[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 5, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H62-H66]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2021

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 22) to amend the Federal Funding 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, to require the budget 
justifications and appropriation requests of agencies be made publicly 
available.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 22

       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 ``Congressional Budget 
     Justification Transparency Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS AND 
                   APPROPRIATION REQUESTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
     282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 3. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

       ``(a) In General.--Not less frequently than monthly when 
     practicable, and in any event not less frequently than 
     quarterly, the Secretary (in consultation with the Director 
     and, with respect to information described in subsection 
     (b)(2), the head of the applicable agency) shall ensure that 
     updated information with respect to the information described 
     in subsection (b) is posted on the website established under 
     section 2.
       ``(b) Information To Be Posted.--
       ``(1) Funds.--For any funds made available to or expended 
     by a Federal agency or component of a Federal agency, the 
     information to be posted shall include--
       ``(A) for each appropriations account, including an expired 
     or unexpired appropriations account, the amount--
       ``(i) of budget authority appropriated;
       ``(ii) that is obligated;
       ``(iii) of unobligated balances; and
       ``(iv) of any other budgetary resources;
       ``(B) from which accounts and in what amount--
       ``(i) appropriations are obligated for each program 
     activity; and
       ``(ii) outlays are made for each program activity;
       ``(C) from which accounts and in what amount--
       ``(i) appropriations are obligated for each object class; 
     and
       ``(ii) outlays are made for each object class; and
       ``(D) for each program activity, the amount--
       ``(i) obligated for each object class; and
       ``(ii) of outlays made for each object class.
       ``(2) Budget justifications.--
       ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term `budget 
     justification materials' means the annual budget 
     justification materials of an agency that are submitted, in 
     conjunction with the budget of the United States Government 
     submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 
     Code, but does not include budget justification materials 
     that are classified.
       ``(B) Information.--The information to be posted shall 
     include any budget justification materials--
       ``(i) for the second fiscal year beginning after the date 
     of enactment of this paragraph, and each fiscal year 
     thereafter; and
       ``(ii) to the extent practicable, that were released for 
     any fiscal year before the date of enactment of this 
     paragraph.
       ``(C) Format.--Budget justification materials shall be 
     posted under subparagraph (B)--
       ``(i) as an open Government data asset (as defined under 
     section 3502 of title 44, United States Code);
       ``(ii) in a manner that enables users to download 
     individual reports, download all reports in bulk, and 
     download in bulk the results of a search, to the extent 
     practicable; and
       ``(iii) in a structured data format, to the extent 
     practicable.
       ``(D) Deadline.--The budget justification materials 
     required to be posted under subparagraph (B)(i) shall be 
     posted not later than 2 weeks after the date on which the 
     budget justification materials are first submitted to 
     Congress.
       ``(E) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall be construed to authorize an agency to destroy any 
     budget justification materials relating to a fiscal year 
     before the fiscal year described in subparagraph (B)(i).''.
       (b) Information Regarding Agency Budget Justifications.--
     Section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(i)(1) The Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget shall make publicly available on a website, and 
     continuously update, a tabular list for each fiscal year of 
     each agency that submits budget justification materials, 
     which shall include--
       ``(A) the name of the agency;
       ``(B) a unique identifier that identifies the agency;
       ``(C) to the extent practicable, the date on which the 
     budget justification materials of the agency are first 
     submitted to Congress;
       ``(D) the date on which the budget justification materials 
     of the agency are posted online under section 3 of the 
     Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006;
       ``(E) the uniform resource locator where the budget 
     justification materials are published on the website of the 
     agency; and
       ``(F) a single data set that contains the information 
     described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) with respect to 
     the agency for all fiscal years for which budget 
     justifications of the agency are made available under section 
     3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act 
     of 2006 in a structured data format.
       ``(2)(A) Each agency that submits budget justification 
     materials shall make the materials available on the website 
     of the agency, in accordance with the policies established by 
     the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under 
     subparagraph (B).
       ``(B) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
     in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 
     establish policies for agencies relating to making available 
     materials under subparagraph (A), which shall include 
     guidelines for making budget justification materials 
     available in a format aligned with the requirements of 
     section 3(b)(2)(C) of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006 and using a uniform resource locator 
     that is in a consistent format across agencies and is 
     descriptive, memorable, and pronounceable, such as the format 
     of `agencyname.gov/budget'.
       ``(C) If the Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget maintains a public website that contains the budget of 
     the United States Government submitted under subsection (a) 
     and any related materials, such website shall also contain a 
     link to the tabular list required under paragraph (1).
       ``(3) In this subsection, the term `budget justification 
     materials' has the meaning given that term in section 3 of 
     the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
     2006.''.

     SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. 
Palmer) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. 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 the measure 
before us.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us, the Congressional Budget 
Justification Transparency Act, is a commonsense, good-government 
measure every Member should support.
  It would require the congressional budget justification documents 
that agencies prepare for congressional committees to be posted online 
in a centralized, searchable database. This would make these detailed, 
plain-language explanations of how agencies plan to spend taxpayer 
dollars more accessible to the public.
  I thank Representative   Mike Quigley for his work on this bill. He 
has a long

[[Page H63]]

history as a strong advocate of transparency in the operations of the 
Federal Government.
  This bill builds on the work of the committee to improve government 
transparency by allowing the public to more easily learn how Federal 
agencies spend their taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 22, the Congressional Budget 
Justification Transparency Act.
  The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act is a long-
overdue reform that would ensure Congress and the Nation's taxpayers 
can understand the full scope and context of the annual Federal budget.
  I thank my colleagues, Congressman   Mike Quigley and Ranking Member  
 James Comer, for working together on this important bipartisan 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 22 will truly open up the executive branch annual 
budget request and provide needed transparency of each agency's 
detailed budget justifications. The American public and each of their 
congressional Representatives deserve full access to the annual agency 
plans to spend their hard-earned tax dollars.
  This past year alone, the Federal Government spent more than $6.5 
trillion. Public spending transparency resources, like USAspending.gov, 
are currently helping the public track ongoing agency spending 
activity. However, the annual congressional budget justifications 
provide detailed and plain language explanations of how each Federal 
agency plans to spend congressional appropriations.
  Currently, these valuable budget documents are sent directly to 
congressional appropriators and are then posted across hundreds of 
disconnected agency web pages. This makes them extremely hard to track 
down.
  H.R. 22 simply requires the budget justifications of every agency to 
be made publicly available on a single website. To do this, the bill 
requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue a full listing of 
agency budget justifications and the individual agency web pages where 
they are posted. This will assure the public that they have access to 
the complete publication of these authoritative budget resources.
  The bill also requires the U.S. Treasury Department to centrally 
publish all the materials on USAspending.gov as open data.
  As established in 2014 by the DATA Act, USAspending.gov is quickly 
becoming the primary public resource for the public to track how the 
government is using their tax dollars. Adding congressional budget 
justifications to USAspending.gov will provide even better context to 
agency spending activity.
  Thanks to another House Committee on Oversight and Reform-produced 
law, the 2018 Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act, 
congressional budget justifications also now list unimplemented 
inspector general audit and GAO report recommendations. This means H.R. 
22 will also help Congress and the public annually track open IG and 
GAO oversight recommendations.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Quigley). I urge 
my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes 
to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise in support of my 
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act, H.R. 22.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will put on his mask.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is a bipartisan bill that addresses the 
lack of transparency around the documents that explain why executive 
agencies are requesting funds from Congress. These justifications shed 
light on the work and priorities of the Federal Government far more 
effectively than high-level spending figures.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2018 and 2019, Congress encouraged OMB to publish all 
executive branch congressional budget justification materials on a 
centralized web portal. However, there is no legal requirement for 
congressional budget justifications to be posted on a centralized 
portal or on agency websites.
  For these reasons, agencies are inconsistent in posting congressional 
budget justifications online, making them difficult to access because 
they are either not publicly available or are scattered across the 
internet.
  Mr. Speaker, my bill will strengthen Federal Government transparency 
by requiring Federal agencies to publish their annual budget 
justifications online in a central location. This will better allow 
oversight of our government and allow the American people to verify 
that their taxpayer dollars are being used wisely to invest in their 
communities.

