Nathan Deal

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. I would yield the gentlelady 1 additional minute.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Granger).

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. I would yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), a member of the committee who has also worked on this legislation.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield to one of the members of our Health Subcommittee of Energy and Commerce and a gentleman whose language has been incorporated into this bill, Mr. Tim Murphy, for 5 minutes.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1343, the Health Centers Renewal Act. I have been a long time supporter of the community health centers program because health centers provide quality health care services to people and communities which might not otherwise have access to such care. Last Congress, I sponsored a 5-year health centers reauthorization measure which passed the House by large margins. But unfortunately, we were unable to finalize the legislation and see it signed into law. I would like to thank Mr. Green for his leadership on the legislation this year and for the willingness of our subcommittee chairman, Mr. Pallone, and our full committee chairman, Mr. Dingell, who worked in a bipartisan way to improve this reauthorization measure. We made important reforms to the program to encourage the participation of volunteer physicians at health centers. It is my understanding that many physicians would be more willing to volunteer their time at a health center if they knew they would have liability protection from frivolous lawsuits. This bill provides that assurance through the Federal Tort Claims Act. Through our work in the committee, we also addressed a situation which developed following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where some health center employees were not able to carry their liability protection out of their home facility to go work on the gulf coast. We made a common- sense change to address this situation to ensure that health centers can meet their staffing needs during times of emergency. This amendment mirrored the legislation introduced by the late Representative Paul Gilmore, and I am glad that we can honor him by including this in this measure. Community health centers are an important component of our health care safety net. While many communities across the country enjoy the benefits of having a health center, there are still many areas which could benefit from continued expansion of the program. I would urge my colleagues to support this measure and give medically underserved communities across this country greater access to health care providers at a local community health center. Madam Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Georgia, Dr. Broun.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield to one of the real leaders who has kept this issue moving through this Congress, Todd Platts from Pennsylvania, and I yield the gentleman 5 minutes.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge adoption of the bill.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise to join my colleague in support of S. 793, the Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2008. This legislation reauthorizes important grant programs, which assist States, territories, and the District of Columbia in establishing and expanding coordinated services of community-based services and support for those with traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injuries, TBI, can happen to anyone, and occur when someone experiences brain damage from externally inflicted trauma to the head. While these injuries can impact children, teenagers and adults, TBI has been described as the signature wound of the war in Iraq. This legislation, first authorized in 1996, was reauthorized in 2000. With the large number of troops returning from the battlefield afflicted by this injury, it is important that we continue the activities authorized by this legislation. The bill ensures that we are working to improve treatment through research at the National Institutes of Health and are able to gather information about the incidence of TBI and the prevalence of TBI- related disability. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important effort. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I have no other requests for time. I urge the adoption of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds).

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Newborn screening can certainly identify children at risk for certain metabolic and genetic diseases for which there may be an effective treatment. If it is detected early it is certainly a cost-saving way of dealing with these problems that can lead to death, disability, mental retardation and many other serious conditions. Currently, States have differing policies and procedures for doing newborn screening. Accurate screening ensures affected babies are identified and receive the proper care. This legislation establishes a newborn screening education and outreach program at the Department of Health and Human Services in order to improve newborn screening. Many parents of newborns are not aware of the wide variety of screening tests that are available. Thus, the legislation would establish a clearinghouse of educational and family support and services information on newborn screening in order to provide resources for those families. This legislation moved through our committee in a bipartisan process and the majority and the minority were able to reconcile a few differences on the legislation in that committee process. I would ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I would urge the adoption of this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I do rise in support of H.R. 2063, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2008. Many children face life-threatening food allergies which dramatically impact their lifestyles and make an ordinarily safe place like a school cafeteria a place filled with potential dangers. However, despite this threat and the growing prevalence of these food allergies, many schools struggle to establish effective guidelines to protect the health and well-being of students with food allergies. I had the occasion this past year to visit with neighbors and constituents of mine whose children have these kind of allergies, one of the children having a very severe food allergy problem. It is truly remarkable the degree of care that children and parents must take and the life-changing events that occur as a result of these food allergies. This legislation seeks to address this problem by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to establish voluntary guidelines and policies to manage the risks of food allergy in a school setting. This policy will take into account the important role played by parents and the individual needs of students with differing allergies. Hopefully, this legislation will provide important Federal guidelines, which, when implemented, will provide peace of mind for parents of children with food allergies when they send their children to school every day. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, my wife and I had the opportunity to take care of my mother and her parents in their later years for a period of about 8\1/ 2\ years prior to their passage some 1\1/2\ years ago. We were always aware of the danger that was posed by falls, and certainly falls are one of the main causes of injuries and hospital admissions for senior adults. S. 845, the Safety of Seniors Act of 2008, tries to address this danger by focusing attention on preventing falls among senior citizens and conducting research to evaluate the cause of falls among our older adults. The legislation provides the Secretary with discretion to implement a national education campaign, and, also, it gives him authority to evaluate the effectiveness of community programs designed to prevent falls. It also gives the Secretary the ability to create demonstration projects focused on evaluating and preventing falls in senior citizens. I urge the adoption of this bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Price), one of the original cosponsors of the legislation this year, a medical doctor.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I, too, rise in support of the Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act. I was a sponsor of legislation similar to this in the last Congress which passed the House, but unfortunately it was never signed into law. The bill revises national quality assurance standards of laboratories responsible for cytology services. A few summers ago, I had the opportunity to visit a laboratory of a pathologist in my district, and I saw first hand the impact of this legislation. This bill is the result of actions taken in 2005 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to institute a proficiency testing program for individual pathologists. Unfortunately, this program was based on regulations first issued in 1992 as a result of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Thus the cytology proficiency program is now very outdated and based on regulations from nearly 15 years ago. The legislation would provide for an orderly phase-out of the current program and transition into a new program where all individuals involved in screening and interpreting Pap tests would participate in a continuing medical education program in gynecologic cytology. This educational approach will present participants with complex cases to keep their skills on the cutting edge and will provide individuals an opportunity to test their skills. I believe this legislation would be an important step in the right direction and would modernize the current regulatory framework while providing quality assurance, as was required in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. Unlike last Congress, I hope we will be able to get this legislation signed into law in order to modernize an outdated proficiency testing program for pathologists. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 2464, which reauthorizes the Emergency Medical Services for Children program. It is, indeed, the only Federal program dedicated to improving emergency care for children. Since its inception in 1984, death rates due to pediatric injury have dropped some 40 percent. The program provides grants to States to improve existing medical emergency services systems, and to evaluate pediatric emergency care data to improve future treatment efforts. Many emergency centers do not have all of the necessary supplies to treat pediatric emergencies, despite the fact that 18 percent of emergency department patients are children. The legislation also increases the authorization for this program by 5 percent annually for the next 5 years starting at $25 million in FY 2009. The bill also extends by 1 year the period that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants under the program. The bill had broad bipartisan support in the committee, and I would urge its passage. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. I would urge the adoption of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) who was the sponsor of the original legislation which this bill seeks to reauthorize.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to join my colleague in supporting H.R. 1198, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2008. This legislation reauthorizes the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program, which was first enacted in 2000 to help States develop newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs. This program has successfully improved newborn screening for hearing loss, which allows many children to benefit from early detection. This provides enhanced opportunities for language and communication skill development. Unfortunately, children experiencing hearing loss who are not identified early can have delays in speech, language, and cognitive development. Through grant programs, this legislation helps ensure infants with hearing losses are identified and receive appropriate follow-up care. The bill also establishes a post-doctoral fellowship program to improve early hearing detection research. This legislation moved through our committee in a bipartisan fashion, and I would urge its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.