[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2020

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 19, 2019

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3055) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, 
     Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2020, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Chair, my amendment would place a funding 
limitation on the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to utilize 
the Title 42 hiring authority.
  The Title 42 hiring authority gives the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS) the ability to incentivize and expedite the 
recruitment of scientists and other experts working in the cutting edge 
of public health. Congress authorized this authority for HHS alone in 
the 1940s. However, in 2006, this authority was extended to the 
Environmental Protection Agency by an appropriations bill--it did not 
go through the authorization process.
  A 2015 report by the EPA's Office of Inspector General discovered 
that the EPA did not properly demonstrate a need to use the Title 42 
hiring authority, nor did it provide clear and convincing justification 
for its continued use. As of 2015, the total annual salary for EPA 
Title 42 appointments is between $3.5 million and $6.75 million. This 
is just further evidence that the EPA's use of the Title 42 hiring 
authority must come to an end. The ability of the EPA to hire outside 
of the regular General Services scale must first go through regular 
order.
  I urge support for this amendment so that Congress has the time to 
fully review this problematic hiring authority before appropriating 
additional funding.