  All Illinoisans and Americans should get the transparency they 
deserve on government spending, and the bill does just that.
  Mr. Speaker, I recognize Chairwoman Maloney and Ranking Member Comer 
for their unwavering support for this bill and for prioritizing this 
legislation early on in the 117th Congress. I thank them again for 
their leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
  Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I strongly 
urge my colleagues to support this commonsense transparency 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes 
to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her 
leadership and continued respect for the oversight of this body. And I 
particularly thank the gentleman from Illinois and his cosponsors for 
this very astute legislation.
  I join with my bipartisan colleagues to indicate that the 
transparency of funding by way of the budget process is absolutely 
crucial to be able to be guided by what is right, as well, to ensure 
that we, the Congress, have a knowledge of the importance of the 
funding process, the importance of the programs that are used for 
taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just take a microcosm of what I believe will be 
an important aspect of this. Why don't I take COVID-19 as an example?
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have been hearing from all over the 
Nation that the Federal Government needs to be in charge. The agency 
that I think would be most effective as a national coordinator of 
vaccine transport and delivery is FEMA.
  For safe and effective supply chain transport, delivery, and site use 
of vaccines, FEMA has the ability to tell other agencies what to do or 
to be able to be part of the success of the distribution of these 
vaccines. They have broad stakeholder engagement. FEMA has personnel 
all over the Nation, and they are not in the business of picking 
business winners or losers. And implementing CDC COVID-19 vaccine 
recommendations, they know how to do that.
  Mr. Speaker, I say thank you to all the private-sector volunteers, 
all the pharmacies located in grocery stores and well-known chains, but 
that is not working. It is not going to work.
  This particular legislation would let us know the budget plan of an 
agency, like FEMA, which really looms large in our lives because 
whether you have experienced a fire in California, or whether or not 
you have experienced Hurricane Harvey in Texas, or whether or not you 
have experienced tornadoes, FEMA has been on the ground. They know how 
to put large efforts together. They can lead the effort for vaccine 
delivery so that we don't have these kinds of episodes.
  ``One American dies from COVID-19 every 33 seconds.'' Mr. Speaker, I 
include in the Record an article.

                        [From CNN, Jan. 5, 2021]

One American Dies From Covid-19 Every 33 Seconds as the Vaccine Rollout 
                               Hits Snags

                  (By Holly Yan and Madeline Holcombe)

       While hopes of vaccinating 20 million people by New Year's 
     Day sputtered out, the US now faces staggering new challenges 
     in the fight against Covid-19.
       Over the past week, the US has averaged 2,637 coronavirus 
     deaths every day, according to Johns Hopkins University.
       That's an average of one Covid-19 death every 33 seconds.
       December was the deadliest month yet of this pandemic, with 
     77,572 lives lost. And

[[Page H64]]

     deaths are likely to accelerate as new infections and 
     hospitalizations rise.
       On Monday, more people were hospitalized with Covid-19 than 
     any other day in this pandemic--128,210, according to the 
     Covid Tracking Project.
       The US averaged 213,437 new infections every day over the 
     past week, largely fueled by holiday gatherings, health 
     experts say.
       But while daily new infections soared 16% over the past 
     week, testing has actually decreased 11.65% over the past 
     week, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
       Doctors worry this rampant spread of Covid-19 will push 
     more hospitals beyond capacity and lead to more deaths as the 
     vaccine rollout staggers along.


