Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, before I talk about H. Res. 271 which is before the House today, I want to respond to my ranking member's statements about H.R. 692. This is the bill that he repeatedly has mentioned on the Republican side. I want to point out that the Republican bill, H.R. 692, under that legislation, you could theoretically buy insurance if you have a preexisting condition; but it is very deceptive because the bill will still allow insurers to set premiums based on health status, resulting in individuals with preexisting conditions being charged substantially more or priced out of the market. The Republican bill does not include critical ACA consumer protections, including community rating, essential health benefits requirements, and annual or lifetime prohibitions. Basically, the GOP bill would allow insurance companies to once again discriminate against 130 million Americans with preexisting conditions. They would be priced out of coverage because they wouldn't be healthy enough. Individuals with preexisting conditions like cancer or diabetes could face extremely unaffordable premiums and, again, be priced out of the care that they desperately need. The GOP bill would also put a significant financial burden on older Americans, while doing very little to lower costs for young adults. This Republican bill leaves Americans worse off and does nothing, really, to protect people with preexisting conditions, in reality. Now, if I could speak again in support of H. Res. 271, which is before us today, that condemns the Trump administration's legal campaign to take away Americans' healthcare. As you know, last Monday night, the Justice Department filed a brief saying that they wanted the court to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. The Trump administration's announcement last week that it would actively support this frivolous lawsuit striking down the entire Affordable Care Act shows the President's shameless disregard for the health and well-being of the American people, in my opinion. If the Trump administration got its way in court and the ACA is struck down, tens of millions of Americans would lose their health coverage overnight. Hundreds of millions would immediately lose protections for preexisting conditions, and we would be sent barreling back to the days of lifetime limits and price discrimination against women based on their gender. Republicans had their chance to repeal and replace the ACA, and the American people overwhelmingly rejected their plan. And now by refusing to defend the ACA in court, the Trump administration is asking the courts to do what President Trump and the Republican Congress could not do, and that is repeal the ACA and all the protections that it includes for the American people. Mr. Speaker, I have heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle repeatedly claim that they stand for protections for people with preexisting conditions and for other protections included in the Affordable Care Act. Well, now is your chance to show it. We have an opportunity today to send a clear message that we will not support this reckless attack that imperils the well-being of millions of hardworking Americans. The time for empty promises has expired. It is time to act. The Trump Administration is determined to destroy protections for preexisting conditions and to tear down every last benefit guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act, and today's vote is an opportunity to stand up in solidarity against this heartless attack. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 271, to send a clear message: We will not stand idly by while the Trump administration wages an all-out assault on Americans' healthcare. Mr. Speaker, 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 to pay tribute to Janice Fuller, who has served as one of my most trusted advisors for the last decade in her roles as District Director and then Chief of Staff. Janice is leaving my office after 10 years of distinguished service. For 10 years now, my constituents in New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District have had a fierce advocate in Janice. She has a passion for constituent services and has always been a champion for the district's municipalities, counties, organizations and businesses as they explore funding or partnerships from federal agencies. Janice's commitment to and advocacy for the people of my Congressional District was never more on display than in the days, weeks, months and years following Superstorm Sandy, which devastated my district. She was relentless in her efforts to ensure the federal government provided the assistance needed to New Jerseyans impacted by Sandy. Janice fought for increased temporary housing for those who lost their homes, worked to secure funding for critical flood control projects and highlighted flood insurance fraud that was perpetrated against homeowners. Her determination to improve the response and recovery process from this historic storm had an impact on countless people throughout New Jersey. Over the last four years, Janice has served as my Chief of Staff, leading my legislative, communications and constituent relations staff. Prior to joining my staff in 2009, Janice served the people of New Jersey in the offices of two governors. First, she served in the McGreevey Administration in 2001 and 2002 as an Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff, and from 2006 through 2009 she was the Director of Cabinet Affairs in the Corzine Administration. Janice is also well respected throughout New Jersey as one of the state's top political minds. From 2003 through 2006, she was the Executive Director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. In this