Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Dr. Murphy.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, at this point I would yield 2 minutes to the vice chair of the Health Subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Dr. Burgess, and when he concludes speaking, I ask unanimous consent that the rest of my time be controlled by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton). (Mr. BARTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Stearns. (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky, (Mr. Whitfield), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 724, I call up the bill (H.R. 6079) to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 6079.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. House Republicans promised the American people that, if granted the majority, we would vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. Let's face it. ObamaCare is nothing like what was promised. Former Speaker Pelosi said we would have to pass the bill to find out what was in it. Rest assured, we found out. Rather than reform health care, this law epitomizes Washington at its very worst--intrusive mandates, higher costs, red tape, unaffordable spending, taxes on employers and families, and the control of personal health care decisions by boards, bureaus, and agencies in Washington. Let's just consider the many broken promises. President Obama promised that his reforms would lower family premiums by $2,500 by the end of his first term, yet the cost of an employee- sponsored family plan increased to $15,000 in 2011. The CBO projects, if we allow the rest of ObamaCare's mandates to kick in, premiums will rise further. The President told us over and over that if you liked your health care plan you could keep it, yet the law pushes employers to drop coverage. The CBO estimates that up to 20 million American workers will lose their plans under ObamaCare. The President said his law would cost a mere $900 billion as if spending nearly $1 trillion on a new program were thrifty. Yet, when it is fully implemented, ObamaCare is estimated to cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion over a decade. The President promised to make Medicare stronger. Instead, ObamaCare raided $575 billion from Medicare to pay for new programs and entitlement expansions. The President pledged that he would not raise taxes for households with incomes under $250,000. Yet ObamaCare includes 21 new tax increases that will cost taxpayers roughly $800 billion over the next decade. The IRS will impose new taxes on medical devices, prescription drugs, health coverage, high-premium health plans. The agency will place new restrictions on health saving accounts and flexible spending accounts. Employers will face a tax for failing to provide health plans approved by HHS and a new surtax on investment. The President promised American taxpayers that they would not been forced to fund abortions and our conscience rights would be protected. Yet HHS is moving forward with a mandate that requires religious institutions to violate their principles or pay a steep fine. Or is the fine on faith going to be considered a tax as well, just like the individual mandate? The Supreme Court made clear that the mandate is a massive new tax, one that will primarily be levied on middle class households. Repeal is also the only way to honor and restore the promises the President wisely made but foolishly broke. The Supreme Court rendered its diagnosis, but the American people will be offering a second opinion. We promised the American people that we would work to repeal this terrible law, and that is a promise we are keeping. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass), a member of the committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to a member of the committee, the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey, a member of the committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mr. UPTON. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that with all of the positive comments here, this bill was not a piece of cake. There was a lot of hard work on both sides of the aisle, particularly by the staff on both sides of the aisle. Again, I want to cite Clay and Ryan on our staff. But let's face it: All of us particularly involved on the health side of the issues, as we meet with different folks afflicted with different diseases, we want to find a cure. And it would be great to find that cure here in America because we have outstanding pharmaceutical industries that have the talent and the staff to work with the different departments, whether it be the NIH, the CDC, certainly the FDA. So we really did set out last summer to embark on a good listening session to find out what it is that we needed to do not only to find the cures and the prescriptions but the right process for them to be approved so that those companies that are willing to make that investment would stay here in America and not go overseas. Because we really do want it made in America. We have the best folks here. And that's what this bill does. The hard work in so many of the hearings that Joe Pitts led with Mr. Pallone, the work, the amendments, the subcommittee, the full committee, that whole process to get it done before it really expired later on this year is so important not only to the workers but, more importantly, to the patients. So dealing with the drug shortages and working with Mr. McCaul and the different rare diseases, all of those different elements, we were able to weave into what I think is a mighty fine, strong bill. And to then, of course, work with our counterparts in the Senate, whom we often bash here, but they actually stayed with us, and we were able to work in a very strong bipartisan way to get our two bills refined and done in order to bring up on the House floor this afternoon. I want to compliment everyone--and certainly Mr. Waxman, who is back on the floor--our leadership, the team that we had on both sides of the aisle and, again, our hardworking staff that really worked so hard to get this done, which impacts millions of lives. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. So if the gentleman wants to close, then I will close.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the committee.

