Joseph Pitts

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 297) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize support for graduate medical education programs in children's hospitals.

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

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation. It has tremendous bipartisan support, and, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper).

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 225) to amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a National Pediatric Research Network, including with respect to pediatric rare diseases or conditions.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It has strong bipartisan support. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PITTS. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers), the prime sponsor of this legislation.

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, H.R. 307, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013, introduced by my colleague, Mike Rogers, from Michigan, would reauthorize programs designed to foster the development of chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear medical countermeasures and strengthen the Nation's preparedness infrastructure. It reauthorizes programs for 5 years at the fiscal year 2012 appropriated level and does not create a new program nor increase the authorization for appropriations for an existing program. Congress originally enacted the programs reauthorized in PAHPRA through the Project BioShield Act of 2004 and Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. Project BioShield authorized funds for the purchase of medical countermeasures through the Special Reserve Fund and enabled the Secretary of Health and Human Services to authorize the emergency use of medical products. PAHPRA created the Biodefense Advanced Research and Development Authority within HHS to help with the development of medical countermeasures and ensure communications between HHS and the developers of medical countermeasures. Reauthorizing these programs would help the Nation respond to a CBRN attack and is essential to addressing gaps in the Nation's flu preparedness. H.R. 307 is essentially the same as H.R. 6672, the Pandemic and All- Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2012, which passed the House in December by a vote of 383-16. I would urge all Members to support this critical piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 307) to reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, and for other purposes.

Mr. PITTS

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 S. 1440.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 1440, the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Reauthorization, or the ``PREEMIE'' Reauthorization Act, would take important steps to protect and improve children's health. The bill includes three important programs: the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act, the National Pediatric Research Network, and the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Reauthorization. The PREEMIE Reauthorization Act addresses one of the leading causes of neonatal death and a major cause of childhood disabilities: preterm birth. Since its passage in 2006, the PREEMIE Act has sponsored important research that has led to improved prevention and care of children born too early. Reauthorization will mean the continuation of the program that will lead to even better outcomes for children. The National Pediatric Research Network is a proven way to support pediatric research by coordinating multicentered research activities, including those in rural areas. By working in teams, innovative research improves especially for diseases that are rare or affect a small population of children. Most of the approximately 7,000 rare diseases are pediatric and often genetic, and doctors do not have sufficient therapies to treat them. This bill will help alleviate that problem. The Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education Reauthorization would enable the Department of Health and Human Services to provide funding to freestanding children's hospitals to support the training of pediatricians and other residents. Prior to the enactment of CHGME, the number of residents in children's hospitals had declined by 13 percent. Now the program has enabled children's hospitals to increase their training programs by 35 percent. In my home State of Pennsylvania, three premier children's hospitals, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia receive CHGME funds that support and ensure world-renowned health care for children. CHGME is a significant achievement in pediatric health care in Pennsylvania and across the country. Despite these gains, shortages still exist, and the future of the pediatric workforce relies on the continuation of CHGME. I commend the leadership on both sides of the aisle and in the committee for their leadership on this. These programs enjoy bipartisan support, and I urge my colleagues to support S. 1440. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1440) to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia, one of the leaders on this issue, Dr. Phil Gingrey.

Mr. PITTS. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a leader on this issue.

Mr. PITTS. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge support for this bipartisan legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Yesterday, we had an Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on how we can combat waste, fraud, and abuse in our health care system. We heard from private sector representatives about some of the innovative ways that they prevent fraud before it happens. At the same time, Medicare loses billions of dollars annually because most fraud is only discovered after it has been perpetrated. Now, under ObamaCare, we have a new medical loss ratio rule, or MLR, that may actually create perverse incentives for private insurers to behave like Medicare. Some have suggested that the consumer protections provided by the MLR rule are too important to subject the rule to change in order to prevent fraud. Setting aside whether individuals or employers have received the benefit of the MLR rule, clearly the best way to save money is prevent it from being stolen in the first place, not chasing criminals after they have received and spent their illicit gains. The flawed MLR rule is just another example of how ObamaCare's sloppy legislating and rulemaking has the potential to cost the American people dearly.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I want to commend the advocacy of Mr. Lance and Ms. Eshoo, the leadership, Mr. Upton, the ranking member of the full committee and the subcommittee, and thank the staffs of both the subcommittee and the full committee for their tireless work in putting together this bipartisan compromise, an excellent bill. And I urge support from the Members for H.R. 733, the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, (Mr. Lance), a member of the Health Subcommittee.