[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 13 (Monday, February 14, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H352-H356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL DONOR DAY

  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 247) expressing the sense of 
Congress regarding the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and 
blood donation and supporting National Donor Day.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 247

       Whereas more than 70,000 individuals await organ 
     transplants at any given moment;
       Whereas another man, woman, or child is added to the 
     national organ transplant waiting list every 16 minutes;
       Whereas, despite the progress in the last 15 years, more 
     than 10 people per day die because of a shortage of donor 
     organs;
       Whereas almost everyone is a potential organ, tissue, and 
     blood donor;
       Whereas transplantation has become an element of mainstream 
     medicine that prolongs and enhances life;
       Whereas, for the third consecutive year, a coalition of 
     health organizations is joining forces for National Donor 
     Day;
       Whereas the first two National Donor Days raised a total of 
     nearly 17,000 units of blood, added over 2,400 potential 
     donors to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, and 
     distributed tens of thousands of organ and tissue pledge 
     cards;
       Whereas National Donor Day is America's largest one-day 
     organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation event; and
       Whereas a number of businesses, foundations, health 
     organizations, and the Department of Health and Human 
     Services have designated February 12, 2000, as National Donor 
     Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideas of National Donor Day;
       (2) encourages all Americans to learn about the importance 
     of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation and to 
     discuss such donation with their families and friends; and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States to conduct 
     appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to 
     demonstrate support for organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood 
     donation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Thurman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).


                             General Leave

  Mr. UPTON. Madam 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. Con. Res. 247.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 247, a 
resolution supporting National Donor Day and recognizing the importance 
of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation.
  Americans who donate their organs, tissue, bone marrow, or blood to 
save another's life are indeed heroes; and I am delighted that the 
House today has taken time to recognize them as such. But despite the 
generosity of the American people and improvements in medical 
treatments for transplant patients, the supply of organs continues to 
be tragically short of the need for transplantation among patients with 
end-stage organ disease and organ failure. Every year the number of 
patients who die while waiting for a transplant increases, and so does 
the national waiting list, which now exceeds 65,000 patients waiting 
for kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and intestine transplants. We 
must do more.
  Our Nation may also be facing an increasingly severe shortage of 
blood. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, 
I have held a series of hearings over the last couple of months on this 
issue and the alternatives for addressing it. We have learned that 
virtually every 3 seconds someone in our country needs blood. Supplies 
need to be replenished daily to meet the demand. An estimated 32,000 
units of blood are used in the country every day. As many as 95 percent 
of Americans are going to need a blood transfusion some time in their 
life, but yet only 5 percent of Americans donate blood.
  We are quickly heading to a point where blood demand is going to 
exceed our supply. Several weeks ago Washington was down to less than a 
1-day supply, and a critical need for blood remains evident throughout 
the country even this week.
  As many may know, our committee, the Committee on Commerce, has spent 
a great deal of time and effort this last year working to develop good 
solutions to the difficult problem of increasing the supply of donated 
organs while safeguarding the system from unintended bureaucratic 
interference that would dramatically harm efforts to increase 
donations.
  Many of those ideas are embodied in H.R. 2418, The Organ Procurement 
and Transplantation Network Amendments of 1999, which was reported out 
of the committee at the end of last session. H.R. 2418 ensures that 
decision-making with regard to organ transplantation remains in the 
transplant community, and not in the hands of the Federal Government.
  This bill includes a provision to provide living and travel expenses 
for individuals who travel across State lines in order to donate an 
organ to a person requiring such. After many hearings on this important 
issue, our committee found there are willing donors who would like to 
save the life of another American but also find themselves in financial 
circumstances that would make donation of a life-saving organ even more 
of a hardship. H.R. 2418 would ease that burden, and I would urge this 
body to take up that bill and pass legislation that would make organ 
donation easier for every American.
  I am also proud to say that due to the Committee on Commerce's 
efforts, H.R. 3075, the Medicare, Medicaid and S-CHIP Balanced Budget 
Refinement Act of 1999 added $200 million to pay for additional 
immunosuppressive drug therapy. Medicare presently only covers these 
drugs for 36 months. This bill takes a first step at addressing that 
issue and allows us to provide more coverage for needy organ transplant 
patients. Access to these life-saving drugs prevents the organ 
rejection that places so much strain on the organ supply network. We 
should all be grateful to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) and 
those who cosponsored the legislation for bringing this issue to the 
attention of the committee.
  While we in Congress continue to safeguard the organ allocation 
system from harmful bureaucratic interference and work to address 
financial problems living donors face, as well as those recipients who 
need affordable immunosuppressive drug therapy, let us take the time 
this afternoon to applaud the ordinary American, every American, who 
has given the gift of life to their neighbors and families by donating 
organs, tissue, bone marrow, or blood. That is what this resolution 
calls for. We salute you for your sacrifice and your charity.

