Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1109) to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating to children and to provide access to school- based comprehensive mental health programs, as amended.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2519) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to implement innovative approaches to securing prompt access to appropriate follow-on care for individuals who experience an acute mental health episode and present for care in an emergency department, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 2519, the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act of 2020. I thank Representative Raul Ruiz, a member of our committee, and his staff for their work on this important legislation. As an emergency room physician himself, Dr. Ruiz knows firsthand the needs of both the medical professional and the patients in the ER. One of these increasing needs is support for mental health services. Research has shown that one in every eight emergency department visits in the U.S. is related to a mental health issue. Since 2009, mental health emergency room visits have substantially increased, most of which were driven by adolescents and young adults. This is especially concerning, given recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that, in 2019, more than one in seven Americans experienced some level of anxiety and nearly one in five reported depression. These studies were conducted before COVID-19, and we know that this pandemic is likely to have both long- and short-term implications for mental health, and this anticipated increase in need is reason to act now. H.R. 2519 would help to provide increased access to care for people who report to the emergency department for acute mental health episodes. Under the bill, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to award grants to support innovative approaches for providing follow-on care for individuals treated in the emergency department for acute mental health issues. This includes increasing the number of inpatient psychiatric beds and alternative care settings, supporting a patient's transition to appropriate mental health services, or the use of telepsychiatric support or other remote psychiatric consultation methods. Madam Speaker, emergency departments can sometimes feel like a stressful place, especially for people in crisis; however, they are often the last remaining safety net in many communities. We know that follow-up care for people with mental illness is linked to fewer repeat emergency room visits and improved mental and physical health. Let's do our part to support the emergency room staff and patients in need. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 4861, the Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act. Madam Speaker, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, now claiming more than 47,000 American lives each year. Despite national efforts to lower the suicide rate, a number of reports show a steady increase in suicides in recent years. In fact, over the last two decades, the suicide rate in the U.S. increased 35 percent. These are clearly alarming trends. Like other health crises, the emergency room is often a place where people at risk for suicide go for help. Data shows us that the risk of a suicide attempt or a death is highest within 30 days of discharge from an emergency department or inpatient psychiatric unit. Further, over a third of individuals without a diagnosis who died by suicide made an emergency room visit within a year of their death. That is why we have to act to equip our emergency rooms with better training and tools to screen and assess patients at risk for suicide. This bill would create a grant program to help emergency departments develop policies and procedures for identifying and assessing people who are at risk of suicide and enhancing the coordination of care for them after discharge. These improvements would be made possible by better training, sharing of best practices, and hiring of behavioral health professionals in the emergency room who specialize in suicidal ideation. This bill has support from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Association of Suicidology, and the American College of Emergency Physicians, groups that know these issues up close. I thank my colleagues, Representative Eliot Engel, who is here, and also Representative Gus Bilirakis. They led this important legislation to the floor. I also thank Ranking Member Walden and all members and staff of our committee for their efforts to move the bill. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). I do want to say I appreciate, again, Mr. Walden's comments about the excellent career of Mr. Engel, but I am also not ready to say good-bye to either Mr. Engel or Mr. Walden at this time because we are going to be here for a while the next few months.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill, 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. 7293) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide best practices on student suicide awareness and prevention training and condition State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and tribal educational agencies receiving funds under section 520A of such Act to establish and implement a school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training policy, as amended.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge passage of the bill, 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. 