position, she ran the day-to-day operations of the state political party--this is no easy task. Throughout her entire career, Janice has been a fierce advocate for the people of New Jersey. And that advocacy spills over into her free time--if that time even exists for Janice. Not only has she served as a Board Member on the Covenant House New Jersey-Asbury Park Program and the New Jersey Equal Opportunity Fund, she recently won an election to serve on the Ocean Township School Board. It goes without saying that public service runs in Janice's blood. She may be leaving my office, but I have no doubt that she will continue to find ways to serve the people of New Jersey throughout the remainder of her career. Over the last ten years, Janice has spent a lot of late nights representing me and my constituents at meetings or events throughout the district. I want to acknowledge the support Janice always received from her husband, John, and her three children, Grace, Finn and Sloane. Madam Speaker, the American people, New Jerseyans and the people of the Sixth Congressional District have been well served by Janice Fuller for the last 20 years. I wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors and look forward to watching all the ways she looks to serve the public good.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, 34 days into the Trump shutdown, New Jersey families are hurting: 5,000 Federal workers have lost their paycheck; millions more are being harmed by the closure of critical services. In my district in Edison, many EPA employees are being prevented from doing their jobs. These dedicated public servants help clean up contaminated sites. They keep our drinking water safe. Meanwhile, at the NOAA lab at Sandy Hook, they are unable to conduct urgent research on climate change. One of my EPA workers said: ``Mr. President, please open the government. Do your job so we can do our job.'' I couldn't agree more. Members of the Coast Guard at Sandy Hook in my district are going without pay. These are the men and women who risked their lives to keep us safe during Superstorm Sandy, and they deserve a paycheck. An IRS worker from my district said: ``This is the first time in my life that I have ever had to go to a food bank for food. Not knowing where food is coming from is scary.'' And she went on to say that she fears being evicted from her apartment. This is an IRS worker. Madam Speaker, House Democrats have voted 11 times on bipartisan legislation. It is time to open the government, Mr. President.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, today I include in the Record Dissenting Views to the Activity Report of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives for the One Hundred Fifteenth Congress (Activity Report). The Activity Report, which was filed by the Republican majority on January 2, 2019, should have included these dissenting views, however, they were not included. I am taking this action to ensure that the House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats can exercise their right under House Rule XI to submit these dissenting views so that they are made part of the official House record. House Rule XI gives the majority party authority and the responsibility for setting our committee's agenda and to determine which jurisdictional areas and matters (and the extent to which) it will oversee or investigate. The Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and reported out important bipartisanship legislation in the 115th Congress, like H.R. 6, H.R. 304, H.R. 931, H.R. 1320, H.R. 2430, H.R. 2345, H.R. 3387, H.R. 5333, and H.R. 6378. Each of these bills was considered pursuant to regular order at every major legislative stage and should be seen as being displays of some of our greater legislative accomplishments. We would have been more successful as a committee this Congress had our Republican majority believed in and followed regular order more consistently. Regular order was nowhere to be found at the beginning of the 115th Congress. Republican House leaders and committee chairs exiled regular order at the start of the 115th Congress to deliver on their party's promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as soon as possible after assuming unified government following the 2016 Presidential and federal elections. Less than two months from the Committee's organization at the beginning of 2017, our Committee's Republican majority hurriedly noticed for full Committee markup a draft print, titled the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The AHCA was subsequently introduced and numbered as H.R. 1628. As we noted in our Minority Views to that bill's legislative report that accompanied it to the House floor: Despite the wide-ranging, serious implications of this legislation for the health and financial security of all Americans, the Committee did not hold a single hearing on the details and effect of the legislation. Notably, stakeholders have not had the ability to weigh in on the impacts of the bill to the health care system. In fact, the Committee received letters from hospitals, doctors, and patient and advocacy groups all outlining their significant concerns with the legislation. Additionally, despite Speaker Ryan's claims that the bill would be considered through regular order and through a transparent process, the repeal bill was drafted in secret and introduced less than two days before markup. The minority is deeply concerned by the decision to proceed to markup without first receiving the views of the CBO on the impact of this legislation on health insurance coverage, costs, and the federal budget. This exercise, which signaled that Committee Republicans might apply regular order sporadically and unpredictably, set the