[[Page H353]]

  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. THURMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would just like to say that the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) also is one of the cosponsors of this 
legislation, so we are pleased to have her in the Chair for this great 
day.
  I would say to my friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), I 
appreciate the statistics that he gave us and the other issues that are 
involved in organ donation, and particularly the issue of the 
immunosuppressive drugs, which we find as one of the most compelling 
reasons why this Congress needs to go further in making sure that we 
provide this drug coverage to people with organ donations or organ 
transplants. So I appreciate the gentleman's comments, and I look 
forward to working with him on that and the allocation issue as well. 
In saying that, I just would like to say it is a real pleasure for me 
to be celebrating this Valentine's Day with the news that this Congress 
recognizes the importance of organ, bone marrow, and tissue donation.
  Today, in recognition of National Donor Day, this House will pass H. 
Con. Resolution 247, which recognizes the importance of organ tissue, 
bone marrow, and blood donation and supports National Donor Day.
  National Donor Day is America's largest 1-day donation event, 
organized by Saturn and the United Auto Workers in coordination with 
several organ and tissue organizations and the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services. The past two National Donor Days raised a 
total of 17,000 units of blood and added over 2,400 potential donors to 
the National Marrow Donor Registry and distributed tens of thousands of 
organ and tissue pledge cards. Putting that into context with the 
numbers presented by the gentleman from Michigan's (Mr. Upton) numbers 
as far as how low our supply of blood was in this last year, that is 
one of the reasons why this is so important.
  I think we can safely say that these past two donation days were a 
success; and, although we do not have any official numbers, I 
understand that this year was also successful.
  Thanks to National Donor Day, many more people will be lucky enough 
to receive the gift of life, a new organ. Every year, thousands of our 
friends, family members, and neighbors go on the waiting list for an 
organ. The tragic truth is, despite continuing advances in medicine and 
technology, the demand for organs drastically outstrips the amount of 
organ donors.
  The numbers tell the story. In 1990, there were a little more than 
20,000 people on the waiting list. Today, there are more than 65,000 
people waiting an organ transplant. In Florida alone last year, between 
January and March, there were more than 1,200 people on the waiting 
list for a kidney. The good news is that 121 cadaveric kidney 
transplants were performed during these 3 months. But, sadly, during 
that same time frame 18 people died while waiting for a kidney.
  The bad news is that a new name is added to the list every 16 
minutes. The good news is that we are passing this resolution to raise 
the awareness about the tragic lack of organs and we will begin to make 
a difference. Every time we talk to our family and friends, we begin to 
make a difference.
  Passing this resolution will allow this Congress to make a difference 
by letting the American people know that we care about this issue and 
that we are committed to beginning the dialogue on the importance of 
organ, blood, tissue, and bone marrow donation. Please remember, these 
are people out there, maybe your neighbor, your teacher, your doctor, 
your friend, a loved one, a coworker. In this House we have experienced 
this matter as well with some very good friends of ours, the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley), the gentleman from South Carolina 
(Mr. Spence), and I myself with my husband. But all of these people 
could potentially need an organ or bone marrow or blood.

