Henry Waxman

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, we're on the seventh day of a government shutdown caused by the reckless actions of House Republicans; and we are now considering the sixth piecemeal bill that reopens a few government activities, but still continues the shutdown for everybody else. Now, I support the FDA. Who doesn't support the FDA? It's very important that they do their job. But you know what's also important? What's also important is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which responds to disease outbreaks and works to prevent the spread of seasonal flu. They're not going to be reopened. There's no funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which limits its ability to improve mental health across the country. There are things this government does--and I'm pleased my Republican colleagues are starting to understand why government is so important. And that's why we shouldn't have this closing down of government and then reopening it piece by piece. This is an effort to hold the government hostage until the unreasonable demand to deny health insurance for American families is met, and that is a demand that we will not give in to. Let the House vote on a clean bill to fund the whole government, not the piecemeal approach we're considering today. It's a gimmick, and it's also poor policy. And you should understand something else, Mr. Speaker, they're not giving FDA the full funding. What they're doing is still continuing the draconian sequestration cut which took over $200 million out of FDA's budget. If they love FDA so much, fund it where it should be funded, not with $200 million less. Mr. Speaker, there is no funding for hundreds of the Nation's tribes. There is no funding for meals for millions of seniors. There is no assistance to more than 1 million families in need.

Mr. WAXMAN. I think we're all supporters of the FDA; but if the Republicans were truly interested in FDA, they would work with Democrats. We would have a conversation about it to lift the sequester and restore funding for FDA and all other critical programs as well. I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of John Parsons, a man who gave so much of himself to the community. He had served as a City Councilmember in Redondo Beach and most recently as the Planning Commissioner. John has been a pillar in the South Bay community and will be remembered for his dedicated service to the City of Redondo Beach. I have had the great honor of working with John since I began representing the 33rd Congressional District. He helped me get to know the South Bay, its businesses and local Chambers of Commerce. John had a long history of public service in the beach communities and beyond. He served as chairman of the City's Harbor Commission and Chamber of Commerce Board and was president of the Redondo Beach Rotary. Most recently, he worked as the business services and economic development manager for the South Bay Workforce Investment Board. One of John's most important contributions to the community was as a founding member and original chairman of the Los Angeles Air Force Regional Alliance, which successfully protected the Los Angeles Air Force Base from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list. John's tireless work helped the Air Force Base remain in El Segundo and remain a central part of the defense community. It continues to support tens of thousands of local jobs and supports our national security around the globe. John is survived by his wife, Mary Ann and two daughters, Nikki and Danielle; a sister, Lorraine Doolin of Virginia; and two brothers, Mike Parsons and Pat Parsons of Los Angeles. My thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to John's family and friends during this difficult time. John will truly be remembered as a civic leader who always had the best interest of his community in mind. I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating the remarkable life and tremendous contributions of John Parsons. Our community owes John a debt of gratitude for his service and he will not be forgotten.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a nonprofit organization in California's 33rd Congressional District, StayUNITED, and its founders, Mark and Ismini Svensson. StayUNITED has created a number of initiatives to improve lives in the United States and throughout the world. The organization has recently launched an initiative entitled `50 Acts of Giving Back' to promote voluntarism and demonstrate how social media can be used to transform the way acts of social good can be communicated and replicated across the globe. Mr. and Ms. Svensson are traveling to all 50 states and performing 50 acts of kindness to encourage an online community to inspire others across state, national, and international lines to help make the world a better place. I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing the vision of Mark and Ismini Svensson and their commitment to charitable giving.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, let's put policy over politics by funding the government. What this reckless closing of the government has accomplished is to stall a lot of government agencies from doing their mission, and one of the most important agencies that has a mission that is irreplaceable is the NIH. Yet, if you look at the underlying bill--the Republican bill to fund the government, which we are willing to accept--it puts NIH at a really low amount for appropriations, so it's hard to take this claim that they want to help the NIH seriously. The Republican agenda is reflected in its budget. Republicans proposed a 20 percent cut to health, education and labor programs, and that's a $5 billion loss for NIH. What does that mean? That means that the NIH Clinical Center has to turn away hundreds of patients, many of them children who desperately need care. This is singling out NIH. What about the other important work that is done to prevent and cure diseases? What about the efforts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? They are not going to be reopened by this legislation, and they detect and respond to disease outbreaks. The Food and Drug Administration, they're not going to get any money by virtue of this special singling-out bill. They won't even be able to do their routine inspections of food and drugs to protect the public from abuses. If the Republicans were truly interested in the NIH, they would remove the sequester and restore funding for the NIH and other critical programs.

