[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5008-H5010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2020

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2075) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize 
school-based health centers, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2075

       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 ``School-Based Health Centers 
     Reauthorization Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS.

       (a) Elimination of Limitation on Eligibility of Health 
     Centers.--
       (1) Repeal.--Section 399Z-1(f)(3) of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280h-5(f)(3)) is amended by striking 
     subparagraph (B).
       (2) Conforming change.--Section 399Z-1(f)(3) of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280h-5(f)(3)) is amended by 
     striking

[[Page H5009]]

     ``Limitations'' and all that follows through ``Any provider 
     of services'' and inserting ``Limitation.--Any provider of 
     services''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 399Z-1(l) of 
     the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280h-5(l)) is 
     amended by striking ``2010 through 2014'' and inserting 
     ``2021 through 2025''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 2075.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2075, the School-Based 
Health Centers Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes school-based 
health centers.
  These centers serve as critical access points that provide 
comprehensive care to children and adolescents in their school, a 
location that is safe, convenient, and accessible. They provide this 
care through partnerships with community health providers, such as 
federally qualified health centers, public health departments, 
hospitals, schools, and other community institutions.
  School-based health centers serve primarily low-income and medically 
underserved populations of children and adolescents. These centers, 
Madam Speaker, are a powerful tool for achieving health equity among 
children and adolescents who unjustly experience disparities in health 
outcomes because of ethnicity, race, or family income.
  While many communities struggle with ways to keep students healthy, 
school-based health centers are more important than ever. H.R. 2075 
would reauthorize school-based health centers through fiscal year 2024, 
ensuring continued access to these centers for the children and 
families who need them most.
  I want to thank Representatives Sarbanes, Tonko, Upton, and Stefanik 
for their bipartisan leadership on this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2075. This is the 
School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act of 2020. It was 
introduced by Representative Sarbanes, whom I know we are going to hear 
from in a moment; Congressman Upton, former chairman of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee; and Representatives Stefanik and Tonko.
  This bill reauthorizes the School-Based Health Centers program, which 
supports the provision of primary care, behavioral healthcare, dental 
health, counseling, nutritional education, and so many other really 
critical health services in our schools.
  Madam Speaker, I remember back in my days in the State legislature 
supporting community-based, school-based healthcare because, 
oftentimes, this was the only place many of our children could get 
basic healthcare services. It is so essential.
  I know, during the pandemic, we are getting reports from our doctors 
and others that say this loss of access to these kinds of services is 
taking its toll, especially in mental health services.
  These health centers usually operate as a partnership between the 
school and a community health organization so that the services 
provided by the health center best meet the needs of the community and 
the local school district.
  As I said, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for basic 
healthcare has not gone away just because students are learning from 
home. School-based health centers will continue to help in keeping 
students healthy and ready to learn, and we should reauthorize them, as 
we do in this act.
  So I urge support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes).
  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Pallone for his 
leadership of our committee with respect to all of these bills, 
particularly the health bills we are talking about today, and, also, 
Ranking Member Walden. As you know, many of these are bipartisan. They 
reflect the input and work of Members over a period of years.
  I am very pleased that H.R. 2075, the School-Based Health Centers 
Reauthorization Act, is on the floor today. I introduced this bill with 
our colleagues, Representatives Stefanik, Tonko, and Upton. I want to 
thank them for their work and the bipartisan dimension of this effort.
  This would reauthorize, as was indicated, Federal support for school-
based health centers through 2024. These are institutions that provide 
critical primary and mental health services to vulnerable children and 
youth.
  ``Institutions'' may not be the best word. Teams of professionals, I 
think, is how you describe these school-based health centers across the 
country.
  These health centers really marshal response to the needs of young 
people in schools in a way that you really can't replicate anywhere 
else in the community. That is why they are so vital.
  They offer comprehensive healthcare to youth, delivering it in a 
setting where they already spend, obviously, much of their time, a 
captive audience, in a sense. Let's take advantage of that and provide 
the services that they need.
  There are 80 school-based health centers in the State of Maryland--I 
am familiar with many of them, having visited a number--and over 2,500 
of them nationwide that serve 6.3 million students. Many of these 
school-based health centers provide care to underserved communities. In 
fact, over a third of them are located in rural areas.
  What the research shows us is that, when a student has access to a 
school-based health center, we see a decrease in negative outcomes, 
such as asthma morbidity and the rate of hospital admissions, while 
educational outcomes, such as school performance and graduation rates, 
increase.

  Now, of course, the services that school-based health centers provide 
are needed more than ever, given the coronavirus pandemic. Young people 
are grappling with uncertainty and changes to their lives, and being 
able to receive care in a familiar and supportive setting is critically 
important.
  Again, I thank my colleagues for their support of this, and I urge 
all of the Members to support this bill.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I call on my colleagues to support this 
important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as the Founding Chair of the 
Congressional Children's Caucus and a senior member of the Judiciary 
and Homeland Security Committees, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
2075, the ``School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act,'' which 
reauthorizes school-based health centers through Fiscal Year 2024 as 
well as make technical changes that allow more health centers, that 
serve medically underserved children and adolescents, to quality for 
funding.
  First and foremost, I would like to thank Representatives Sarbanes, 
Tonko, Stefanik, and Upton for their leadership on this key piece of 
legislation.
  In 2014, the authorization for school-based health centers lapsed.
  By passing H.R. 2075, Congress would rectify this issue and help 
deliver primary care, including dental screenings and mental health 
services, to millions of American students.
  These health centers are a powerful tool for achieving health equity 
among children and adolescents who unjustly experience disparities in 
outcomes because of their race and family income.
  Improved access to school-based health centers is tied to reducing 
negative health outcomes, such as asthma morbidity and the rate of 
hospital admissions as well as increasing positive outcomes like 
educational outcomes, school performance, and graduation rates.
  Across the United States, there are over 2,500 school-based health 
centers and approximately one-third of them are in rural

[[Page H5010]]

areas, which traditionally suffer from limited access to care.
  The coronavirus pandemic has shed a light on the current disparities 
riddled throughout our health care system.
  As an increasing number of students go back to school, schools are on 
the front line in terms of managing the pandemic, and school-based 
health centers will be at the center of that response, making this 
reauthorization more essential than ever.
  We must utilize this opportunity to strengthen these programs with 
additional federal funding.
  I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together and 
pass this important legislation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2075, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________