WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), today advanced more than one dozen bills to the House of Representatives for consideration.
“Today’s bills speak to the hard work of our members and staff on both sides of the aisle to enact meaningful solutions that empower consumers, patients, small businesses, and all Americans," said Chairman Walden.
The full committee advanced the following bills:
Originating from #SubHealth :
H.R. 959, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2017, authored by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* H.R. 959 will amend Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to reauthorize nursing workforce development programs, which support the recruitment, retention, and advanced education of skilled nursing professionals. The bill also extends advanced education nursing grants to support clinical nurse specialists and clinical nurse leaders, defines nurse-managed health clinics, adds clinical nurse specialists to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education, and reauthorizes loan repayments, scholarships, and grants for education, practice, quality and retention. H.R. 959 was the subject of a September 2017 legislative hearing.
* H.R. 959 passed #SubHealth last month, as amended, by voice vote.
H.R. 1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, authored by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Tom Reed (R-NY), and Buddy Carter (R-GA), passed the committee by voice vote.
* H.R. 1676 will direct HHS to award grants to improve the training of health professionals in palliative care. It will also increase education and awareness about the benefits and services of palliative care, and also enhances research on palliative care through leveraging existing authorities and funds at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
* The text of H.R. 1676 was the subject of a September 2016 (previous Congress) legislative hearing. H.R. 1676 passed #SubHealth last month, as amended, by voice vote.
H.R. 3728, the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency Readiness (EMPOWER) Act of 2017, authored by #SubHealth Chairman Burgess, and Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN), passed the committee, with two amendments (one by #SubHealth Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and an additional amendment by Rep. Schakowsky), by voice vote.
* H.R. 3728 will amend Title VII of the PHSA to reauthorize the health professions workforce programs that support loan repayment and provider training experiences in primary care, dentistry, rural or underserved areas, and in community-based settings. These programs include the Centers of Excellence, the Health Professions Training for Diversity Program, Primary Care Training and Enhancement grants, Training in General Pediatric and Public Health Dentistry grants, Area Health Education Centers, the National Center for Healthcare Workforce Analysis, and Public Health Workforce grants. H.R. 3728 will also restructure the geriatric health professional grant program to reflect changes that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has pursued to enhance outcomes for geriatric patients.
* H.R. 3728 was the subject of a September 2017 legislative hearing. H.R. 3728 passed #SubHealth last month, as amended, by voice vote.
H.R. 5385, the (Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks) Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, authored by #SubHealth Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX) and #SubHealth Chairman Burgess, passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* H.R. 5385 will reauthorize the Children’s Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program for five years.
* Today’s amendment renamed the bill to H.R. 5385, the Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018.
* H.R. 5385 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing. H.R. 5385 passed #SubHealth last month, as amended, by voice vote.
The committee also considered a resolution of inquiry offered by Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). The committee voted 52-0 to report the resolution of inquiry without recommendation, given the committee’s continued oversight of HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
* H.Res. 983 would direct the President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce broad categories of documents relating to the implications of the President’s zero tolerance policy.
* Historically, resolutions of inquiry have been a tool used to request information when a party (often the administration) has not provided information to Congress. As Chairman Walden noted, that is not the case today. The committee has jurisdiction over HHS and has done extensive oversight of the department’s management and care of unaccompanied children dating back to the Obama Administration.
* In recent weeks, the committee has continued those efforts. Earlier this week, Chairman Walden led a bipartisan trip to the U.S.-Mexico border and on June 29, Republican members sent a detailed list of questions to and requested documents from HHS.
* At a #SubHealth markup last month, members passed an amendment to H.R. __, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2018, by a unanimous vote of 29-0. The amendment requires weekly reports to the committee and a formal strategy regarding HHS’ efforts to reunite these children with their families, as well as a request to address challenges previously identified by the committee in 2014.
Originating from #SubDCCP :
H.R. 6032, the SMART IoT Act, authored by #SubDCCP Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), passed the committee by voice vote.
* The bill will direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study of the internet-connected devices industry.
* H.R. 6032 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubDCCP last month by voice vote.
Originating from #SubCommTech :
H.R. 2345, the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act, authored by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* The bill will direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in consultation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to study and report on the feasibility of designating an N11 dialing code to be used for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system.
* H.R. 2345 was the subject of a March 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubCommTech last month by voice vote.
H.R. 5709, Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, authored by #SubCommTech Vice Chairman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* The bill will increase fines for illegal pirate operations from $10,000 per violation to $100,000 per day per violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000, and streamline the FCC’s enforcement process and empower state and local law enforcement in combating illegal pirate operations.
* H.R. 5709 was the subject of a March 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubCommTech last month by voice vote.
H.R. 3994, the Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand (ACCESS BROADBAND) Act, authored by Rep. Tonko and Rep. Lance, passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* The bill will establish an Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to coordinate and track federal funding for broadband across all agencies. This is an important step in the NTIA reauthorization process the subcommittee began last year and continued with the recent #SubCommTech legislative hearing on draft NTIA reauthorization legislation.
* H.R. 3994 was the subject of a January 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubCommTech last month by voice vote.
H.R. 4881, Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, authored by #SubDCCP Chairman Latta and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* The bill will require the FCC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to form a task force to evaluate the best ways to meet the broadband needs of precision agriculture.
* H.R. 4881 was the subject of a January 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubCommTech last month by voice vote.
Originating from #SubEnergy :
H.R. 1320, the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy Act, authored by #SubDCCP Vice Chairman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), passed the committee, with two amendments (one by #SubDCCP Vice Chairman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), and an additional amendment by #SubEnergy Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)), by voice vote.
* The bill will revise the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) fee recovery structure and increase the predictability, transparency, and efficiency of the NRC’s regulatory processes.
* H.R. 1320 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubEnergy last month by voice vote.
H.R. 6140, the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability Act, authored by Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* This bill will direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to support the availability of “high-assay low enriched uranium" to help enable advanced nuclear energy technology development. The legislation provides for a public-private partnership to address regulatory and market challenges associated with advanced nuclear fuel for nuclear engineers and scientists to develop and deploy innovative nuclear energy technologies.
* H.R. 6140 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubEnergy last month unanimously by voice vote.
Originating from #SubEnvironment :
H.R. 2278, the Responsible Disposal Reauthorization Act, authored Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), passed the committee by voice vote.
* This bill will amend the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 to extend the authorization for the Secretary of Energy to continue the operation of the disposal site in Mesa County, Colorado (known as the Cheney disposal cell) for receiving and disposing of residual radioactive material from processing sites from 2023 to 2048.
* H.R. 2278 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubEnvironment last month, as amended, by voice vote.
H.R. 2389, to reauthorize West Valley demonstration project, authored by Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), passed the committee, as amended, by voice vote.
* This bill will reauthorize the West Valley Demonstration Project located in West Valley, New York. Additionally, the legislation considers the disposal pathway for the project’s radioactive waste.
* H.R. 2389 was the subject of a May 2018 legislative hearing, and passed #SubEnvironment last month, as amended, by voice vote.
Electronic copies of the legislation, amendment text, and vote tallies can be found on the committee’s website HERE.
