[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5790-S5791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Casey,
Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Reed, Mr.
Murphy, Mr. Brown, Mr. Peters, Mr. Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr.
Menendez, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Smith, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Kaine, Ms.
Rosen, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms.
Cortez Masto, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Wyden, Ms. Cantwell, and Mr. Sanders):
S. 4638. A bill to preserve and promote integrity in scientific
decision-making at the Department of Health and Human Services; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 4638
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 ``Science and Transparency
Over Politics Act''.
SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF POLITICAL INTERFERENCE WITH
DECISIONS OF SCIENTIFIC AGENCIES OF HHS.
(a) Appointment of the Task Force.--
(1) In general.--The Pandemic Response Accountability
Committee established under section 15010 of the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136),
shall appoint, not later than 1 month after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Task Force of the Pandemic
Response Accountability Committee (referred to in this
section as the ``Task Force''), which shall consist of 5
members of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
(2) Qualifications.--The members of the Task Force shall
have expertise in conducting independent audits, evaluations,
and investigations.
(b) Investigations and Reports.--The Task Force shall--
(1) conduct an investigation of political interference with
decisions made by scientific agencies of the Department of
Health and Human Services during the time period described in
subsection (f); and
(2) not later than January 31, 2021, and every 6 months
thereafter, until the date that is 6 months after the end of
the time period described in subsection (f), submit a report
of the findings of such investigation to the Committees on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on
Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives.
(c) Considerations.--In conducting the investigation under
subsection (b), the Task Force shall consider--
(1) emails and other records of communications, including--
(A) communications between the White House, the Department
of Health and Human Services, and scientific agencies of the
Department of Health and Human Services; and
(B) communications between political appointees, career
staff, and contractors within scientific agencies of the
Department of Health and Human Services;
(2) initial, subsequent, and final drafts of scientific
publications or communications, in order to assess changes
made by scientific agencies of the Department of Health and
Human Services as a result of political interference; and
(3) other information, as the Task Force determines
appropriate.
(d) Obstruction of Investigation.--The Task Force shall
notify, in writing, the Committees on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; the Committees on Energy and Commerce
and Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives; and
the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee of any
obstruction, prevention, or delay of information or
communication requested pursuant to the investigation under
subsection (b), not later than 30 days after the Task Force
first requested the information or communication. The
notification shall include--
(1) a description of the information or communication
sought;
(2) the date on which such information or communication was
first requested;
(3) the date of any subsequent effort to obtain the
information or communication; and
(4) a summary of any response from the person from which
the information or communication was requested, including any
explanation by that person of why the requested information
or communication is not being provided.
(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``political interference with decisions made by scientific
agencies of the Health and Human Services'' includes any
significant action by the executive branch of the Federal
Government to--
(1) pressure the Food and Drug Administration to reach a
certain outcome related to a drug, device, or biological
product for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or
prevention of COVID-19;
(2) pressure such agency to make a decision related to a
drug, device, or biological product for the diagnosis, cure,
mitigation, treatment, or prevention of COVID-19 within a
certain timeframe;
(3) prevent such agency from taking an action related to a
drug, device, or biological product for the diagnosis, cure,
mitigation, treatment, or prevention of COVID-19, or from
taking such action within a particular timeframe;
(4) make a decision for the Food and Drug Administration
related to a drug, device, or biological product for the
diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of
COVID-19 that the Food and Drug Administration would make
itself in the ordinary course;
(5) pressure the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
or any other scientific agency of the Department of Health
and Human Services to release, withhold, or modify public
health guidance, data, information, or publications related
to COVID-19 in a manner that is inconsistent with the
conclusion reached by the relevant senior career scientists;
(6) provide a grant, cooperative agreement, award, or other
Federal support through a scientific agency of the Department
of Health and Human Services for an entity or endeavor
related to COVID-19 for reasons other than strengthening the
Nation's COVID-19 response, including with respect to
reducing morbidity and mortality related to COVID-19; or
(7) otherwise influence decisions by scientific agencies of
the Department of Health and Human Services in a manner that
is inconsistent with strengthening the Nation's COVID-19
response, including with respect to reducing morbidity and
mortality related to COVID-19.
(f) Time Period.--The time period described in this
subsection is the period beginning on the effective date of
the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with
respect to COVID-19, and ending on the last day of such
public health emergency.
(g) Clarification.--Nothing in this section shall prevent
the Task Force from releasing any information before January
31, 2021, or before a full report is complete, if the Task
Force determines that the release of such information is in
the public interest.
(h) Funding.--To carry out this section, there are
authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
______
By Mr. COTTON:
S. 4648. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to list
isotonitazene as a schedule I controlled substance; to the Committee on
the Judiciary.
Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, we are facing momentous issues in the
Senate and in Washington and in our Nation.
Today, we are debating a spending bill to keep the government funded
past the end of this month. There are ongoing negotiations to help
provide additional relief to those most affected by the coronavirus.
With the sad news of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
there is now a Supreme Court vacancy as well.
As momentous as these issues are, we ought not miss what is happening
on the streets of America, though, as too many in Washington missed for
years as Americans were dying by the thousands as a result of the
opioid epidemic that hit this country, from prescription pills to
heroin, to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Now, in recent years, Washington has gotten the news, and we have
taken action to try to stem the tide of drug overdoses around our
country.
