Billy Tauzin

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1789) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to improve the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals for children.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Government Reform.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Prompt Utilization of Wireless Spectrum Act of 2001.'' For longer than I would like to acknowledge, the FCC and Nextwave have battled back and forth about the status of Nextwave's C block licenses. Nextwave obtained these licenses the way every carrier obtains a spectrum license from the FCC: by being the highest bidder at auction. When Nextwave filed for bankruptcy, the FCC sought to cancel Nextwave's licenses. I asked, begged, and pleaded with Chairman Powell's predecessor, Bill Kennard, not to cancel the licenses, and, more importantly, not to reauction them. Despite having filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Nextwave retained a property right in those licenses, a right that could not be rescinded by the FCC or any other agency. Auction 35 went ahead anyway, raising a record amount. But the D.C. circuit confirmed what I had been arguing for some time: that Nextwave's property right to those licenses could not be violated. Auction 35 has thus placed us in a quandary. Wireless carriers who were auction 35 winners are counting on that spectrum to roll out or enhance valuable services to consumers. And we have a giant hole in the budget that needs to be plugged. Nextwave's C block licenses have laid fallow for too long and need to be put to good use. The settlement agreement authorized by the prompt utilization of Wireless Spectrum Act of 2001 may not be the prettiest or easiest way to ensure that these licenses are put to good use. But this legislation, and the corresponding settlement, appear to be the best way to put them to good use. I applaud the parties for spending countless hours reaching this settlement. And I hope that both Houses of Congress can enact this legislation this year so that consumers can reap the benefits of putting this spectrum to its best use. I thank Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Conyers for co- sponsoring this legislation. And I look forward to its prompt consideration.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the vice chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the chairman of the task force which helped produce this bill.

