Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this bipartisan amendment. This amendment calls for funding of a new program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In fact, it would establish its Regional Centers of Excellence in Substance Use Disorder Education. In 2017, approximately 19 million adults had a substance use disorder. This program would improve the training of health professionals in substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery so that more people can get treatment and we can reduce the number of those who do need treatment. Part of this is to be able to educate and train folks to be able to deal with the scale and the scope of this public health emergency, which is what I call it, across the Nation. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. I would note, as my colleague, Congresswoman Moore, noted, the underlying bill under consideration today includes $2 million for a new dedicated effort on sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood at the CDC. Despite the decline in the rate of sudden unexpected infant death in the past two decades, significant racial and ethnic differences continue. CDC is working to better understand the circumstances that may increase risks, so that public awareness and provider education can be improved to reduce these risks. I strongly support the Congresswoman's efforts to prevent these tragic deaths of very young children and the profound suffering of their families. I just say to my colleagues, those who are here and who are not here, think about the power of the institution that we serve in and what it can do in so many of these areas to profoundly change people's lives, to save people's lives, and to give people comfort to know that we have not forgotten them, and that while they have experienced a tragedy, we will work to see that others will not have to face a tragedy and saving the lives of children. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. Intimate partner violence is a serious, preventable public health problem that affects millions of Americans. This amendment would increase funding for CDC's efforts to work in communities to implement proven prevention strategies, including programs that mobilize boys and men to be allies in sexual violence prevention, and coalitions with local governments, community partners, and police to increase safe spaces in neighborhood parks. The negative consequences associated with intimate partner violence underscore the importance of stopping it before it occurs. I commend the amendment sponsors for raising attention to this important program. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise to support the Developmental Disabilities Projects of National Significance program, which is why this bill rejects the administration's proposal to virtually eliminate funding for it--why?--and instead provides a $1 million increase over the fiscal year 2019 level. These grants fund innovative projects that create opportunities for those with developmental disabilities. They promote quality of opportunity and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of community life, which benefits our society as a whole. I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), my friend, for highlighting this particular grant initiative for schools that serve young adults on the autism spectrum by helping them develop practical life skills that will help them transition to work and independence. We need innovative programs like this one that create and enhance opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to contribute to, to participate in, to feel their value, to know that we recognize their value and give them respect and independence and self- confidence in who they are. This means that they can participate in all facets of community life. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. I appreciate my colleague offering this amendment. I am a strong supporter of recovery support services, and I recognize their essential role in the recovery of individuals with substance use disorders. In my district in Connecticut, I have met with my own constituents who credit their recoveries and often their lives to recovery coaches. I met with constituents who were substance-use abusers, but also with the providers, and they all said to me very specifically that one of the difficulties is that someone can get treatment, and then they go back out onto the street, but they have no one to be in touch with as a support system in order to be able to continue on a road to recovery. They slip back, and they are then once again on the street. What you are talking about is increasing the funding for building communities of recovery so that people don't feel that they are alone and that there is nowhere to go, but to take up an unhealthy lifestyle once again. This bill will expand access to critical and lifesaving services, including recovery support from drug or alcohol addiction, primary care, housing services, and employment services. Maybe we could put together some number, a 211 number, that a person can call, and they can be referred on employment, and housing, and the kinds of services that people need when they find themselves in this situation. So I commend my colleague on this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. Suicide is devastating communities across our country as evidenced by more than 47,000 deaths in 2017. It makes me proud that what we put together in the underlying bill that we consider tonight includes $20 million of new funding for suicide prevention efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This amendment would increase funding for efforts to prevent suicide among our youth at the places that many of them can be found: colleges and universities, and youth-serving organizations. Through training and activities aimed at identifying youth at risk for suicide, screenings and the connection to appropriate services are preventing suicide and suicide attempts. We shouldn't be dealing with this after the fact. But what we ought to be doing is trying to provide the kinds of counseling and have people who are trained to recognize the telltale signs of a youngster who is in difficulty and who needs help. As the underlying bill that we consider shows, we strongly support suicide prevention efforts, and I commend the gentleman for offering this amendment. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of Congresswoman Castor's amendment that, in fact, blocks the Trump administration's rule to promote junk health insurance plans. Plain and simple, that is what they are. This is just another attempt by the administration to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. Their policies have increased the costs of healthcare. The level of uninsured in this Nation has gone up, and they want to bring us back to a time when those folks with a preexisting condition could no longer get healthcare coverage. There are some who say that today, for the first time in their lives, they have gotten that coverage, and otherwise, they would have died. Maybe that doesn't cut it with some folks here. Short-term plans do not have to cover the ACA's essential health benefits. They frequently do not include maternity services, prescription drugs, mental healthcare, or substance use disorder treatment. Short-term plans can deny coverage to or charge higher prices for people with preexisting conditions. As I said a moment ago, remember those days when even being a woman was a preexisting condition. If a child had asthma, Madam Chair, it was a preexisting condition, and they couldn't get any help. They often will not cover medical services associated with preexisting conditions. We reiterate: They are junk plans. Every American deserves affordable, high-quality health coverage, which is why we need to block these junk plans that provide the opposite. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition, and I strongly oppose my colleague's amendment that would strike $100 million from CMS program management. This is funding that has been designated to support the Affordable Care Act navigator program as well as outreach, enrollment, and advertising during the ACA open enrollment period, just further attempts to sabotage the act. Because of the Affordable Care Act, more than 20 million people gained health insurance, many for the first time in their lives. The uninsured rate declined from a high of 18 percent before the Affordable Care Act to a low of less than 11 percent. For families, it meant that insurance companies could no longer discriminate against people because of their medical history and being a woman was no longer a preexisting condition. The ACA was not perfect, but it was a significant achievement. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has tried to sabotage the Affordable Care Act since the day the President took office. It was not successful, I might add, at least legislatively not successful. But they have come around to the appropriations process to continue the sabotage. HHS shortened open enrollment, cut the annual budget for outreach and advertising by 90 percent, and cut funding by 80 percent for ACA navigators. Who are the navigators? They are the people who provide in-person assistance to a consumer who may need help in finding a health plan. We held a hearing in February to highlight the administration's efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act. One of our expert witnesses estimated that HHS' cuts to outreach, advertising, and enrollment activities resulted in more than 1 million fewer enrollments in 2017 and a similar shortfall in 2018. The Labor, HHS, Education appropriations bill sends a clear message to the administration: Stop undermining healthcare for millions of Americans. Members of Congress have healthcare. They shouldn't be undermining other Americans' healthcare. Stop allowing insurance companies to discriminate again with junk insurance plans. Stop attacking the mechanisms that we put in place to hold down costs for American families. Our bill specifically designates $100 million from ACA user fees to support ACA navigators as well as outreach, enrollment, and advertising during the ACA open enrollment period. These funds will help millions of American families navigate the complicated maze of health insurance to find a health plan that works for them. It strengthens the Affordable Care Act individual market by bringing healthier individuals into the risk pool, thereby reducing premiums for everyone. The gentleman's amendment seeks to eliminate those funds, which will make it harder for Americans to enroll in high-quality health insurance. Madam Chair, I strongly oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, let me just repeat a statistic. Because of the Affordable Care Act, more than 20 million people gained health insurance, many for the first time in their lives, and the uninsured rate declined from a high of 18 percent before the Affordable Care Act to a low of less than 11 percent. Now, keep in mind, from the outset of the Trump administration, the effort was to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. I don't know the umpteen times that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They could never find a way to replace it. Ultimately, they failed legislatively to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. So, what have they done subsequently? They move through the appropriations bills, and they cut back. They work to do away with the cost-sharing subsidies for the insurance companies, which drives the cost up. They say ``no'' to the navigators to help people go through the system and