[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.
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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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