                              {time}  1415

  Please remember those are the people on the waiting list; people 
whose lives may lay in our hands. I cannot stress how important it is 
to talk to one's family and friends about being an organ donor, a 
tissue donor, a bone marrow donor, and a blood donor. Remember, you too 
can give the gift of life.
  I would also like to take a moment to recognize a constituent of mine 
at an upcoming event, Mr. Perry McGriff, a man who, in fact, is being 
honored today by receiving an award for his work on donation issues. 
Each year, Perry goes on the Five Points of Life Bike Ride. This year, 
this bike ride will take him from Maine to Florida. The Five Points of 
Life trek across the United States is to bring awareness of the need 
for five donations, including blood, tissue, bone marrow, and organs.
  This year, the program kicks off on August 26 atop Cadillac Mountain 
in Maine. Over more than 6 weeks, Perry and others will ride through 
Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, North 
and South Carolina, Georgia; and they will end up in Key West. It is 
people like Perry that I hope all of us can remember when we think that 
we just do not have enough time to discuss the issue with our family.
  Remember Perry when you think you do not have enough time to look 
into being an organ, tissue, bone marrow, or blood donor. If he can 
spend 6 weeks riding across the country to raise awareness about this 
issue, I hope you can spend a few minutes thinking about this issue and 
talking to your family and friends.
  In most States, one can sign up to be an organ donor when one renews 
their license at the DMV. However, what most people do not know is that 
this does not ensure that one's organs will be donated. One's family 
has the final say in this matter, which is why it is so important that 
one talks to one's immediate family about one's decision to be an organ 
or tissue donor. Then, if something tragic should happen or occur, 
one's wishes will be honored.
  Madam Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to thank the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady); the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Snyder); and the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) for their help 
and support on introducing and passing this important resolution. I 
would also like to recognize the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the 
National Kidney Foundation for bringing this important day to our 
attention and for all of their support and information on this issue. 
Finally, I would like to thank the more than 50 Members who have signed 
on as cosponsors to this important resolution. I hope people really do 
understand that this is a gift of life.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First of all, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her 
important remarks during this debate. We had some terrific hearings in 
the Subcommittee on Oversight this last fall, a whole series of 
hearings, talking about the need for blood and how, in fact, it looks 
very much that the whole country could face some real shortages this 
year, particularly in certain regions of the country.
  At that point, we decided, as we saw back in Michigan, my home State, 
a number of efforts were taken up by service clubs and universities 
challenging each other, particularly at Western Michigan University 
challenging Central Michigan University, and I thought we would have 
that same type of challenge here on Capitol Hill.
  So about 2 weeks ago was the date that Republicans and Democrats, 
staff and Members, House and Senate, challenged each other; I wish we 
had the trophy over here. The Republicans did win, but we all won. We 
helped certainly the shortage where it exists.
  Madam Speaker, we have a real need for donors to give blood. Because 
even though the number of donors in fact is increasing each and every 
year, the need for blood is increasing at an even greater pace, and 
because of that, I think all of us, particularly in positions as 
Members often are, where we can use ourselves to help generate other 
donors to contribute blood across the country.
  I want to also spend a little bit of time talking about our good 
friend, the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Young). A couple of years ago, probably 6 or 7, maybe 
even more than