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

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me conclude by thanking my dear friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), for the extraordinary cooperation shown on this bill. Speakers have said this before, but I want to emphasize this: this may be the most important thing we conclude in terms of important legislation for our country's sake as we wind down this session before Christmas. It is our intent to take a vote on this tomorrow and hopefully ask the other body to move on it very quickly.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske), a distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Public Health Security and Bio-terrorism Response Act of 2001 which I have introduced with my good friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and a strong bipartisan list of co-sponsors. This may be the last piece of legislation we consider tonight, Mr. Speaker, but it is, by far, the most serious one and the most important one, and we will be asking for a recorded vote tomorrow on this important legislation. The legislation is all about safety and security of American families and of our country. Today we are stepping up to the profound threats of terrorism and other public health emergencies. And we do so by combining smart and innovative policy with additional resources to prepare the country for bioterrorist threats and to improve our abilities to respond quickly and effectively to such threats when they arise. Mr. Speaker, let me be very specific about the important investments that this legislation will make and the dramatic range of issues it will address. First, Title I of the bill significantly steps up our preparedness and our capacity to identify and respond to threats. This Title will improve communications between and among the levels of government, public health officials, the first responders and health care providers and the health care facilities during emergencies. Our bill authorizes $1 billion in FY 2002 in grants to States, local governments, and other public and private health care facilities and other entities to improve planning and preparedness activities, to enhance laboratory capacity, and to educate and train the health personnel that will take care of folks who are subject to any kinds of such threats. We specifically authorized $40 million in FY 2002 for training grants to relieve shortages in critical health care professions. The Department of Health and Human Services will have a new focus, an improved coordination and accountability through a new assistant secretary of emergency preparedness. The legislation also authorizes the national disaster medical system, new planning and reporting provision, health professional verification systems during emergencies, the training exercises, and improved communication strategies. The bill further authorizes $450 million in FY 2002 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to upgrade its capacity to deal with public health threats, to renovate its facilities and to improve its securities. H.R. 3448 will also ensure that we have sufficient drugs, vaccines and other supplies for our Nation's health security. Title I, for example, authorizes more than $1.1 billion for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand our current National stockpiles of medicines and other supplies, including the purchase of smallpox vaccines, will encourage and expand research and develop of drugs of vaccines and devices to combat bioterrorism and other potential disease outbreaks in our country. The bill also will enhance controls on deadly biological agents in order to help prevent bioterrorism and establish a national database of dangerous pathogens. Title II imposes new registration requirements on all possessors of the 36 most dangerous biological agents and toxins. It mandates tough new safety and security requirements to ensure that only legitimate scientists working in appropriate laboratory facilities can gain access to these potential weapons of mass destruction. Title II also enhances criminal penalties for those caught in possession of those agents or transferring them without proper registration. And Title III of the bill will help protect American safety in their food and drug supplies. We are increasing by $100 million the Food and Drug Administration's resources to hire more inspectors at the border, to develop new methods to detect contaminated foods. In addition, we are providing the Secretary the additional regulatory authority he requested for the FDA to detain food and to investigate credible evidence of contamination and improve access to records and recordkeeping to assist the Secretary in investigating any threats to our food supply. This title also improves our enforcement and inspection capabilities for those drug supplies. The new resources and authorities will substantially improve our country's ability to ensure the safety confidence in both our food and our drug supplies. Title 4 of the legislation will ensure that drinking water systems across the country assess their vulnerability to terrorist attack and develop emergency plans to prepare for and respond to those attacks. This title also requires a comprehensive review of the ways to detect and respond to chemical, biological, and radiological contamination of drinking water, as well as way to prevent and mitigate the effects of physical attacks. In addition, existing criminal penalties and fines for tampering with drinking water systems are substantially increased. A total of $170 million in fiscal year 2002 is authorized for these important efforts. Americans deserve to know that we are taking concerted action today to protect the water they drink every single day. Title IV will lay the groundwork for developing the necessary information, and emergency planning and response efforts that are needed to address this new threat. Mr. Speaker, this legislation builds on the tremendous work and leadership of our President, President Bush, and his administration, over the last 3 months. Importantly, it builds on existing programs rather than creating new ones that will only delay the distribution of monies to the front lines. We have spent time to integrate programs and to make sure our national efforts are focused and better coordinated. We have worked closely with the administration to achieve this result, and I am frankly very confident the President will sign this bill. I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and the other members of the committee on both sides of the aisle for their tireless and extraordinarily good-faith efforts to produce a great bill. This is remarkable legislation, Mr. Speaker, for remarkable times. The House can be very proud not only of this product but also of a country that is responding in such a unified way as exemplified by the bipartisan spirit in which we bring this legislation to the floor. America, I think, will be proud of our commitment made in this bill to the right investments and the smart policy choices to meet the challenges and protect our Nation's public health. I urge all my colleagues to support this very landmark legislation. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record letters to and from the Chairman of the Committee on Science and myself regarding this legislation. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, December 11, 2001. Hon. Sherwood L. Boehlert, Chairman, Committee on Science, House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Boehlert: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. __, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act of 2001. I appreciate your willingness not to seek a referral of the bill. I agree that your decision to forgo action on the bill will not prejudice the Committee on Science with respect to its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation. Further, I recognize your right to request conferees on those provisions within the Committee on Science's jurisdiction should they be the subject of a House- Senate conference. I will include your letter and this response in the Congressional Record when the bill is considered on the Floor. Sincerely, W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin, Chairman.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder), who was the principal sponsor of a separate piece of legislation to expand and improve upon the capacities of the CDC. (Mr. Linder asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3448) to improve the ability of the United States to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, in my previous remarks on this important legislation, I failed to note the important role that the Bush Administration has played in helping us get H.R. 2983 to the House floor. In particular, the Department of Energy's constructive guidance has been a real asset to us. In the course of our discussions with DOE, we have been told that the Administration has a number of concerns about the legislation, as reflected in the statement of Administration position. We will of course work closely with the Department to ensure that these concerns are addressed as the process moves forward.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3323, the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson). A little over 5 years ago, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, a far-reaching law that imposed significant new requirements on health care plans and providers and created basic consumer protections in a number of areas. One of the most important provisions of the act, although infrequently discussed in Congress, relates to administrative simplification. This provision implements common standards for electronic health care transactions. It was designed to increase the health care system's efficiency and effectiveness, to improve law enforcement's ability to prevent fraud and abuse, and generally to reduce administrative burdens for plans and providers. We in Congress strongly support the goals of administrative simplification. The provision's implementation will eliminate the confusing patchwork of electronic and paper standards that exist in the health care marketplace. However, as plans and providers move toward common electronic standards, we must also recognize that their efforts will require a significant amount of time and money, and that perhaps the time frames Congress originally set forth in statute to comply with these rules should be modified. On August 17, 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services published its final rule implementing the standards for electronic health care transactions. The rule required all plans and providers to come into compliance with administrative simplification standards by October 16, 2002. From speaking with many people in the health care system during the past year, we have concluded that this deadline is much too ambitious. That is why we are here today. The Hobson legislation will provide plans and providers with one additional year to come into compliance with the administrative simplification standards. His legislation, which is a compromise product negotiated between the bill's sponsors, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ways and Means allows covered entities the extra time they need to ensure that they will continue taking steps to come into compliance. I would like to point out that one important change to the legislation is now in the bill in its reintroduced version. In its original form, H.R. 3323 imposed a $1 user fee on every paper claim submitted to the Medicare program. This provision has been replaced with a requirement that health care entities, with the exception of small providers, submit their claims to the Medicare program in electronic format. This requirement refinement significantly improves the bill and eliminates a tremendous burden for providers and the government. Mr. Speaker, this legislation has been vetted extensively with the stakeholders in the health care system. It deserves everyone's vote and we should all be grateful for the fine work of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) in the area. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) on behalf of the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) be permitted to control 10 minutes of time on this side.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on this legislation now being considered.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time and commend him for moving so expeditiously on this resolution, and also I want to commend the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly) for her incredible work in this area and other areas. I understand she is also very similar, in moving a similar resolution on Crohn's Disease. Yesterday, in the Nation's capital, we had an amazing function of families across America gathering for the Cancer Research Family Awareness Luncheon. Sam Donaldson was here, himself a cancer survivor. The whole idea behind the luncheon was to honor those who have worked tirelessly to make people aware of what early detection can do to cure it. My mother is a three-time cancer survivor. In each case, because she caught it early, she was cured with operation rather than chemo or radiation, sort of a miracle. It started in 1960 with breast cancer; in 1980, then lung cancer; and, just recently, with uterine cancer. The fact that we make people aware of these diseases so that their doctors and moms and dads can spot them when we see them and treat them sooner makes immeasurable difference not only in the care and treatment of these diseases, but very often in life itself. Many cancer survivors were there to tell their stories yesterday about how, because someone took the trouble to talk about these diseases on television, on the radio, on the floor of the House today, somebody paid attention, somebody caught it early, and somebody was better off for it. Yesterday, for example, a young woman who is an anchor of a San Antonio, Texas television station was honored for the work she did. She discovered she had breast cancer. Instead of hiding the fact, she went on the air with it and actually did a documentary of how she went through treatment, and how they operated on the cancer and how she went through the incredible ordeal of the chemotherapy, losing her hair. She even did an anchor one night, bald, just to show that you can get through these things and you can live and you can survive if you are willing to be brave enough to face these diseases head-on and treat them early and deal with them. Here, in this case, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly) has brought to us a concern of so many families, 50,000 families in America which have someone in their family with tuberous sclerosis. And here is another genetic disease that, if we pay enough attention to it, put a little research money on it, we will find a way to cure it and save an uncounted number of lives not only in America but around the world, and certainly make life much more comfortable and bearable for those who suffer with that disease today. Again, I want to congratulate my colleague from New York for her fine work, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health (Mr. Bilirakis), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), for their excellent cooperation in moving this and similar resolutions forward.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 277) recognizing the important contributions of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske).

