Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6378, the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018. I want to thank Chairman Walden and Representatives Eshoo and Brooks, as well as all the staff, for their hard work on this bill. Together, we have ensured a robust product that reflects priorities for Members on both sides of the aisle and the agencies responsible for ensuring our emergency preparedness.

This is a vitally important public health bill that ensures that we can prepare for and respond to health security events like bioterrorism, emerging infectious diseases, and natural disasters. It will support the development of new treatments and the stockpiling of medications and supplies that will be deployed to communities nationwide in the case of an emergency.

As we all know, effectively preparing for and responding to these events requires extensive coordination between Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations across the country.

This bill reauthorizes or establishes critical programs that will help us better prepare and respond to any major health emergency.

Let me discuss some of the specifics of how this bill will help us do that.

It reauthorizes a loan repayment program that would help to strengthen and grow our public health workforce. This is critically important, as we are still trying to dig out of a public health funding hole that began during the Great Recession.

This bill also makes a technical update to the Hospital Preparedness Program to reflect the use of the term ``coalition'' instead of ``partnership'' by grantees and other stakeholders. This language change is not intended to make changes related to the current cooperative agreement structure, nor does it intend to alter the role and responsibilities of States, territories, and directly funded cities, which are awardees of funding under the Hospital Preparedness Program.

Therefore, it continues to require that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, provide funding through cooperative agreements to States, territories, and cities to support healthcare coalitions in their communities through the Hospital Preparedness Program.

The bill also amends the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program to require public health departments to partner with nursing homes and hospitals to promote and improve public health preparedness and response.

It also requires public health departments to work with utility companies and other critical infrastructure partners to help ensure that electricity and other critical infrastructure will remain functioning or return to function as soon as practicable after a public health emergency.

Both of these requirements are intended to help prevent another tragedy like the tragic deaths that occurred at a Florida nursing home last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Mr. Speaker, this bill also updates the authorization for the public health emergency rapid response fund so we can prevent any delay in HHS' rapid response to public health emergencies in the future.

It also maintains the administration's flexibility to determine the best placement for the Strategic National Stockpile, or SNS. I have concerns with moving the SNS from the direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. To date, I have yet to hear a strong argument in support of this move.

I also believe CDC has the relationships and expertise that make the most sense for managing and operationalizing the stockpile. The CDC also has a record of successful stewardship of the SNS. That is why I supported the increased transparency and reporting included in this bill.

Wherever the Strategic National Stockpile is placed, it is critical that we ensure that our current preparedness and response capabilities are not weakened by its placement.

I also want to highlight two provisions that were included that will ensure Congress receives the information it needs to respond to the Trump administration's family separation crisis. The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response will be required to submit to the Energy and Commerce Committee a formal strategy on their family reunification efforts as well as keep the committee informed on the status of the children still awaiting reunification.

The Trump administration's cruel zero-tolerance policy resulted in a manmade crisis that has impacted the lives of thousands of parents and children. While we can't undo the damage done by this policy, these provisions ensure that Congress has the information it needs to help reunite each child with their family and make sure this never happens again.

Furthermore, while these provisions are important, they should not take the place of an actual oversight hearing on this cruel policy. This is something committee Democrats have repeatedly requested, and we will continue to do so.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, overall, I want to say this is a good bill. Our national preparedness and response capabilities will be better prepared to respond to public health threats thanks to the passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6378, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for moving and working on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6378, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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