Brett Guthrie

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. I think it is a good bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3752, the Pandemic Effects on Home Safety and Tourism Act. I first thank Representatives Cardenas and Davis for their efforts on this bill to protect consumers. I also thank Representatives Upton and Castor for including provisions to promote and assist our tourism industry, an essential component of our Nation's economy, and something I care deeply about as cochair of the Congressional Tourism Caucus. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3752 directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to report on trends of injuries and deaths from consumer products during the COVID-19 pandemic. As more Americans have spent time in their homes, it is important the CPSC continues to inform consumers with information about potentially hazardous products. Additionally, H.R. 3752 requires the Department of Commerce to study and report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our travel and tourism industry. This industry plays a significant role in many local communities and supports over 50 million jobs across the Nation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill and encourage others to do so. When I first was elected to the State Senate, the General Assembly of Kentucky, one of the biggest public policy efforts I got involved in was Governor Patton--our governor at the time--who was proposing a big 0-3 kind of overall for Kentucky's babies and children, and a big part of it was newborn screenings. And that was a section I was kind of assigned to look into and I spent a lot of time doing research--even going down to see a lady who does this kind of research at Vanderbilt University and walked away convinced that it is the right public policy to do. It is money well- spent. It really changes people's ability. If you can't get your language at an early time, you can never get it back. So this absolutely prevents--if you want to look at the cost of this system, this system going forward, but more importantly, it really enhances people to have the opportunity to live a full life if we catch it at the youngest level. So I am convinced of this. I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do so. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 482, the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2021. Newborn screening is critical in the early detection and intervention of health conditions, some life-threatening, for our Nation's infants. They are for serious but rare conditions that families and doctors may otherwise be unable to detect at birth. Newborns are screened in the hospital when they are 1 or 2 days old by blood tests, in addition to hearing and heart screenings. About 1 in 300 newborns has a condition that can be detected via newborn screening. However, if not detected and left untreated, these conditions can impact a child for the rest of their life by causing disabilities, developmental delays, illness, or even death. Prior to the passage of the first Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act in 2008, which helped better standardize screening programs, States had varying standards for newborn screening, and they were not screening for many of the core conditions on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel. This bill authorizes funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health to ensure that our newborn screening remains comprehensive and that our Nation's healthcare providers are adequately equipped to conduct the screenings. Specifically, H.R. 482 reauthorizes grants through the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand State screening programs and improve follow-up care after a detection, in addition to allowing for the National Institutes of Health Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening program to continue to identify new treatments for conditions detected by newborn screening. The importance of newborn screenings can't be overstated. Screening provides physicians and families with critical information regarding infant health, allowing for early intervention and treatment, if necessary. I urge my fellow Members to support H.R. 482, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. My good friend from Michigan thanked the Republican and Democratic staff. We have gone through a series of bills and have another one to go, most dealing with substance use disorders, mental health, and suicide prevention, and all of them brought to the floor in a bipartisan way. That happens with Members working together, but it also happens with staff working long hours together. We certainly appreciate all of them who are here with us on the floor or not on the floor this afternoon. This is important. We did an oversight investigation. We did a committee investigation and saw what seemed to us obvious quantities of pills being distributed that should be raised to the attention of people. I think my friend from Michigan said it best when she said this is common sense, so we want to make sure we clarify the role of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. This is a good bill, and I urge its support. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 768, the Block, Report, And Suspend Shipments Act of 2021, which was led by my Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues, McKinley and Dingell. This bill addresses an alarming problem that was identified in the Energy and Commerce Committee's 2018 bipartisan investigation into the distribution of prescription opioids by wholesale drug distributors. The committee found that when millions of prescription opioids were dumped into communities large and small across the country, the distributors flagged the orders for the DEA, but shipped the orders anyway--even after notifying the authorities that the orders were suspicious. This bill places additional obligations on drug manufacturers and distributors that discover a controlled substance suspicious order. In addition to reporting the suspicious order to the DEA, H.R. 768 requires the manufacturer or distributor to exercise due diligence, decline to fill the order, and provide information to the DEA on the indicators that led to the belief that filling the order would violate the Controlled Substances Act. All stakeholders have important roles to play in preventing substance use disorders, and it is critical that our pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors step up in stopping pill dumping. I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I would just say that these series of bills is so important in dealing with the suicide and prevention, in preventing this tragic epidemic from becoming a pandemic as well. Madam Speaker, I urge the support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1480, the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act, or HERO Act, which was introduced by Representative Bera, and several Members of this Chamber, including Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues Burgess, Blunt Rochester, Kelly, Kuster, and