Mr. WAXMAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WAXMAN. Let's refund all of the government efforts, including the CDC and the NIH and the FDA, and not single them out and leave everybody else behind.

Mr. WAXMAN. Funding the government is one bipartisan step we could take. It is a compromise for us, and I would vote for it.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. I rise to support the passage of the Drug Quality and Security Act. It has been a year now since the tragic fungal meningitis outbreak caused by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. At least 64 people died, and over 750 people were sickened. More than 14,000 others are still waiting--and must live in fear for years--to see whether they, too, will get meningitis. This was the largest outbreak of health care-associated infections in U.S. history and one of the Nation's worst public health disasters in recent memory. In recognizing the need to act in the face of this tragedy, Members on both sides of the aisle in both Houses of Congress came together in the months following the outbreak to try to figure out how to solve this problem. One thing was clear: FDA's authorities over compounding pharmacies were not up to the task. Divergent court decisions on the underlying statute had forced the agency to cobble together a piecemeal approach to regulating compounding pharmacies that was different in some parts of the country than in others. That untenable legal situation created loopholes that companies like NECC were able to exploit. FDA was also facing a pharmacy compounding industry that had dramatically changed since 1997, the last time Congress passed legislation on this issue. Since that time, hospitals have grown dependent on so-called ``outsourcers,'' very large compounding pharmacies that mix batches of customized drugs for hospitals. The legislation we are considering today will take a major step toward addressing these issues. First, it will correct the constitutional defect in the underlying law that has wreaked havoc on FDA's ability to regulate compounders. Second, it will give hospitals and doctors the ability to access a source of compounded medicines that are made in a facility that is subject to stringent FDA quality standards and oversight. All other compounding pharmacies will continue to be subject to current law. Third, the bill will remedy one of the major problems that surfaced in the NECC situation--a lack of effective communication between State boards of pharmacy and the FDA. Specifically, it will create a system in which State boards of pharmacy and FDA can notify each other when there are concerns about violations occurring at a particular compounding pharmacy. These authorities represent a significant improvement over current law, and they will go a long way toward better protecting public health.

Mr. WAXMAN. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds. Mr. Speaker, in addition to these important compounding authorities, this legislation will establish an electronic, interoperable system at the Federal level that tracks each package of drugs at the unit level and that involves the entire supply chain. This will help prevent Americans from being harmed by counterfeit and substandard medicines. There is no question in my mind that this bill represents a step forward, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member on the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the chairman emeritus of our committee. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from the State of Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Mr. WAXMAN. I yield the gentlelady an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, (Mr. Green).

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson).