[[Page H354]]

that, his daughter was in desperate straits needing a bone marrow 
transplant. He single-handedly, I think, signed up a good number of us 
on the House Floor, Republicans and Democrats, the gentlewoman's home 
State, and I was one of those that was tested. My donation was made, I 
guess it is in a bank. I pray for the day that someone is going to call 
me and say Fred, we want you to come down and donate bone marrow to 
save the life of someone in this country or elsewhere around the world. 
In fact, one of our colleagues, because of the actions that he took, 
actually it was a Member no longer a Member from Florida, in fact, did 
donate bone marrow tissue and in fact did save the life of someone 
because of the work of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
  All of us, particularly those that are able to donate to this bank so 
that we may be called on to save someone at some point down the road I 
think is very necessary, and this bill recognizes those people that can 
do that.
  I would also like to praise our States. I know in my State of 
Michigan it is now a normal thing, and I think maybe it is for most 
States. I know Virginia, talking to my staff over here, I know has 
that, and I know Florida has that same thing, but of course on the back 
of our driver's license in Michigan, there is a provision I would like 
to make a gift effective on my death, all organs specific, et cetera, 
all tissues.
  Mrs. THURMAN. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. UPTON. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.
  Mrs. THURMAN. Madam Speaker, there are also some other things that 
are going on. Of course, the Gift of Life pin with the green ribbon 
symbolizes Organ Donation Days, which is something that we can all 
participate in. Another is the organ donation stamp, nationally 
recognized around the country, it kicked off a couple of years ago. 
There are so many things that we can do both as Members of Congress for 
people who have been the recipients, or those waiting.
  The gentleman mentioned the issue on the bone marrow. I think the 
Today Show has been doing some programming on this particular issue, 
and they had a little boy who would have potentially died had it not 
been for somebody that had registered for the bone marrow transplant. 
It was one of our young service members in this country that in fact 
donated his bone marrow. They got to meet for the first time Friday--he 
met the boy who he gave his gift of life to. As the gentleman well 
knows, we all have attempted over the last several years to raise this 
issue; it is amazing to me the wonderful stories that are out there, 
but still there are tragic stories of those that do not receive an 
organ in time.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, the gentlewoman raised 
the point about the stamp. I was there when the stamp was unveiled over 
in the Senate a couple of years ago. I only wish they had enough 
foresight to have made it 33 cents. Of course it is 32 cents, so they 
are not as handy as they once were. We had a gentleman in my home 
county in Michigan, a guy by the name of Mr. Hein and he went out for 
every parade for years. He was out there with his little petition 
drive, signing people up; I was one of his early people. Sadly, he has 
now passed away, in need, I think, of an organ transplant. That 
certainly gave him a number of years that he did not have, and his 
family's work and really all folks across the country that helped bring 
that beautiful stamp into play was pretty marvelous.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
  Mr. VITTER. Madam Speaker, I want to stand today in strong support of 
this important concurrent resolution to increase awareness of a very 
serious health problem, the growing gap between organ supply and 
demand. Last year, of the 60,000 people on organ transplant waiting 
lists, only 20,000 received needed transplants. As the number of 
patients waiting for organ transplants expands each year, clearly we 
must redouble our efforts to increase organ donations.
  In my State of Louisiana, organ and tissue donations are increasing, 
in large part thanks to a new and innovative computerized database that 
shares information on donated organs with members of the medical 
community and their patients. For instance, in 1999, 900 organs were 
donated in Louisiana, coming close to matching the nearly 1,200 
Louisianans awaiting transplants. I think this represents real 
progress, and I am proud that my State is leading the way.
  However, I do remain very concerned that this administration's answer 
