[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H3785-H3786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICA'S ENERGY CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to address America's energy 
crisis and the administration's continued assault on American-made 
energy that has killed jobs, increased our dependency on foreign oil, 
and most recently jeopardized our national security.
  Just 1 year ago, our country was comfortably meeting our energy 
needs, and we were a net exporter of energy for the first time in 50 
years. However, under this administration's leadership or lack thereof, 
we have dramatically increased our dependence on foreign oil, sent gas 
prices sky high, and increased heating bills during the winter.
  Instead of turning to America's own energy sector to meet our energy 
needs and continue to make us independent, this administration is 
asking countries like Iran and Venezuela to compensate for the ban on 
Russian imports and ignoring American energy producers.
  In doing so, the administration is prioritizing oil produced by 
dictators over American energy producers who support jobs and 
businesses here at home.
  I urge the administration to flip the switch and reduce our 
dependence on foreign energy by increasing production of oil and gas at 
home. We can do this.


            Modernizing and Streamlining Diagnostic Testing

  Mr. BUCSHON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to 
legislation that I have been working on with the gentlewoman from 
Colorado (Ms. DeGette) called the VALID Act, a bipartisan, bicameral 
solution to modernize and streamline diagnostic testing through 
establishing a risk-based framework for review and approval of 
laboratory-developed tests or in vitro diagnostic tests.
  Many of you might be thinking, why does this matter? Well, let me 
tell you. Right now in America, laboratory-developed tests are not 
regulated for clinical or analytical accuracy. This is a problem. CMS 
and FDA have both told us that this is so. They do not regulate these 
tests.
  Every single day there is a new story of inaccuracy of these 
diagnostic tests that can be life changing and life altering with 
severe consequences. As a doctor, it breaks my heart to hear of 
situations where, for example, a young woman falsely tests positive for 
a potential risk for cancer, takes preventive action to save her life 
potentially,

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an irreversible action that might prevent her from ever having more 
children, only to find out that the test was falsely positive and 
inaccurate.
  A recent article in The New York Times outlined the inaccuracy of 
some prenatal diagnostic blood tests, which were very inaccurate. This 
may lead to potential life-changing medical decisions based on these 
false results. It is absolutely devastating.
  If passed, the VALID Act would protect patients and save lives by 
ensuring Americans can rely on the test results they receive while also 
allowing leading-edge development and innovation to thrive in our 
hospitals and laboratories.

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