Tonko. This legislation would create a database at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to capture public safety officer suicide incidences, and studies successful interventions. It would also authorize a grant program for peer support and wellness programs for frontline healthcare workers and fire and emergency medical service agencies. The bill also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices and share resources for addressing post-traumatic stress in public safety officers. This legislation is incredibly timely. Emergency workers and doctors and nurses have been under incredible strain throughout the pandemic. Losing those who keep us healthy and safe will only make the crisis worse. We must ensure that all the heroes across America on the front lines of healthcare and in law enforcement and public safety have the support they need to continue working to keep us safe. Madam Speaker, this being National Police Officer Week, I think it is Memorial week, it is an important time to do all we can for those in law enforcement, but also public safety, as this bill addresses, and those on the front lines in healthcare. So I encourage us to be in support of those on the front lines, and I urge a ``yes'' vote. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2862, the Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act, introduced by Representatives Beyer and Kinzinger. This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to conduct a national suicide prevention education campaign, this includes promotion of the new 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The bill also helps educate Americans on ways to engage people showing signs of suicidal behavior, in order to provide them with the support they need. The bill is desperately needed as we work as a nation to emerge from an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to come together here today and advance this legislation. Again, this is important in terms of having the 988 number, people can reach out and have intervention. We know intervention and prevention and recognition is key to preventing people from committing suicide. Madam Speaker, I appreciate my friends, Mr. Beyer and Mr. Kinzinger, for bringing this forward. I urge its passage. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2981, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act of 2021, introduced by Representatives Katko, Napolitano, and Beyer. This legislation will increase the authorization of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program to $50 million a year and ensures funding is available for the continued operation of the suicide hotline. When an individual in crisis calls the suicide hotline, they cannot get a busy signal. This is crucial in this time of economic distress and social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With more individuals in crisis, more calls will come. We must increase awareness of this critical resource and make it easier to remember the number. We must make sure the national suicide hotline is prepared to deal with those in crisis. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).

Mr. GUTHRIE. In closing, Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues for working very hard on this bill and all the bills for suicide preservation. Madam Speaker, I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2955, the Suicide Prevention Act, spearheaded by Representatives Stewart and Matsui. This legislation establishes two grant programs to prevent self-harm and suicide. The first grant program would train emergency room personnel in suicide prevention strategies and screening. The bill also establishes a grant program to enhance data collection and sharing of suicide information to help save lives. I thank my colleagues for bringing forward this important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this important initiative. Madam Speaker, seeing no additional speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act. The Orphan Drug Act was enacted to incentivize the development of drugs for rare diseases by giving products that receive an orphan drug designation 7 years of market exclusivity, meaning a drug produced by another manufacturer that contains the same active ingredient to treat the same condition is barred from entering the market during this time. One way a drug can receive an orphan designation and, subsequently, market exclusivity is by the manufacturer's demonstration that there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered. However, we have seen in recent years that some drug manufacturers, in an effort to block competitors from the market, have tried to take advantage of a loophole in the law. Existing law allows an orphan drug designation and market exclusivity to carry forward to future versions of the same drug without requiring the manufacturer to demonstrate that the drug has not been, and remains unlikely to be, profitable. This legislation will close that loophole, requiring manufacturers to show there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of research and development will be covered for each successor drug, while still preserving incentives for orphan drug development. We must preserve incentives to innovate while preventing bad actors from exploiting those incentives to benefit from a national crisis, as we saw during the opioid epidemic. While no drug currently benefits from market exclusivity awarded through this mechanism, I remain concerned about including language that allows for the retroactive revocation of an incentive through legislation. Legislation that sets a precedent of revoking a benefit awarded prior to enactment creates a slippery slope and could chill innovation if adopted elsewhere in statute. While this bill itself is narrowly tailored, we do not want uncertainty caused by Congress retroactively legislating to discourage truly innovative drugs from coming to the market, especially for the rare disease community. However, I will support this bill as it moves forward today as I believe it is important to prevent the abuse of this program in the future. I look forward to continuing discussions to come to a resolution on this outstanding concern as we work with the Senate to get this bill to the President's desk. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Madam Speaker, it is so important that we have the Orphan Drug Act. We have so many people who have rare diseases come to our offices and visit us on Capitol Hill, as they should. Hopefully we will be able to do that again soon. It just touches your heart. Many of these diseases have so few people affected by it; but if it is you or your child or somebody in your family, it is devastating. We have all seen the power of the private marketplace to come in and produce these pharmaceuticals that make a difference. So we have to have provisions to allow these drugs to come into the marketplace and incentivize that private innovation moving forward. But when people use that in order to move forward, this loophole has to be closed. I am glad that it is here, and it is these things that we need to work on. It is really not specifically here; it is just maybe a slippery slope in other places as we move forward. I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for bringing this forward, and the Energy and Commerce Committee for addressing this, because we have to preserve orphan drug status for those afflicted by the rarest and the most devastating diseases. We also need to bring lower drug prices to Americans, and we can do that working together. Madam Speaker, I appreciate this being brought forward. I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of William Henry Lawson of Glasgow, Kentucky. William passed away at the age of 97 on April 7, 2021. William served our country in the United States Army during World War II. His military occupational specialty was Truck Driver, Light (345). William was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon with three bronze service stars and bronze arrowhead, the American Theater Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal as a testament to his valiant and honorable service in defense of our nation. In addition to serving in the Army, William also was a farmer and school bus driver. Most importantly, he had a loving family. William is survived by children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, step- grandchildren, and many other loving family members. I would like to thank William for his service to our country and community.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 433, the Family Support Services for Addiction Act of 2021, which was introduced by Representatives Trone and Meuser. This legislation would establish a grant program for family community organizations that provide evidence-informed and family-based approaches to substance use and addiction management. Family-based approaches have a record of success in substance use disorder recovery when compared with individual approaches, as they address several psychosocial dimensions of addiction and strengthen support networks for affected individuals. This legislation would support family community organizations committed to pursuing evidence-driven interventions for substance use disorder, reducing the stigma of addiction and strengthening both families and communities through recovery. I would like to thank Representatives Trone and Meuser for the hard work that they have done to put together and to bring this important bill to the floor. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. Madam Speaker, I really appreciate both the leaders of this bill and the entire House, as we have worked hard together in a bipartisan way over the years for the opioid abuse and other types of abuse and recovery efforts. This is an important bill and an additional step in that direction. We are fighting it, but we still have to continue the fight. This is an important bill. I support it, and I urge my colleagues to support it as well. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 586, the STANDUP Act of 2021, which was introduced by Representative Scott Peters and includes the support of many Members of the House, including Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues Bilirakis, Blunt Rochester, Upton, and Tonko. This legislation helps promote suicide awareness and facilitates prevention training for students and young Americans. For the last decade, suicide has been the second leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 24, and the 10th leading cause of overall deaths in the United States. Tragically, this epidemic has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suicide is preventable, and initiatives that empower students with knowledge of the warning signs and resources for prevention are critical in addressing these trends. Through this bill, Project AWARE grantees will be empowered to establish school-based suicide awareness and prevention training programs, which will improve student awareness of mental health issues while connecting at-risk individuals to needed health services. The pandemic has greatly impacted the mental health of all Americans, which is why it is critical that we continue addressing our Nation's challenges in preventing youth suicide and promoting the wellness of all. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, as we were speaking before, this is an important issue. Suicide affects so many people. There are systems, there is the ability to become aware. It can be preventable if people know the right signs to look for. I think the American people absolutely want to work together to make this happen so we can prevent this. I urge all my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1475, the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act, sponsored by Representative Watson Coleman. This important bill helps address suicide and mental illness in youth from minority and underserved communities. Despite improvements in health quality, disparities in mental healthcare persist. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has reported that racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are less likely to have access to mental health services, less likely to use community mental health services, more likely to use emergency departments, and more likely to receive lower quality care. Poor mental healthcare access and quality ultimately contribute to poor outcomes, including suicide among these populations. These issues are especially acute in minority youth populations. This bill would help address these disparities by authorizing grants targeted at high-poverty communities for culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services, supporting mental health disparities research, studying the impact of smartphones and social media on adolescents, and reauthorizing the Minority Fellowship Program to support more students of color entering the mental health workforce. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote for this important initiative, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Madam Speaker, again, this is a very important issue, and I am glad we are here today to address it. We need to address it. My hopes and prayers are, as we move forward with this piece of legislation, we get the help that communities needed. I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 721, the Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021, spearheaded by Representative Napolitano. This bill authorizes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Project AWARE grants. These grants support State educational agencies, in partnership with State mental health agencies, in increasing awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth, providing training for school personnel to detect and respond to mental health issues and connecting students with behavioral health issues and their families to needed services. By supporting partnerships between State and local systems to promote the healthy development of students, these grants increase access to mental health services for school-aged youth, ultimately reducing youth violence, substance use disorder, and suicide. I reserve the balance of my time.