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to a good friend from the State of Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I want to thank Chairman Upton, Chairman Pitts, and Ranking Member Pallone. On the Democratic staff, Tiffany Guarascio for Mr. Pallone; Greg Sunstrum for Mr. Dingell; Rachel Stauffer and Lisa Cohen for Ms. DeGette; Nate Tipton from Mr. Green's office; Joel Bailey for Mr. Matheson; Karen Nelson, Eric Flamm, and Rachel Sher--all of these people played an essential role in getting this bill through. I want to single out Mr. Griffith who introduced the bill in the House, along with Ms. DeGette and Mr. Green, that served as a foundation for the compounding debate. Mr. Matheson and Mr. Latta introduced the House track-and-trace bill. Everybody didn't get what they wanted. This bill is a compromise. This institution has to reach compromises to get things done. We cannot have every issue litigated and relitigated. Once the law is settled, we must go on. And I am chagrinned that we are likely to close the government because, on the other side of the aisle, the leadership in this House wants to keep the fight going on the Affordable Care Act. It is the law. It has been affirmed by the courts. It is about to be put in place. We should work together to solve our country's problems, not make them worse by failing to compromise and work with each other. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, the Republicans would not work with us and figure out how ObamaCare should meet the needs of the American people, but it was passed into law. The courts approved it. The electorate voted and approved the President, who supported it. And now the Republicans say they are offering a compromise? Their compromise would deny people for a year health care because of preexisting conditions, and it would make sure that the people who can't afford health care can't get it for a year, but it does worse than that. It takes people on Medicare, and it keeps them from getting the break on their prescription drugs and keeps their doctors from getting the increase in reimbursement for their services. It would stop the expansion of Medicaid for very low-income people. This isn't just postponing it. It is undercutting the Affordable Care Act, and the tax provision on medical devices will only widen the deficit. Their provision will cost us money. If they shut down the government, it will hurt a lot of people, not just government employees but people all across the country. Reject this Republican proposal, and let's improve funding for the government.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the world's best scientists rendered a conclusive verdict: climate change is real, it is caused by human activity, and its consequences will be catastrophic. What the scientists are telling us is that evidence is now just as strong that carbon pollution is causing climate change as is the claim that cigarettes cause cancer. They are sounding the fire alarm, and the President is sending in the firefighters. EPA, the Energy Department, Interior, and the State Department are all working to bring down emissions and protect this planet. But here in Congress, House Republicans are denying the science and ignoring the scientists. They are living in a fantasy land and drafting bills to tie the hands of the rescue squad. This is willful ignorance. It is endangering the world our children and future generations will inherit. This is wrong and immoral. We must not become the last bastion of the Flat Earth Society. We need to act and we need to act now.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, today, the Safe Climate Caucus held a remarkable forum. It was the first time in Congress that individuals were invited to talk about the personal hardships they have experienced as a result of climate change. We heard from witnesses from around the country. Matt Russell, an Iowa farmer, told us how his crops had been flooded by record rains. Hugh Fitzsimons, a Texas rancher, described how his herd was decimated by a record drought. Emily Dondero from Sonora, California, explained how the massive California Rim fire is devastating her community. Stephanie Kravitz, a New York homeowner, talked about the devastation she suffered when Superstorm Sandy struck Long Island, New York, and Reverend Tyronne Edwards from Louisiana spoke movingly of the damage inflicted on his community by enormous hurricanes. For these Americans, climate change is already painfully real. They told us climate change is not a distant threat. As scientist Noah Diffenbaugh explained, it is already affecting families across the country. The witnesses ask that Congress stop denying the science. They want action, and I think it's about time we start to listen.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time to speak against this bill. The American public should know what this bill is all about. It is the 41st attempt in the House to repeal and confuse the American people about the Affordable Care Act. It's a deliberate distortion of the actions that have already been in place to protect the taxpayers. We have letters from the Department of Health and Human Services as well the Congressional Budget Office that the verification system is in place so that taxpayers' money is being protected. But the message that the Republicans have been sending over and over again is that we should delay, defund, repeal, but never replace the Affordable Care Act. If they needed further evidence to ignore, just yesterday the nonpartisan CBO reported that HHS has already put the verification system in place that their bill suggests we do. Mr. Speaker, what they want to do is to create a duplicative, unworkable process to certify a verification system, and they want to give it to the inspector general of HHS, but the Inspector General's Office has told us that they have no idea what this bill is proposing or what that office would have to do. They have no experience in doing it. So this is not a credible bill. It's a political bill. They can't repeal the Affordable Care Act, so they're determined to keep it from working. It's a clear effort to delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. When I was home, my constituents, particularly those who are looking forward to the legislation going into effect, people who have had preexisting conditions or inability to get insurance in the past, keep on asking me: Is this really going to happen, or are the Republicans going to stop it? I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill because it's another effort by the Republicans to stop health care for all Americans.