to the growing shortage across the country of organs is to attempt to 
federalize the organ allocation system and allow HHS bureaucrats to 
override medical decisions by local organ transplant groups. I believe 
it would be terrible to undercut the successful efforts of local organ 
procurement groups. Instead of dictating organ allocation policies, we 
should lend our voice to increasing organ donations nationwide and 
support this type of resolution, as we are on the floor today.
  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, today I join my colleague and good friend, 
Representative Karen Thurman, to support House Concurrent Resolution 
247, in honor of National donor Day and recognition of the importance 
organ, tissue, bone marrow and blood donation.
  With approximately 70,000 Americans currently awaiting organs and 
more than ten people dying every day, it is clear that our nation is 
facing a real crisis. This resolution will help both raise awareness 
and increase donations nationwide--it is a meaningful step toward 
bringing an end to our nation's current predicament.
  A Health and Human Services (HHS) September 1999 Report to Congress 
noted a growing gap between the supply and demand for organs 
nationwide. HHS reports that medical technology improvements and a 
modest increase in donors have not kept pace with the demand for more 
organs. Demand for organ transplants has increased due to the success 
of immunosuppression therapies in preventing organ rejection and 
improving graft and patient survival. The lack of organs available for 
transplant illustrates the crucial need to focus public attention on 
increasing organ donation.
  A number of businesses, foundations, health organizations, and the 
Department of Health and Human Services have previously designated 
February 12th as National Donor Day. The first two National Donor days 
succeeded in raising a total of almost 17,000 units of blood, adding 
over 2,400 potential donors to the National Marrow Donor Program 
Registry, and included mass distribution of organ and tissue pledge 
cards. This concurrent resolution supports National Donor Day, 
encourages Americans to learn about and openly discuss donation, and 
calls on the President to issue a proclamation to demonstrate support 
for organ, tissue, blood and bone marrow donation.
  Research points to a clear need for public education and incentive 
programs to increase organ donation. This Congress, I also introduced 
legislation, H.R. 941, the ``Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 
1999,'' to provide a commemorative Congressional medal to organ donors 
and their families to honor their efforts. This Act is intended to draw 
attention to this lifesaving issue and to spend a clear message that 
donating one's organs is a selfless act worth the profound respect of 
our Nation. I hope Members would also consider this effort to increase 
donations.
  The problem is clear--there are not enough organs to meet the needs 
of patients. Let's support initiatives such as H.R. 941, to create an 
organ donor medal, and H. Con. Res. 247, to honor National Donor Day 
and to recognize the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow & blood 
donation. Initiatives such as these will help raise awareness, increase 
donations nationwide, and both are meaningful steps toward bringing an 
end to growing gap between the supply and demand for organs.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I wish to commend the gentlelady from 
Florida, Representative Karen Thurman, for introducing this resolution. 
It addresses an issue that is of great importance to me.
  Last year, I introduced the ``Organ Donor Leave Act,'' which 
President Clinton signed into law on September 24, 1999. That Act 
(Public Law 106-56) extends the amount of paid leave a federal employee 
can use to donate an organ from seven to 30 days. Experience has shown 
that an organ transplant operation and post-operative recovery of a 
living donor may require six to eight weeks. Prior to the enactment of 
this legislation, a lack of leave had served as a significant 
impediment and disincentive for individuals considering sharing the 
gift-of-life.
  As a proponent of organ donations, I sought to encourage not only the 
federal government, but other public and private employers to support 
employees who volunteer to undertake the life saving process of 
donating an organ. Congresswoman Thurman's resolution essentially seeks 
to do the same. Her resolution expresses the sense of the Congress 
regarding

