Floor Statements

I thank the chair of the Health Subcommittee for the time.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that seniors don't find a lump of coal in their stockings for Christmas, and this fully offset package represents access to health care for about 40 million seniors. It is going to give seniors the peace of mind, knowing that their trusted physicians will be there when they need them the most by securing stable payments for physicians.

Since its passage back in 1997 SGR has bred uncertainty and frustration. This uncertainty has left seniors in the lurch, wondering if their doctors would be able to remain in practice and available for checkups and consultation. This is no way to keep Americans healthy or run a health care system, so Members on both sides of the aisle agree that the SGR is broken.

Earlier this year, our committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, myself with Mr. Waxman, we voted 51-0 on H.R. 2810, which would permanently repeal SGR and replace it with a system that promotes the highest quality of care.

While I am disappointed that we didn't repeal SGR permanently this year, this agreement tonight is a step forward. We are going to continue to work at a more complete solution. This fix is fully offset, something that full reform will also need to accomplish. I look forward to working with my colleagues on all the committees to get it done in a bipartisan way.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2019) to eliminate taxpayer financing of presidential campaigns and party conventions and reprogram savings to provide for a 10-year pediatric research initiative through the Common Fund administered by the National Institutes of Health, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act of 2013. H.R. 2019, authored by my colleague, Gregg Harper, is a bill that will help countless kids and families across the country.

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act would prioritize funding for the research of pediatric diseases and disorders such as cancer, autism, and Fragile X. It would eliminate taxpayer financings of party conventions, political money, and use these funds instead to expand pediatric research at the NIH Common Fund through their common fund. This bill certainly does put kids first.

You know, Gabriella Miller was a little warrior in the battle against childhood cancer. At only 10 years of age, she had the courage miles beyond her years. A frying pan and a walnut is all you need to understand her brave outlook on life.

When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was told that the size of that tumor was about like a walnut; and from then on, Gabriella traveled with her trusty frying pan squashing countless walnuts along the way all over the world.

That is the kind of courage and outlook on life that she had. Advancing health research for millions of young patients who suffer from rare and genetic diseases has got to be a priority. While we have made great strides in the country in finding cures and treatments, we certainly have a great amount of work to do. Included in the work is pushing for research that is going to help uncover cures for pediatric diseases.

In order for clinical trials and other advancements to meet their full potential, adequate resources have got to be directed for pediatric research. The legislation is an example of how much can be accomplished by ending wasteful spending and redirecting those funds towards national priorities like pediatric research.

This effort is going to help families like the Kennedys in Mattawan, Michigan, my constituents. Eric and Sarah have two wonderful little girls, Brooke and Brielle, who have the rare disease called spinal muscular atrophy. Those two little angels, who are fighting SMA with the same vigor and sunny outlook exhibited by Gabriella, are decorated little generals in the effort to boost research for rare diseases and serve as inspiration for every one of us.

The sad reality is that it is often difficult to conduct research into rare diseases due to the small number of individuals with those diseases; but we are working to change that--yes, we are--and provide families with greater hope for a cure and in advances of treatment.

This bill has over 150 cosponsors and is supported by a long list of patient advocacy groups including Autism Speaks, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and FightSMA.

I wholeheartedly agree with the bill's Democrat sponsor, Peter Welch from Vermont, who recently said last night on CNN:

Can we just put the battle axes down for a while and take a

step forward?

He thinks we can. We need to.

With all of us today with so many diseases, we need to pass this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Angelman Syndrome Foundation,

Aurora, IL, July 5, 2013.

Hon. Eric Cantor,

Majority Leader, House of Representatives,United States

Capitol, Washington, DC.

Hon. Gregg Harper,

House of Representatives, Cannon House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Leader Cantor and Congressman Harper: On behalf of the

Angelman Syndrome Foundation, ASF, I write in strong support

for H.R. 2019, the Kids First Research Act. This important

legislation will

expand pediatric medical research activities at the National

Institutes of Health, NIH, by approximately $130 million.

Pediatric research should be a national priority, and ASF

applauds Congressman Harper for his leadership on this issue.

