Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, the Republicans keep saying that they want to work with us. We have suggested to them that the only way to reduce prices, that I know of--and they haven't suggested anything else--is by having some kind of negotiation. We are talking about the drugs for which there is a monopoly. These are the brand-name drugs for which there is no competition, no generic alternative. Every other country, the six that we have mentioned as part of this bill that we are looking at, because we subsidize them as the American people get ripped off, Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and France bring prices down considerably by negotiating. When you have all these Medicare beneficiaries, if you will, you have a tremendous amount of power, if you will, to negotiate with the drug companies because they want to sell their drugs to bring the prices down. If you don't do that, which is what the Republicans refuse to do, then you have no effective way of bringing prices down. We know that. Now, this is why, when Medicare part D was established--I was here how many years ago--the Republicans insisted that they put in this clause in part D that said that the government can't negotiate prices. So that is why we have to pass this bill, because right now the government has no power to do that. Why not give the government that ability? So far, they refuse to do it. So, I know they keep saying they want to work with us on a bipartisan basis, but they have refused to do any kind of negotiated prices, to get rid of that clause that says that the Department of Health and Human Services can negotiate prices. The American public is getting ripped off. We are subsidizing drugs that are being sold in this other country. It is not fair. It is not a fair playing field. Why should we let the drug companies continue with this monopoly? That is why we are moving H.R. 3. That is the basis for H.R. 3. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, with H.R. 3 we are one step closer to fulfilling our promise of making prescription drugs more affordable for the American people. Today, here in the United States, drug companies can charge whatever they want because there is no competition until a generic comes to market and because the Federal Government has no ability to negotiate drug prices. The American people are getting ripped off. The status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable. In other countries negotiations occur, and prices in those countries are substantially lower than here in the United States. For years the American people have been subsidizing prescription drugs for the rest of the world, and we are fed up with paying 3, 4, or 10 times as much for the exact same drug as someone in a similar developed country. Under H.R. 3, those days are over. We are finally empowering the Federal Government to negotiate lower prices with the drug manufacturers. Now, what we are doing with the savings that come from this bill is we are providing additional benefits to seniors. H.R. 3 adds Medicare part B comprehensive dental coverage for the first time. It adds a new dental benefit to Medicare part D and will provide coverage for screening and preventive services. It adds a new vision coverage. H.R. 3 adds new vision benefits that would cover routine eye exams, contact lens fitting, and glasses or contact lenses once every 2 years. It adds a comprehensive hearing benefit. It adds new hearing benefits that provide hearing aid coverage for individuals with severe, profound hearing loss. The list goes on. We are investing more money to go to NIH. We are providing more money for community health centers. The bottom line is, we are also trying to save seniors' out-of-pocket costs by capping out- of-pocket costs at $2,000. We are doing all this at the same time that we are lowering prescription drug prices through negotiation by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the Federal Government. Understand that once that price is set for Medicare, that price is also available in the rest of the market for those with insurance coverage. This is a win-win situation for the American people. I don't understand how the Republicans on the other side could say that there is any other way to lower prescription drug prices, and they, frankly, haven't given us any suggestion in that respect. I ask my colleagues, please, this is a transformational piece of legislation. Please support us. This should be supported on a bipartisan basis. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nancy Blades Fatemi, someone who has been a tireless public servant for the great state of New Jersey throughout her entire career. Nancy has announced her retirement at the end of this year from her current role as Executive Director to the New Jersey State Society (NJSS). For the last decade, Nancy has served as executive director of the New Jersey State Society of Washington, D.C. State and Territory societies are civic and social organizations that are unique to the national capital region. With roots that trace back to 1854, state societies have evolved as non-partisan booster clubs that celebrate the history, culture, traditions, humor, politics and commerce of America's 50 states. The societies provide those who live in the greater- Washington area with a special non-partisan venue that enables them to