But the fight continues, so I want to call the Senate and the
Nation's attention to a new threat: isotonitazene. It is harder to
pronounce than fentanyl, but it is equally deadly. It will kill you in
a heartbeat, and it also comes from China. Reports of iso--as this
hard-to-pronounce drug is often called on the street--are still
scattered.
A shipment was seized in Canada early last year. Now it has been
popping up in Europe, in countries as far flung as Belgium, Estonia,
Germany, Latvia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and, at about the same
time, iso has found its way to America as well. It has turned up in
both pill and powder form, seemingly shipped in concentrated, small
quantities that escape detection too often. Once it is here, it is
usually cut with other drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to make them
more powerful and much more deadly.
An unsuspecting drug user can inject a tainted dose or take a
counterfeit
[[Page S5791]]
prescription pill and be dead within minutes. Iso is just like fentanyl
in that regard.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, iso is confirmed to have
killed at least 18 Americans in 4 different States and has been
encountered in at least 48 confirmed incidents across 9 States.
However, it has likely killed many more. We don't know for sure
because tests for iso still are not widely available, given its
novelty, and overdose deaths due to a cocktail of iso mixed with
heroin, cocaine, or other drugs may be inadvertently attributed only to
the known substance.
What we do know is that iso is just the latest weapon that the
Chinese drug dealers are using in their opium war against America.
First, they developed designer fentanyl analogs, which have killed--and
continue to kill--Americans by the thousands.
However, we have taken strong action against fentanyl. Last year, we
passed my legislation, the Fentanyl Sanctions Act, to punish Chinese
drug dealers, and the President--equally important--pressured China's
leader to crack down on underground drug labs in their own country,
which sent nine fentanyl smugglers to prison.
These efforts have made a difference, but the fight is not over.
China's drug dealers have developed a new poison to send to America.
Iso has no recognized medical or industrial use. It is nothing more
and nothing less than a way to profit off of addiction and death. These
Chinese drug dealers want iso to be the new fentanyl, so we have to
take strong action to make sure they fail before more Americans are
killed.
The DEA has already taken swift action by classifying iso as a
schedule I controlled substance, its most restrictive classification.
But this is only a temporary measure that will last 2 years, at most.
Congress should, therefore, act to ensure iso stays on that list for
good. That is why I am introducing legislation to permanently classify
iso as a schedule I controlled substance. This will ensure iso receives
the strictest regulations under our drug laws, and it will help our
brave drug enforcement agents keep this deadly drug off of our streets.
Furthermore, I call upon the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party
to crack down on the production of iso in the Chinese mainland. If the
leaders of the party wish to reduce tensions, if they wish to improve
relations, they ought not to allow their own criminals to manufacture
drugs with no legitimate purpose specifically designed for smuggling
into America to poison our citizens.
I urge my colleagues and the administration to join in this effort to
stop iso before it spreads even further. This drug has already killed
too many of our fellow citizens. We need to stop it before it kills
even more.
______
By Mr. SCHUMER:
S. 4653. A bill to protect the healthcare of hundreds of millions of
people of the United States and prevent efforts of the Department of
Justice to advocate courts to strike down the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act; read the first time.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 4653
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROHIBITING DOJ EFFORTS TO ADVOCATE COURTS TO
STRIKE DOWN PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE
CARE ACT.
The Department of Justice may not in any case, including in
California v. Texas, No. 19-840 (U.S. cert. granted Mar. 2,
2020), advocate that a court invalidate any provision of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-
148; 124 Stat. 119) or any amendment made by that Act.
______
By Ms. HIRONO:
S. 4656. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for
a reduction in certain loan fees for certain veterans affected by major
disasters; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Ms. HIRONO. M. President, in 2018, Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupted,
destroying upwards of 700 homes, including a home purchased by a
veteran using the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program. When this veteran went
to replace the home he had lost by once again using the Home Loan
Guaranty Program, he found that he would be forced to pay significantly
higher fees for using the program a second time.
Our Nation's veterans should not be penalized for losing their homes
to natural disasters and it is for this reason that I come to the floor
today to introduce the Veteran Home Loan Disaster Recovery Act of 2020.
Congress has established a variety of programs in pursuit of both
thanking our Nation's veterans and ensuring that they are able to live
comfortable lives after their service has ended. One of these programs
is the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, which provides eligible veterans
the opportunity to access mortgages backed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Under the program the VA guarantees a portion of a
home loan from a private lender allowing the veteran borrower to
receive favorable mortgage terms.
Participants in this program are required to pay a funding fee in
place of closing cost and that fee increases based on various factors,
including whether this is a veteran's first time using the program or
if they have previously had a VA Home Loan. For those who have used the
loan before, the fee is higher, regardless of the circumstances that
led to their needing to purchase a home through the program, including
if their previous home was destroyed by a natural disaster.
The Veteran Home Loan Disaster Recovery Act of 2020 would exempt
program participants from the subsequent loan funding fee increase if
they lost their first home to a natural disaster, allowing them to
access a lower rate as if they were a first-time participant in the
program.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in 2019,
there were 101 Presidentially-declared disasters across the Nation. So
far in 2020, there have been 92 major disaster declarations alone.
Right now, wildfires rage in different parts of the Nation, and we are
in the midst of hurricane season in both the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans.
As we continue to experience raging wildfires, volcanic eruptions,
and massive hurricanes, it is critical that we ensure that we work to
limit the ripple effects from these disasters. Giving veterans the
ability to replace homes lost through no fault of their own is one step
in that direction.
____________________