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, again my thanks to the chairman for yielding me this time. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2441, sponsored by my friend and colleague, the gentleman from the great State of Louisiana (Mr. Baker). The National Hansen's Disease Programs has a long history of excellence, beginning with the humane treatment rather than detention of those with leprosy in the late 1800s, the development of the treatment for leprosy in the 1940s, and the current extension of research to tuberculosis and diabetes. It has been an important part of Louisiana's great history and this Nation's great history. Countless lives were changed in what many called the ``Miracle of Carville.'' In the 105th Congress, we passed a bill transferring ownership of the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana from the Department of Health and Human Services to the State of Louisiana and moving it to Baton Rouge. The NHDP has continued its fine work in Baton Rouge instead of Carville, but the Carville facility has retained the name the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center. As required by law, the new facility in Baton Rouge is also called the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center. You can imagine the confusion. The bill simply straightens out the confusion, to make sure the mail goes to the proper party, and changes the name of the NHDP to the National Hansen's Programs Center to eliminate that confusion. It has the support, by the way, of our good friend, former Congresswoman Long, who is Gillis' widow, and a dear friend of ours, and I urge the adoption of this resolution.

Mr. TAUZIN

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) for his absolute perseverance in seeing to it that this bill is passed again this year. Hopefully, it will become law and consumers will be much better off for it and he will be a hero. A lot of Americans have been troubled by this, and I commend this bill to the House. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), the author of the legislation.