Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, let me say that I totally disagree with my colleague, and I do respect him, as he knows, but we are talking about F-16s and F-16 upgrades. I don't see how the gentleman could say that that is not within the jurisdiction of this committee and the NDAA bill. Clearly, we are talking about military weaponry here. I also point out that what we are seeing in this amendment is basically that this sale or export should not go forward unless the President provides a certification to Congress that such a transfer is in the national interests of the United States and includes a detailed description of concrete steps taken to ensure that such F-16s are not used by Turkey for repeated, unauthorized territorial overflights of Greece. What we are saying here is that we want some detailed analysis of what is going on here. I have to be honest and say that I have heard the President and others in the administration expound upon the F-16 sales and the upgrades and say this is a good idea, but the bottom line is they have not put forward any explanation of how this is in the national interests of the United States or any description of the problems that we face because of Turkey's continued aggression, whether it is in Greece, whether it is in Cyprus, whether it is in Armenia, whether it is in other parts of the Middle East, in Syria, Libya, the list goes on. That is all we are really saying in this amendment, that it is time. As I said, enough is enough, and it is time for the administration to come forward and say why we are considering this. Why would you possibly do this? That is why I think it is totally appropriate to have this discussion here tonight and include this amendment. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, let me just say in closing that I understand what my colleague from Texas is saying when he talks about why he might think it is in the interest of the United States to sell these weapons or these planes to Turkey, and I respect his opinion. I don't agree, but I respect it. But we are asking that the administration put forth the reasons. That is what this amendment is all about, not your opinion, which is fine, but what is the administration's opinion. Are they going to certify? Are they going to tell us why this is necessary? That is what this amendment is about. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Christopher M.C. Deibert for his 23 years with St. Mary Church in South Amboy and to wish him the best of luck in his new roles as Director of Sacred Music for the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen and Diocese of Metuchen Director of Diocesan Liturgical Music. Following his undergraduate education, Mr. Deibert focused his graduate studies in church music and organ performance at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ as well as organ and harpsichord improvisation at The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Additionally, Mr. Deibert has studied under Brenda A. Day, Ronald W. Thayer, Bruce Neswick, Gerre Hancock, and William Porter. A well-renowned and respected performer and music expert, Christopher Deibert has served on many organizations, including the Middlesex Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the Diocese of Metuchen Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and the Royal School of Church Music, among others. He also offers university lectures and teaches at a private studio, and previously served as music department chair at Our Lady of Victories School in Sayreville, NJ. He continues to share his talent and love of music with the community and has received well-deserved accolades for his work. Mr. Deibert brought his experience and talents to St. Mary Church in South Amboy, NJ, founding the Music at St. Mary's concert series in 2001, which many in the public enjoy frequenting. Throughout his tenure at St. Mary's, he has served as Director of Music and Liturgy, Executive Director of the Music at St. Mary's series and Conductor of the St. Mary Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Deibert has also performed as an organist and has conducted the St. Mary Choral Society. His musical gift has been a joy to experience and will truly be missed by St. Mary's parish and visitors like myself. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to join with the parish community of St. Mary's in thanking Christopher M.C. Deibert for his years of exceptional leadership and congratulating him on his next endeavor. I am confident that the Diocese of Metuchen and the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen will appreciate his talents and I look forward to hearing of his continued success.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1191, I call up the bill (H.R. 7666) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain programs relating to mental health and substance use disorders, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Schrier), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on H.R. 7666.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7666, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, and I thank Ranking Member Rodgers for working with me these past few months to develop this comprehensive legislation that will help address the mental health and substance use disorder crisis facing millions of Americans. This bill is needed today more than ever. Americans report rising anxiety and depression and increased use of alcohol, opiates, and other substances. One in five adults are battling a mental illness. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14, and earlier this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report finding that 4 in 10 high school students said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the COVID-19 pandemic. The opioid crisis also continues to devastate families and communities all around the Nation. 