[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 153 (Thursday, September 21, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4657-S4658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Welch, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Wyden,
Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Fetterman):
S. 2881. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require
institutions of higher education to provide notice to students
participating in a State or federally financed work-study program about
potential eligibility for participation in the supplemental nutrition
assistance program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the
Opportunity to Address College Hunger Act, which I introduced today.
According to a 2018 GAO study, roughly 2 million at-risk college
students who were potentially eligible for Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, SNAP, benefits did not report receiving them.
Millions of eligible college students across the Nation face steep
barriers to accessing these critical benefits due to a complex
application process and a lack of information-sharing from their own
colleges and universities.
In California alone, 127,000 college students received CalFresh
before the pandemic, despite upwards of 690,000 students being
potentially eligible. Through my conversations with California college
students, many have said that they wished their campuses told them they
were eligible for SNAP and how to access benefits.
That is why I am introducing this bill--to increase awareness of SNAP
for potentially eligible college students and to continue the fight to
tackle student hunger.
If enacted, this bill would require colleges and universities to
notify students participating in State or federally financed work-study
programs of their potential eligibility for SNAP benefits. Institutions
would also need to provide students with details about how they can
obtain more information about SNAP, confirm their eligibility for the
program, and access benefits.
This notification would be developed by the U.S. Department of
Education, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and
would be specific to the student's State of residence and provide
contact information for the local office where the student can apply
for SNAP.
The notification would also include an official document confirming
that the student participates in a work-study program and meets one of
the SNAP eligibility requirements for college students. This
documentation would help students overcome a common paperwork hurdle
they face when applying for SNAP benefits.
Finally, this bill would require the Department of Education and USDA
to provide guidance to States and institutions on how to better engage
with potentially eligible students.
While I support eliminating the restrictive work requirements that
limit access to critical nutrition benefits for millions of low-income
college students, this bill works to tackle barriers students face with
the eligibility requirements currently in place.
I want to thank Representative Suzanne Bonamici for introducing this
bill in the House and for her continued work to combat student hunger.
I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation to help
improve student food security, health, and learning.
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By Mr. PADILLA:
S. 2898. A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of
2008 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize the use of
certain grants to deliver peer-to-peer mental health support to
individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, farm work, and other
occupations relating to agriculture; to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry.
Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Supporting Farm
Workers' Mental Health Act of 2023. This bill would ensure that the
Farm and Ranch Assistance Network serves the behavioral health needs of
farm workers.
The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network is a transformative
program that addresses the mental health needs of farmers, ranchers,
and those engaged in agricultural occupations. While grants can be used
to serve farmworkers, farmworkers are not explicitly identified as
population of interest, despite their unique health needs.
Farmworkers face significant barriers to care, including a shortage
of culturally competent providers and low health literacy in addition
to the challenges associated with accessing healthcare in rural areas.
Nineteen percent of farmworkers reported symptoms of anxiety, and 14
percent reported feeling depressed, according to a recent University of
California, Merced study.
The Supporting Farm Workers' Mental Health Act of 2023 would amend
the Farm and Ranch Stress Act of 2023 would amend the Farm and Ranch
Stress Assistance Network to explicitly include farmworkers as an
eligible population and ensure peer-to-peer mental health services are
an allowable grant activity. Both changes will update the program to
reflect our agricultural workforce's behavioral health needs.
Farmworkers feed our Nation. It is our responsibility to ensure they
have access to behavioral health care they need.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this important
initiative as quickly as possible.
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By Mr. PADILLA:
S. 2899. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to include
Middle Easterners and North Africans in the statutory definition of a
``racial and ethnic minority group'', and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Health Equity
and Middle Eastern and North African Community Inclusion Act of 2023.
This bill would ensure that Middle Eastern and North African
communities in the United States receive the Federal recognition they
need to receive targeted public health resources.
Too often, Federal data collection overlooks people in MENA
communities. This is true even at the Office of Minority Health, which
is tasked with the important work of improving health outcomes for
racial and ethnic minority populations. The office's definition of
``racial and ethnic minorities'' does not currently include a Middle
Eastern or North African category, meaning that people in this
community are often misidentified as White. As a result, the unique
health concerns that Middle Easterners and North Africans face remain
underreported and unaddressed.
This bureaucratic oversight has a tangible impact on individuals'
abilities to live full and healthy lives.
[[Page S4658]]
The Health Equity and Middle Eastern and North African Community
Inclusion Act of 2023 would add a Middle Eastern and North African
category to the definition of ``racial and ethnic minorities'' used by
the Office of Minority Health. Additionally, it would direct the
Department of Health and Human Services to use this data to conduct a
comprehensive study of the unique patterns and health outcomes in MENA
populations.