This legislation has the potential to develop treatments and

unlock the cure for thousands of impacted children, including

those with Angelman Syndrome.

Angelman syndrome is a single-gene neurodevelopmental

disorder that is related to autism. Continued research for

pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Angelman

syndrome, will lead to effective treatments that will help

combat the autism epidemic in the U.S. The Angelman Syndrome

Foundation's mission is to advance the awareness and

treatment of Angelman syndrome through education and

information, research, and support for individuals with

Angelman syndrome, their families and other concerned

parties. We exist to give all of them a reason to smile, with

the ultimate goal of finding a cure.

On behalf of ASF, thank you again for your leadership and

for supporting the Kids First Research Act.

Sincerely,

Eileen Braun,

Executive Director.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind my friends that this is bipartisan legislation. I congratulate Mr. Welch for being the lead Democratic sponsor.

I just want to say, too, in terms of looking at the money, the bill itself says:

All amounts in each account maintained for the national

committee of a major party or minor party under this section

shall be transferred to a fund in the Treasury to be known as

the ``10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund,'' which

shall be available only for the purpose provided in section

402A(a)2 of the Public Health Service Act, and only to the

extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in

appropriations Acts.

Tell me how to write it tougher. We did it.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California, (Mr. McCarthy), the majority whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), majority leader of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a cosponsor of the bill and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), a member of the Appropriations Committee and a cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), a cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I did appreciate the nice words that were directed to me by my friend, Mr. Hoyer, in support of the NIH. And I will remind those that don't know that I was the Republican lead a number of years ago with Mr. Waxman and Mr. McCain and Mr. Wellstone to double the money for the NIH, one of the most significant things that this Congress, I think, has ever done.

But I have got to say, I simply don't understand the opposition to this bill. Yes, I am absolutely supportive of the NIH bill, and will continue to do that, and more money. The Ryan-Murray budget agreement which we will be voting on tomorrow, I will be supporting it. It includes programs like the NIH, which I am told will be increased about $23 billion, or 2 percent over the current levels.

In today's ``The Hill,'' there is a full-page ad offered by First Focus Campaign for Children. It says, ``Thank you for making children your First Focus,'' and it lists maybe as many as 80 to 100 Members, including many of those who spoke today against the bill, but it says, ``Thank you for making children your First Focus.'' That is what this bill is about.

It is not just a simple authorization. Yes, we do pass those from time to time. This actually directs. The language of the bill says, ``shall be transferred.'' Shall. It doesn't use the word ``may,'' ``may be,'' whatever. ``Shall be transferred to a fund in the Treasury to be known as the `10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund' which shall''--not may--``which shall be available only for the purpose provided in . . . the Public Health Service Act, and only to the extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts.''

We made it pretty tight. The authors of this bill made it pretty tight. Tell me how we can make it tighter.

I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Well, to me, we use ``shall'' a number of different times.

Well, that is what we do. We take money.

The money comes from the political conventions. I mean, that is the direct offset that is used.

All of us cry for these families that lose these beautiful little kids. This bill, if it passes and gets enacted, will provide money to help families like Gabriella's, who lost a beautiful little girl, who really used the last year of her life to promote a fund like this and work with the NIH. That is what this should be all about, and I commend Mr. Cantor and others.

The rule that we hear is you have to find an offset when you increase spending. That is what this bill does. And it finds an offset that I think many of us could accept to actually fund the program and direct the dollars to a fund within the NIH to make sure that it works. That is what we want to have happen.

I would urge my colleagues to vote for this bill. Yes, it is under suspension, no amendments. We need a two-thirds vote, so I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to honor Amo Houghton for his 16 years of service on the board of directors of The Faith & Politics Institute.

Amo, my good friend and our former colleague, a tireless advocate for civil rights, is stepping down as cochair of the board of Faith & Politics, just this week. He and our esteemed colleague, Congressman John Lewis, started the bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama, which in March of next year will celebrate its 14th year. This important trip brings to life the values The Faith & Politics Institute is determined to instill, as it indeed shows the attendees how to ``rise above narrow partisanship and respond to the quiet call of conscience.''