share in a wide variety of events celebrating their home states. Since 1941, New Jersey State Society has been serving as the link between Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. Under Nancy's leadership, NJSS won the top national Haines Award for ``Outstanding State Society,'' in 2014- 2015, as well as several state society softball championships. Prior to serving NJSS, she worked on Capitol Hill in the personal offices of Rep. James J. Howard, D-NJ, as legislative director and press secretary, and later in my office as special assistant and health care legislative assistant. Nancy began her career as a reporter at The Home News, New Brunswick, NJ, and reporter and wire editor of the Bennington Banner, Bennington, VT. She grew up in Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ and is a graduate of Rutgers University's Douglass College, New Brunswick, NJ, and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY. Taking the steps to successfully continue a long tradition of creating opportunities for New Jerseyans living in Washington, D.C. to connect and celebrate the Garden State is no small task, and Nancy has more than risen to the challenge. Madam Speaker, I hope all my colleagues will join me in thanking Nancy Blades Fatemi for her tireless advocacy on behalf of the great state of New Jersey.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of Mr. Robert M. Rechnitz. Mr. Rechnitz, a longtime resident of the Locust section of Middletown, New Jersey, passed away on October 12, 2019 after a vibrant life filled with numerous professional and personal accomplishments. Robert (Bob) Rechnitz was a prominent member of the community and a fixture of the thriving arts and humanities landscape in Monmouth County. As co-founder and executive producer of Two River Theater, Bob was committed to providing an outlet for creative expression and a preeminent institution for the public to enjoy. In addition to his extensive background and work in theater, Bob was an esteemed educator, stalwart preservationist and dedicated philanthropist. He lived his life in service to his community and his achievements and generosity have been recognized by many awards and tributes over the years. His love of nature and the theater and his commitment to social and humanitarian causes left an indelible impact on the community. From his support of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation and Monmouth University to his contributions to Monmouth Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center, to name just a few, his philanthropic endeavors will benefit generations to come. Bob leaves behind a loving family, including his devoted wife and partner Joan, their children Emily, Adam and Joshua, son-in-law John Paladino, daughter-in-law Elizabeth Fordi, grandchildren Max and Flora Paladino and Esme Rechnitz, as well as many dear friends and colleagues. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Robert M. Rechnitz for his devotion to his family and his immeasurable contributions to the greater Monmouth County community.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 151) to deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 151.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today the House will take strong, bipartisan action to protect consumers from illegal robocalls. Talk to anyone, Mr. Speaker, and you will hear just how annoyed people are by those calls; and no wonder-- according to Robokiller, a whopping 5.6 billion robocalls were made to Americans in November alone. According to YouMail, more than 200 million calls have been made to the 732 area code in my congressional district this year. That is pretty outrageous. Today the House is giving Americans back control of their phones. This legislation is important because unlawful robocalls are not only a nuisance, they are also undermining our entire phone system and consumers' safety as a result. Too often Americans simply will not pick up their phones out of fear that a robocall is on the other end of the line. These calls are not just annoying, in a lot of instances they are scams targeted at consumers. Unfortunately, these scams are becoming more sophisticated every day. At a hearing earlier this year, we learned that the Moffitt Cancer Center received 6,600 scam calls in just 1 month, specifically designed to appear as calls coming from within the hospital. That is dangerous for patient safety and confidentiality. Mr. Speaker, we have heard similar stories of scammers disguised as the IRS looking to collect a debt or scammers disguised as local governments or police departments, and scammers disguised as loved ones in trouble looking for help. These are just a few of the examples. All of these scams are different, and there won't be a single silver bullet to fix them all, but the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act attacks the problem from multiple angles. First, we are targeting fraudsters and scammers who are violating the law. This will be done by using innovative technologies to cut these calls off. Our bill requires carriers to implement a nationwide caller authentication system and to make call blocking software accessible to consumers for free. This is critical. A nationwide caller authentication system that will help ensure consumers can trust the caller-ID on their phone again is obviously important. Call