           The possibility of giving half-doses of a vaccine

       About 15.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed in 
     the US, but only 4.5 million people have received their first 
     doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 
     Monday.
       That's far behind what officials had hoped for by now. And 
     it means herd immunity is still many months away.
       ``We agree that there is a lag. We'll work with the 
     states,'' said Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser of the 
     federal Operation Warp Speed vaccination effort.
       To help expedite vaccinations, the US might start giving 
     half-doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine to people age 18 to 
     55, which could make the vaccine available to twice as many 
     people in that age group, Slaoui said.
       Slaoui said Sunday the US Food and Drug Administration 
     would meet this week to consider the idea.
       But the FDA commissioner and its vaccine division chief 
     said in a joint statement that people need to get two full 
     doses instead of two half-doses.
       ``At this time, suggesting changes to the FDA-authorized 
     dosing or schedules of these vaccines is premature and not 
     rooted solidly in the available evidence,'' said FDA 
     Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Peter Marks, who heads 
     the agency's vaccine division. ``Without appropriate data 
     supporting such changes in vaccine administration, we run a 
     significant risk of placing public health at risk, 
     undermining the historic vaccination efforts to protect the 
     population from Covid-19.''
       It's understandable that people may want to stretch the 
     vaccine supply, they said. But it's not advisable.
       ``If people do not truly know how protective a vaccine is, 
     there is the potential for harm because they may assume that 
     they are fully protected when they are not, and accordingly, 
     alter their behavior to take unnecessary risks,'' they said.
       The two 100-microgram Moderna vaccine doses are intended to 
     be spaced 28 days apart.
       CNN has reached out to Moderna for comment.
       Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George 
     Washington University, said he does not agree with the idea 
     of half-doses.
       ``We have about 13 million doses that have been shipped out 
     to the states, and only barely 4 million doses that have gone 
     into arms. So the bottleneck is not the lack of availability 
     of vaccine. The bottleneck is actually the logistics of 
     vaccinating people in this country.''
       It's difficult enough to get some patients on board with 
     getting a vaccine, he said. Going against the recommended 
     dosing could hurt patients' confidence.
       ``When I see people in clinic, I talk about the vaccine 
     every single day. I'm trying to reduce vaccine hesitancy,'' 
     Reiner said Monday.
       ``And the strongest weapon I have is the data. I can tell 
     people that these two vaccines have been studied in 70,000 
     people--more than 70,000 people--in this two-dose strategy. 
     And when given that way, they're both 95% effective, and 
     basically no one gets critically ill if you get this vaccine. 
     . . . Once you break from the data, I can no longer say 
     that.''


       Study says holding back fewer doses could cut cases by 29%

       Right now, the federal government is allocating about half 
     of the vaccines being produced. The other half is held in 
     reserve to be used as a second dose or as replacements in 
     cases where doses are unusable.
       But by reducing the amount withheld to 10% for the first 
     three weeks and supplying a steady dose of 6 million doses 
     per week, the US could avoid up to 29% more coronavirus cases 
     over eight weeks, a study published in the Annals of Internal 
     Medicine found.
       ``We find that under most plausible scenarios, a more 
     balanced approach that withholds fewer doses during early 
     distribution in order to vaccinate more people as soon as 
     possible could substantially increase the benefits of 
     vaccines, while enabling most recipients to receive second 
     doses on schedule,'' write the study's authors, who were 
     supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and 
     the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
       The researchers modeled several scenarios, with variables 
     including vaccine supply, protection provided by the first 
     dose, and waning efficacy of a first dose if a second dose is 
     delayed.


           An emergency department employee dies of Covid-19

       In California, health care workers are treating an 
     unprecedented number of Covid-19 patients. Sometimes, those 
     patients are colleagues.
       At Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, 44 emergency 
     department employees tested positive for Covid-19 between 
     December 27 and January 1, said Irene Chavez, senior vice 
     president and area manager.
       On Monday, the hospital said one employee who was working 
     on Christmas has died of Covid-19.
       ``Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this 
     terrible loss,'' the hospital said in a statement. ``We are 
     providing support to our employees during this difficult 
     time,'' according to a statement from the hospital.
       Over the weekend, Chavez said the medical center is 
     investigating whether an inflatable, air-powered costume may 
     have played a role in the spread.
       ``A staff member did appear briefly in the emergency 
     department on December 25th wearing an air-powered costume,'' 
     she said.
       ``Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely 
     innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no 
     Covid symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those 
     around them during what is a very stressful time.''
       Chavez said air-powered costumes will no longer be allowed 
     at the facility.
       ``If anything, this should serve as a very real reminder 
     that the virus is widespread, and often without symptoms, and 
     we must all be vigilant,'' she said.