understand insurance. I will bet everyone in this institution has somebody who explains an insurance policy to them. So, therefore, I will just finish this and say: Let's defeat this amendment because it is just one more attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, this amendment would open up scarce Federal dollars to untested and unproven, nonregistered apprenticeship programs. In fiscal year 2016, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies established funding for the Apprenticeship Grant Program, which has been expanding work-based learning programs in in-demand industries through registered apprenticeships, a proven strategy for meeting the needs of our Nation's workforce and industry, simultaneously. The registered apprenticeship model has been rapidly expanding over the past several years. It has grown from 56 percent since 2013--from 375,000 to 585,000--in diverse careers like software development, nursing assistants, and insurance agents. According to the Department of Labor, more than 3,000 new apprenticeship programs were established in fiscal year 2018 alone. To further this important work, the underlying bill provides an unprecedented $250 million investment in registered apprenticeship programs, a $90 million increase over last year. Yet, instead of supporting and investing in a tried-and-true program, this amendment would roll back worker protections and quality assurances, wasting millions of Federal dollars on an entirely duplicative system called IRAPs, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. The administration claims critics of registered apprenticeships lament the registration process, calling it onerous, but I have spoken with some of the industry groups represented on the President's task force, and, frankly, I hear a different story. They like the registered model. During a panel discussion I held on apprenticeships, Bridget Gainer, vice president of Aon, commented on the ease of registration, saying: ``It was not an overwhelmingly or overly onerous process.'' A former staffer at the Department of Labor and Education, who is now with New America, wrote an excellent piece in Inside Higher Ed on the risks of the Trump administration's plans to deregulate apprenticeships. She said: ``Rather than focus its efforts on growing our small but high-performing system of registered apprenticeships, the administration has opted for building an entirely new system of industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, or IRAPs.'' These IRAPs have little or no accountability, much like the predatory for-profit colleges. The Inside Higher Education piece makes that point: ``The administration is copying the system used to ensure quality in the lowest performing and most fraud-ridden sector of higher education--a system that has repeatedly failed to protect students and taxpayers-- for its new approach to apprenticeship . . . and once Federal dollars are on the line, the risks--and the scale of potential harm--increase exponentially.'' We should be focusing Federal dollars on expanding the existing system that is working for employers and for apprentices alike and not on a confusing duplicate system. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, may I ask how much time I have remaining.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, my Republican colleagues talk about the need for fiscal restraint, government waste, the problem of duplication. In fact, many will oppose the underlying bill, claiming fiscal responsibility, but now they are offering an amendment that is the antithesis of fiscal restraint. Let's be clear. The IRAPs are duplicative. They promote government waste. This amendment would open up Federal resources to support a program that does not exist. There are no IRAPs. The Department of Labor has yet to produce any binding definition of what these programs are or what they will do. It is easy to make promises when you do not have to deliver. Registered apprenticeship programs do and currently are delivering. That is why, in a bipartisan fashion, Congress has increased funding year after year in a tested, proven model. If the gentleman and my Republican colleagues want to support workforce development, they can vote in favor of the underlying bill. It provides $3 billion to States for job training to adults, youth, and dislocated workers. I have a feeling that they will not because, like the Trump administration's proposed IRAPs, they support workforce development in name only. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment. We have many supporters of this effort: North American Building Trade Unions, United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, AFL-CIO, International Union of Operating Engineers, National Electrical Contractors Association, New America, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and Laborers' International Union of North America. Vote ``no'' on this amendment. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. I would note the underlying bill under consideration tonight includes a 10 percent increase, $5 million for rape prevention and education activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the increase in our bill highlights, I am a strong supporter of this program. We must stop sexual violence before it begins. This amendment would add an additional increase of $5.57 million. I commend my colleagues for bringing further attention to this scourge that still exists in our society today and puts women at grave risk. It is an important program so that we can look at, address, and prevent sexual violence. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his commitment, his concern, and his dedication. I rise in support of my colleague's amendment. The death of any child is devastating. The fact that children have died while in the custody of the Federal Government and we don't know the circumstances of why, or sometimes even when, they have died is almost beyond comprehension to me. We have an oversight role. It is our responsibility to make sure that children are safe and protected while they are in the custody of Health and Human Services. If you take a look at the mission statement of Health and Human Services, it says to place a child in a safe environment and do it as expeditiously as possible. It is also our responsibility to ensure that HHS is fully transparent and they ``appropriately respond to the death of an unaccompanied alien child in the care and custody of ORR.'' What my colleague, Mr. Castro, wants to do is to make sure that the Department of Health and Human Services follows its own written policy. It is as simple as that. HHS' own policy, section 3.3.16 states: ``ORR and its care providers must immediately report the death to appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities. ORR must also notify the child or youth's parent, legal guardian, or next-of-kin; attorney; and applicable consulate of the death.'' My God, if we can't do that, who are we? Where are our values? Shame on us if we are not protecting these children and reporting when something is wrong or when they have died. Mr. Chairman, this is a commonsense amendment. I strongly support it. I thank the gentleman for offering it.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chairwoman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this amendment and the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. The legacy of access to education in America is intertwined with the legacy of civil rights in this country. Education remains a civil rights issue today. The Office for Civil Rights has as its mission, `` . . . to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement,'' and I underscore, ``vigorous enforcement of civil rights in our Nation's schools.'' There are strong concerns, very strong concerns, that this Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is not upholding this mission. This amendment would ensure that the critical mission of OCR is not undermined and that equal access and treatment is present throughout our Nation's schools. I support my colleague's amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment that calls for the CDC to specifically study the impact of firearm violence in elementary and secondary schools and higher education institutions. Earlier this year, our subcommittee held a hearing on gun violence prevention research. I might add, it was the first one we have been able to hold in 20 years in this institution, 20 years until we were able to have a hearing on gun violence prevention and research. We highlighted that gun violence is a public health emergency and that it needs to be responded to with evidence-based interventions. Just as we do for other public health challenges, we must conduct research to know how to best address the impact and which interventions will be most effective. The underlying bill that we are considering tonight includes $50 million of dedicated funding for firearm injury and mortality research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. This amendment specifically focuses on the impact of firearm violence on students in our schools and higher education institutions. Unfortunately, so many communities have students who have been affected by firearm violence. In my own State of Connecticut, we have all been affected by the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, a slaughter of the innocents. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. It draws attention to the importance of the National Center for College Students with Disabilities. The center is the only Federally funded national center in the country for college and graduate students with any type of disabilities, chronic health conditions, or mental or emotional illness. It supports students with disabilities in higher education and provides technical assistance to students, to faculty, and to families. I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment and am happy to accept it.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise to support my friend's efforts to demonstrate how the centralized Community Resource Centers can be a cost-effective, one-stop shop for those looking to access and apply for Federal social service programs like SNAP, WIC, and Medicare or for access to services like domestic violence prevention assistance. It is an innovative approach. Partnerships with local governments allow citizens to access Federal social services in a single location, which could reduce burdens to constituents and allow Federal resources to flow in a more cost-effective manner. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the country. The Lifeline provides this essential service through a national network of over 150 local crisis centers, combining custom local care and resources with national standards and best practices. To further support these efforts, the bill includes an $8 million increase for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. What this amendment calls for is a feasibility study to be conducted on how we find out where these folks are so that we can help them. When people reach out for help, we must do our best to respond to them in order to be able to reduce suicide attempts. Suicide is devastating communities across our country with 47,000 deaths in 2017. Depression and other mental health conditions are a significant risk factor for suicide. Less than half of the people who die from suicide have a known mental health condition. As our bill shows, we are committed to suicide prevention efforts. I support the gentleman's proposal to study ways to improve these efforts, and I am urging my colleagues to support this amendment.