[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3318-S3319]
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 and Mr. Casey):
S. 4238. A bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act
to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration,
to award grants to eligible entities to carry out construction or
modernization projects designed to strengthen and increase capacity
within the specialized pediatric health care infrastructure, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Pediatric
Access to Critical Health Care, PATCH Act. This legislation would boost
our continued efforts to support our Nation's healthcare safety net for
kids across America.
The PATCH Act would provide $6 billion over 10 years to increase
pediatric healthcare capacity and improve dedicated children's
hospitals and pediatric preparedness response. These funds will
prioritize increased critical care capacity and telehealth technology,
as well as address attentive care workforce shortages, particularly for
high Medicaid providers who serve child populations with the greatest
health disparities. Matching requirements supporting contributions from
the private sector would double the impact of this Federal investment,
greatly increasing pediatric healthcare capacity for all children
across the country.
Children represent over 20 percent of the Nation's population and
have unique health needs. As a result, pediatric hospital facilities,
which are at the frontline of care for children, require separate
investments to provide appropriate treatment and care and have not kept
up with the level of need.
[[Page S3319]]
I would like to thank Congressman Cardenas for leading this
legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to
working with my colleagues to enact the Pediatric Access to Critical
Health Care Act as soon as possible.
______
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. King):
S. 4251. A bill to establish a payment program for unexpected loss of
markets and revenues to timber harvesting and timber hauling businesses
due to major disasters, and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise to introduce a bill with my
colleague, Senator King, that will help the hard-working loggers across
this country affected by severe storms and natural disasters. In Maine
alone, logging has a roughly $582 million annual economic impact and is
the backbone of the forest products economy.
In Maine and in many places across the country, the logging industry
has felt the effects of severe weather events and warmer than normal
winters. This past winter, Maine experienced many storms, including two
December and January that were designated Federal disasters. These
storms were detrimental to many industries but especially logging, as
the winter months are usually the best months for loggers to harvest
timber when the frozen ground makes access easier. The rainstorms
saturated the ground, and the mud made it much more difficult to
operate and transport heavy logging equipment without disturbing the
soil underneath.
These storms also closed bridges and roads on vital trucking routes,
hindering the movement of equipment and employees to logging sites. For
example, the December 18 storm washed out a bridge on a vital trucking
route that forced an 80-mile detour for wood being distributed to both
northern and southern markets. According to the Professional Logging
Contractors of the Northeast, this December wind and rainstorm in Maine
resulted in more than $2.5 million in losses.
Despite these documented losses, there is currently no Federal
program to assist loggers who have been affected by federally declared
disasters. That is why I am introducing the Logger Economic Assistance
and Relief Act, which would authorize income replacement for logging
contractors equal to 10 percent of eligible gross lost revenue from the
previous calendar year. Funds received under this program can only be
used for operating expenses. Our legislation is modeled off of the
successful Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers
Program, which I created during the COVID pandemic to provide much
needed aid to our timber harvesters.
I am grateful for the Professional Logging Council of the Northeast
and the American Logging Council's support of our legislation, and I
urge my colleagues to join in this effort to support one of our
country's core economic drivers.
______
By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cassidy, Mr.
Daines, and Mr. Tillis):
S. 4257. A bill to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from
allowing IRS personnel to use a personal device, including a mobile
device, to access, process, transmit, or store taxpayer information; to
the Committee on Finance.
Mr. THUNE. 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. 4257
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 ``Ensuring No Devices Bear
Your Own Data Act'' or the ``END BYOD Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING IRS PERSONNEL FROM USING PERSONAL DEVICES
FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may not establish, permit,
or administer any program (regardless of whether such program
was established before, on, or after the date of enactment of
this Act) which allows any individual described in subsection
(b) to use a personal device to access, process, transmit, or
store any taxpayer information which is subject to
restrictions on disclosure pursuant to section 6103 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(b) Covered Individuals.--An individual is described in
this subsection if such individual is--
(1) an employee of the Internal Revenue Service;
(2) an employee of an entity that is a party to a contract
with the Internal Revenue Service whose job duties involve
working under such contract; or
(3) a volunteer with the Internal Revenue Service.
(c) Other Definitions.--In this section--
(1) Personal device.--The term ``personal device'' means
any electronic device (including mobile devices, smartphones,
tablet computing devices, or laptop computing devices)
which--
(A) is the personal property of an individual described in
subsection (b);
(B) has not been furnished to an individual described in
subsection (b) by the Internal Revenue Service or any other
Federal agency; or
(C) in the case of an individual described in subsection
(b)(2), has not been furnished to such individual by their
employer (except in the case of an individual who is self-
employed).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.
____________________