My wife, Amey, and I traveled to Selma on this pilgrimage, and we feel that it was one of the most moving and humbling experiences of our lives.

Amo was also responsible for organizing a Faith & Politics congressional visit to South Africa, which resulted in a relationship that has lasted for over a decade and is still strong. As said by the great Nelson Mandela:

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable

combination.

My friend Amo Houghton is a formidable force.

Although The Faith & Politics Institute will miss his spirit and wisdom that he brought to the board of directors, his legacy and inspiration will always live on, as the Honorable Amory Houghton, Jr.'s status is now elevated to cochair emeritus for life.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1900, a commonsense, bipartisan bill that is going to help build the architecture of abundance that we need to fully realize the benefits of our American energy boom.

Until a few years ago, our Nation was facing a very critical shortage of natural gas, and I will remind us that policymakers in the seventies, eighties, and nineties never envisioned shale gas. Today, technological innovations like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have made the U.S. the number one gas-producing nation in the world.

Our overall energy landscape has changed dramatically in just a short period of time. It is not only rewriting the economic outlook that we have as a Nation but also beginning to change the geopolitical nature of global energy, as we have heard from nations around the world seeking access to United States supplies to help wean them off of regions like Russia and the Middle East.

Today, we face a new challenge: how to overcome government-imposed roadblocks to building the infrastructure and unleashing the innovation necessary to harness our new energy abundance. As energy production grows across the U.S., building the infrastructure to move these supplies to consumers is emerging as the real challenge of this century. With all of our abundance in natural gas, it is simply unacceptable that there are still regions in the country where lower prices are being constrained by a lack of pipelines because of regulatory delays. America's rich natural gas resources should continue fueling both job creation and economic growth, but we cannot fulfill that potential unless we ensure businesses and manufacturers have access to this affordable and reliable clean energy.

I commend Representative Pompeo for introducing H.R. 1900 as a remedy for this problem.

Setting enforceable deadlines to improve natural gas pipeline projects will build upon the bipartisan reforms that we made with our Energy Policy Act of 2005 while preserving critical environmental review. If other nations, including Canada, Australia, and many other EU member nations, can hold their agencies to real, accountable deadlines, it is not unreasonable to ask ours to do the same.

Congress should be doing everything possible to reduce red tape and delays in building safe and efficient natural gas pipelines to bring our infrastructure up to modern times to reflect that energy abundance. This bill is a very important step in the right direction, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following for the Record.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, November 14, 2013.

Hon. Dave Camp,

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Camp: Thank you for your letter regarding

H.R. 3350, the ``Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013.'' As you

noted, there are provisions of the bill that fall within the

Committee on Ways and Means' Rule X jurisdiction.

I appreciate your willingness to forgo action on H.R. 3350,

and I agree that your decision does not in any way prejudice

the Committee on Ways and Means with respect to the

appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this or similar legislation.

I will include a copy of your letter and this response in

the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 3350 on

the House floor.

Sincerely,

Fred Upton,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of House Resolution 413, I call up the bill (H.R. 3350) to authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current individual health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3350.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Speaker, across generations, Presidencies are often associated with one famous utterance: ``Ask not what your country can do for you,'' ``The only thing we have to fear,'' ``Tear down this wall.'' And our current President will be no different: ``If you like your health care plan, you can keep it, period.''

For the last 3 years, the President repeated this promise in selling his signature law, and he did so with the knowledge that it would not be met. Millions of Americans, including nearly 250,000 in Michigan, took the President at his word and now, unexpectedly, are receiving cancelation notices. They are confused, worried, and upset. Today we stand with those families with the Keep Your Health Plan Act.

This bill is to help provide peace of mind to folks like the farmer in Bangor, Michigan, who just found out after purchasing his family's insurance for the last 30 years that he will be able to keep that plan no more. And the sticker shock will be unbearable, as the premiums double and their deductible jumps nearly $3,000. Sadly, they are not alone. For millions of Americans, it is cancelations today, sticker shock tomorrow.