tone for the 115th Congress. Bills that the Republican majority chose not to put through regular order were appreciably more partisan and controversial. These included H.R. 1628 and other troublesome bills to change the Clean Power Plan standards or to amend the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations and standards. Other Republican practices reflected in legislation acted on by the Committee, which Democrats saw and opposed, included attacks on funding and programs that promote and protect Democratic priorities, such as the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Committee Democrats also took issue at times with bills that relied on weak justifications and policies to support Congressional action, change, or clarification to existing statutes and federal programs that would weaken environmental and consumer health, public safety, and privacy protections. These legislative measures implemented policies and amended regulations to create loopholes and other compliance safe harbors. Our Republican majority acted on legislation that rolled back environmental and other consumer health and safety protections by moving further into the future well-noticed compliance deadlines for EPA new source performance standards applying to new residential wood and hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces as well as national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for brick and structural clay products and clay ceramics manufacturing and power plants using coal refuse facilities under the Clean Air Act. While some of these bills and amendments were intended to provide more legal and business certainty to industry; a good deal of them extended more regulatory relief than needed to properly balance the respective interests of all actors and stakeholders. The Committee appropriately exercised its jurisdictional discretion and prerogative at times to convene very important oversight hearings. For example, the Republican majority conducted formal oversight to raise critically important questions about Facebook's data protection and security practices and policies, and why those practices were insufficient to prohibit and prevent Cambridge Analytica from collecting and using Facebook user and other platform data to influence 2016 Presidential election voters. The Republican majority, however, suppressed its oversight duties and responsibilities to call more fervently upon the Trump Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to appear before the Committee and explain its role in relation to the Administration's ``zero tolerance'' policy. As a result, the Ranking Member of the Committee, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. introduced H. Res. 982, a resolution of inquiry (RoI), requesting President Trump and directing the Secretary of HHS to transmit certain information and records to the House of Representative relating to the separation of children from their parents or guardians in connection with the President's ``zero tolerance'' policy. In his dissenting views to the report covering the Committee's RoI proceeding, Ranking Member Pallone asserted that the Committee should have acted more quickly and decisively to understand and to offer its views regarding the family border separation crisis: My resolution of inquiry is ripe for action . . . For better, far more than worse, family unification is vital to all of [us] as individuals and to our physical and mental health and overall well-being. Regardless of one's citizenship status or the country from which they are migrating to the United States, happy and stable families are undeniably essential to becoming and staying healthy. For that reason alone, separating children from their families, regardless of whose policy it is or the objectives behind that policy, is suspect on its face and must be balanced by (our thorough) input, as a separate and co-equal branch of the federal government. Our Committee should not allow or tolerate further delay but this Administration in providing answers to our questions or soliciting our advice and reactions regarding this unabated crisis. In order to perform our sworn duties as elected representatives and leaders, we must convene an oversight hearing as soon as possible. For these reasons, H. Res. 982 should have been favorably reported. While our Committee continued its important bipartisan traditions this Congress, in the 115th Congress the Republican majority failed to conduct any legitimate oversight of the Trump Administration, failing to hold them accountable for the cost of their policies to undermine critical health care, environmental and consumer protections. Republicans also failed to prioritize the lives of everyday Americans. Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats pursue policies that help everyday people by building a stronger economy, creating more good paying jobs, and protecting consumers from skyrocketing costs that make it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, this bill is really important. It would provide funding for our critical food, nutrition, and rural development agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration. What we are really asking is to keep the government open. There may be disagreement about the wall and some aspects of border security, but that shouldn't hold hostage these important spending bills that keep the government going. I wanted to talk about the FDA. The FDA is one of our most critical public health agencies overseeing food, medical products, cosmetics, and tobacco, products that account for 20 cents of every dollar spent by U.S. consumers. As a result of the Trump government shutdown, the FDA has had to cease a number of important activities that keep our