Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

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

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire as to how much time is remaining on each side?

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close if the gentleman is.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is quickly becoming clear that the greatest potential to curb methane, and thus climate change, in the next decade is in the fossil fuel sector. The U.N. Environment Program and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition published the ``Global Methane Assessment'' just last month, and they found that fast and ambitious methane mitigation is one of the best strategies available today to deliver immediate and long-lasting benefits for climate, agriculture, human, and ecosystem health. They also found that rapid and dramatic methane pollution cuts could both slow global warming and prevent a quarter-million deaths every year. Also, reduction measures used to curb methane from the oil and gas sector would also cost the least or, in some cases, even have negative costs, as captured methane can be resold for revenue in the oil and gas sector. These relatively inexpensive methane reduction methods are possible with currently available technology, like fixing leaks in gas pipelines and stopping venting in gas drilling. These findings support what many already know to be true, that ambitiously addressing methane pollution can yield tremendous climate, public health, and financial--and I stress ``and financial''--benefits across the economy. This is why we see most of the oil and gas companies supporting this resolution. Disapproving a rule that would lead to an increase in methane pollution, and reinstating the 2016 rule's commonsense and cost- effective safeguards, should be an easy ``yes'' vote. For that reason, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to oppose S.J. Res. 14, the Methane rule Congressional Review Act repeal. The Democrat majority and the Administration are not passing this legislation for climate change, they are passing it to support big oil and foreign petrol dictators. We are in a weird place in this Nation when the action of hurting American energy development in favor of foreign development is celebrated by the majority, but that is where we are today. While my Majority colleagues are celebrating this as a massive win, the reality is the only people winning from this action are people who don't need wins, and the losers are the American people. By repealing this common sense balanced rule, this Congress will now put the agencies in a place with fewer tools, fewer options, and on a path for a rule which will directly harm most of our nation's oil and gas producers, while leaving the world's worst actors free to continue polluting the globe. America's oil industry isn't made up of supermajor oil players, much of America's oil comes from small and mid-sized producers. The rules proposed by the Obama Administration would have decimated that sector of the oil and gas industry with burdensome costs and massive paperwork requirements, all for a fractional impact on methane emissions. The rule drafted by the Trump Administration recognized this and would have protected all industry while at the same time working to lower our national methane emissions. However, as a result of this action today the Democrat Majority is deciding that they want to side against small businesses and join the side of Big Oil pushing costly, burdensome, and ineffective methane regulations on all American producers. The result will be an oil and gas industry dominated by bigger and bigger oil companies using their size and buying ability to squeeze out small producers. But Big Oil isn't the only winner Democrats are picking today. Foreign petrol dictators are winners as well. Not a single foreign producer is obligated to meet our methane rules for their production. So while the result of this bill will be to squeeze small oil and gas producers in Bakersfield and Kern, California, the foreign, Russian and Saudi imports that make up a majority of the California oil consumption will be untouched. There isn't a single Aramco, Saudi, oil well in the world that will comply with the methane rule that will be produced as a result of this action today. But there will be millions and billions of barrels of Saudi oil consumed in California over the next decades. Again, don't let the majority fool you today, this action isn't about reducing methane emissions or impacting climate change, this action is about Big Government supporting Big Oil and giving foreign petrol dictatorships an advantage over American producers. That is why I am voting no on this bill and urge all my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. PALLONE

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 include extraneous material on H.R. 1374.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge bipartisan support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1374) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide Federal financial assistance to States to implement, review, and revise State energy security plans, and for other purposes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1374, the Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2021. This is a bipartisan bill introduced by my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I thank the bill's sponsors, Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush and Subcommittee Ranking Member Fred Upton for their work and leadership on this legislation. This is an urgent and necessary bipartisan bill. In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack and other recent cyber threats to our infrastructure, we are reminded of the consequences of physical and cyber attacks. H.R. 1374 provides Federal guidance and resources to the States that are most vulnerable to critical energy infrastructure threats. The State Energy Program is a popular, bipartisan program designed to support State energy offices. Funding for the State Energy Program is used for several energy initiatives, including developing energy security plans to help prevent disasters from happening and to mitigate and recover from any damage that does occur. This bill will help allocate additional resources to further develop and enhance State energy security plans. The funding provided in this bill will facilitate the implementation, review, and revision of State energy security plans while also laying out the criteria for the contents of those plans. Mr. Speaker, recent events like the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack have highlighted the importance of investing in the physical and cyber security of our energy systems. This legislation passed our committee and the House with overwhelming support from both Republicans and Democrats in the last Congress. It also enjoys strong support from the nonpartisan National Association of State Energy Organizations. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3752) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on injuries and deaths associated with consumer products and to direct the Secretary of Commerce to study and report on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel and tourism industry in the United States.

