[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3929-H3930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SECURING THE U.S. ORGAN PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANTATION NETWORK ACT

  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2544) to improve the Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
Network, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2544

       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 ``Securing the U.S. Organ 
     Procurement and Transplantation Network Act''.

     SEC. 2. ORGAN PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANTATION NETWORK.

       Section 372 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     274) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``The Secretary shall by contract'' and 
     inserting ``In General--The Secretary shall'';
       (B) by striking ``establishment and'' and inserting 
     ``continued''; and
       (C) by striking the second and third sentences and 
     inserting ``The Secretary may award grants, contracts, or 
     cooperative agreements, as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate, for purposes of carrying out this section.''; 
     and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``(b)(1) The Organ 
     Procurement'' and all that follows through the end of 
     subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(b) Composition.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Organ Procurement and 
     Transplantation Network shall--
       ``(A) be operated through awards to public or private 
     entities made by the Secretary that are distinct from the 
     awards made to support the organization tasked with 
     supporting the board of directors described in subparagraph 
     (B); and''.

     SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

       Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended--
       (1) in section 371(b)(1)(H)(i)(III) (42 U.S.C. 
     273(b)(1)(H)(i)(III)), by striking ``histocompatability'' and 
     inserting ``histocompatibility'';
       (2) in section 374(c)(2) (42 U.S.C. 274b(c)(2)), by 
     striking ``section 371 or 373'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``section 371, 372, or 373'';
       (3) in section 375 (42 U.S.C. 274c)--
       (A) by striking the comma at the end of each of paragraphs 
     (1) and (2) and inserting a semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``transplants, and'' and 
     inserting ``transplants; and''; and
       (C) in paragraph (4), by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) 
     as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
       (4) in section 376 (42 U.S.C. 274d)--
       (A) by striking ``February 10 of 1991 and of each second 
     year thereafter'' and inserting ``2 years after the date of 
     enactment of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and 
     Transplantation Network Act and every second year 
     thereafter''; and
       (B) by striking ``Committee on Labor and Human Resources of 
     the Senate.'' and inserting ``Committee on Health, Education, 
     Labor, and Pensions of the Senate,''.

     SEC. 4. GAO REVIEW.

       Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
       (1) to the extent data are available, conduct a review of 
     the historical financing of the Organ Procurement and 
     Transplantation Network described in section 372 of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 274), including the 
     utilization of registration fees among entities that have 
     previously been awarded contracts under such section 372; and
       (2) submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
     and Pensions and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 
     the

[[Page H3930]]

     Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives a report on the review under paragraph (1), 
     including related recommendations, as applicable.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BUCSHON. 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 bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 2544, the Securing 
the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act, introduced 
in partnership with Representative Kelly of Illinois.
  This critical legislation would improve the Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network by allowing the Health Resources and Services 
Administration to make the OPTN contracting process competitive.
  The same entity has operated the OPTN contract since it was 
established nearly 40 years ago. Recent reports and bipartisan 
congressional investigations have shed light on logistical and 
technological flaws within the OPTN that may have jeopardized patient 
safety and may have led to lifesaving organs not being transplanted.
  We must pass H.R. 2544 to increase competition and make sure the best 
organization is selected to operate the OPTN. This will hopefully lead 
to more organs being transplanted and saving lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2544, the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network Act, seeks to improve the Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network, or OPTN.
  This network, which is operated by the Health Resources and Service 
Administration, or HRSA, is responsible for maintaining a national 
registry for organ matching, and it is operated by a private 
organization under Federal contract.
  A number of investigations in the past few years have found that the 
OPTN struggles to obtain and distribute organs in a timely and 
efficient manner. In fact, more than 6,000 Americans die each year 
while waiting for organ transplants. This problem is even more 
pronounced for people of color and rural residents.
  More than 100,000 Americans are currently on the transplant waiting 
list, and 17 Americans die each day awaiting transplants. This is 
entirely unacceptable, and we need to do better for the many patients 
who rely on the OPTN. The OPTN needs to be improved and modernized in a 
number of ways.
  HRSA has undertaken a number of efforts to modernize the OPTN, and 
this bill, H.R. 2544, complements those efforts. It would ensure that 
HRSA has the authority to award multiple contracts to carry out the 
many functions of the OPTN. It would also make the OPTN contracts more 
competitive in order to increase oversight and transparency and to 
enhance the performance of the program.
  The organ transplantation network is a lifesaving system that is in 
desperate need of repair. This bill will go a long way to improve it, 
and it is a huge win for some of the most vulnerable patients in this 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Bucshon and Kelly for their 
bipartisan leadership on this bill. I am pleased that it is before us 
today, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this 
important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2544 allows HRSA to improve the OPTN program. It 
clarifies that HRSA does not have to implement a single contract for 
all aspects of the program and encourages a competitive process to 
choose the best contractors for each OPTN function. Nothing in this 
legislation precludes HRSA from awarding UNOS a contract for each 
function.
  As a physician in Congress, my focus with this legislation is on 
ensuring that HRSA has the authority that it needs to act on behalf of 
patients and that the best innovators are able to compete and play 
their part in saving lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2544.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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