For the last 6 weeks, the White House stood idly by, ignoring the pleas of millions. But as the administration's allies in Congress panicked, the White House went from attacking our thoughtful bill to making an end run

around Congress with a universal ``fix.''

Our straightforward one-page bill says if you like your current coverage, you should be able to keep it. The President should heed his own advice and work with us, the Congress, as the Founders intended, not around the legislative process.

Everyone today should embrace the Keep Your Health Plan Act, and our efforts to protect Americans from the damage of this law should not stop there. Let's keep the promise.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the good State of Oregon (Mr. Walden).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey, a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), the chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

(Mr. BARTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the majority leader of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the Republican whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

The gentleman needs to read our bill. It doesn't say that the insurance companies must sell those policies. That may be in the Senate bill, the Landrieu bill. It is not in this bill.

I yield 1 minute to the vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Dr. Tim Murphy, the chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the Health Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Cassidy, a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe).

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).

May I ask the gentleman from California how many speakers he has left?

We just have two speakers as well, myself and Mrs. Ellmers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I say to my friend from Pennsylvania, we would have liked to have had some amendments when the Affordable Care Act passed. The rule denied us any amendments.

Why are we here this afternoon?

Most observers of the legislative process would say that the President's health care act would never have passed back in 2010 without the assurance that the President gave, even many times this year, that you could keep your health care if you liked it. If you liked it, you didn't have to do anything, period. I don't think it would have passed in this Chamber or in this Senate without that promise that the President gave.

Then, millions of Americans in the last couple of months have gotten mail. In that mail, there are the cancelation notices. They are seeing their rates go up 200 percent, 300 percent, even 400 percent. Deductibles are going up in the thousands of dollars. People were coming to us all last week when we were home for our veterans events and parades and all the things that we did. They were bringing those letters to us and saying, Hey, what is going on? I thought I could keep this?

Until yesterday afternoon, when it looked like we were going to get as many as 300 votes, including perhaps Mr. Doyle's and others, when it looked like we were going to get 300 votes for a bill that we introduced only a week and a half ago, all of a sudden the President felt that he needed to act. It wasn't until this bill that he came to the mic and said, You know what? I made a mistake. I am sorry. Maybe this thing will fix it.

But until then, he was going to sit on his hands and just watch us, watch millions of Americans literally watch their health care, watch maybe their economic lives, just go over the cliff. He was prepared to do that, until we showed that we had some bipartisan zip around here to try and, in fact, enforce, make whole his promise that he has said over and over and over again.

That is what this bill does. Read it. It is not too long, a couple of sentences long.

I commend our leadership for bringing this bill to the floor as fast as they can. Man, 5 or 6 legislative days from when it was introduced, that is pretty good.

More importantly, it got a wake-up call to someone down the street on Pennsylvania Avenue, saying, hey, something is wrong. Let's restore what we might have said. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that I do insist on the point of order.

In my opinion, the pending amendment violates clause 7 of rule XVI of the rules of the House which requires that an amendment be germane to the matter it is amending. It is not germane to the bill because section 3 imposes a mandate on State insurance commissioners, and section 4 amends the Public Health Service Act which is, in fact, beyond the scope of the base text.

Mr. Speaker, I move to table the appeal of the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order and seek time in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, the debate today on whether to support this bill comes down to a very simple question: Why not?

If millions of Americans want the choice of keeping the insurance that they have, why not?

If you believe Congress acting together, not the President acting unilaterally, should try to help people who have lost their coverage, why not?

If you believe that ordinary Americans, not the Federal Government, should decide what their insurance plans look like, why not?

We have a chance today to provide hope to millions of Americans who got that cancelation notice, hope that they can keep the insurance that they like, hope that they are going to have even more choices, and hope that they, not the Federal Government, can pick what their insurance plans actually look like.

So let me be clear.

Our bill, H.R. 3350, does not fix ObamaCare, the President's health care bill. It is only an attempt to help people harmed by this law. But if we can provide some relief to people from this disaster, why not?

Let's defeat the motion to recommit and pass the underlying bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, for the last 3 years, the President personally promised that if they liked their current health care plan, that they could keep it ``no matter what,'' period.