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 include extraneous material on H.R. 3752.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 3752. I begin by thanking Representatives Cardenas, Castor, Davis, and Upton for their leadership on this bill, the Pandemic Effects on Home Safety and Tourism Act. While there is now light at the end of the tunnel for many Americans, the past 15 months have been unlike any other time in modern history. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to spend more time at home and find new indoor and outdoor activities suitable for social distancing, which has resulted in new injury patterns. Keeping track of any new trends in injuries and deaths that might be occurring can help us learn how to keep consumers safer at home now as well as in the future. This bill will require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to provide quarterly updates to the American public regarding the effects of COVID-19 on home safety, including any emerging threats from either new products or new habits from working and playing at home. This report will assemble data from a variety of sources, including media reports and poison control centers, in addition to the CPSC's traditional data sources. Initial reports from the CPSC about injuries related to consumer products during COVID-19 are already concerning. For example, hospitalizations related to the ingestion of dangerous button cell batteries rose by 93 percent among young children during the period from March to September 2020, and injuries related to cleaning agents also rose 84 percent. Continued regular reporting required by this legislation can help parents better identify how to keep their children safe when they need to stay at home. And this bill will also identify communities or groups that may be disproportionately affected so that the CPSC can better target efforts to protect these communities. Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that this bill will also help rebuild the tourism and travel industry, which has certainly struggled under the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this legislation requires the Department of Commerce to conduct a detailed study and report to Congress on the pandemic's effects on the travel industry, including on jobs and revenue. And this information will be helpful in determining how we can best direct assistance to the 16 million American workers and families who rely on the jobs the travel industry supports. Mr. Speaker, I thank our Ranking Member Rodgers, and our Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Ranking Member Bilirakis, for working with us to build bipartisan support. And, of course, I also thank the chairwoman of this subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky). Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge bipartisan support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the chairwoman of the subcommittee. I also want to say that she is really our superhero when it comes to these consumer issues, always looking out for things, because as the world changes, we have to constantly be vigilant. And that, she certainly is.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1314.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 482, the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2021. Newborn screening is a well-established and proven public health program that identifies certain genetic and functional conditions in newborns. Each year, almost all of the 3.8 million babies born in the U.S. are screened for medical conditions that can cause serious disability or death if not detected and treated early. Newborn screening includes blood, hearing, and heart screening. While most families may likely forget this routine testing ever took place, more than 12,000 families each year will be notified of a positive screening result and referred for immediate diagnosis and treatment. Many of these families might not have considered or had access to these tests without newborn screening. Newborns can appear healthy but, without warning, can quickly deteriorate due to these undetected conditions, and that is why these tests are so critical. If diagnosed early, many of these conditions can be treated and managed successfully. In 2008, the original Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act was signed into law. It established national newborn screening guidelines and supported the facilitation of newborn screening at the State level. Before 2008, only 10 States and the District of Columbia required newborn screening for recommended disorders. Today, all 50 States and D.C. screen for most or all of these recommended diseases. This bipartisan program was reauthorized in 2014 and 2019. Those reauthorizations renewed Federal support to help States to expand and improve their newborn screening programs. H.R. 482, before us today, once again renews Federal funds and activities to assist States in continuing and improving their newborn screening programs. This bill also supports parent and provider education and laboratory quality and surveillance. Newborn screening, Mr. Speaker, is a simple set of tests that can improve and save the lives of thousands of babies so that they and their families can grow to live healthy and happy lives. Through the national expansion of these life-saving health screenings, no baby should receive inadequate care because of the State that they live in. With the continuous reauthorization of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act, every baby in the U.S. can have access to equitable healthcare from the day they are born. I commend the steadfast champions of this bipartisan legislation-- foremost, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, who has been working on this for such a long time, and this is something that she and I have talked about quite a bit, and Congressman Simpson, Congresswoman Herrera Beutler, and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark for their ongoing commitment and leadership toward eliminating preventable newborn deaths. No newborn should suffer or die from a condition that can be detected and treated by newborn screening. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 482) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain programs under part A of title XI of such Act relating to genetic diseases, and for other purposes.

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 include extraneous material on H.R. 482.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard), the prime sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would also ask Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

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 include extraneous material on H.R. 3723.