Mr. UPTON. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania, Dr. Murphy.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time remains on each side?

Mr. UPTON. I yield myself an additional minute. It is now up to the FDA to execute that game plan. And I give my commitment today that our committee will continue to monitor and hold the FDA accountable for its performance. So, together, the Members of the House and the Senate have produced a bill that is a win for American patients, innovation, and job creation. Before I conclude, I would like to recognize Warren Burke and Megan Renfrew from the Legislative Counsel's Office for their tireless work. The role of Legislative Counsel often goes unnoticed. I also want to appreciate our staff, starting with our staff director, Gary Andres, for pushing this legislation over the finish line; Clay Alspach, on the majority staff; Rachel Sher, on the minority staff; and in particular, Ryan Long, the chief counsel for the Health Subcommittee. This bill, when it becomes law, patients will benefit from faster, newer, and better treatments, and American workers will keep us on the cutting edge of medical innovation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield).

Mr. UPTON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the price of gas and the unemployment rate both remain way too high, and American families are struggling as a result. That's why I support H.R. 4480, the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. This bill is truly a win-win for steps that it takes to expand supplies of domestic affordable energy that will create many jobs in the process. It's no secret that I don't see eye-to-eye with President Obama on energy policy, but perhaps the most inexplicable energy policy move the administration has made was the June 2011 decision to withdraw 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with no plan to replace it. It is hard to understand why the President would take oil from the Nation's emergency stockpile while at the same time keeping off limits the far greater amounts beneath federally controlled lands and offshore areas. It's like a couple pawning their wedding rings for cash while ignoring a major gold discovery in their own backyard. The amount of untapped oil in areas kept out of reach by this administration is estimated to exceed the entire Strategic Petroleum Reserve dozens of times over. And these estimates are not mere speculation. Indeed, the recent increases in oil production on State and privately owned lands demonstrate the tremendous energy development on Federal lands. But that potential will only be realized if the administration's roadblocks are removed. Title I of this bill does that. It requires that the next time the President withdraws oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he must also commit to more oil leasing on Federal lands in offshore areas. The result will be greater supplies of domestic oil and lower prices, not to mention thousands of new energy industry jobs. Gaining access to untapped oil reserves is part of the equation; but before that oil can reach consumers at the pump, it has to be refined into gasoline and diesel fuel. Title II of this bill will help American refiners so they can keep fueling our economy and fueling the country, because what refiners really need is a little common sense, a little regulatory certainty. It would be an understatement to say that this administration's regulators have not been friendly to domestic oil production, and the truth is they have been no better to the refiners who produce the fuels that we use. In fact, EPA is moving ahead with a number of new regs affecting refineries and other facilities--regs that are likely to drive up the price at the pump and jeopardize refining sector jobs. Title II requires that we learn about the consequences before imposing additional red tape. It sets up an interagency committee that will analyze the cumulative effects of several upcoming EPA regs on fuel prices as well as jobs. It also defers the finalization of three measures until after the analysis is completed. The good news is that a future of chronically high gas prices is not inevitable. These policies that I have discussed and numerous other provisions in the legislation will in fact move us toward more secure, more affordable American energy and the jobs that go with it. The Nation can increase domestic energy supplies, lower future prices at the pump, and create many more jobs. This legislation takes the steps to usher in this brighter future. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting it, and I reserve the balance of my time. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC, June 8, 2012. Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for the opportunity to review the text of H.R. 4480, the Strategic Energy Production Act of 2012, as ordered reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce for provisions of the bill that fall within the jurisdiction of this Committee. Knowing of your interest in expending this legislation and in maintaining the continued consultation between our Committees on these matters, I agree to discharge H.R. 4480 from further consideration by the Committee on Agriculture. I do so with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming our mutual understanding with respect to H.R. 4480, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be inserted into the Congressional Record during consideration on the House floor. Thank you for your courtesy and I look forward to continued cooperation between our respective committees. Sincerely, Frank D. Lucas, Chairman.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Pompeo), and I would ask that at the conclusion of his 2 minutes that the balance of my time be controlled by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).