I want to thank Representative Tlaib for joining me in introducing
this bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues to take this
important step to reduce health disparities.
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By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 2907. A bill to improve medical device recall notifications by
amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an
electronic format for device recall notifications, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2907
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 ``Medical Device Recall
Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. REGULATION OF MEDICAL DEVICE RECALLS.
Chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 351 et seq.), is amended by inserting after section
518A of such Act the following:
``SEC. 518B. ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION FORMAT FOR DEVICE
RECALLS.
``(a) Electronic Notification Format for Device Recalls.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of the Medical Device Recall Improvement Act, the
Secretary shall publish a form and manner for notifications
of a recall.
``(2) Content.--The form and manner prescribed by the
Secretary under paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) be electronic;
``(B) include mandatory data elements, including--
``(i) the name of the manufacturer or importer;
``(ii) the contact information and address of the
manufacturer or importer;
``(iii) the specific reason for the correction or removal
from the market of the device;
``(iv) the specific device of the manufacturer or importer
subject to such recall;
``(v) the unique device identifier of the device,
including, as applicable, the device identifier and any
production identifier;
``(vi) information for device user facilities and health
professionals with regard to the device and such recall; and
``(vii) information for patients with regard to the device
and such recall, including--
``(I) the risk presented by the device; and
``(II) any action that may be taken by, or on behalf of,
such patients to eliminate or reduce such risk; and
``(C) include optional data elements as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
``(b) Notifications.--
``(1) Notifications to the secretary.--
``(A) In general.--Beginning 180 days after the Secretary
establishes the form and manner for recall notifications
under subsection (a), a manufacturer or importer of a device
shall submit notifications required under section 519(g) to
the Secretary through the electronic notification format
established under subsection (a).
``(B) Review requirement.--
``(i) Initial review.--Not later than 2 business days after
receipt of a notification described in subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall conduct an initial review of such
notification.
``(ii) Response of the secretary.--Not later than 3
business days after the completion of such review, the
Secretary shall inform the manufacturer or importer of the
information the Secretary determines, through the initial
review under clause (i), should be shared with device user
facilities and health professionals.
``(2) Notifications to device user facilities and health
professionals.--
``(A) Initial notifications.--A manufacturer or importer
shall submit notifications to device user facilities and
health professionals through the electronic notification
format established under subsection (a) after an initial
review by the Secretary is completed under paragraph
(1)(B)(i).
``(B) Subsequent notifications.--A manufacturer or importer
shall provide notifications in addition to those described in
subparagraph (A), as necessary, to device user facilities or
health professionals through the electronic notification
format established under subsection (a).
``(c) Electronic Database.--The Secretary shall maintain an
electronic database that is publicly accessible,
downloadable, and populated with information regarding device
notifications made under this section.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section and in section 518C--
``(1) the term `device user facility' has the meaning given
such term in section 519(b)(6); and
``(2) the term `recall' has the meaning given such term in
section 518A.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of
conducting activities under this section and hiring personnel
to conduct such activities, there is authorized to be
appropriated $6,700,000 for fiscal year 2024, $1,700,000 for
fiscal year 2025, and $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2026 through 2028, to remain available until expended,
without fiscal year limitation.
``SEC. 518C. PATIENT NOTIFICATION.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall require that any
recall strategy under section 519(g) provides for notice to
patients whom device user facilities and health professionals
treated with the device.
``(b) Compliance.--In accordance with subsection (a), the
Secretary shall require recall notifications sent from the
manufacturer or importer of the device to--
``(1) include information for device user facilities and
health professionals about the risks presented by the device
to patients whom device user facilities and health
professionals treated with the device; and
``(2) instruct such device user facilities and health
professionals to share information under paragraph (1) with
patients whom device user facilities and health professionals
treated with the device.
``(c) Affected Devices.--Subsection (a) shall apply with
respect to any class I or class II recall for a class II or
class III device that is used outside of device user
facilities and--
``(1) implanted in the human body;
``(2) life-sustaining;
``(3) life-supporting; or
``(4) used significantly in pediatric populations.
``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to require device user facilities or health
professionals to provide patient information to the
manufacturer or importer of the device.''.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACTS.
Section 301 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 331) is amended by adding at the end the following
``(jjj) The refusal or failure to submit notifications in
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 518B(b).
``(kkk) The refusal or failure to provide notice in
accordance with section 518C.''.
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