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year President Obama signed into law The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act. This law takes an important step to accelerate research on pancreatic cancer and other cancers with the highest mortality rates and for which there has been little progress on diagnosis or treatment. In recent decades, steady progress has been made in improving the survival rate for many forms of cancer, but today only 6% of individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will survive more than five years. This staggering statistic, which has not improved in 40 years, only begins to tell the story of the enormous toll this disease has taken on these patients and their families. Under the new law, the National Cancer Institute at the NIH will develop a scientific framework to attack pancreatic, lung and other deadly cancers. The NCI has started this process by convening a working group of experts in the field of pancreatic cancer research and releasing an initial report with recommendations about high-priority research areas. When fully implemented, this law holds promise to lay the foundation for the development of better diagnostics and treatments that pancreatic cancer patients desperately need. Now, sequestration is putting this progress in doubt. In one fell swoop, the sequester chopped $1.55 billion from the NIH budget. Even before these cuts took effect in the middle of this fiscal year, the threat of the sequester caused NIH to delay or trim down the size of research grants. Now that it is in effect, the sequester has impacted every area of medical research and every Institute and Center within NIH. NIH-funded researchers in labs across the country will receive 700 fewer research grants this year than last year. And the bite of the Budget Control Act's cuts to NIH could deepen next year if Congress does not correct it. The Director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, has said that ``if the Budget Control Act--imposed caps on discretionary programs continue, and NIH funding is reduced proportionally over the next 10 years, funding will decline by about $19 billion. The consequences will be harmful to scientific progress and to American leadership in science.'' The erosion of NIH's budget represents bad policy and missed opportunities. Advancements in science and health care take time and sustained funding. Breakthroughs occur only after years of incremental gains. The sequester is disrupting and delaying the efforts of our nation's leading researchers and scientists who are toiling to understand complex and unsolved medical problems. The squeeze of the sequester is also jeopardizing the future biomedical research workforce by making it more difficult to recruit and train the next generation of scientists and bio-engineers. The science and research community is sounding the alarm. Congress needs to provide strong, stable funding for NIH in order for our global leadership in science and biomedical research to continue and for our researchers' discoveries to benefit patients as soon as possible. Let's not allow ideological budget battles to jeopardize our country's investments in the health of our citizens any longer. I urge my colleagues to listen to the experts, work together, and take action to replace the arbitrary cuts of sequestration with a balanced plan that reflects public priorities and common sense.

Mr. WAXMAN

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, this is a do-nothing Congress. It is absolutely pathetic. There are millions of people unemployed. Are we working to create jobs for them? No. If they don't have jobs, we're not trying to help them. But what we're doing today for the 40th time is to make sure they can't get health insurance. This is an obsession on the part of the Republicans. I was commenting on it the other day in committee, and I said there's such opposition that the law has become the Republicans' great white whale. They'll stop at nothing to kill it. And so here we are with their 40th attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I think it's a disgrace. Is this all we have to do--spend 40 separate times trying to repeal a law that is going to bring health care to millions of Americans who have been denied health care opportunities because of preexisting conditions, because their employer doesn't provide it to them, or because they otherwise couldn't afford it? It will give people in the middle class choices. And with competition between choices of health insurance, the prices will drop, the quality will improve. This whole health care bill was based on Republican ideas, including a requirement that everybody get health insurance. That was endorsed by The Heritage Foundation. So I'm astounded that we're back here today and this is the last thing we're going to do before we go take our recess, our vacation, and go home and tell people, Sorry, we can't help you. We're trying again in the House of Representatives to repeal one bill that has been passed that can mean so much to so many. I urge that we defeat this legislation.