But cancelation notices are now arriving in millions of mailboxes across the country. In the great State of Michigan, some 225,000 folks will see their plans terminated because of this law. That is twice the number of people who have even tried to select a plan nationwide.

I have heard from countless families back home who took the President at his word. They are upset--yes, they are--and worried about how they are going to make ends meet.

A self-employed family of three in Bangor, Michigan, had purchased their own insurance for more than 30 years. Their BlueCross/BlueShield plan was working well, had no deductible, a $750 monthly premium. To replace it, the premium is going to nearly double to $1,393 and their deductible will jump to $2,800. In their own words, they told us, they had been thrown under the bus. Sadly, they are not alone.

Tomorrow, we will vote on the Keep Your Health Plan Act, a straightforward, 1-page bill that says if you like your coverage, you ought to be able to keep it.

Let's keep that promise.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 252) to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 252, known as the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act, is designed to strengthen health care for children--especially vulnerable children. Not only does the bill reauthorize the PREEMIE Act, but it also includes the authorization of the National Pediatric Research Network and the reauthorization of the Chimp Act.

The original PREEMIE Act that I sponsored and was signed into law back in December 2006 brought much-needed attention to the problems related to preterm birth. Since its enactment, we have made progress, but we can and we still must do better. According to the CDC, an estimated half million babies are born prematurely every year in the United States; that is about one in eight. This legislation will continue and strengthen the ongoing effort to track, prevent, and treat prematurity, ensuring that every child has a healthy start and a better chance at a healthy and productive future.

In addition to addressing premature births, this legislation also seeks to help children and their families with unmet health needs. The National Pediatric Research Network brings us a step closer to providing more help to children with rare pediatric and genetic diseases. This effort is going to help families like the Kennedys in my district in Mattawan, Michigan.

Eric and Sarah Kennedy have two wonderful little daughters, Brooke and Brielle--Brielle is here in this picture--who have a rare spinal disease called spinal muscular atrophy. These two little angels, who are also affectionately known, at least in my family, as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, are two little warriors in the effort to boost research for rare diseases and serve as an inspiration for every one of us.

The sad reality is that it is often difficult to conduct research into rare diseases due to the small number of kids with that disease; but today, with this bill, we are working to change that and provide families with greater hope for a cure or advances in treatment.

This bill will help establish pediatric research networks and consortia that are effective in overcoming gaps in networks. Networks and consortia will be comprised of leading institutions that act as partners to consolidate and coordinate research efforts. As this multiyear effort is finally nearing the finish line, we say to the Kennedys and so many other families across the country in similar circumstances, You are not alone in this fight.

Lastly, this package includes reauthorization of the Chimp Act of 2000 that helped establish the sanctuary system for chimps retired from research. This bill reauthorizes the program at the current spending level for NIH's care of chimpanzees and reduces it through the next 5 years. It also is going to require the GAO to study how NIH cares for the chimps and asks GAO to identify how we can further save taxpayer money.

I want to particularly commend Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Lance, Mrs. Capps who is here tonight, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, and, in the Senate, certainly Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander for their wonderful efforts on this legislative package. Working together, we are making a difference in the lives of so many.

So I would urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), chairman of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Washington, Mrs. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a leading advocate of this legislation and the chairman of the Republican Conference.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), another author of this legislation and someone who helped carry it across its bipartisan path.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, every one of us has beautiful children like in this our districts. This bill is going to save lives, and it has been bipartisan from the get-go.

Again, I want to commend Republicans and Democrats on our committee-- but certainly those on the House floor as well--when we passed this bill a number of months ago.

I was a speaker and a participant in an event just last week for FasterCures, a networking group from around the country. Dr. Francis Collins was there, who is the head of the NIH. I spoke to Dr. Collins just in the last hour or so, and he is delighted that this legislation is reaching the House floor tonight. Hopefully, it will pass. I know that we are going to continue to make a real difference in the lives of families, and that is what this is all about, so I would urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 330) to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish safeguards and standards of quality for research and transplantation of organs infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I stand in strong support of S. 330, known as the HOPE Act.