3539) to amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3539, the Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2020. The champions of this legislation, Representatives Drew Ferguson, Michael Burgess, Joe Kennedy, and Jimmy Panetta, worked together to help provide improved behavioral health prevention tools to schools and colleges across the country, and I applaud them for their bipartisan efforts. Behavioral intervention teams are multidisciplinary teams that support students' mental health and emotional well-being by detecting patterns, trends, and disturbances in behavior, and by conducting outreach to students who are unable to manage distress in healthy and constructive ways. These teams are already active in some educational settings, such as the University of California, Los Angeles; Texas A&M University; and Virginia Tech. H.R. 3539 requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop best practices for schools that have or want to have behavioral intervention teams. These best practices would cover the proper use of these teams and how to intervene and avoid inappropriate use of mental health assessments and law enforcement. These best practices would then be required to be posted publicly on the Department of Health and Human Services website, and HHS would help to provide technical assistance to entities implementing these best practices. As we have heard, Mr. Speaker, three in four children aged 3-17 with depression also have anxiety. Anxiety and depression are two top mental health concerns among college students as well. Unfortunately, recent data found that over 80 percent of young people with mental health needs did not receive the care they needed. Young people in crisis should be able to access the care they need or be able to find support from peers who can direct them toward appropriate services, and this bill helps bridge that gap. Again, I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans on my committee, including Ranking Member Walden, for working together to put this legislation in shape, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I don't have any additional speakers, but I do want also to praise Mike Bloomquist. He is now the Republican staff director, but he has had several tours with the committee. He worked on some major legislation in the committee. I think of 21st Century Cures, robocalls, and, even today, getting the cyber bills passed, which was not an easy task, as you know, Mike. I know that our Ranking Member Walden mentioned your family. I don't know how your family puts up with any of the things we do because I know the many hours that you have to spend. So, again, thank your family for sharing you. I wish you well in your future endeavors as well. Mr. Speaker, 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 yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4439 would extend the pediatric rare disease priority review voucher program at the Food and Drug Administration. This priority review voucher, or PRV, was originally created in 2012 with the intent to create an incentive for drug manufacturers to develop therapies for rare pediatric diseases that affect neonates, infants, children, and adolescents. The program requires FDA to award a PRV to the sponsor of an application that receives approval as a drug or biologic to treat a rare pediatric disease. Since the program's creation, 22 of these PRVs have been awarded, with five awards in 2019. Now, I have long been a supporter of increased research and development of treatments for rare diseases, and I am proud that our committee was able to come to consensus on a reasonable extension of this program. Nevertheless, some observers of this program have shown our committee evidence that the PRV program has not provided the incentive value intended by Congress when it was first enacted. This program was supposed to incentivize new development of pediatric products that would not otherwise have occurred. However, the Government Accountability Office reviewed the program and concluded that the agency could not find definitive evidence that the program is incentivizing pediatric drug development. Additionally, FDA has said that PRVs drain agency resources away from the agency's public health mission and have a negative impact on the morale of agency staff. For these reasons, I could not support a permanent reauthorization of the program. But I recognize that many pharmaceutical developers have argued that the PRV provides an incentive for drug development, with one going so far as to say that the PRV was a pivotal consideration for making investments. I worked with Representatives Butterfield, the bill's sponsor, and Ranking Member Walden, as well, to support a reauthorization of the program for 4 years. Mr. Speaker, the Energy and Commerce Committee will continue to provide oversight to examine the effectiveness of this program and its effect on FDA resources. The committee will also carefully scrutinize it with hopes that it serves its intended purpose and leads to new treatments and cures for rare pediatric diseases. With this hope, Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to support this bipartisan bill. I urge the Senate to swiftly take action on H.R. 4439, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I have amendments en bloc at the desk.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I intend to speak in opposition to the amendment, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will be speaking in opposition to this bloc of amendments. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have argued that this legislation picks winners and losers, and that amendments such as these might help level the playing field. But I don't think that is the case. The Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act authorizes investments in a broad range of programs to unleash American energy innovation and reform outdated policies that govern how we produce, distribute, and consume energy. Rather than picking winners and losers, this bill takes a portfolio approach to supporting the transition to a clean energy economy--a transition that is already underway, but not at the pace needed to avoid the worst and most costly consequences of climate change. For years, rapidly declining costs for solar, wind, storage, and other technologies have made them cost-competitive with and, in many cases, more cost-effective than conventional technologies. The Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act doubles down