Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill is nothing more than another political attack on the Affordable Care Act. In fact, I think this bill serves as House Republicans' 53rd vote to repeal or undermine the health care law. If enacted, this bill would allow insurance companies to discriminate against small businesses if they have an older workforce, more women in their workforce, or if any of their employees or their children have preexisting health conditions. The impact is taking away from millions of workers key protections and puts insurance companies back in charge of their health care. Even worse, I believe, it gives insurance companies the best of both worlds: millions of new customers through the ACA, but the ability to continue to cherry-pick employers with young, healthy workforces. In fact, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the bill would have serious adverse effects on premiums, causing them to rise substantially for many small firms, and the CBO agrees. This bill causes serious harm. Republicans are claiming that this is just another effort to help people keep the coverage they have, but let's be clear, if your insurance starts covering your child to the age of 26, you are not losing your old coverage, your coverage is simply getting better. If your insurance starts covering preventive services like annual physicals and vaccinations and cancer screenings for free, that is not losing your old coverage, that is your coverage getting better. There is no evidence employers are dropping coverage en masse. So Republicans are left to claim people are losing their coverage when their coverage is actually getting better. This is again the Republicans misleading the public. Mr. Speaker, when the ACA passed, employers and health insurers had the option to grandfather their coverage. They could keep that coverage the same, and it would not have to comply with the new ACA reforms. They could even raise premiums and cost-sharing and still stay grandfathered. For plans that did not grandfather, a host of important new consumer protections went into place before 2014. For example, plans had to limit their profits and overhead to 20 percent of the premiums they collect. If they failed to meet this standard, they must pay rebates to their customers. As a result, small businesses have saved a total of $2.5 billion on their premiums since 2011. Mr. Speaker, in November 2013, the President announced that individuals and small businesses who are not yet ready to transition into the new, more fair, secure health coverage guaranteed by the ACA could remain in their existing plans for another year. In March of this year, the President extended that policy, so that individuals and small businesses could keep their plans into 2016, but this bill goes much further and allows these plans to be sold to new customers. So we are not talking about people keeping their plans. We are talking about selling old lousy plans, discriminatory plans, to new customers. Since the ACA was passed, we have added key new benefits and protections to employer coverage, but at the same time, we have added 10 million jobs, we have helped 10 million people get health coverage, we have seen premiums rise at historically low levels, and we have extended the life of the Medicare trust fund by 13 years. This is amazing progress, and we should not turn back. That is what the Republicans would have us do with this other repeal of the Affordable Care Act: turn us back to the old days where the insurance companies reigned, where discriminatory practices reigned, and where preexisting conditions were a basis for not getting coverage. I urge Members to vote ``no.'' This should not be. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers at this time. I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 4290, the Wakefield Act of 2014, a bill to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children program. The Emergency Medical Services for Children program was established 30 years ago. The program includes a number of grant programs to help States to assess and improve pediatric emergency care; improve emergency services for children in rural, tribal, and other communities; and support research in pediatric emergency medicine. The legislation before us today will reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children program for another 5 years, so that this critical program can continue its lifesaving work. I want to offer my thanks to Congressman Matheson and Congressman King for sponsoring the bill and to Chairman Upton, Chairman Pitts, Ranking Member Waxman, and our staffs for working on this bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee. I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at this time, and so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4067 would suspend current enforcement of Medicare rules relating to physician supervision of staff in rural and critical access hospitals for certain outpatient therapeutic services. Enforcement of these rules was delayed from 2009 through 2013, but began again in January of this year. My understanding is that there has not been any issue with enforcement to date and that the Medicare program has not taken any action against a facility for failure to meet physician supervision standards since January. But as this bill did not follow regular order through the committee process, we have not had an opportunity to hear from interested parties about the issue and bring to light what the implications might be of an additional delay. Frankly, the likely result of such a bill would be confusion for hospitals. Medicare's physician supervision requirement places a premium on patient safety, and I understand that rural facilities sometimes face difficulty in securing staffing. However, it seems reasonable to me that outpatient clinics that provide services to Medicare beneficiaries should meet some basic standards for having supervisory physicians available if an emergency arises--for example, when patients are receiving potentially lethal doses of chemotherapy medication. Meanwhile, there are countless public health issues that the committee could productively devote its time to, such as looking into the recent outbreak of Ebola, the effects of e-cigarettes, or perhaps the decline of routine vaccinations that has led to an explosion of preventable