The HOPE Act would eliminate the restriction on acquiring HIV- positive organs in order to permit research on transplants between HIV- positive individuals. The legislation will increase the number of available organs and will help all of those who are awaiting a transplant.

In 1984, Congress enacted the National Organ Transplant Act, NOTA. The purpose of NOTA was to guide organ donation and transplantation. In 1988, Congress amended NOTA to ban the transplantation of HIV-infected organs. Today, HIV treatments have extended and have improved the lives of countless HIV patients. This, in turn, has increased the need for organ donations.

This bill would allow research to fully evaluate the safety and effectiveness of organ transplantation between individuals with HIV. Specifically, the bill would permit research on transplants involving HIV-positive individuals by eliminating the restriction on acquiring HIV-positive organs. The legislation also would direct the Secretary of HHS to develop and implement standards for research on the transplantation of HIV-infected organs. Finally, the bill would require the Secretary of HHS to revise transplant standards based on that research.

H.R. 698 is the House companion to the HOPE Act. Mrs. Capps, on our committee, authored H.R. 698, and the Energy and Commerce Committee passed it by voice vote last July. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the legislation before us today, which was led by Senators Boxer, Coburn, Baldwin, and Paul--a bipartisan group. By passing the HOPE Act now, we will send it directly to the President so that he can sign it into law and avoid a conference.

This commonsense proposal has the potential to save lives. With 100,000 patients waiting for life-saving organs, permitting HIV- positive donors to be used for transplants could save as many as 1,000 HIV-infected patients every year. So, tonight, we provide some hope for those in need of new organs. I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the balance of my time be managed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of the Food and Drug Safety Act.

As we try to work out our fiscal differences, it is imperative that the Food and Drug Administration does have the resources that it needs to ensure the safety and quality of our Nation's food and drug supplies and medical devices. This bill will help ensure that the FDA can focus on that very important mission.

Over the past week, the House has acted to reopen major parts of other government. The legislation before us is yet another piece of that important effort to continue critical programs for the American people.

From food inspections to approvals of breakthrough new drugs and devices, Members on both sides of the aisle indeed understand and appreciate the important role of the FDA. This essential work should continue as we wait at the negotiating table for the President to join in a conversation to resolve our differences.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill to ensure that the FDA has the resources to get the job done. Let's stand together in support of food safety and drug approvals.

Mr. Speaker, let's face it: the failure of not having a CR is that both sides have failed to negotiate an agreement to keep the government open.

Let's hope that the 5:30 meeting this afternoon between Speaker Boehner, Leaders Pelosi, McConnell and Reid, and the President is not a finger-pointing meeting and that it's not a ``my way or the highway'' meeting but, in fact, a constructive way to get an agreement that most of us, Republicans and Democrats, can support. Whether that agreement comes tonight or tomorrow or, God help us, next week or the following week, at some point, the Sun is going to come up. It's going to happen. In the meantime, we shouldn't harm the folks who are in dire need.

I strongly support the NIH. I look at Mr. Waxman, my colleague and ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, as the two of us led the effort to double the money for the NIH a number of years ago. We have folks waiting in the queue to participate in lifesaving clinical trials. They have every right to be furious with this body, but we can fix that by passing this bill so that they don't have to wait.

Come on. Let's put policy over politics and do this, not for us but for them.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3204) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to human drug compounding and drug supply chain security, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3204, the Drug Quality and Security Act.

I am so proud to say that this piece of legislation is a product of true bipartisan and bicameral work. The Senate and the House, Republicans and Democrats, came together to produce a bill that will protect American patients by ensuring that they receive safe drugs.

This legislation will strengthen the prescription drug supply chain in order to protect American families against counterfeit drugs. The bill also eliminates and prevents increases in drug prices; it avoids additional drug shortages; and it eliminates hundreds of millions of dollars worth of duplicative government red tape on American businesses, which is harming job growth.

