Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), who chairs our Health Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), who is the chairman of our Energy Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly), who is a member of our committee.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on H.R. 2339, the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 866, I call up the bill (H.R. 2339) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the sale and marketing of tobacco products, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a friend and a giant in the recycling industry--Mark Reiter. Mark was born and grew up in the Bronx--the South Bronx as he would say. Mark was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He later became a Nationals fan as a result of spending most of his life in Washington, D.C.; but make no mistake about it, Mark was a New Yorker through and through and never let you forget it. Mark originally came to Washington to work for the late Bella Abzug. Mark would often entertain people with stories about those years working in her office. Representative Abzug was proud of Mark and his tireless devotion to environmental issues, as well as his commitment to others, especially those who were less fortunate. Later, Mark worked for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, helping shape our nation's environmental policy at its earliest stages. While he was a reliable Democrat, many of his friends were very reliable Republicans. He knew how to get things done by working with others, understanding others, and of course, caring for others. One of Mark's great accomplishments was the enactment of the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA), which provided environmental clarity for recyclers facing potential liability under Superfund. Because of SREA, recyclers today conduct due diligence to ensure their materials are used again in an environmentally responsible manner. SREA was a monumental achievement for responsible recycling and Mark was instrumental in its enactment. Mark was fiercely loyal and devoted to his family--his brother, nephews, nieces, and their children. Mark would visit them often wherever they lived and generously help whenever needed. He was very proud of them all. He often spoke of his admiration of his parents and how their hard work enabled him to succeed in ways they could never have imagined, especially as they were recent immigrants to this great country. Mark never forgot where he came from and the sacrifices his parents made for him and his older brother Eli. Mark helped so many colleagues from his beginnings on Capitol Hill through his long successful career at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Many of his colleagues have gone on to great careers of their own as a result of Mark's tutelage and deep caring for them. I know because I am one of those colleagues who learned so much and was helped by Mark over the years. Mark was also a man of faith. His Jewish faith helped him become a caring man to so many, whether they be family, friends, colleagues or strangers. People were simply people in Mark's eyes. Mark cared about how others were treated in our society and would speak up for them without reservation. He felt he had walked in their shoes before them and wanted life to be better for them. Madam Speaker, we lost a giant in the recycling industry, the environmental community, and the Jewish community. Mark was a great colleague, a mentor, and a friend to many. His family and friends are so proud of who Mark became and what he left behind--a world he helped make better through his devotion to others, his work and his actions. Mark will be missed by so many.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on H. Res. 826, Expressing Disapproval of the Trump Administration's Harmful Actions Towards Medicaid.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 833, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 826) expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's harmful actions towards Medicaid and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H. Res. 826 expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's harmful actions toward Medicaid. Last Thursday, the Trump administration continued through its relentless campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act and its unprecedented attack on Medicaid. Despite promising as a candidate that he would not cut Medicaid, the Trump administration proposed just that last week. It has issued guidance that will allow States to block grant their Medicaid program. Just another day and another broken promise by this President. Unfortunately, like a lot of his other broken promises, this proposal could have devastating consequences on the health of millions of Americans, including those affected by the opioid epidemic. One in five Americans have access to healthcare through Medicaid. Block grants limit the amount of Federal dollars States receive, forcing them to cut benefits, cut payments to doctors, and tighten eligibility standards. The administration's proposal is also illegal. Converting Medicaid to a block grant would require an act of Congress. Our Republican colleagues understand this, and that is why they included a Medicaid block grant provision in their failed attempt to repeal the ACA. Congressional Republicans know that block granting Medicaid is a seismic change in the program that requires a change in the law. I would hope that they would be concerned by this illegal action and would join us in sending a bipartisan message of disapproval to the Trump administration. I would also like to refute some claims that you are likely to hear during this debate, Mr. Speaker. First, this has nothing to do with increasing State flexibility. It is about cutting Medicaid. States already have significant flexibility to design a Medicaid program that works best for them. You are also likely to hear that the Trump administration proposal only applies to the Medicaid expansion population. But, again, that is not true. As the Kaiser Family Foundation makes clear, States could include many low-income parents and pregnant women who currently rely on Medicaid. Now, imagine if States would be allowed to cut pregnant women off of their health coverage in the midst of a maternal mortality crisis, which we now have. At the end of this day, this illegal proposal will lead to lower quality of care for fewer people. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution and reject the administration's illegal and cruel attack on working families, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), who is a sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), who is the chair of our Health Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), who chairs our Energy Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle), who chairs our Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz), a member of our committee.

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

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield), who is the vice chair of our Health Subcommittee.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).