108,000 people lost their lives due to drug overdoses just last year alone. The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act will help restore hope for millions of Americans. The bill strengthens and expands more than 30 critical programs that collectively support mental health care and substance use disorder prevention, care, treatment, and recovery support services in communities across the Nation. As the Nation prepares for the launch of the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline dialing code next month, H.R. 7666 provides key crisis response efforts, establishing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Behavioral Health Crisis Coordination Office and requiring the development of crisis response best practices. The legislation also continues investments in critical mental health and substance use services block grant funding to States, territories, and Tribes. The Restoring Hope Act includes crucial provisions to meet the challenges of the Nation's opioid epidemic, expanding and ensuring timely patient access to lifesaving treatment for opioid use disorders through the elimination of barriers to treatment. It includes Representative Tonko's MAT Act, which eliminates the X-waiver, a burdensome registration requirement that establishes arbitrary caps on the number of patients a provider can treat for opioid use disorder using buprenorphine. This bill also establishes a one-time, 8-hour training requirement on treating and identifying substance use disorders that providers must complete before their first registration or renewal of a license to dispense controlled substances. H.R. 7666 also helps bolster the behavioral health workforce capacity and training. It also increases access to mental health and substance use disorder care and coverage by applying the mental health parity law to State and local government workers, such as teachers and frontline workers. The legislation also supports the mental health of children and young people. It continues investment in the integration of behavioral health into pediatric primary care through Pediatric Mental Health Access Grants and enhances research at the National Institutes of Health on the cognitive, physical, and socioemotional impacts of modern technology and multimedia on infants, children, and adolescents. I can't stress enough that this is an epidemic that focuses a lot on children and adolescents. Older youth need help with suicide prevention and other mental health support and substance use disorder services. Students in higher education need that help, and they get it through a program called the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. The bill also ensures that State Medicaid programs have resources to implement and strengthen school-based mental health services while preserving the continuity of coverage for justice-involved youth. These important provisions will increase children's access to care. Mr. Speaker, the scope and reach of this bipartisan legislation--and I stress that. This was reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously, Mr. Speaker. It is truly bipartisan. It is going to help to support the mental health and well-being of millions of Americans, their families, and communities for years to come. I thank Members on both sides of the aisle, not only Ranking Member Rodgers, but the subcommittee leadership as well, both Democrat and Republican. The reason that we try to do this on a bipartisan level and get everybody's support is because we have a good chance of passing this in the Senate, which is also acting on similar legislation. We are hopeful that as a result of a large vote today, that will spur the Senate into action, and we can actually get this bill signed into law. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, June 10, 2022. Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr., Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Pallone: This letter is to advise you that the Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to review the provisions in H.R. 7666, the ``Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee has no objection to your including them in the bill for consideration on the House floor, and to expedite that consideration is willing to forgo action on H.R. 7666, with the understanding that we do not thereby waive any future jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject matters. In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the right to request an appropriate number of conferees to address any concerns with these or similar provisions that may arise in conference. Please place this letter into the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding this matter and others between our committees. Sincerely, Jerrold Nadler, Chairman.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), who chairs our Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), who chairs our Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes), who has been involved with these health and behavioral issues for a long time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the House majority leader.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), a member of the committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher), who is also a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I just wanted to stress that H.R. 7666 includes programs focused on supporting youth mental health.

Mr. PALLONE. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on this issue. In fact, H.R. 7666 includes programs focused on supporting youth mental health including due to such traumatic events that were mentioned by the gentlewoman. The SAMHSA Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program, for instance, and HRSA's Pediatric Mental Health Care Access program, which helps integrate behavioral health into pediatric primary care, extends resources to support Project AWARE, building student, families, and school behavioral health resiliency. Further, the bill provides support to complement SAMHSA's launch of the new 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline dialing code next month that will expand access to crisis care support through call, text, or chat functions for millions of Americans. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. PALLONE. Let me just add, I am pleased to work with the gentlewoman from Texas on this critical matter. I thank her for her support in ensuring children and families have access to the mental health support and services they need to lead healthy and hopeful lives. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

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