illnesses like measles. Rather, the bill before us seems to be only responsive to the fears of certain health care providers that someone could file a complaint that a facility was allowing staff to practice medicine on Medicare patients without any supervision. But isn't that the kind of thing that we might be concerned about--and want a whistleblower to report? Yet, that is just what this bill would prevent. It remains unclear to me why an additional delay of this Medicare policy is needed. Simply saying that the Senate passed this bill by unanimous consent in February is not sufficient justification--and makes even less sense now that the calendar year is nearly over. So, Mr. Speaker, we should be finding time to address the real and pressing public issues facing our Nation rather than those that merely cause an inconvenience or anxiety for certain health care providers. I reserve the balance of my time at this time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise with great pride to be speaking in support of H.R. 669, the Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act. This has been an issue that I have worked on for many years in Congress. In particular, it is one of the many bills that I partnered with my late friend, Senator Frank Lautenberg. I also want to thank Congressman Peter King as well, since he worked with me on this. Stillbirth and unexpected infant death affect tens of thousands of families every year, according to data from CDC, and sudden infant death syndrome is the leading cause of death for infants up to 12 months old. Unfortunately, too many families in this country suffer these tragic events, but what makes matters even worse is their struggle with the process to help find answers. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive, high-quality data to best understand why these events occur in the first place. The intent of the bill has always been to better utilize the Federal Government's activities in this area. Specifically, it would expand and standardize surveillance and data collection for stillbirth and sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, it would improve the development of standard protocols for use in death scene investigations and autopsies surrounding these deaths and also allow the Secretary of HHS to conduct training activities regarding these protocols. The bill also requires CDC, in consultation with NIH, to submit a report to Congress on current activities related to stillbirth, SUID, and SUDC and evaluate the possibility of expanding programs related to SUDC specifically. Let me close, Mr. Speaker, by personally thanking Laura Crandall, cofounder and codirector of the CJ Foundation's SUDC program. This issue hits close to home for Laura, but in the face of tragedy, she decided to work to help others who also suffered. She has been a great advocate for this bill and has spread awareness of SUDC in communities all across the country. I thank her for her strength, determination, and dedication. Mr. Speaker, this bill isn't everything I think the CDC can be doing to address the needs of families across the country, but it represents a critical step on a very tragic issue that deserves our attention. I urge my colleagues to support its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney), one of the sponsors of the bill.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that Lyme disease is a concerning public health issue. The CDC estimates there are approximately 300,000 Lyme disease cases each year in the United States. H.R. 4701, the Tick-Borne Disease Research Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, creates a new working group to develop a summary of research in advances related to Lyme disease and other tick- borne diseases, monitor Federal activities, and make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS and hold annual public meetings. I support ensuring that research in the area of Lyme disease is productive and significant. However, there are still a number of other changes that need to be made to this bill, particularly regarding appointments to and responsibilities of the working group. Additionally, we do not want the resources needed to maintain this working group to take away from the already strained budgets of current Federal research and surveillance efforts related to Lyme disease. At the full committee markup of H.R. 4701 in July, Chairman Upton committed to continue to work with myself and other Members to address these concerns before bringing the bill to the floor, and I am disappointed to say that that commitment wasn't honored. While I have reservations about H.R. 4701 in its current form, I would not object to considering it on suspension and advancing the bill here today, but I will continue to advocate for resolving these issues in the bill as it moves forward. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Township of Ocean Historical Museum as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Since its founding, the Township of Ocean Historical Museum has continued to fulfill its mission of preserving and promoting local history through exhibits, archives, publications, events and educational programs. Its ongoing efforts are truly deserving of this body's recognition. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum was officially incorporated on April 25, 1984 and was located in a classroom of the former Oakhurst School. The previous year, the Township of Ocean Historical Society, which was founded in 1970 to promote and preserve local, county and state history, merged with the Township of Ocean Historical Museum Association to establish the Museum. Over the years, the Museum continued to grow and in 2009, after several years of restoration, the Museum was opened in the historic Eden Woolley House. Volunteers have been the backbone of the Museum since its beginning and continue to maintain and support it. It was a group of residents who had presented the community museum idea to the Board of Education in 1983. Volunteer efforts also helped advance the restoration of the Eden Woolley House through fundraising as well as some hands-on work. Today, the Museum boasts a membership of more than 400 families and many of the founding members are still active volunteers. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum has grown considerably since it opened in a local classroom. It has two permanent exhibits and a third exhibit that changes annually; holds programs and events; produces a newsletter and much more. It is an important fixture to the community and has been recognized three times as the ``Best Local Museum'' by the Asbury Park Press Readers Poll. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing the outstanding historical efforts of the Township of Ocean Historical Museum and congratulating it on 30 successful years.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 4582, the Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, to jump-start the middle class, instead of this partisan lawsuit attacking the President.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4709, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2014. This bill would help prevent prescription drug abuse, establish clear and consistent enforcement standards, and ensure patients have access to needed medications by promoting collaboration between government agencies, patients, and industry stakeholders. It will help drug distributors and others work with the Drug Enforcement Administration to keep controlled substance prescription drugs out of the hands of drug abusers. It will also help them avoid inappropriately limiting legitimate access to these same drugs by patients who need them. Achieving that balance is a difficult challenge. H.R. 4709 would provide definitions in the Controlled Substances Act for the phrases ``consistent with the public health and safety'' and ``imminent danger.'' It also would require the DEA to provide registrants an opportunity to submit an action plan to correct any violations of law or regulation for which DEA is considering revoking or suspending their controlled substance. It would require FDA, in consultation with DEA, to submit a report to Congress 1 year after enactment on collaborative efforts to benefit patients and prevent diversion and abuse of controlled substances. I want to commend Energy and Commerce members Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch, as well as Representatives Tom Marino and Judy Chu, for their sponsorship of this bipartisan legislation. Of course, I also thank my colleagues, Chairman Upton, Chairman Pitts, Ranking Member Waxman, and all other staff who have all been instrumental in bringing H.R. 4709 to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in commemoration of the life of Ms. Jean Hastings. Jean, a resident of Long Branch, New Jersey, passed away on July 10, 2014. She was a long time community leader whose memory will live on through all those whose lives she touched. A graduate of Long Branch High School, Jean was a political activist. She was a Democratic Party Leader, proud of her work for the Schneider Team and President Obama. She worked for the City of Long Branch as a records clerk, was a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Guild of Long Branch and served as a Democratic Committeewoman for many years. Jean leaves behind a loving and adoring family, including her son Harold, daughters Leslie Hill, Julia Hastings, Arlene Perozzi and Tanya Hastings, as well as siblings, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Ms. Jean Hastings for her dedication to her family and service to her community.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in commemoration of the life of Mr. Francis ``Frank'' Budd. Mr. Budd, a New Jersey native, passed away on April 29, 2014 after an accomplished life. Born on July 20, 1939 in Long Branch, New Jersey, Frank Budd was an outstanding athlete and graduate of Asbury Park High School and Villanova University. He was inducted into the inaugural Villanova Wall of Fame in Villanova Stadium on October 7, 1995 and the Frank Budd Track and Field Meet at Asbury Park High School is held each year in his honor. After college, Mr. Budd played for the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. Following his football career, Mr. Budd worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At one time distinguished as ``the world's fastest human,'' Frank Budd was a standout track and field runner. He competed for the United States in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, won several individual and team championships while at Villanova, and in 1961 broke the 13-year long record for the 100-yard dash at 9.2 seconds. Mr. Budd leaves behind a loving family, including his wife of 51 years, Barbara, a son, Frank, Jr., two daughters Kimberly Arzillo and Anitra Speight, siblings, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Frank Budd for his remarkable athletic achievements, his legacy to Asbury Park, and his service to his community, state and family.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Montalvo's Barber Shop of Long Branch, New Jersey as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. I would like to join with the Montalvo family, many of whom will be gathered from across the country for the 3rd Family Reunion, in honoring the barber shop for its continued service to the local community. I would also like to welcome the members of the Montalvo Family to Long Branch, New Jersey for their 2014 Montalvo National Family Committee Family Reunion. I am honored that you have chosen our community and state to be the host of your family's ongoing traditions and continuing legacy. The theme of the Montalvo 3rd Family Reunion is a fitting tribute to Montalvo's Barber Shop's 50 years. ``A gathering of generations remembering our past, living today, embracing our future'' embodies the background and values of the barber shop. Montalvo's Barber Shop has been a mainstay in Long Branch since it opened in 1964, providing countless residents and visitors with outstanding customer service. Throughout its long history, Montalvo's Barber Shop has remained committed to tradition and proper technique. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Montalvo's Barber Shop. The Montalvos' hard work and dedication to quality services are truly deserving of this body's recognition.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and thank Ambassador Tatoul Markarian for his service as the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States. A distinguished diplomat, the Ambassador has a long career in public service, having represented the people of Armenia both at home and around the world. Prior to his current position, he served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Special Representative of the President of Armenia for Nagorno Karabakh negotiations and as Ambassador to the Mexican States. Additionally, he served previously from 1994-1999 as the Deputy Chief of Mission for the Armenian Embassy in Washington. Before entering the Armenian Foreign Service, Ambassador Markarian served in the newly-independent Armenia's legislative and executive branches. I am proud of the work we have been able to accomplish together while Ambassador Markarian has been stationed in Washington for the last nine years. Together, we have fought together for Congressional Recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and foreign aid assistance to both the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Armenia. As the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, I have had the honor of working closely on these issues for more than twenty years. Today, the U.S.-Armenian relationship remains critically important. Armenia has been a crucial ally in a strategic region of the world by extending robust support for the U.S.-led peacekeeping deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo. Additionally, they have cooperated with the United States on a broad range of regional and security challenges. This relationship has been stewarded and advanced by Ambassador Markarian during his time in Washington. Ambassador Markarian has dedicated his life's work to our shared goals and the people of Armenia. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to him for his service here in the United States and offer both him and his family the best of luck as they move forward on to their next diplomatic posting.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, Americans want Congress to act on comprehensive immigration reform, and the Senate already has. In fact, it has been exactly 1 year this week since the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to offer a pathway to citizenship for millions living in the United States. But 365 days later, there has still been no action in this House. The Democrats have a plan that will decrease the Nation's deficit by nearly $1 trillion, secure our borders, unite families, and provide an earned pathway to citizenship. But the GOP has other ideas. Republicans have made it clear that they have no intention of acting on a plan for comprehensive immigration reform. Last October, we introduced H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, based on bipartisan principles and bipartisan solutions to fix our country's broken immigration system. The bill has strong bipartisan support and has the votes to pass in the House if it comes for a vote. The legislation already has 200 cosponsors, including three Republican cosponsors. The United States, Mr. Speaker, has rightfully earned its reputation as the land of opportunity. We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I would ask my colleagues to support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My amendment ensures that the complete length of cross-border projects would be subject to full environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. NEPA was created to provide transparency so people would know what the impact of a project will be on their communities. However, H.R. 3301 will circumvent that transparency, making our lands vulnerable to spills, leaks, and other pipeline hazards, and this is why I have introduced this amendment, which will make certain proper diligence is given to protect the public's interests. By ensuring a Federal NEPA review is conducted for the entire length of all cross-border projects, we can guarantee all proposals will get the full scope of review necessary to preserve our tremendous natural resources. Unfortunately, H.R. 3301 makes an end run around NEPA. The bill redefines and significantly narrows the scope of NEPA's environmental review. While traditional NEPA review looks at the impacts of an entire project, this bill restricts NEPA review to only that portion of a project that physically crosses the border, and this restriction doesn't make any sense. These massive projects are more than just a border crossing. When we approve transboundary pipeline or transmission line, we are approving a multibillion dollar infrastructure that may stretch hundreds of miles and will last for decades. These projects pass through private property and sensitive lands and over aquifers. They transport hazardous substances that, if spilled or ignited, can cause serious damage. Before making decisions about whether to approve such projects, we need to carefully consider their potential impacts on environment and on communities along their routes. Simply put, we should be looking at the effects of projects as a whole. That is not what the bill before us does. Instead, it redefines the scope of NEPA's inquiry to only encompass the step across the border, and this is a nonsensical approach. It makes the process of environmental review essentially meaningless. When Congress passed NEPA, it never intended this law to provide such a narrow review. Congress intended NEPA to provide policymakers with a critical tool to understand a project's full environmental impacts and consider lower-impact alternatives. NEPA doesn't dictate the outcome or impose any constraint on projects. It simply requires the Federal Government to make some effort to understand the environmental impacts of major Federal actions and to inform the public of those impacts. We should not be carelessly narrowing or creating loopholes in this law. When the Federal Government makes a decision about a major project, it should understand what it is doing. As we have seen with Keystone XL, large energy projects often raise safety issues, economic implications, and environmental concerns, both for the local and global environments. These projects affect communities all along their routes. It is simply common sense that we should understand the broad scope of these impacts before deciding to approve a project. Unfortunately, the bill before us today prevents this review, which is why I urge all of my colleagues to support this important amendment that ensures that the complete length of cross-border projects would be subject to a full NEPA review. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).