[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 20, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6254-H6255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1620
      CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL GME SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2011

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1852) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize 
support for graduate medical education programs in children's 
hospitals.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1852

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Hospital GME 
     Support Reauthorization Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. PROGRAM OF PAYMENTS TO CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS THAT 
                   OPERATE GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 340E of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 256e) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``through 2005 and each 
     of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``through 
     2016'';
       (2) in subsection (f)(1)(A)(iv), by striking ``2011'' and 
     inserting ``2016''; and
       (3) in subsection (f)(2)(D), by striking ``2011'' and 
     inserting ``2016''.
       (b) Report to Congress.--Section 340E(b)(3)(D) of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256e(b)(3)(D)) is 
     amended by striking ``Not later than the end of fiscal year 
     2011'' and inserting ``Not later than the end of fiscal year 
     2015''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Doyle) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
  Mr. PITTS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1852, the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical 
Education Support Reauthorization Act of 2011, would enable the 
Department of Health and Human Services to continue to provide funding 
to freestanding children's hospitals to support the training of 
pediatricians and other residents. This funding is critical to ensuring 
the adequacy of the pediatric workforce in the United States.
  The program was first enacted by Congress in 1999 with wide 
bipartisan support and has been reauthorized twice. Since the enactment 
of the bill, the number of pediatricians trained has increased by 35 
percent.
  The week we marked up this bill, I met 10-year-old Anna Lipsman. Anna 
is a bright, outgoing young girl who is fighting leukemia. Diagnosed 
just a few months ago, Anna spent 2 weeks undergoing treatment at the 
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She is successfully fighting her 
disease, but will still need additional treatments over the next 2\1/2\ 
years. Anna is a strong, personal reminder of why I introduced this 
bill.
  With the reauthorization of H.R. 1852, we hope to send a clear 
message to the Obama administration and the Department of Health and 
Human Services that this bill is important to ensuring that children 
receive adequate health care.
  I would like to thank Mr. Pallone and all the 114 cosponsors that 
worked on this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. DOYLE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Children's Hospital Graduate 
Medical Education Support Reauthorization Act, offered by my good 
friends, Mr. Pitts and Mr. Pallone. I know Mr. Pallone is on his way to 
the floor and will be speaking shortly. This critical legislation will 
reauthorize the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program 
through 2016 to ensure that our children have access to the care they 
need and deserve, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill with 
unanimous support.
  The original bipartisan program was enacted over a decade ago to 
provide children's hospitals across the country with the Federal 
support to implement and carry out necessary residency training 
programs. Last year alone, over 50 children's hospitals received 
funding to carry out these training programs. Today, over 40 percent of 
pediatricians and pediatric specialists are trained through the 
Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program. This program is 
vital to maintaining the pediatric workforce and ensuring children's 
access to the highest levels of pediatric care provided in this 
country.
  The Children's Hospital GME program is a critical investment in our 
children's health, and I am proud today that we will vote to 
reauthorize this hugely successful program.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PITTS. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the subcommittee.
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1852, 
legislation to reauthorize the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical 
Education program.
  Today's legislation will assist pediatric training programs across 
the country by maintaining and strengthening existing hospital graduate 
medical education programs for children.
  Independent children's hospitals have an indispensable role in the 
children's health workforce, training 40 percent of all pediatric 
residents and 43 percent of pediatric specialty fellows, and providing 
pediatric training for many other residents. Nowhere is this more 
evident than Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, New 
Jersey, in the district I have the honor of serving. Under the strong 
leadership of my friend, Amy Mansue, the staff does an excellent job 
training and caring for children and making sure that highly

[[Page H6255]]

qualified, effective medical personnel exist.
  I thank Health Subcommittee Chairman Pitts for his tremendous work in 
this effort, as well as Ranking Member Pallone. And I thank them for 
working in a bipartisan capacity to bring this legislation to the 
floor. I am honored to serve on Chairman Pitts' subcommittee, and I am 
pleased that the full Energy and Commerce Committee has agreed with 
what we have tried to accomplish in the subcommittee.
  I urge all of my colleagues here in the House of Representatives to 
support H.R. 1852. It is essential that this program be reauthorized.
  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, it appears the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pallone) is not here yet. His flight was late getting in.
  Therefore, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PITTS. In conclusion, I would like to thank the ranking member of 
the subcommittee, Mr. Pallone, for his leadership on this issue. It has 
been a bipartisan effort on the Health Subcommittee and Energy and 
Commerce Committee.
  I urge all Members to support the Children's Hospital Graduate 
Education Support Reauthorization Act, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 1852, ``The Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 
2011,'' would amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize 
payments to children's hospitals operating training programs that 
provide graduate medical education. These payments would be made to 
hospitals for both direct and indirect costs related to graduate 
medical education.
  Americans across our nation need care, and the Children's Hospital 
GME (CHGME) program has been utilized by hospitals across our country 
to train doctors who can provide that care. I represent the 18th 
District which is home to the Methodist Hospital System, one of the 
largest medical institutions in the world. In 2010, the Methodist 
Hospital System graduated sixty-nine doctors from the resident CHGME 
program. That is 69 additional doctors who will meet our growing health 
care needs. H.R. 1852 will allow Houston to continue to recruit and 
train so many talented doctors.
  Overall, freestanding children's hospitals have increased their 
medical resident training programs by 35 percent since 1999. If CHGME 
is allowed to expire we will lose the gains we have made in this field. 
There is no reasonable argument for allowing this program to expire as 
it provides a great benefit at a marginal cost. For this fiscal year, 
the program has spent .0085 percent of the federal budget. This small 
expenditure allows children's hospitals to train more than 5,600 full-
time equivalent residents--more than one third of our nation's 
pediatricians.
  According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the nation 
could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 
years. The funds generated from this legislation will help train the 
medical professionals we desperately need. In a time when there are 
growing health disparities within our nation. It is important to 
address the needs of underserved urban areas. The more medicinal 
professionals we train there is an increase likelihood that these 
underserved communities will have access to proper medical care.
  The program supports 56 hospitals nationwide and trains more than 
5,000 medical residents each year. It started 12 years ago as an effort 
to provide children's hospitals with funding for residencies and 
fellowships. There are other federal programs to assist residency 
funding exist; however, the CHGME program caters to pediatrics, while 
others are open to all teaching hospitals.
  This funding is vital as it will help to cover the cost of 5,600 
pediatric residencies at more than 50 children's hospitals across the 
United States. Forty percent of the nation's pediatricians and 43 
percent of pediatric subspecialists receive training from the program. 
We must train the very professionals who will one day save the life of 
a child.
  The CHGME pays for the salaries of medical students and compensate 
hospitals for patient care costs that are often higher in teaching 
hospitals than non-teaching hospitals. We should provide the funds 
necessary to train students in a profession that will benefit society.
  I support this legislation because it will increase the quality of 
medical training in the United States. I believe that H.R. 1852 
improves upon a system that sets the bar for medical care 
internationally. Through government funding, the program has succeeded 
in bolstering research potential at these institutions as well as 
helping to cure a problem that supersedes political boundaries: 
children's illness. This bill creates positive effects that cross party 
lines, and I urge my distinguished colleagues to vote a resounding and 
unified ``yes.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1852.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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