[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-
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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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