                        `A rough start to 2021'

       On Sunday, five states reported their highest number of new 
     infections ever in one day--Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, 
     South Carolina and Washington.
       And over the past week, at least five states have average 
     test positivity rates higher than 40%--meaning more than 40% 
     of people who take a Covid-19 test get a positive result.
       Those states include Idaho (57%), Alabama (46.7%), Iowa 
     (44.6%), Pennsylvania (44%) and South Dakota (43.8%). For 
     perspective, the WHO has recommended governments not reopen 
     until the test positivity rates stays at or below 5% for 14 
     days.
       In South Carolina, which had a 29.6% test positivity rate 
     Sunday, officials in four counties said their hospitals were 
     at 100% capacity, according to the South Carolina Department 
     of Health and Environmental Control.
       ``We're in for a bit of a rough start to 2021,'' said Maria 
     Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead 
     for Covid-19 response.
       But it's possible daily life in the US could be closer to 
     normal by the summer or fall, she said. Other countries are 
     already well on their way--thanks to quarantining, testing, 
     isolation and contact tracing.
       ``We've seen countries bring this virus to its knees, 
     without vaccination,'' Van Kerkhove said. ``We have the tools 
     at hand right now to actually bring this virus under 
     control.''

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. The city of Houston has done a phenomenal job by 
trying to open up these centers, but guess what? They are looking for 
their next delivery. We should not be looking for the next delivery. 
The delivery should be organized, logistically. It should be stored on 
the ground.
  ``Houston, have you finished your utilization? Are you ready for your 
next?''
  ``L.A., have you finished your utilization? Are you ready for your 
next?''
  That is not happening.
  ``COVID vaccine rollout is going about as well as you'd feared.'' Mr. 
Speaker, I include in the Record that article, along with an article 
regarding the opening of Houston's first public COVID-19 vaccine 
location.

      COVID Vaccine Rollout Is Going About As Well As You'd Feared

       Texans are beginning the new year the same way we spent 
     much of the last one: straggling through a devastating 
     pandemic with a patchy public health infrastructure, a 
     confusing mishmash of rules and procedures, and an ominous 
     absence of effective statewide leadership.
       We have a COVID-19 vaccine now: that's the good news. Two 
     of them, actually, one by Pfizer and the other by Moderna, 
     both developed as part of the federal Operation Warp Speed 
     and approved by the Federal Drug Administration for emergency 
     use last month.
       We knew that distributing hundreds of millions of vaccines 
     would be a challenge. Each requires two doses and careful 
     handling--including ultra-cold storage for the Pfizer 
     vaccine. Each is being distributed to a population that 
     includes potential recipients skeptical of vaccines in 
     general, and the COVID vaccine in particular.
       But we had several months to figure this out. And it's 
     quickly become painfully clear that we didn't.
       In Phase 1A of the plan put forward by the Texas Department 
     of State Health Services, the first doses of the vaccine were 
     distributed to front-line health care workers and residents 
     of long-term care facilities, beginning last month. On 
     Tuesday, the state announced that vaccine providers could 
     begin immunizing Texans in group 1B--those over age 65 and 
     those with pre-existing conditions.

[[Page H65]]

