US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. lawmakers ask for meeting on WTO waiver with Merkel during Washington visit; U.S. starts national Medicare coverage policy review for Biogen's Aduhelm and more

About a dozen Republican-controlled states have approved laws that either restrict voting or change election rules in response to Republican then-President Donald Trump's baseless claims that voter fraud prevented him from winning the 2020 presidential election. U.S. output surging amid pandemic due to digitization - Goldman The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted businesses to rapidly digitize their operations, leading to a surge in productivity in the United States, Goldman Sachs analysts said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. lawmakers ask for meeting on WTO waiver with Merkel during Washington visit

Nine Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Monday urged Germany to drop its "blockade" of a COVID-19 related waiver of intellectual property rights under global trade rules and asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet with them during her visit to Washington. Representative Jan Schakowsky, part of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives; Representative Earl Blumenauer, who leads the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee; and the other lawmakers said they were troubled that Germany was leading EU opposition to a proposed waiver being discussed at the World Trade Organization.

The U.S. starts national Medicare coverage policy review for Biogen's Aduhelm

The U.S. government on Monday started a review process for national Medicare coverage of Biogen Inc's Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, that was recently approved by the country's health regulator. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects to give a proposed decision within 6 months and a final decision within 9 months. (https://go.cms.gov/3hzMa6H)

Aging population to hit U.S. economy like a 'ton of bricks' - U.S. commerce secretary

President Joe Biden does not yet have enough support from fellow Democrats to secure $400 billion in spending for at-home care for the elderly and disabled that the economy desperately needs, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters on Monday. Raimondo, who is paying for round-the-clock care for her own 90-year-old mother, said America's aging demographics were going to hit the country "like a ton of bricks" without increased federal aid, and warned the current situation was "untenable."

Texas Democratic lawmakers flee state to thwart voting restrictions

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers left Texas on Monday as part of an orchestrated move to derail their Republican colleagues' efforts to pass new voting restrictions and other conservative measures during a special legislative session. Calling from an airplane headed to Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon, Texas state Representative Alex Dominguez told Reuters that "nearly everyone" in the House of Representatives' 67-member Democratic caucus had fled the state.

Philadelphia sees $40 million in possible costs from Trump ally's election probe

Philadelphia could face $40 million in costs to replace voting machines if forced to comply with a "forensic investigation" into the 2020 election launched by a Republican state lawmaker and ally of former President Donald Trump, a city commissioner told Reuters. The estimate by Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, a Republican, highlights the potential burden on taxpayers from state Senator Doug Mastriano's attempt to gain access to election equipment from Philadelphia and at least two other counties for inspections, similar to costs that have arisen out of a contentious Republican-led audit of the vote in Arizona.

Commerce Secretary Raimondo pushing to lift tough U.S. travel restrictions

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Monday she is pressing for the easing of coronavirus restrictions that bar much of the world from traveling to the United States but that U.S. health officials remain concerned about more outbreaks. Dozen of U.S. business groups, lawmakers and officials from foreign governments are urging President Joe Biden's administration to relax tough restrictions put in place under former President Donald Trump.

In visit to Philadelphia, Biden pushing for stalled voting rights law

Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, under pressure from civil rights leaders, travels to Philadelphia on Tuesday to issue a strong appeal for sweeping voting rights legislation that is stalled in Congress due largely to Republican opposition. About a dozen Republican-controlled states have approved laws that either restrict voting or change election rules in response to Republican then-President Donald Trump's baseless claims that voter fraud prevented him from winning the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. output surging amid pandemic due to digitization - Goldman

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted businesses to rapidly digitize their operations, leading to a surge in productivity in the United States, Goldman Sachs analysts said. Since the health crisis began, annualized growth in output per hour has risen 3.1%, a big jump from the 1.4% growth recorded in the previous business cycle, the analysts said.

U.S. First Lady to travel to Japan for Olympics - White House

First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Summer Games on July 23, the White House said on Tuesday, leading a delegation that will not include her husband, U.S. President Joe Biden. Amid flare-ups of the coronavirus pandemic, officials have banned spectators from attending almost all Olympics events and Tokyo has declared a state of emergency lasting until Aug. 22, well after the games close on Aug. 8.

Former Pentagon official to be named to key U.S. Commerce Dept post in U.S.-China tech battle -source

Alan Estevez, a former Pentagon official, is expected to be nominated as the U.S. Commerce Department's undersecretary for industry and security, a key post in the U.S.-China tech battle, according to a person familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the Commerce Department declined to comment and Estevez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.