Nation's food and drugs safe for all Americans. For example, the FDA has stopped conducting nearly two-thirds of the domestic food inspections that the agency typically conducts, putting our Nation's food supply and food safety system at risk. This comes on the heels of a multi-State national recall of romaine lettuce in November and December. This stoppage should be alarming to all of us. The FDA has halted routine inspections at food, drug, device, and compounding facilities. It stopped accepting any new medical product applications unless the application is within a small subset that did not require a user fee. This includes applications for new generic drugs that may bring further competition to the pharmaceutical market. The FDA has ceased any activities related to over-the-counter products. It put on hold any enforcement activities related to medical products or facilities that have been found to be in violation of the law. What we are seeing are no inspections, no enforcement activities. And, today, more than 6,000 FDA employees are furloughed, and another 1,000 are working without pay. This Trump shutdown has had a dramatic effect on our economy, our Federal employees, and the functioning of our government. Agency heads are being forced to plan without knowledge of whether the shutdown will last another day, another week, or another month. These are real lives that are being impacted. Madam Speaker, I urge the Senate majority leader and the President to support this bill so we can restore funding to the FDA so that consumers continue to have safe food and medical supplies.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I thank--I call her the Secretary. She is one of my colleagues now. Congresswoman Shalala knows more about healthcare, and, I should say, probably is more of an expert on it than anybody else in this body. I want to basically contradict what my Republican colleagues have been saying. They are saying that this is not about preexisting conditions. That is exactly what this debate is about. We have seen the Republicans in the House, the President, consistently try to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. And what does that mean? That means sabotage to make it more difficult for people with preexisting conditions to get coverage. It means bringing out junk insurance that doesn't have good benefits. It means bringing back all the discriminatory practices that existed before the ACA, like lifetime or annual limits or rescissions. You know, before the Affordable Care Act, you could actually buy a policy and the insurance company could come in and rescind the policy because they were spending too much money on your insurance policy. We worked very hard with the ACA to get rid of all these discriminatory practices. They would come back again if this lawsuit succeeds. I don't think there should be any mistake. This lawsuit, brought by a group of Republican attorneys general, is nothing more than a continuation of Republican efforts to sabotage the healthcare of millions of Americans. Having failed to repeal the law through the legislative process, Republicans are attempting to invalidate the law through the Federal courts, and they have, at least for now, succeeded at the district court level. Last month, Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas declared the entire ACA was invalid. His decision would eliminate the law's protections for preexisting conditions, as well as entirely unrelated provisions, such as the Medicaid expansion and the closing of the Medicare prescription drug donut hole. This decision has been roundly criticized by legal scholars. Conservative scholars, like Jonathan Adler, joined with other scholars in writing that the decision was a mockery of the rule of law and basic principles of democracy. Judge O'Connor's decision is an exercise in raw judicial power. It is not the job of the Federal judges to strike down entire statutes without considering what Congress intended.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 259) to extend the Medicaid Money Follows the Person Rebalancing demonstration, to extend protection for Medicaid recipients of home and community-based services against spousal impoverishment, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 259.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 259, the Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019. This bill would extend for 3 months the successful Money Follows the Person demonstration and the spousal impoverishment protections for home- and community-based services recipients. These two provisions have helped tens of thousands of people remain in the community with their families and friends while receiving the healthcare and other services that they need. The MFP demonstration helps people transition from institutional settings to community-based settings so they can live in their homes and maintain their independence, and all of this is possible because the demonstration provides them access to the services in their homes that they would otherwise receive in an institution. This is a widely used and successful program. Currently, 43 States and the District of Columbia participate. And it has helped over 75,000 people transition from institutions to the community. I thank my colleagues, Representative Dingell and Representative Guthrie, for their bipartisan efforts to protect this important program. I urge my colleagues to support extending this program as the Energy and Commerce Committee works on a longer-term extension. Mr. Speaker, I also support extending the protections against spousal impoverishment for beneficiaries receiving home- and community-based services. These protections ensure that people can receive the community-based services