       The experiences of Texans in that group gives you the 
     impression that we've responded to an ongoing crisis with a 
     maddening, high-stakes scavenger hunt. In Harris County, for 
     example, there are dozens of providers that have partnered 
     with the state to distribute vaccines, but making an 
     appointment at any of them seems to require persistence, 
     endless phone calls, and a hefty dose of luck.
       Overall, the distribution process has been inefficient and 
     confusing. As of Dec. 31, according to DSHS, some 283,000 
     people across Texas--roughly 45,000 in Harris County--had 
     received the first dose of the vaccine. That's of the 773,000 
     doses the state had shipped to various providers, up to that 
     point.
       And it's a worrisomely low figure, according to public 
     health professionals, given that we'll need to vaccinate up 
     to 80 percent of the population to achieve the herd immunity 
     that will allow normal life to resume. Dr. Peter Hotez, 
     professor and dean of the National School of Tropical 
     Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, has pointed to the 
     straightforward back-of-the-envelope math: with roughly 30 
     million people in Texas, we should be aiming for a million 
     immunizations a week to achieve herd immunity by mid-year.
       Last week, as these difficulties began coming to light, 
     Gov. Greg Abbott pointed the finger at the state's hospitals 
     and other vaccine providers.
       ``A significant portion of vaccines distributed across 
     Texas might be sitting on hospital shelves as opposed to 
     being given to vulnerable Texans,'' Abbott said on Twitter.
       ``The state urges vaccine providers to quickly provide all 
     shots,'' he continued. ``We get plenty more each week.''
       In the Houston area, at least, providers say they're doing 
     just that. And Texans are having unpleasant memories of the 
     early days of the pandemic, when state leaders such as Abbott 
     took a largely hands-off approach to the public health 
     response--intervening only when local leaders in cities such 
     as Houston and Austin crossed what he deemed to be a red 
     line.
       ``Here we are, once again, hoping that private companies 
     will figure out a decent vaccine distribution system since 
     the State of Texas sure hasn't,'' said state Rep. Erin 
     Zwiener, a Democrat, on Twitter. ``But that means it will be 
     disparate and confusing and hard for our constituents to 
     navigate.''
       These issues aren't unique to Texas. Even states with 
     relatively robust public health systems have seen what 
     Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker described this week as a 
     ``lumpy and bumpy'' rollout.
       An exasperated U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah vented in a 
     statement on New Year's Day.
       ``That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been 
     developed at the federal level and sent to the states as 
     models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable,'' Romney 
     said.
       ``It was unrealistic to assume that the health care workers 
     already overburdened with COVID care could take on a massive 
     vaccination program,'' he continued. ``So too is the claim 
     that CVS and Walgreens will save the day: they don't have 
     excess personnel available to inoculate millions of 
     Americans. Nor are they equipped to deal with the rare but 
     serious reactions which may occur.''
       The distribution of COVID vaccines is, without question, a 
     matter of urgency. We begin the new year with more than 
     12,000 Texans hospitalized due to the virus, and public 
     health experts fretting about the impact of holiday 
     gatherings and travel on those statistics--as well as reports 
     that cases of a more transmissible variant of the virus have 
     been confirmed in the United States.
       The state's plan to rely on public/private partnerships to 
     distribute the vaccine may be sensible, given Texas's extant 
     public health infrastructure. But, at the minimum, we need 
     better communication from state leaders about how Texans who 
     are eligible for the vaccine can access it--not finger-
     pointing and politics.
                                  ____


   Houston's First Public COVID-19 Vaccine Location Officially Opens

       Houston.--On Saturday, Houston's first public COVID-19 
     vaccine location opened on the city's Southside. City and 
     state leaders believe this could be one of the first public 
     Coronavirus vaccine locations to open in the country. 
     ``Houston may be the very first city of this size to setup a 
     massive distribution of vaccines,'' said Congresswoman Sheila 
     Jackson Lee. ``I believe that deserves an applause.''
       The site, located off Knight Road in South Houston, had a 
     long line of cars surrounding the parking lot early Saturday 
     morning.
       ``The goal will be to get these vaccines out as quickly as 
     we get them'' said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
       The free Coronavirus shots were originally planned to be 
     given to people who made appointments over the phone. 
     However, the Houston Health Department quickly had to change 
     their plan after being overwhelmed with calls.
       Within an hour of opening their call center, the Houston 
     Health Department tweeted, ``The volume of calls to our 
     COVID-19 call center overwhelmed the system and it's 
     currently experiencing technical issues . . .''
       ``Call-in centers across the board received about 250,000 
     calls today,'' said Mayor Turner. ``The system was literally 
     overwhelmed, so we went to Plan B. Plan B was on-site 
     registration.''
       ``Seven out of 10 people who die from COVID are 65 years 
     and older,'' said Houston Health Department Director Stephen 
     Williams. ``If you look in line, we're actually seeing those 
     folks, and I'm grateful for that.''
       Texas recently started Phase 1B of the state's COVID-19 
     vaccine distribution plan. Now, front-line medical works, 
     people at least 65 years-old, or adults with chronic health 
     issues can get vaccinated.
       ``Even though there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy, there's 
     still a strong desire from people to get the vaccine,'' said 
     Mayor Turner.
       According to Mayor Turner, he hopes to have the City of 
     Houston open a mass distribution location for Coronavirus 
     shots by the end of the week.
       ``The New York Mayor announced that they were going to try 
     to do 1-million vaccines in the month of January,'' said 
     Mayor Turner. ``I think we can do the same thing in the month 
     of January. I'd like to do even more than that.''