on these market trends, providing the tools, investments, and policy reforms needed for the United States to lead the world in transitioning to a cleaner future. At the same time, the legislation invests in research, development, and deployment of technologies to reduce emissions from traditional sources of pollution. Importantly, it invests in carbon capture, utilization, and storage to help reduce emissions from existing facilities that are particularly challenging to decarbonize, especially in the industrial sector. So rather than picking winners and losers, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act includes a broad array of tools to modernize our energy system. Taken together, these tools will help make our energy system cleaner, more efficient, more resilient, and more reliable. That is why many pieces of this legislation have enjoyed such strong bipartisan support, because they are commonsense investments that will create jobs, protect consumers, and reduce pollution. But these proposed amendments are not good faith efforts to build on this bipartisan foundation. They are an attempt to water down this legislation and slow the transition to a clean economy. When we look across the globe, we see that this transition is already underway, but that the United States is falling behind. The real question is whether we want to regain our competitive edge and global leadership in technology and innovation or whether we cede to the competition. I urge my colleagues not to be distracted by talking points about picking winners and losers and focus on who actually wins when we invest in innovation. Consumers win, workers win, and our environment wins. For these reasons, Madam Speaker, I oppose the en bloc amendments, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record letters that we received in support of the legislation from U.S. PIRG and the League of Conservation Voters. Dear Katie: On behalf of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Environment America and our tens of thousands of members, we urge you to support the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act (H.R. 4447). U.S. PIRG and Environment America will consider scoring final passage and certain amendments on our annual scorecard. The American West is on fire, East Coast and Midwest communities are facing major flooding, and southern states are being battered with hurricanes. The climate crisis is here and if we want to have any chance of avoiding its worst impacts, it is imperative that we take swift action. The ``Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act'' marks significant progress in the transition to a clean energy future and in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Among the most impactful pieces, the legislation includes provisions that: Phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are extraordinarily potent climate pollutants, with hundreds to thousands of times the heat-trapping power of CO2; Reauthorize the Energy Efficiency Conservation and Block Grant (EECBG) program, which provides $17.5 billion in funding for schools, homes, government buildings, and manufacturing facilities to improve efficiency and deploy energy-efficient technologies; Invest over $36 billion for transportation electrification, including grants and rebates to deploy electric vehicles and related charging infrastructure; Direct DOE to establish new model building codes for states to improve energy efficiency; Preserve a policy that will eliminate all fossil fuel- generated energy from federal buildings by the year 2030. In addition to supporting the overarching bill, U.S. PIRG and Environment America urge the following votes on amendments: Yes on Amendment 32. This amendment, sponsored by Reps. Haaland, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez increases authorizations for renewable energy R&D accounts by 50% and adds an authorization for total funding for research, development, demonstration and commercialization activities for energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D. Yes on En Bloc 1, Yes on En Bloc 2, No on En Bloc 3, YES on En Bloc 4. Sincerely, Katie Murtha, Vice President of Government Affairs, U.S. PIRG and Environment America.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I wanted to reference some parts of this. With regard to the League of Conservation Voters, they specifically say that, with regard to H.R. 4447, they urge support for the legislation in general and specifically ask that we reject weakening the antienvironmental amendments as listed below, and that includes this amendment en bloc No. 3. They say that we should vote ``no'' because the amendment would require the Department of Energy to evaluate potential sites in the DOE footprint for advanced nuclear research and demonstration programs. In addition to that, in the letter from U.S. PIRG, it says: ``On behalf of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Environmental America, and our tens of thousands of members, we urge you to support the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act.'' It talks about how the West is on fire and the hurricanes. ``The climate crisis is here, and if we want to have any chance of avoiding its worst impacts, it is imperative that we take swift action. The Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act marks significant progress in the transition to a clean energy future and in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.'' It goes on to talk about the various provisions and how they are helpful during the climate crisis. Then, it also specifically asks and urges a ``no'' vote on this en bloc amendment No. 3 because they do not consider that useful in terms of addressing the climate crisis, and it is actually counter to environmental concerns. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of H.R. 4447, the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, spelling, and cross-references and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the actions of the House.