Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), a very able replacement for the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), who I too regret she is not here. This has been a bipartisan effort from get- go.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues for this needed legislation, which ensures the federal government's deep commitment to a highly trained, diverse workforce. But we should go even further. In order to best maximize federal government resources, we should encourage competition in all aspects of the student loan program, including consolidation loans. In order to instill such competition, we will need to make sure that during the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which is currently moving through the Education and the Workforce Committee, we repeal the single holder rule. I want to thank Chairman Boehner and Congressman McKeon, for their efforts to keep college costs under control during consideration of this important legislation. It will be part of my commitment to them as well as Federal agencies, students and families everywhere that they can have the benefit of competition from the more than one thousand qualified lenders in the program when they consolidate their loans and, thus, allow them to take advantage of historically low fixed interest rates.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, there is always next year. We have been saying that for a lot of years, though.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the resolution. I also want to commend the Florida Marlins. They are a terrific team. Their outfield speed, their pitching, their fans, their coach, is really outstanding. I think it is a pretty good deal. I saw in the paper the other day that they are only a 15 to 1 team to repeat next year. I think that is a pretty good deal, by the way, particularly now that they signed, resigned Jack McKeon. I just have one question, though, for the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen). And I was a good loser. I helped participate with the Chicago folks in providing Chicago pizza and a few other things for the delegation. I want to ask if there is anything in this resolution, and I admit that I have not read it yet, that either praises that right fielder for the Giants that dropped that ball at the critical point in the play-offs, or Steve Bartman?

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to piggyback on to the comments of the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin). I can remember when Carol Browner, the then administrator of EPA, came and testified before the subcommittee. I was one that supported the Clean Air Act as well as the Clean Water Act. I can remember when we debated the Clean Air Act, the delegation at that time included important language, and I am not a lawyer but we thought it was sufficient, that gave the EPA the administrative authority when downwind communities were impacted by what came from the polluter itself. My district, southwestern Michigan, I have air that comes from Gary, Indiana, from Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, across Lake Michigan. Some of my counties have reported that they could actually remove all human activity in some of my counties, and we would still not be in compliance with the new 8-hour standard because of what is coming across the lake. When Carol Browner came and heard that at the subcommittee, she helped us with this language and the administrative relief that they put into effect for other areas around the country. What the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) is doing, and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) as part of the conference, is to revert back to what the Clinton administration said then: We still want to help the polluters clean up their air, but we also recognize that the victims. For me, my area of southwest Michigan, can do absolutely nothing about it. In fact, they can have some relief if these new penalties are assessed, collecting millions of dollars which, at the end of the day, will not provide one iota of cleaner air. Because, again, we could remove everything, every road, every lawn mower, every small business, every large business, at the end of the day there is nothing we can do without some type of relief. And that is why it is important, I think, that we defeat the motion to instruct of the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) because we are left with no choice. And that is why the Clinton administration agreed with us when they came and testified before our subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to F/Lt. Joseph P. Zangaro, who is approaching the end of a long and distinguished career in law enforcement. The Battle Creek native began his law enforcement career in 1976 with the Calhoun County Sheriff Department in Marshall, MI as a road patrol deputy. After a brief stint with the Battle Creek Township Police Department, Zangaro entered the 94th Michigan State Police Recruit School. He has served the residents of southwest Michigan with great distinction ever since. F/Lt. Zangaro's contributions to our community over the last 27 years have been tremendous. From post to post, he consistently received accolades and recognition along the way including. Among the highlights of his storied career include being named Benton Harbor Exchange Club Trooper of the Year in 1985 and in 1994 Zangaro earned a ``Professional Excellence'' award for his part in an armed robbery investigation. He has been successful keeping drugs away from our children and keeping drunk drivers off the road. Just this year he was on the ground, restoring the peace after the uprising in Benton Harbor. From overseeing one of biggest undercover drug operations in SWET history dismantling the Rainbow Farms drug operation in Cass County or keeping drunk drivers off the streets, F/Lt. Joseph P. Zangaro contributions to our community have been many, and we are all better off from his service. Our community is in debt to F/Lt. Joseph P. Zangaro for his 27 years in law enforcement, 25 of which were with the Michigan State Police. I wish him and his family all the best in retirement. He will truly be missed by the folks in southwest Michigan.