blocking is another thing that we do in the bill. Call blocking will stop the phone from ringing when scammers are dialing our phones. These are two critical steps--the authentication and blocking-- that will give consumers control of their phones again. When it comes to blocking, the TRACED Act also ensures that there is transparency and consistency so that the calls people want are getting through. Second, Mr. Speaker, this bill will ensure that law enforcement and the Federal Communications Commission have the tools, information, and incentives to go after robocallers who break the law. We need to make sure criminal penalties are brought by the Department of Justice to deter future robocallers from getting into the business. Third, this will help us go after the dodgy carriers who allow these unlawful calls to enter our networks in the first place. These are some of the main provisions of this bipartisan bill, but there are others that will be discussed by my colleagues during our 20 minutes on my side today. Finally, I want to thank our ranking member, Mr. Walden, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Doyle, and subcommittee Ranking Member Latta for their leadership and for their determination in getting this final bill to the House floor today. I also want to thank our partners in the Senate, Senators Thune and Markey, for their commitment to this issue and for working with us on this final bipartisan, bicameral product. The TRACED Act takes critical steps to give consumers control of their phones again. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation today, and I hope that it will be signed into law before the end of the year. I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle), the chairman of our Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, who worked very hard on this legislation.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), who is the vice chair of our committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran), a member of our committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crist), the former Governor.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rouda).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kim), my colleague, whose legislation has been included in this bill.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew), another colleague whose legislation is also included in the TRACED Act.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on both sides.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close. Mr. Speaker, Americans are receiving more unwanted and illegal robocalls than ever before. The rising tide of illegal robocalls has quickly turned from a nuisance to a real threat on the way we all view and use our telephones. Consumers need more control and transparency over who is calling them. The laws that prohibit unwanted calls and the Do Not Call Registry no longer effectively protect consumers from unwanted or illegal calls because it is easier than ever to become a robocaller. These calls all undermine the public's trust in our phone system. If we don't fix this problem, it will only get worse. The TRACED Act is the best way Congress can address the deluge of spam and spam robocalls. Consumer groups and industry widely support the legislation, including Consumer Reports, AARP, the National Consumer Law Center, US Telecom, and more. Basically, what we have in this bill are commonsense, meaningful solutions that will put consumers back in control of their phones and will help restore trust in our phone system. Now, in closing, I just want to thank all of the Members and staff who were able to work together to produce this great legislation, and there are a lot: obviously, our ranking member, Mr. Walden, the subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Latta, as well as Mr. Doyle. But I also want to thank our staff and other Members who contributed their legislation to the TRACED Act. So, Members such as Mr. McEachin, Mr. Olson, Mr. Kim, Mrs. Brooks, Mr. Brindisi, and Mr. Kustoff introduced the Locking Up Robocallers Act, which was added to this legislation in section 11. Ms. Clarke, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Rouda, Ms. Foxx, and Mr. Walberg introduced the Ending One-Ring Scams Act, which was added to this legislation in section 12. Mr. Crist introduced his Spam Calls Task Force Act, which was added to the bill in section 5. Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Soto, and Mr. Gianforte introduced the Tracing Back and Catching Unlawful Robocallers Act, which was added to this bill in section 13. And Mrs. Dingell and Mr. Burgess introduced their Protecting Patients and Doctors from Unlawful Robocalls Act, which was added to the bill in section 14. Mr. Flores and Mr. McNerney offered their amendment to increase the financial penalties for illegal robocallers, which was added to section 3. And, of course, Mr. Doyle and Mr. Latta introduced their STOP Robocalls Act in section 10. Finally, I would like to thank all the staff on both sides of the aisle who worked on this bill, in particular, Jerry Leverich over here, Alex Hoehn-Saric behind me, Dan Miller behind me, AJ Brown, and Parul Desai on the majority staff; Tim Kurth, Kate O'Connor, Evan Viau, Robin Colwell on the minority staff; as well as Phil Murphy on Subcommittee Chairman Doyle's staff and Rachel Rathore on Subcommittee Ranking Member Latta's staff. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with many other colleagues on the Congressional Hellenic Caucus to recognize and honor the many great deeds of the Daughters of Penelope on the organization's 90th Anniversary. The Daughters of Penelope is a preeminent international women's service association and affiliate organization of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. It was founded on November 16, 1929 in San Francisco, California. Today, it is a leading international organization of women of Hellenic descent and Philhellenes that works to improve the status and well-being of women and their families and to empower women to make significant contributions to their communities and our country. The mission of the Daughters of Penelope is to promote the ideals of ancient Greece, philanthropy, education, civic responsibility, good citizenship, and family and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. Over its history, the Daughters of Penelope has achieved remarkable accomplishments. The group has strengthened the status of women in society, sheltered the elderly and victims of domestic violence, educated our youth, promoted Hellenic heritage, and raised funds for medical research. It is hard to ignore the positive impact the Daughters of Penelope has had in communities throughout the United States--including a strong presence in New Jersey's 6th Congressional District, where I am proud to represent two chapters, Aulis No. 195 in Asbury Park and Tethys No. 229 in New Brunswick. The Daughters of Penelope promotes awareness and provides financial support for many medical research and charitable organizations such as the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (formerly the Papanicolaou Cancer Center), cancer and breast cancer research; Thalassemia (Cooley's Anemia), Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), Alzheimer's Foundation, American Heart Association, Muscular Dystrophy, and many others. Once again, I offer my sincere congratulations to the Daughters of Penelope for 90 years of incredible service to our country and its strong promotion of U.S.-Greek and U.S.-Cypriot relations. May its next 90 years be as prayerful, fulfilling, and successful as the last.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of Mr. Robert M. Rechnitz. Mr. Rechnitz, a longtime resident of the Locust section of Middletown, New Jersey, passed away on October 12, 2019 after a vibrant life filled with numerous professional and personal accomplishments. Robert (Bob) Rechnitz was a prominent member of the community and a fixture of the thriving arts and humanities landscape in Monmouth County. As co-founder and executive producer of Two River Theater, Bob was committed to providing an outlet for creative expression and a preeminent institution for the public to enjoy. In addition to his extensive background and work in theater, Bob was an esteemed educator, stalwart preservationist and dedicated philanthropist. He lived his life in service to his community and his achievements and generosity have been recognized by many awards and tributes over the years. His love of nature and the theater and his commitment to social and humanitarian causes left an indelible impact on the community. From his support of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation and Monmouth University to his contributions to Monmouth Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center, to name just a few, his philanthropic endeavors will benefit generations to come. Bob leaves behind a loving family, including his devoted wife and partner Joan, their children Emily, Adam and Joshua, son-in-law John Paladino, daughter-in-law Elizabeth Fordi, grandchildren Max and Flora Paladino and Esme Rechnitz, as well as many dear friends and colleagues. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Robert M. Rechnitz for his devotion to his family and his immeasurable contributions to the greater Monmouth County community.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Ruth Hyman as she celebrates her 100th birthday this year. It is my honor to join with her family and friends in marking this incredible milestone and wishing her many more years of health and happiness. A lifelong resident of Long Branch, New Jersey, Ms. Hyman was the youngest of eight children. Her parents, Ida and David Hyman, were founding members of Congregation Brothers of Israel and instilled in their children the importance of hard work and community service. Throughout her life, Ms. Hyman has striven to be an active and charitable member of her community, supporting Congregation Brothers of Israel, the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, and Jewish and Family Children's Services, among many others. In addition, Ms. Hyman established and operated a long-running women's apparel business and worked as an editor of technical manuals for the federal government. Her involvement with numerous local charities and organizations reflect her passion to help others and improve our communities and her success and accomplishments serve as an example of what hard work can attain. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Ms. Ruth Hyman as she celebrates her 100th birthday. Her generous spirit and impact on the community continue to be felt throughout Monmouth County and New Jersey.