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, FDA is considering to halve the amount 
of vaccines going to Americans. This haphazard way will not work. And 
the budget bill that is before us gives Congress the insight into how 
agencies plan their work.
  So, is FEMA well-funded to take care of a pandemic? Were they funded 
the way they should have been in case a pandemic came and they were the 
right agency to do it?
  Please remember, when we were flagging around and flustering around 
at the beginning of COVID-19, the PPE had to be taken over by FEMA.
  That is what happened. We were struggling. People were fighting over 
PPE. Governors were out on the market. They were making negotiations 
individually with China while their health professionals were dying or 
reusing masks or reusing PPE. FEMA came in and did it.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be discussing this even further, but I support 
this legislation because it gives Members of Congress the ability to 
know budget and appropriations so that if a pandemic comes, what agency 
can handle it? FEMA, because it has the funding.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the underlying 
legislation, and I look forward to this further discussion.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 22, the Congressional 
Budget Justification Transparency Act, which requires congressional 
budget justifications to be posted online in a centralized, searchable 
database, as well as on a Federal agency's websites.
  The bill also would require the Office of Management and Budget to 
maintain and regularly update a public list of agencies expected to 
submit congressional budget justifications, the date they are submitted 
to Congress, and when they are posted online.
  This bill is identical to one that passed the House under suspension 
in the last Congress.
  As a member of the Budget Committee, I applaud this progovernment 
budget transparency legislation because it will make sure that the 
people we represent know and understand how each agency is spending 
taxpayer dollars.
  Budget transparency is important during ordinary time but is much 
more important during extraordinary times like a global pandemic.
  I am particularly focused on federal pandemic response that FEMA is 
engaged in as it relates to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have worked on community 
access to testing and through this effort have opened over 40 testing 
centers in and around Houston, Texas.
  Now that there are vaccines it is time to pivot to vaccinations.
  For this reason, I will be introducing a new bill that will address 
vaccine delivery to every community across the nation.
  Making FEMA the lead agency is the first step, the next important is 
making sure the American people have access to information on how the 
agency is accomplishing the task and at what cost.
  My bill would establish: FEMA as the National Coordinator of vaccine 
transport and delivery; Safe and effective supply chain transport, 
delivery, and site use of vaccines; Broad Stakeholder Engagement; No 
picking business winners or losers; and Implementing CDC COVID-19 
Vaccine Recommendations.
  FEMA will be empowered to:
  Lead the effort for vaccine delivery from the receipt from 
manufacturing facilities to delivery to designated inoculation sites 
(hospital, clinic, doctors' offices, schools, places of worship, 
community centers, parks, or neighborhood gathering locations, etc.)
  Develop and deploy a fully staffed and resourced 24-7 advanced real-
time tracking system that allows FEMA to monitor shipments of vaccine 
units that can provide end-to-end transparency on the temperature, 
real-