The supply chain provisions of the Drug Quality and Security Act are the product of many years of tireless work. We know from stakeholders like Pfizer and Perrigo in Michigan that this is not just a patient safety issue; it's a jobs issue. This bill will bring certainty to the drug supply chain and ensure that patients will continue to receive the medicine that they need without interruption. This bill also addresses drug compounding.

H.R. 3204 is the result of the Energy and Commerce Committee's thorough investigation of the NECC meningitis outbreak, which began its devastating spread almost a year ago today. To date, the CDC has linked 64 deaths and nearly 750 cases in 20 States to contaminated drugs from the NECC. My home State of Michigan has been the hardest hit by the outbreak, with 19 lives needlessly lost--three in my district. The sad truth is that, yes, they could have been prevented.

This legislation is an important step in helping to prevent any such tragedy from ever occurring again. By reviewing countless documents, holding four committee hearings, and reviewing various legislative proposals, we better understand what is needed to help prevent a future NECC, and we have built that into this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this bill upholds the current section 503(a) of the law, and provides it with the clarity that FDA needs by eliminating the unconstitutional provisions. The bill also requires FDA to engage in meaningful communication with State boards of pharmacy. Further, under this bill, entities engaged in sterile drug compounding can voluntarily register with FDA and operate under FDA regulation. Finally and importantly, this bill protects traditional pharmacy compounding that occurs in community pharmacies across the country. That's why the bill has the support of the National Community Pharmacists Association, and I would like to thank them for working with us so closely.

I also want to thank Chairman Pitts, Chairman Murphy, Vice Chair Blackburn, Mr. Latta, and particularly Mr. Griffith for their outstanding leadership on these issues. I want to commend Mr. Waxman, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Dingell, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Green, and Mr. Matheson for their work as well.

I yield myself an additional 1 minute.

I also want to thank Chairman Harkin and Senator Alexander for their leadership, and I've talked with them a number of times over the last number of weeks.

I want to thank our staffs on both sides, particularly on our side: Clay Alspach, Paul Edattel, John Stone, and Carly McWilliams. It is because of their collaborative and tireless efforts that we are near the resolution of last year's deadly outbreak, and their work is to be applauded.

To all of the families who have lost loved ones and to those who are still suffering today--and I talked to someone just within the last hour whose relative is still suffering--we are near the resolution of last year's deadly outbreak.

To those families who have lost loved ones and to those who are still suffering today, with this bill, we say: never again.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the chairman of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta), a member of the committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), who played a very large part on the compounding side of this legislation.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Dr. Burgess, vice chair of both the Health and the O and I Subcommittees.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Dr. Murphy, the chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time on our side, so I'm ready to close.

Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation that we hopefully will pass in the next few minutes is very important. It clearly, I think, would have saved the lives of those folks that were taken, and it reflects the hard work of our committee on a bipartisan basis.

From the very start, the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee went to work. It got to the bottom of a very tragic situation that impacted some 20 States, hundreds and hundreds of people, and we've changed that system now. Because of their work and their investigation, we came back and moved legislation through the proper channels, regular order, through the Health Subcommittee and through our committee. We worked very closely with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to craft this bill that would have stopped this awful thing that happened a year ago.

Congress does work and can work when we work together, and I am proud of this product. I am proud of this legislation. I urge the Senate to take it up in the next day or two so we can, in fact, get it to the President's desk, and I thank every Member who worked so hard.

We saw today certainly the personal impact on all of our districts and on the Members themselves. Many of us, in fact, did know folks directly impacted not only through death, but also those who were impacted because of the impact on their own lives as they still try to recuperate and survive. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2218, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, an important and bipartisan jobs bill.

Mr. Chairman, today's vote is the culmination of over a 2-year pursuit of a thoughtful, sensible and transparent solution to a serious regulatory challenge; and while the coal ash bill has continued to improve since we first debated and passed the legislation back in 2011, we have stayed true to our original principles.

First, the bill sets out strict standards for coal ash management, but it leaves the permitting program to the States. This approach is important because it ensures consistent environmental protection but gives the day-to-day implementation to the States, which have the combination of expertise and dedication to get the job done right for their States.