[[Page H355]]

the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation, and 
supporting National Donor Day.
  Her resolution calls to our attention the fact that a man, woman and 
child is added to the national organ transplant waiting list every 16 
minutes. In fact, 70,000 individuals await organ transplants at any 
given moment. The resolution also informs us that despite the progress 
in the last 15 years, more than 10 people per day die because of a 
shortage of donor organs.
  A few months ago I learned about Daleen Hardy a Postal Service 
employee who was scheduled to donate a kidney to her husband. She was 
concerned that her employer might not allow her adequate time off to 
recover. I wrote to the Post Master General urging him to consider 
allowing her the same 30 days leave granted federal employees by the 
``Organ Donor Leave Act.''
  In my home state of Maryland, we have two world-class transplant 
centers that draw patients from across the country, Johns Hopkins 
University and the University Medical System. Those facilities receive 
referrals from Maryland's Transplant Resource Center which has more 
than 1,600 people on the kidney waiting list. With more people like 
Daleen Hardy this number could be reduced.
  In an effort to help encourage organ donations, last year, Vice 
President Al Gore unveiled a series of new Federal and public-private 
initiatives to increase the rate of organ donations nationwide. He 
announced a $13 million grant program to improve local donation 
efforts. The grants would fund new public service announcements to 
educate families about organ donation. The funds would also be used to 
conduct a series of regional conferences between health care providers 
and transplant professionals about organ donation.
  The ``Organ Donor Leave Act'' and the initiatives taken by Vice 
President Al Gore represent affirmative acts to help save lives. The 
resolution authored by Congresswoman Thurman is one and the same.
  I urge every Member of Congress to give it their support, and by 
doing so, join the in the commemoration of National Donor Day.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I want to add my strong support for H. 
Con. Res. 247, the Support National Organ Donor Day Resolution.
  Every family hopes that if one of its members becomes seriously ill, 
medical science will be able to provide a miracle and restore their 
loved one to a healthy and rewarding life. Medical science has been 
able to do exactly that over the past decade for hundreds of thousands 
of families with loved ones suffering from diseases and injuries that 
affect the heart, kidney, pancreas, lungs, liver or tissue.
  Transplantation of organs and tissues has become one of the most 
remarkable success stories in medicine, now giving tens of thousands of 
desperately ill Americans each year a new chance at life. But sadly, 
this medical miracle is not yet available to all in need. Waiting lists 
are growing more rapidly than the number of organs and tissues being 
donated.
  There are more than 70,000 individuals awaiting organ transplants at 
any given moment, and despite the fact that almost everyone is a 
potential donor, more than 10 people each day die because of a shortage 
of donor organs.
  Last year over 1,500 men, women and children from Maryland were on 
waiting lists hoping for an organ to become available--an increase of 
108 over the previous year. Many of these Maryland residents have been 
waiting for years. And the wait is growing longer.
  Every two hours, one of the more than 60,000 Americans now on waiting 
lists dies for lack of an available organ.
  Even when individuals have indicated a desire to be a donor, 
statistics show that those wishes go unfulfilled more than half of the 
time.
  Two important points must be made: The final decision on whether or 
not to donate organs and tissue is always made by surviving family 
members.
  Checking the organ donation box on a driver's license doe not 
guarantee organ and tissue donation. Individuals should discuss the 
importance of donation with their families now--in a non crisis 
atmosphere--so if the question ever arises, all members of the family 
will remember having made the decision to give the gift of life.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution encourages all Americans to learn 
about the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation 
and to discuss such donation with their families and friends.
  I urge strong support for this resolution.
  Mr. BLILEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 247, a 
resolution recognizing the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, 
and blood donation and calling on people to observe National Donor Day 
on Wednesday, February 16th.
  One of the kindest acts of charity anyone can do is donate blood, 
bone marrow, tissue, or even solid organs to someone they will probably 
never meet. Organ and tissue donation is so important to so many 
families, we need to set aside time with one another to discuss it 
among our families, friends, and colleagues. I am pleased that 
Congressman Bilbray brought this resolution to my attention, and that I 
was able to assist in bringing this resolution to the floor for timely 
consideration.
  Organ and tissue supplies are in such short supply that any single 
contribution will be greatly appreciated by the recipient's family. I 
am told that the Washington, DC area is now down to a three-day supply 
of blood; that there are more people needing bone marrow transplants 
than matches can be found among people who have registered with the 
National Bone Marrow Donor Program; that more people enrolled in the 
Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease program will die from kidney failure 
because there are too few kidneys to transplant; and still, people die 
every day from liver failure despite an innovative surgery pioneered at 
the Richmond-based Virginia Commonwealth University, which allows 
living donors to have part of their liver transplanted into a recipient 
with recovery for the donor complete in about three weeks.
  There is a palpable fear among those in the transplant community that 
the Clinton Administration's controversial organ allocation regulations 
will eliminate the incentives for local transplant centers to increase 
local supplies of organs. Why? Because the new HHS regulations stand 
the system on its head and give transplant centers greater incentives 
to increase their waiting lists so that these centers will increase the 
probability that they will be first in line to get an organ from some 
other region. That, my colleagues, is exactly the wrong policy to 
pursue if we want to be increasing organ supplies.
  As many of you know, the Committee on Commerce has labored long and 
hard to find common-sense solutions to the organ shortages facing 
American families in every community without compounding the problem 
with unnecessary meddling by the Federal bureaucracy. These solutions 
are ready to become law through the Blilrakis-Green-Pallone ``Organ 
Procurement and Transplantation Network Amendments of 1999,'' which was 
ordered reported out of the Committee on October 13 by voice vote.
  H.R. 2418 authorizes $5 million in grants annually to pay for living 
and travel expenses for individuals who donate an organ to a recipient 
living in another State. H.R. 2418 would help many willing donors who 
just don't have the financial means to travel or take time off from 
work to donate an organ. But, these grants will not be available unless 
we work together to enact H.R. 2418.
  Lastly, let me say that I am very proud of Commerce Committee efforts 
to add $200 million to pay for additional immunosuppressive drug 
therapy under the ``Medicare, Medicaid and S-CHIP Balance Budget 
Refinement Act of 1999.'' Thanks to Congressman Canady's leadership on 
this issue, life-saving drugs that prevent organ rejection are now 
available through Medicare for a longer period of time.
  I want to thank Congresswoman Thurman and Congressman Bilbray for 
their leadership in calling our attention to National Donor Day, and 
ask that the House pass this resolution.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. 
Res. 247, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage today.
  This resolution encourages all Americans to learn about the 
importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow and blood donation and to 
discuss these issues with their families and friends. It also urges the 
President to promote activities to demonstrate public support for 
organ, tissue, bone marrow and blood donation.
  As Chairman of the Health and Environment Subcommittee, I have worked 
to identify ways to increase the supply of organs available for 
transplantation. Last year, I introduced H.R. 2418, legislation to 
reauthorize the National Organ Transplant Act, which includes 
provisions to promote organ donation.
  My Subcommittee's review of these issues has highlighted statistics 
that are deeply disturbing. This year, approximately 20,000 people will 
receive organ transplants--but 40,000 will not. In the last decade 
alone, the waiting list for transplants grew by over 300 percent. Much 
of this increase is due to improvements in medical treatments for 
transplant patients. However, the gap between organ supply and demand 
remains enormous.
  Two years ago, my Subcommittee held a joint hearing with the Senate 
Labor Committee to review our nation's system for organ allocation, and 
more specifically, the changes proposed by the Department of Health and 
Human Services. Despite strong differences of opinion, all of the 
witnesses recognized the severe shortage of organs for transplantation.
  At a hearing in April 1999, my Subcommittee focused on ways to 
increase the supply of organs for transplantation, including what the 
federal government can do to improve this situation. Witnesses 
emphasized that many successful programs to encourage organ donation 
have been developed at the state level, and we should support--not 
undermine--these ongoing initiatives.

[[Page H356]]

  This is literally a matter of life and death for tens of thousands of 
Americans each year. Given the enormity of these issues, we have an 
obligation to work together to address these concerns on a bipartisan 
basis. I was pleased to join my Florida colleague, Mrs. Thurman, as a 
cosponsor of this resolution, and I applaud her commitment to this 
cause.
  Clearly, the solution to this complicated problem is not entirely 
legislative. By working to increase public awareness about the need for 
organ donations, we can all save lives. The resolution before us 
represents an important step toward achieving that goal, and I 
wholeheartedly support its passage.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I see no other Member asking for time. I 
just would like again to encourage all of my colleagues to vote for and 
support this bill. It does save lives. We all know so many different 
personal tales. I urge that we adopt it quickly.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Morella). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
247.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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