[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 199 (Thursday, December 12, 2019)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1367-D1369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
 Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 22 public bills, H.R. 5406-
5427; and 4 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 79-80; and H. Res. 762-763 were 
introduced.                                             
  Pages H10257-58
Additional Cosponsors:                                      
  Page H10259
Reports Filed: Reports were filed today as follows:
  H.R. 1620, to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 
reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Program (H. Rept. 116-338);
  H.R. 2548, to modify eligibility requirements for certain hazard 
mitigation assistance programs, and for other purposes, with an 
amendment (H. Rept. 116-339, Part 1);
  H.R. 4719, to amend the Federal share of the fishing safety standards 
grants, with an amendment (H. Rept. 116-340);
  H.R. 3256, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to reauthorize 
and improve the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program, and 
for other purposes, with an amendment (H. Rept. 116-341, Part 1);
  H.R. 4704, to direct the Director of the National Science Foundation 
to support multidisciplinary research on the science of suicide, and to 
advance the knowledge and understanding of issues that may be 
associated with several aspects of suicide including intrinsic and 
extrinsic factors related to areas such as wellbeing, resilience, and 
vulnerability, with an amendment (H. Rept. 116-342);
  H.R. 5065, to amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry 
entrepreneurship counseling and

[[Page D1368]]

training services for formerly incarcerated individuals, and for other 
purposes (H. Rept. 116-343); and
  H.R. 5078, to amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry 
entrepreneurship counseling and training services for incarcerated 
individuals, and for other purposes (H. Rept. 116-344). 
                                                        Pages H10256-57
Meeting Hour: Agreed by unanimous consent that when the House adjourns 
today, it adjourn to meet at 12 noon tomorrow, December 13th. 
                                                            Page H10127
Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act: The House passed H.R. 3, 
to establish a fair price negotiation program, protect the Medicare 
program from excessive price increases, and establish an out-of-pocket 
maximum for Medicare part D enrollees, by a yea-and-nay vote of 230 
yeas to 192 nays, Roll No. 682. Consideration began yesterday, December 
11th.                                               
  Pages H10129-H10225
  Rejected the Upton motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce with instructions to report the same back to the 
House forthwith with an amendment, by a yea-and-nay vote of 196 yeas to 
226 nays, Roll No. 681.                                 
                                                        Pages H10223-24
                                                             Agreed to:
  Tonko amendment (No. 2 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
requires CMS to create and implement a measure in the Star Ratings 
program evaluating Medicare Advantage and Part D plans on how well they 
provide access to biosimilar drugs;                     
                                                        Pages H10202-04
  Peters amendment (No. 3 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize a pilot program to 
develop, expand, and enhance the commercialization of biomedical 
products, and for other purposes;                       
                                                        Pages H10204-05
  Kennedy amendment (No. 4 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
requires another Senate confirmed officer with HHS to carry out the 
negotiation duties should the Secretary of HHS have a conflict of 
interest; the General Counsel of HHS would be responsible for 
identifying these conflicts;                            
                                                        Pages H10205-06
  Kennedy amendment (No. 6 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
expresses the Sense of Congress regarding the impact of the high cost 
of prescription drugs on communities of color and persons living in 
rural or sparsely populated areas of the United States; 
                                                        Pages H10208-10
  Axne amendment (No. 8 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
establishes a grant program for states to reduce the burdens associated 
with health care administrative work and reduces HHS administrative 
costs by 50% over 10 years;                             
                                                        Pages H10211-14
   Finkenauer amendment (No. 9 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) 
that requires drug companies to disclose truthful and non-misleading 
pricing information about prescription drugs and biological products 
when they advertise these products directly to consumers; 
                                                        Pages H10214-15
   Houlahan amendment (No. 12 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) 
that increases funding for clinical trials at NIH and ban the use of 
spread pricing by PBMs as it relates to Medicaid;       
                                                        Pages H10217-19
   O'Halleran amendment (No. 5 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) 
that creates a grant program within HHS for hospitals located in rural 
and medically underserved areas, including Critical Access Hospitals, 
to cover the start-up costs for establishing a Graduate Medical 
Education (GME) program or a partnership with a hospital that has an 
existing program; would include a reporting requirement for GAO to 
analyze whether residents continue to practice in a rural or medically 
underserved area after completing their training (by a recorded vote of 
351 ayes to 73 noes, Roll No. 677);             
                                                Pages H10206-08, H10220
   Gottheimer amendment (No. 7 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) 
that requires an HHS study to identify conditions without an FDA-
approved treatment where the development of a treatment would fill an 
unmet medical need for a serious or life-threatening condition or rare 
disease; requires HHS to identify appropriate incentives that would 
lead to the development of such treatments (by a recorded vote of 380 
ayes to 45 noes, Roll No. 678);                 
                                                Pages H10210-11, H10221
   Luria amendment (No. 10 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
makes clear that federal employee health plans are covered by the price 
reduction provisions of the bill (by a recorded vote of 231 ayes to 192 
noes, Roll No. 679); and                     
                                             Pages H10215-16, H10221-22
   Cunningham amendment (No. 11 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) 
that allows the Veteran's Administration to benefit from Maximum Fair 
Pricing guidelines (by a recorded vote of 234 ayes to 192 noes, Roll 
No. 680).                                       
                                                Pages H10216-17, H10222
                                                              Rejected:
   Walden amendment (No. 1 printed in part B of H. Rept. 116-334) that 
sought to include provisions in the bill related to Medicare Parts B&D, 
drug price transparency, Medicare Part D benefit redesign, MedPAC, 
Medicaid, FDA, and revenue provisions (by a recorded vote of 201 ayes 
to 223 noes, Roll No. 676).              
                                         Pages H10167-H10202, H10219-20

[[Page D1369]]


   H. Res. 758, the rule providing for consideration of the bills (H.R. 
3) and (H.R. 5038) and the conference report to accompany the bill (S. 
1790) was agreed to yesterday, December 11th.
 Senate Message: Message received from the Senate today appears on page 
H10234.
 Quorum Calls--Votes: Two yea-and-nay votes and five recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H10219-
20, H10220, H10221, H10221-22, H10222, H10224, and H10225. There were 
no quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 4:12 p.m.
Program for Friday: House will meet in Pro Forma session at 12 noon.