration's push on the issue. "It should be used by everyone who has not been vaccinated to prevent measles and the potentially tragic consequences of the disease." Read more here. MCCONNELL WARNS OF OBAMACARE TAXES: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday warned that the Affordable Care Act will unleash a new round of tax penalties on people across the country. The Kentucky Republican denounced the law for making the "mind-numbingly complex tax code" even more complex – an argument that Republicans are adopting in their rhetoric against ObamaCare. Read more here. EBOLA BACK IN SPOTLIGHT: House Republicans are bringing attention back to the Obama administration's $5.4 billion funding request to help fight Ebola in West Africa now that the number of new cases of the disease is finally slowing. The Obama administration has spent a total of $1.1 billion to fight Ebola as of January, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That figure includes both domestic and international spending, though the administration does not keep track of how much has come specifically from the emergency request. Wednesday's schedule A House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on Ebola funding featuring officials from the United States Agency for International Development. A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on the federal government's efforts to fix the country's mental health system. The nonprofit policy group Academy Health will hold its National Child Health Policy Conference, which includes remarks from HHS's top innovation and quality officer, Patrick Conway State by state Nebraska lawmaker proposes expanding birth control access through Medicaid Chicago measles cases rise to 10 Maine lawmaker wants to give terminal patients the right to try experimental drugs Iowa Gov. Branstad to work with legislators on closing hospitals What we're reading New questions swirl on Affordable Care Act challengers Here's who's most likely to lose coverage if the Supreme Court guts ObamaCare Doctors turning away unvaccinated children As Ebola fades, questions arise over billions in US aid What you might have missed from The Hill Medical device industry quiet on how to pay for repealing tax GAO Audit: Government overpaid for Medicaid enrollees who also had private coverage Group: HHS shortchanging some hospitals on Ebola funding Please send tips and comments to Sarah Ferris, sferris@thehill.com, and Peter Sullivan, psullivan@thehill.com. Follow on Twitter: @thehill, @sarahnferris, @PeterSullivan4