[[Page H66]]

time location, origin, and destination data, anticipated time of 
arrival, and update recipients on the progress of their delivery and 
report on changes that may impact expected delivery or the viability of 
the vaccine while in transit;
  Provide an advanced communication system that allows public health 
departments to communicate their vaccine readiness, their capability of 
receiving vaccines, delivery locations, details of facility capability 
of storing, securing, personnel authorized to receive deliveries, 
logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, report on vaccine 
receipts, condition of vaccines, patient reactions, and feedback on how 
to improve the process;
  Design custom Apps for use by public health agencies, doctors' 
offices, etc. to be provided to patients to communicate information on 
the vaccine being received and the date and location of a second dose 
if required. The App should generate a token that corresponds to their 
vaccination record to ensure that the right vaccine is administered 
should a second inoculation be required and to ensure that a person is 
not vaccinated with different vaccines, additional information such as 
vaccine effectiveness period may be addressed as more is learned about 
this;
  Secure transportation for delivery or use of vaccines, and, when 
requested, security for the vaccine delivery sites or inoculation 
locations to ensure the life and safety of personnel and patients who 
seek to provide or receive vaccinations are free of interference or 
threat;
  Provide public education and patient engagement through the provision 
of inoculations of persons in areas and locations where vulnerable 
populations are under performing in getting vaccinations;
  Waive authority of the states to share vaccination data with HHS;
  Provide HHS with the capacity to manage the inoculations data on 
persons and tracking the second vaccination to ensure full immunity and 
to determine when enough vaccinations have been administered to unique 
persons to achieve herd immunity. HHS shall protect Vaccination Data as 
HIPAA protected data, and under the Privacy Act, which shall not allow 
a waiver of any provision of that law; and the Freedom of Information 
Act shall not apply to the records maintained.
  Provide civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation, per instance; and 
criminal penalties of 5 years in prison for violation of this section; 
or for the use of the information outside the specific purpose of the 
data collection, which is to assure full inoculation of individuals; 
and determination of local, state and national herd immunity goals 
being achieved. Include a data retention limitation--all records shall 
be destroyed after 5 years--Sunset this provision after 5 years.
  Provide an ombudsman to support: public (tribal, territorial, state, 
and local government); stakeholder input on the work being done; 
provide advocacy and advice for those who elect not to be vaccinated; 
and champion the privacy, civil liberty rights on behalf of the 
American people.
  Waive state laws regarding management of inoculation data;
  Provide HHS with the capacity as evidenced by the agency's prior 
experience in managing healthcare.gov, to manage the inoculations data 
on persons; for the purpose of tracking the second vaccination to 
ensure full immunity and the management of national inoculation goals. 
The protection of inoculation medical information is provided by the: 
Federal HIPAA medical information privacy law; the Privacy Act and 
eliminate access to that information through the Freedom of Information 
Act; and providing for civil and criminal penalties for access or use 
of the information outside the specific purposes of the collection, 
which are to ensure inoculations; and determination of progress in herd 
immunity goals. Patient Inoculation Data retention limitation--all 
medical records on inoculation of persons under this title shall be 
destroyed after 5 years--Sunset this provision after 5 years.
  Keep oversight Committees in the House and Senate, and the American 
people informed through daily and weekly reporting requirements 
comprising data the CDC determines to be relevant and have public 
benefit in measuring and reporting on inoculation statistics;
  Establish a stakeholder advisory board to support the collaboration 
and cooperation of participants that shall include representatives 
from, federal, state, and local governments, businesses, colleges, 
universities, K-12 schools, hospitals, clinics, professional medical 
associations. Others as deemed essential to the success of a national 
vaccination program.
  Lead government collaboration with Stakeholders in establishing 
vaccine inoculation centers in locations that shall include: Stadiums; 
Arenas; K-12 schools; Colleges and Universities; Places of Worship; and 
Other locations determined to be conducive to reaching the greatest 
number of person who are in need of inoculations.


                            Empowering FEMA

  FEMA will be empowered to engage all stakeholders and marshals the 
resources of the federal government where needed to accomplish the 
objectives.
  FEMA employs about 20,000 people nationwide who are stationed in 10 
regional offices and the Washington DC headquarters.
  FEMA has the authority during times of emergency to leverage its 
tremendous capacity to coordinate within the federal government, pull 
federal agency personnel from agencies throughout the federal 
government to make sure America is equipped and prepared to respond to 
disasters.
  I ask that my Colleagues join me in support of H.R. 22, and greater 
accountability to the American public on what the federal government is 
doing and the budget justification that supports expenditures.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
H.R. 22, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 22.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand 
the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
will be postponed.

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