Michael Bilirakis

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 575) supporting Internet safety awareness, as amended.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode).

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the resolution.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) be permitted to control the remainder of my time for the consideration of this legislation.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today in support of H.R. 762, the Lupus Research and Care Amendments. This important measure addresses the devastating, devastating, I underline devastating, disease of lupus. It was introduced by my colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek), who lost her sister to complications from the illness. Lupus is a disease which causes the body's immune system to attack its own cells, resulting in progressive damage to all organs. It affects more than 1.5 million Americans. The vast majority of patients who suffer from lupus are women, and a disproportionate number are minorities. Most women are afflicted in their childbearing years, making it difficult for them to work and care for their families. H.R. 762 expands lupus-related activities of the National Institutes of Health in the areas of basic research, epidemiology, treatment, diagnosis, and public and health care provider education. It also authorizes project grants for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus to be administered through local governments, community hospitals, and other nonprofit health care facilities. By enhancing research on lupus, the bill before us will speed the day when a cure is found for this terrible disease. H.R. 762 will provide early diagnosis and disease management services for lupus patients. It will also increase outreach and expand patient care among low- income populations. Further, the initiatives authorized under this measure will provide a road map for other private and public programs to help victims of lupus. H.R. 762, Mr. Speaker, has the support of 245 cosponsors in the House; and it was unanimously approved by the Committee on Commerce last month. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of this very important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, just very quickly. This is a very, very important piece of legislation, and we are all very pleased to have been a part of it. An awful lot of hard work went into it. The personal staff of the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) and my personal staff, Anne Esposito particularly, and the Committee on Commerce both majority and minority staffs are really to be congratulated. They are responsible for this more so than the rest of us. Mr. Speaker, I ask for support of this legislation.

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

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

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 762) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research and services with respect to lupus, as amended.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 762, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, due to a conflict, I missed rollcall No. 518. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on adoption of the conference report for H.R. 3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo the remarks that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) just made. I had planned to do so, also. It is just amazing what can be done from a bipartisan standpoint if people really are sincere and really care about solving an issue rather than being concerned about demagoguery, if you will, or with some of the things that take place. The fact that the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) worked so well on this and were able to get it done speaks well for both of them and for the Congress when it works in that way. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn). (Mr. COBURN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) the chairman of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for being here to lead our side on this very, very significant bill. I too arise in support of this amendment to S. 2311, the Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000. This final legislation is the result of negotiations between the Senate and the House, and the resulting bill is designed to bring the CARE Act into the 21st century. I salute my committee colleagues, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), for their excellent work on this legislation; and I urge Members to support its passage. My Subcommittee on Health and Environment held a hearing on the bill, and the full Committee on Commerce approved it by voice vote after adopting several bipartisan amendments to further refine and strengthen this very important measure. Before the August recess, the House approved legislation to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act with strong bipartisan support. The act provides critical funding to address the needs of patients living with HIV and AIDS. S. 2311 reflects the agreements reached between the House and the Senate, and I expect this bill to be signed into law in the near future. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency, or ``CARE'' Act as we call it, was enacted in 1990 and Congress approved bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the law in 1996. The Ryan White CARE Act provides critical funding for health and social services to the estimated 1 million Americans living with HIV and AIDS. The bill before us will ensure that these patients continue to receive the care and medications they need to enhance and prolong their lives. The bill makes an important change by relying on the number of HIV- infected individuals as opposed to only the number of persons living with AIDS as the basis for allocating funding under titles I and II of the Ryan White CARE Act. By targeting resources to the front line of the epidemic, we will be able to reduce transmission rates and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to provide care to HIV- positive individuals as soon as possible. This change will allow the Federal Government to be proactive instead of reactive in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It should be noted, however, Mr. Speaker, that this shift will only occur when reliable data on HIV prevalence is available. The bill also includes a ``hold harmless'' provision to ensure that no metropolitan area will suffer a drastic reduction in CARE Act funds. The bill which originally passed the House would have hurt certain cities such as San Francisco. In this regard, Mr. Speaker, I will submit for the Record a letter that GAO sent to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn). After lengthy negotiations, it has been agreed the hold harmless reduction will be a compromised 15 percent over the next 5 years. The Ryan White CARE Act must be reauthorized to improve our public health strategies. The bill before us will ensure that the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be tracked more accurately and that appropriate funding and information about this disease can be directed effectively. I have been very encouraged to hear from patient advocates in support of this measure. For example, AIDS Action stated that it is ``very pleased with the compromise bill that has been negotiated between the House and the Senate. It represents a modernization of the CARE Act and will allow us to provide quality care for people with HIV and AIDS.'' In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to again recognize the hard work of all the Members and their staffs, whose bipartisan efforts advanced this reauthorization bill. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), who I mentioned previously, and staff members Roland Foster and Paul Kim worked very hard to advance this measure in the House, working with Senators Jeffords, Frist, and Kennedy. And obviously, working with my counterpart on the other side in the subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), et cetera, we were able to craft this compromise legislation. It is a critical piece of legislation that can literally save lives, and I urge all Members to join me today in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood).

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my good friend and colleague, Bill Goodling. When I think of Bill Goodling, the words ``quality'' and ``integrity'' come to mind. Bill Goodling is an example of the very finest this institution has to offer. His practical experience as a high school teacher, principal, and superintendent has given him the ability to legislate with authority on education issues. Many times I have looked to his leadership on education and deferred to his ``hands- on'' knowledge of preparing children for the best possible future. Bill's philosophy of education is based on the premise that many of us believe in--ensuring that parents and local education agencies make decisions regarding a child's education, not the federal government. As Chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, he has challenged the federal education paradigm by insisting that the education of children is not determined by federal bureaucrats. For his entire tenure in the House of Representatives, Bill Goodling has encouraged all of us to keep the federal government's commitment to special education, and funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has more than doubled during his term as Chairman of the Education Committee. IDEA will miss a great ally when he retires from the House. Under his leadership, the focus on education has shifted from the quantity of programs and services provided by the federal government to the quality of those programs. Head Start, for example, has been enhanced to ensure that children are taught by qualified teachers and held accountable for meeting specific performance measures. Ed-Flex has also been expanded to allow all 50 states flexibility in administering education programs in return for meeting measurable performance standards. Bill's contributions to Congress are not solely limited to education, however. As a member of the Committee on International Relations, he has impacted the development of U.S. foreign policy by insisting that U.S. national security interests are the utmost priority. His position on that Committee has also allowed him the opportunity to champion human rights and child survival efforts abroad. Like many of my colleagues, I am saddened to see him leave this body. I will certainly miss his practical, ``hands-on'' expertise when looking for leadership on education issues. But I congratulate you, Bill, on a job well done. I wish you and Hilda all the best for your life to come.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1795, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act. This legislation, introduced by Representatives Richard Burr and Anna Eshoo, would establish a National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering at the National Institutes of Health. Earlier this month, members of my Subcommittee heard testimony from three distinguished professors from Radiology departments throughout the country. They indicated that breakthroughs in imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT), have revolutionized the practice of medicine in the past quarter century. However, these technologies are inadequate in diagnosing some diseases. The NIH itself has recognized the importance of this discipline by designating imaging as one of the top four research priorities at the National Cancer Institute. However, testimony indicates that NIH's focus on imaging research should be broadened beyond cancer. Representatives Burr and Eshoo have introduced this legislation to create an institute at NIH to focus on imaging research. This will create a climate that promotes discovery and innovation in imaging, as NIH has done in other fields of scientific discovery. By approving the legislation before us, we can move into an era of non-invasive medicine. I urge Members to support passage of H.R. 1795, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran).