Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 549) reaffirming the commitment to media diversity and pledging to work with media entities and diverse stakeholders to develop common ground solutions to eliminate barriers to media diversity.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 549, reaffirming the commitment to media diversity and pledging to work with media entities and diverse stakeholders to develop common ground solutions to eliminate barriers to media diversity. This resolution promotes much-needed diversity in the communications marketplace, and I commend Representative Demings and her staff for all their efforts towards this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I also thank Ranking Member Walden, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Doyle, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Latta for their work to bring this resolution to the floor. This past year has highlighted racial inequities that have long existed in our society, as we saw with the protests over the murder of George Floyd and the disparate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on communities of color. These inequities also exist in our communications marketplace. For example, the owners of broadcast and media outlets do not reflect our diverse population. These media outlet owners make critical decisions about the educational, political, entertainment, and news programming Americans watch, and those decisions can influence people's opinions and perceptions. Diversity in viewpoints and diverse ownership of media outlets promotes programming that offers different perspectives and enables viewers to access programming that is relevant to them. A diverse media marketplace is also central to an informed and engaged electorate, which is critical to a vibrant democracy. Committing to a diverse media marketplace, one that reflects our country, is a worthy goal, and this resolution reaffirms that goal. Today's resolution is a good step forward, but there is much more that we need to do. The numbers and statistics are clear that our media marketplace does not resemble the people we serve. I hope we can come together to do the additional work that is needed, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. 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 Florida (Mrs. Demings), the sponsor of this resolution.

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

Mr. PALLONE

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

Mr. PALLONE

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, but I do want to say that I never thought that Mr. Mullin had a bad attitude. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1426, the Timely Review of Infrastructure Act. This bipartisan bill was introduced by Representatives Olson and Doyle. I would like to thank both of them for their hard work on this bill. H.R. 1426 ensures that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, has the resources and personnel it needs to review and analyze energy infrastructure projects. H.R. 1426 addresses insufficient compensation of employees and other personnel by amending the Department of Energy Organization Act to grant the FERC Chairman additional authority to adjust compensation for a category of employees and other personnel without regard to certain civil service laws. The Commission must be able to hire and retain sufficiently experienced employees so that complex and highly technical environmental reviews are conducted in as rigorous a manner as possible. Better staffing by the best and brightest people means better environmental outcomes, better energy outcomes, and better outcomes for consumers. I appreciate my colleagues' hard work on this legislation. I particularly want to offer my best wishes to the sponsor of this bill, Representative Olson, who is retiring at the end of this Congress. I have always worked with him on a bipartisan basis and enjoy spending time with him because he has a real sense of humor. While we often disagree on policy, he has always been fair-minded and a man of his convictions. When he is with us, it is hard to imagine a better partner. That is particularly true regarding the work we have been doing with Chairman Tonko and many others from both parties on legislation to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons. He and his staff have been true leaders in pushing forward that legislation, which, if we can get it done, will be a major win for our manufacturers, our economy, and our environment. I thank the gentleman for his service to our committee and to our country. I wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life, Pete, absolutely. I thank my colleagues for their efforts and urge passage of the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers on this side, so I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5758) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to make technical corrections to the energy conservation standard for ceiling fans, and for other purposes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would urge support for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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. 5758.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5758, the Ceiling Fan Improvement Act of 2020. This bipartisan bill was introduced by Representative Guthrie of Kentucky and Representative Schakowsky of Illinois, both senior members of the Energy and Commerce Committee. H.R. 5758 amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide a technical fix for large-diameter ceiling fan efficiency standards. The legislation adjusts compliance requirements related to total airflow and power consumptions for these fans. This technical fix provides the highest-airflow fans a path to compliance, while still requiring improvements to products that underperform. This is a commonsense change that will improve efficiency of large-diameter ceiling fans and ensure that all products will become efficient over time. Mr. Speaker, energy efficiency is a critical tool in our efforts to address climate change, while also saving consumers money on their electric bills. Residential and commercial buildings contribute nearly 40 percent to our Nation's carbon pollution, and energy efficiency measures can reduce U.S. energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. It is crucial that we support energy efficiency efforts across different sectors. I commend my colleagues for their bipartisan work on this important bill. Ms. Schakowsky, in particular, who chairs our subcommittee that deals with consumer protection is always looking to not only improve efficiency, but also consumer protections. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), who chairs our Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

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

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Oregon. He has really been out front in educating me, in particular, and so many of us, on the cannabis issue. I think without him, we would not see many States like my own leaning towards legalization. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), the prime sponsor of the bill.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask for support to pass this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1570) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance under Medicare for colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of whether therapeutic intervention is required during the screening, as amended.