they need and that their spouse has enough income and assets to meet their living expenses. This protection expired at the end of last year, and it is vital that we act quickly to reauthorize it. Without this protection, individuals may lose access to important services or face unnecessary institutionalization. This is a terrible choice for families to make and one that we can prevent by passing this bill. Similar to MFP, this extension will give the committee time to work on a long-term solution. Mr. Speaker, both of these extensions were passed as part of the continuing resolution in the Senate in December. Unfortunately, since then, a fight has ensued over appropriations funding. While it is my hope that the President will drop his demand for an ineffective and unnecessary wall, I do not want these programs to be collateral damage over that debate. Both of these programs have bipartisan support and must be extended without delay. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 259, the Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would also ask that we support this bill on a bipartisan basis without delay. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 259, the ``Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019'' that extends the ``Medicaid Money Follows the Person'' rebalancing demonstration project. The ``Medicaid Money Follows the Person'' demonstration project supports reintegration of persons with special needs into their communities. Since its creation in 1965, Medicaid has been the largest source of medical and health-related services for Americans with a low income and limited resources. Over 75,151 people with chronic conditions and disabilities have transitioned from institutions back into the community through ``Money Follows the Person'' programs as of December 2016. My home state of Texas was among the first 30 states chosen to participate in the ``Money Follows the Person'' demonstration in 2007. The ``Money Follows the Person'' demonstration project has helped more than 10,000 individuals transition from institutional to community-based services in the state of Texas. In the 18th Congressional District of Texas there are 162 nursing homes and out of 162 nursing homes only 67 nursing homes accept Medicaid. 43 percent of seniors in Houston, Texas earn less than $30,000 per year. Texas has the second largest number of individuals with disabilities of all the states and the percentage of individuals with disabilities in the state of Texas is 11.7 percent. In the fiscal year of 2016, Health and Human Services has budgeted over $16 million in federal funding to help individuals transition out of nursing facilities, State Supported Living Centers, Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and other institutions. The ``Money Follows the Person'' demonstration project has helped states and the federal government save money. From 2008 to 2013, it generated $978 million in reduced Medicare and Medicaid costs after the first year of transitioning participants to home- and community-based care. For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 259.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 269) to reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, to clarify the regulatory framework with respect to certain nonprescription drugs that are marketed without an approved drug application, and for other purposes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 269.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to voice my support for the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019. This legislation will help strengthen our Nation's emergency preparedness and response efforts. It will also modernize the regulatory framework for over-the-counter drugs and provide FDA with stable and consistent funding to oversee the over-the-counter market. This bill would ensure our Nation is prepared and can respond to emerging infectious disease threats, including Zika and Ebola. It will also prepare us so we can better respond to health security events, like bioterrorism and natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. The importance of this law cannot be overstated, Mr. Speaker. That is why our committee committed to working together in the last Congress on a bipartisan basis to ensure that the important authorities granted to the FDA in this law did not lapse. I want to especially thank Representatives Eshoo and Brooks for their work on this legislation and their leadership in promoting the importance of strengthening our Nation's emergency preparedness and response infrastructure. While the House passed legislation that would have prevented this authorization from expiring, the Senate then refused to act and, instead, allowed these important authorities to expire on September 30. While we were disappointed that we were unable to reauthorize PAHPA before that occurred, we continued to work with our Senate colleagues on moving this important legislation forward before the end of the 115th Congress. That effort led to the passage of H.R. 7328 on December 20, legislation developed as a result of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations to reach agreement on a PAHPA reauthorization bill that we could all support. Unfortunately, just like before, the Senate did not act; and, thus, we are on the floor again today, Mr. Speaker, moving legislation to reauthorize the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act and pass historic legislation to streamline and fund the regulation of over-the-counter drugs. I hope that the third time will be the charm and that our Senate colleagues will act quickly to pass this legislation. In addition to reauthorizing our public health preparedness and response