[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8152-H8153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1600
MAXIMIZING OUTCOMES THROUGH BETTER INVESTMENTS IN LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT 
                      FOR (MOBILE) HEALTH CARE ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 958) to amend the Public Health Service Act to expand the 
allowable use criteria for new access points grants for community 
health centers.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 958

       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 ``Maximizing Outcomes through 
     Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) 
     Health Care Act''.

     SEC. 2. NEW ACCESS POINTS GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 330(e)(6)(A) of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(e)(6)(A)) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(v) Mobile units.--An existing health center may be 
     awarded funds under clause (i) to establish a new delivery 
     site that is a mobile unit, regardless of whether the 
     applicant additionally proposes to establish a permanent, 
     full-time site. In the case of a health center that is not 
     currently receiving funds under this section, such health 
     center may be awarded funds under clause (i) to establish a 
     new delivery site that is a mobile unit only if such health 
     center uses a portion of such funds to also establish a 
     permanent, full-time site.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on January 1, 2024.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. 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 S. 958.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 958, the Maximizing 
Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for Health 
Care Act, or the MOBILE Health Care Act. This Senate bill is the 
companion to H.R. 5141, which passed out of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee last week. The bipartisan bill will help expand access to 
community health centers and the important care they provide to 
individuals who live in hard-to-reach areas of the country.
  Community health centers are a critical source of care for nearly 30 
million Americans. Unfortunately, many people who live in rural and 
geographically isolated areas can struggle to reach a community health 
center. Many others may lack access to reliable transportation that can 
make it difficult to get the care they need.
  Now, one way to mitigate these barriers to access is to allow 
community health centers to establish mobile health clinics. These 
clinics can meet people where they live to provide the care they need. 
There is already funding to establish new community health centers 
through the New Access Points grants but, unfortunately, existing rules 
for these grants make it difficult to receive Federal funding to set up 
these mobile sites.
  So this legislation will make it easier for community health centers 
to use New Access Points grants to establish mobile clinics and help 
eliminate one of the barriers to care for rural areas.
  I thank Representatives Susie Lee, Hudson, Ruiz, and Herrera Beutler 
for their leadership on this issue and their hard work to advance this 
important bill.
  The House companion to this commonsense, bipartisan legislation was 
voted out of the Energy and Commerce Committee by a unanimous vote of 
52-to-0 last week, so I am proud to support this bill, and I look 
forward to sending it to the President's desk.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 958, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 958, the Maximizing 
Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment, or the 
MOBILE Health Care Act.
  Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs, are an integral part of 
the healthcare system. They provide much-needed healthcare services to 
some of our most vulnerable populations, the uninsured, pregnant women, 
children, those suffering from homelessness, and veterans, as well as 
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
  It can be difficult for patients to access care at FQHCs in rural and 
underserved areas due to transportation constraints. One way to help 
improve healthcare delivery is for FQHCs to meet patients where they 
are by deploying mobile units.
  The MOBILE Health Care Act will allow existing FQHCs to use their New 
Access Point grants to establish mobile health units without also 
creating new brick-and-mortar sites and without authorizing any new 
grant programs or funding.
  Further, it allows new applicants to use these grants to purchase 
mobile health units if they also use a portion of the grant to 
establish a permanent, full-time site.
  This bill will help increase access to affordable primary care 
services across the country, especially in rural areas, like my 
district.
  I thank the bill's sponsors, Representatives Hudson, Herrera Beutler, 
Lee, and Ruiz for introducing this important legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Nevada (Mrs. Lee), the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his 
leadership, as well as my cosponsors: Representatives Hudson, Herrera 
Beutler, and Ruiz for their hard work in supporting this piece of 
legislation.
  I rise today in strong support of my bipartisan legislation, the 
MOBILE Health Care Act, which will help more Americans access the 
quality healthcare they need and deserve.
  In my State of Nevada, more than two-thirds of residents live in a 
primary care health professional shortage area. In our rural 
communities, that number goes to 82 percent.
  Needless to say, the situation is dire, and that is why expanding 
access to quality healthcare has been a priority of mine since I have 
been a Member of Congress.
  Expanding the capabilities of Federally Qualified Health Centers, 
commonly known as FQHCs, has been a top

[[Page H8153]]

focus of mine when it comes to expanding access to healthcare. That is 
because FQHCs lead the Nation in driving quality improvement, while 
reducing healthcare costs.
  Across this country, 1 in 11 Americans, including 400,000 veterans, 
and nearly 9 million children, rely on FQHCs for their primary 
healthcare. They have been a huge success in expanding quality care, 
but the reality is, smaller, rural communities do not have the 
population base to support full-time health centers.
  There are also many Americans, in both rural and urban areas, who 
lack transportation to access their closest FQHC, and that is exactly 
where mobile health units come in. Mobile health units have the 
capability to bring high-quality healthcare to all Americans, 
especially those in underserved areas.
  My bill will allow FQHCs this important flexibility to use their 
Federal New Access Point grants to establish mobile health units. This 
will allow health centers to better serve their communities, especially 
communities that have traditionally been hard to reach; and this does 
so at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
  In my district, we have seen the difference these mobile units make. 
For example, the Nevada Health Centers currently runs three mobile 
health units: The Children's Mobile Medical Unit, the Ronald McDonald 
Care Mobile Unit, and the Mammovan.
  The Mammovan is a mobile mammography unit that travels to underserved 
areas of our State, providing mammograms to women in geographically 
isolated areas and those who may not otherwise seek this important 
preventative care that will allow for early detection and simply will 
save lives.
  The First Person Care Clinic in Nevada also has a mobile health unit 
and is in the process of setting up a second one, which will expand 
access to primary care to more patients from Las Vegas, to Henderson, 
to Laughlin.
  Recently, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the Mammovan in 
action, and I am proud of all of Nevada's health centers and the 
southern Nevada Health District who are leading the way in providing 
lifesaving mobile healthcare for Nevadans.
  We must build off these success stories and ensure health centers 
across America can utilize mobile health units where they make sense to 
better serve their communities.
  We must keep working to ensure that every American has access to 
healthcare they need and deserve; and that is why I encourage my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this critical piece of legislation today.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter), my Energy and Commerce Committee colleague.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for S. 958, the 
companion bill to H.R. 5141, the MOBILE Health Care Act.
  As my colleagues have pointed out, community health centers across 
the country play a crucial role in ensuring rural and underserved 
communities have access to affordable, quality healthcare.
  For more than 50 years, health centers have provided services to 
America's most vulnerable population and medically underserved 
communities. These centers are the healthcare home for nearly 29 
million patients, including 9 million children and over 400,000 
veterans.
  The MOBILE Health Care Act that we are considering today would help 
these centers further expand their reach to the most rural areas of our 
country by giving them greater flexibility and allowing them to bring 
clinics even closer to the patients that they serve.
  I understand the need for increasing access to health services and 
appreciate how beneficial health centers have proven to be in my 
district. Community health centers are an integral part of the 
healthcare safety net, and this bill will improve access to care for 
many of my constituents. I encourage my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, this is an important piece of legislation. 
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill. It is 
bipartisan. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kahele). 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, S. 958.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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