Second, it takes EPA's 3-year-old proposal to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste off the table. When EPA first published this proposal, it knew that it had overreached, but EPA faced a very tough dilemma. It wanted a permit program for coal ash, but, in fact, the Solid Waste Disposal Act did not give EPA the authority over coal ash unless it were labeled ``hazardous.'' This legislation offers a solution.

The administration has stopped asking for the ``hazardous'' designation--and good thing. Beginning this year, EPA stopped seeking that the Agency, instead of the States, do the permitting. The administration has come a long way, and we certainly commend it for that, but, meanwhile, we've been listening to and working with EPA.

On April 11 of this year, EPA testified before our committee. By moving past the notion that EPA should write regulations for each State, the administration finally acknowledged that the States are in the best position to implement coal ash permit programs. After our hearing, we had additional meetings with EPA to discuss the bill, and we ultimately made changes that EPA recommended, including adding tough deadlines for State action.

This is how the legislative process is supposed to work. The bill reflects crucial input over the last 2 years from House and Senate Republicans, Democrats and the administration.

The time has come to put our pencils down and enact this law so that we can close the regulatory gap. States, utilities, and hundreds of thousands of workers in the recycling industry have been waiting in limbo for a resolution. This bill meets those needs, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, 2 weeks ago, as Americans were gathering with loved ones to celebrate our Nation's independence, a Treasury bureaucrat quietly posted a blog detailing a major policy shift in the administration's signature health care law--the delay of the employer mandate. While it appeared to be a sudden turnabout, today we learned the administration had made the decision in June and that ``it was considered in a very careful way for a while.''

This is a direct contradiction to previous testimony before Congress. Every single time that we asked the administration witness if implementation was on track, they looked us in the eye and said, ``Absolutely, yes.''

Why did the ``most transparent administration in history'' mislead Congress and try to dupe the public? Because it knew that the law is bad for business and bad for jobs.

Today, we give the administration authority in full view of the American public to delay the employer mandate for a year. The House will stand up for the millions of young adults, working families, and older Americans who cannot afford the health care law's looming rate shock. Fair is fair. If businesses aren't subject to the same burdens and penalties under the health care law next year, average Americans shouldn't face them either.

Many middle class families are going to pay dramatically higher premiums as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The Energy and Commerce Committee surveyed 17 of the Nation's leading insurers and found many consumers in the individual market could see their premiums nearly double, with potential highs eclipsing 400 percent.

The broken promises are many. Missed deadlines and delays have become routine. This law is so off the rails that the administration is now disregarding entire sections of the statute. This debate is about jobs and it is about fairness.

We continue to believe a permanent delay of these damaging policies is the best course of action. For today, let's join together and protect Americans for at least another year.

I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2667 and H.R. 2668 so that we can delay and dismantle these policies that will hurt American jobs.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, I rise to commend the Committee on Appropriations for its leadership in resolving the nuclear waste issue. This is certainly a very crucial issue for all Americans.

Last year, I would remind us that the House voted 326-81 in favor of the Shimkus amendment to increase the bill's funding for Yucca Mountain license review. This year, the committee has once again reflected the will of the House not just by funding the license review, but also providing the Department of Energy the authority to transfer funds to the NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It's my understanding that this provision gives both DOE and the NRC the flexibility to make sure that the Yucca Mountain licensing case gets optimum resources, where needed, to make real progress in meeting our Nation's need for a safe repository to isolate our spent nuclear fuel and high-level defense waste.

I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen).

Well, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey. This approach really does build on last year's momentum to get the job done.

Consumers and taxpayers have paid over $15 billion--that's ``b'' as in ``big''--to find out whether Yucca Mountain would be a safe repository for civilian spent nuclear fuel and defense nuclear waste. They deserve an answer, yes, they do; and under this bill, they're going to get one.

I commend all the members of the Appropriations Committee for this. And I would urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on this appropriation bill for FY 2014 so that we can make additional resources available to perform the critical work.

I yield again to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen).

I just want to say again, I want to compliment you and your staff. This has been a major issue for us for a good number of years, something that needs to get done. I look forward to continuing that strong relationship as we look to the future.

I yield back the balance of my time.