Joseph Pitts

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in support of H.R. 4631, the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support-- CARES--Act of 2014, introduced by Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. Autism CARES demonstrates our continued effort to address the needs of children and adults with autism spectrum disorder, ASD. Thanks to the monitoring done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, we know that as many as 1 in 68 children have ASD. With recent studies showing that ASD can be detected in the first 6 months of life, the screening and diagnosis funded in the bill will mean early diagnosis and improved health and behavioral outcomes. Many of these children are now transitioning into adulthood and will need community-based services to replace those provided by the schools. As a part of this bill, HHS will be required to study their needs and available services to identify gaps and make their transition seamless and productive. The bill would also fund important research at the National Institutes of Health to understand and treat ASD and the operation of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, Congressman Chris Smith, the distinguished prime sponsor of the legislation, who has really provided the leadership on this issue.

Mr. PITTS. I yield an additional minute to the gentleman.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), a valued member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), one of our distinguished leaders.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to support this very important bipartisan legislation. I urge all Members to do so, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4080) to amend title XII of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain trauma care programs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support of H.R. 4080, the Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act, introduced by Representative Michael Burgess. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act by reauthorizing two important grant programs: the Trauma Care Systems Planning Grants and the Regionalization of Emergency Care Systems. The first program supports State and rural development of trauma systems and the second funds pilot projects to design, implement, and evaluate innovative models of regionalized emergency care. We know that immediate access to trauma care within the golden hour after injury is critical. By improving access to the specialized care designed to treat trauma injuries, both of these trauma bills will save lives. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Dr. Burgess, the distinguished vice chairman of the Health Subcommittee, who has been a real champion on this issue and is the prime sponsor of the bill.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent).

Mr. PITTS. Again, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4080 is another very important and bipartisan bill, and I urge all of the Members to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3548) to amend title XII of the Public Health Service Act to expand the definition of trauma to include thermal, electrical, chemical, radioactive, and other extrinsic agents, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3548, the Improving Trauma Care Act of 2014, introduced by Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act by expanding the current definition of ``trauma'' to include an injury resulting from exposure to thermal, electrical, chemical, radioactive, and other agents. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson).

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I also urge Members to support this commonsense legislation, bipartisanly supported. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1281) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize programs under part A of title XI of such Act, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 1281, the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2014, introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho, which now includes 120 cosponsors. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and revise a grant program for screening, counseling, and other services related to genetic disorders. H.R. 1281 reauthorizes Federal programs that provide assistance to States to improve and expand their newborn screening programs, support parent and provider education, and ensure laboratory quality and surveillance. Newborn screening is an important public health program for testing every newborn for certain conditions not apparent at birth. This early screening and diagnosis can be life changing for these children and their families. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Collins).

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann).

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I urge support, again, for this important and bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1098) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain programs relating to traumatic brain injury and to trauma research, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record on the bill.