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, premature birth is a serious and growing problem. Each day 1,305 babies are born too soon, and the rate of preterm birth increased 27 percent between 1981 and 2001. In 2001, 476,000 babies were born prematurely in the United States. Tragically, premature infants are 14 times more likely to die in their first year of life, and preterm births account for 23 percent of deaths in the first month of life. Further, premature babies who survive may suffer lifelong consequences, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss. Preterm delivery can happen to any pregnant woman, and in nearly one-half of the cases, no one knows why. That is why today I am introducing, with my colleagues Anna Eshoo, Jim Ramstad, Sherrod Brown, Spencer Bachus, Ed Towns, and Jesse Jackson, Jr., the bipartisan Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act, or ``PREEMIE Act.'' The goal of the PREEMIE Act is designed to reduce the rates of preterm labor and delivery, promote the use of evidence-based care for pregnant women at risk of preterm labor and for infants born preterm, and reduce infant mortality and disabilities caused by prematurity. This will be accomplished by expanding federal research related to preterm labor and delivery and increasing public and provider education and support services. Expanding these federal initiatives is supported by the March of Dimes, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. We hope that you and many more of our House colleagues will join us in the fight to ensure a healthy start for all of America's children by cosponsoring and working with us for the enactment of the PREEMIE Act.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3288.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3288) to amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to make technical corrections with respect to the definition of qualifying State.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3288 and urge swift passage of this bipartisan bill. H.R. 3288 corrects technical errors in the recently enacted State Children's Health Insurance Program, S-CHIP, legislation. This important legislation extended the availability of State S-CHIP allotments from prior years to allow States to use this money to continue to provide health care coverage for children. The bill also permitted certain States that had previously covered children with higher incomes through their Medicaid program prior to the creation of S-CHIP to use a small portion of their S-CHIP allotments to pay for the costs associated with covering these children. Unfortunately, a definition included in the new S-CHIP law inadvertently excluded a number of States. As a result, New Mexico, Maryland, Hawaii, and Rhode Island were barred from being able to use their allotments to pay for the expenses of their kids with higher incomes. It was always the intent of the sponsors of the S-CHIP legislation that these States would be allowed to use their money in this way. For that reason, my chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), introduced H.R. 3288, which amends the definition of eligible States to correct the technical error. I would urge all Members to unanimously support this bipartisan bill, which would allow these States to use a portion of their S-CHIP allotments to provide health coverage for their low-income children. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I just returned after leading a bipartisan trip to Iraq this last Friday. We had Members from all over the country, Republicans and Democrats, and we had Members on our trip that both had supported the war resolution last year, as well as those that opposed it. I have to say all of us were very proud of every American we met from the USAID, workers at the schools, to the hospitals, and Ambassador Bremer, the generals, the leaders of our troops, and every man and woman in our Armed Services. I wish I could have taken all of us here in this Chamber, as well as across the country, to see how proud we are of every person that we met with. Whether you opposed the war resolution or not this last year, we are there now. We need this mission to succeed. I would have to say that nobody here would be against the money for our troops. Yes, we need armored Humvees. Yes, we need more body armor for our vehicles. I would hope that no one here would be opposed to the money to help those that are serving our great land. But we also need the money for reconstruction. It will expedite our troops' withdrawal to come home from that region of the world. It will help promote democracy by birthing democracy where it can flourish. Now, there will be a dispute here that we will resolve, whether it should be a grant or a loan. We will decide that perhaps later today or tomorrow in the House, in the other body, or certainly in the conference between the House and the other body. But we need the money for reconstruction. Because without those security funds, without seeing those dollars come to help that land begin to prosper, our troops will be there a lot longer. And we will fail in our mission to achieve democracy in that important region of the world. I ask my colleagues to support the resolution that we are dealing with later on tonight and tomorrow. We need to encourage it in every way, freedom and democracy to flourish.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering H.R. 3038, the Health Care Safety Net Amendments Technical Corrections Act of 2003. H.R. 3038 introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the subcommittee chairman, makes technical and conforming amendments to the Health Care Safety Net Amendments Act of 2002. As Members may recall, this act strengthens several public health programs for low-income and underserved populations, including community health centers and the National Health Service Corps. Just this past week, a study conducted by GW University found that community health centers have helped to reduce health disparities in areas such as infant mortality, prenatal care, TB case rates, and age-adjusted death rates. This study highlights the impact that community health centers are making in providing underserved Americans with access to affordable, high-quality health care. H.R. 3038 strengthens the commitment that we have already made to community health centers. These changes are indeed technical, and they should be made to properly align the U.S. Code and clarify our original intent when we passed the bill last year. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. 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 H.R. 3038.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3038) to make certain technical and conforming amendments to correct the Health Care Safety Net Amendments of 2002.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering today H.R. 3034, the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry Reauthorization Act to extend Federal support for a national bone marrow registry for an additional 5 years. Bone marrow transplants are often one of the last options available to patients struggling to fight debilitating and often terminal diseases. Sadly, finding a bone marrow match is most difficult. In fact, every year nearly two-thirds of patients in need of a bone marrow transplant will not find a marrow donor match within their family and must rely on the help of strangers. The National Bone Marrow Donor Registry facilitates marrow and cord blood transplants for patients with life-threatening diseases who do not have matching donors in their families. In addition to the 5-year reauthorization period, H.R. 3034 amends the functions of the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to reflect new directions that the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry is undertaking to improve its capabilities. Notably, the legislation directs the registry to maintain and expand medical response capabilities, in concert with Federal programs, for responding to terrorist threats that can damage marrow. The registry is also directed to increase the number of umbilical cord blood units listed in the registry and assist cord blood banks in the registry program. This is of special importance to many minority populations who are less likely to find a bone marrow match. H.R. 3034 also includes provisions to improve data collection and facilitate information sharing with physicians, other health care professionals and the public regarding transplants from unrelated donors. Each month, the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry coordinates more than 150 transplants. With a diverse registry of more than 4 million potential volunteer bone marrow and cord blood donors, the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry offers hope to thousands and thousands of patients. It is important that we reauthorize this successful program. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3034) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) not only has a great legacy in this House for so many different issues, particularly as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, but one of the issues that bonded our friendship early on was his direction and sponsorship of this issue. I would like to say that when I was, I think, a freshman or a sophomore Member in this House, because of the battle he helped lead, I joined with so many other Members of this body to actually register myself with the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. I hope someday that I will be called. Thus far, I have not, but I am one of those that has voluntarily registered. I would love the afternoon that I might get a phone call to say, ``Come on down; I want to draw a sample.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as the lead sponsor of the Animal Drug User Fee Act of 2003, I am very pleased that we are taking up this bill on the House floor today. Closely modeled after the very successful Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992 for human drugs, the Animal Drug User Fee Act is designed to give the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine the resources and incentives needed to significantly improve the animal drug review process. This bill was unanimously approved by the Committee on Energy and Commerce and is supported by a broad coalition of veterinary and producer groups, including the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Farm Bureau, to name just two of the coalition members. We would not be here on the floor today were it not for the strong bipartisan support that this legislation received in our committee. I would like to especially acknowledge my original cosponsor and author of the bill, the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), committee chairman and ranking member, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), our Subcommittee on Health Chair, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), who is here today, as well as the Members on both sides of the aisle who have cosponsored this legislation. I am grateful, too, for the hard work of our committee staff, Brent Delmonte, Patrick Ronan, and John Ford and for the assistance we have received from the FDA and the Animal Health Alliance, particularly my staff, Jane Williams. This legislation is sorely needed. Despite a statutory review time of 180 days, the average new animal drug application review currently takes about a year and a half and it may drag on for even longer. The slowdown in review time is jeopardizing the supply of new, safe and effective animal drugs needed to keep our pets, flocks and herds healthy and help provide American consumers with a safe and wholesome food supply. Under this proposal, H.R. 1260, the additional revenues generated from fees paid by the pioneer animal drug industry would be dedicated for use in expediting the testing and review of new animal drugs in accordance with the performance goals that have been mutually agreed upon by the FDA and the animal drug industry. As FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan has noted, a faster, more predictable review process is expected to spur more spending on research and development by the industry, promoting animal health by increasing the availability and diversity of new, safe and effective products. I encourage my colleagues to vote for this much-needed bipartisan bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1260) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a program of fees relating to animal drugs.