programs, this legislation also contains a bipartisan and bicameral agreement reforming our over-the-counter drug program. The Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2018 has also twice previously passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. It modernizes the way the FDA reviews over-the- counter products for colds, allergies, and other common health issues. The bill streamlines the review process for future monograph changes, allows for expedited safety label changes, and establishes a user fee program to provide reasonable or sustainable resources to implement these reforms. These are all critical changes that I am very proud to support. While this is not a perfect bill and still contains unnecessary and unwarranted exclusivity for over-the-counter drugs and sunscreens, reform of our over-the-counter drug program is long overdue. This reform will pave the way for innovation in the over-the-counter market, allow the agency to respond to safety events, and finally provide the agency with the resources needed to properly oversee this growing market. This legislation has the broad support of industry, public health groups, and the FDA, and it deserves the support of both the House and the Senate. I want to thank the bill's authors, Representatives Eshoo, Brooks, DeGette, Latta, Dingell, Guthrie, and Burgess, for their hard work on this legislation. It is my hope that the Senate will now take swift action and move this legislation to the President's desk. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers and am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, again, I would ask support for this bipartisan bill. It is very important legislation, and I hope that we can send it to the Senate and have the President quickly sign it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to extend the authority for the Department of Homeland Security's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, or CFATS, program for 2 years. The CFATS program provides critical national security protections. We should all be alarmed that it is on the verge of lapsing. Unless this bill becomes law, or the President reconsiders his shutdown of many parts of the Federal Government, the CFATS program will expire in 10 days. The program is not perfect, but it should be continued. The 2-year extension will give the committees of jurisdiction time to consider important improvements to the program without fear that the program will lapse. Since before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, experts have been concerned about the vulnerability of chemical plants to terrorist attacks. These facilities hold large stores of industrial chemicals that pose a safety and security risk to the American people if they are released or detonated. A recent report found that more than 134 million Americans live in the vulnerability zones around chemical facilities. The communities most at risk are disproportionately low-income communities and communities of color. I have been an advocate for increased safety and security at our Nation's chemical facilities for many years, well before the CFATS program was established in 2006. My home State of New Jersey, which has a high population density, has a large number of chemical facilities, so the consequences of insufficient security are as real to us as they are dire. Unfortunately, the threats to these facilities are only increasing as climate change makes extreme weather more and more common. CFATS- regulated facilities have been impacted by hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, putting us all at risk. The highest profile case occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas. The Chemical Safety Board released an investigative report on the incident and found that the chemical industry is wholly unprepared for extreme weather events, like floods and hurricanes. Last year, the New York Times reported that more than 2,500 sites handling toxic chemicals are in flood-prone areas around the country. Instead of addressing these threats, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to diminish protections for workers and communities around chemical facilities. For instance, despite losing in court, EPA continues to try to roll back the Risk Management Planning program improvement rule that bolsters safety at these facilities.

Mr. PALLONE. EPA is also systematically ignoring risks to workers in implementing the revised Toxic Substances Control Act. And President Trump has twice tried to eliminate the Chemical Safety Board, which investigates disasters at these facilities. As chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I will be conducting thorough oversight of the increased threats to dangerous chemical facilities and this administration's concerted efforts to disregard risks to workers and hot spot communities. That oversight will inform our future efforts to improve the CFATS program. We must ensure the safety and security of the workers, first responders, and communities living near our Nation's chemical facilities. That means extending this program while we consider how to improve it. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the bipartisan relationship of the Committee on Homeland Security for working with me on this important bill to ensure continuity of this program, and I urge that we pass this bill immediately.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise, to withdraw my appointment of November 13, 2018, and to appoint Mignon L. Clyburn to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. My authority to effectuate this appointment as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is set forth in Section 1051 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (P.L. 115-232).