[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5436-5441]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
              CHARLIE W. NORWOOD LIVING ORGAN DONATION ACT

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 710) to amend the National Organ Transplant Act to clarify 
that kidney paired donation does not involve the transfer of a human 
organ for valuable consideration, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 710

       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 ``Charlie W. Norwood Living 
     Organ Donation Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL ORGAN TRANSPLANT ACT; AMENDMENT REGARDING 
                   PAIRED DONATION OF HUMAN KIDNEYS.

       (a) In General.--Section 301(a) of the National Organ 
     Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e(a)) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following: ``The preceding sentence does not 
     apply with respect to the paired donation of human 
     kidneys.''.
       (b) Definition.--Section 301(c) of the National Organ 
     Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e(c)) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(4) The term `paired donation of human kidneys' means the 
     donation and receipt of human kidneys under the following 
     circumstances:
       ``(A) An individual (referred to in this paragraph as the 
     `first donor') desires to make a living donation of a kidney 
     specifically to a particular patient (referred to in this 
     paragraph as the `first patient'), but such donor is 
     biologically incompatible as a donor for such patient.
       ``(B) A second individual (referred to in this paragraph as 
     the `second donor') desires to make a living donation of a 
     kidney specifically to a second particular patient (referred 
     to in this paragraph as the `second patient'), but such donor 
     is biologically incompatible as a donor for such patient.
       ``(C) Subject to subparagraph (D), the first donor is 
     biologically compatible as a donor of a kidney for the second 
     patient, and the second donor is biologically compatible as a 
     donor of a kidney for the first patient.
       ``(D) If there is any additional donor-patient pair as 
     described in subparagraph (A) or (B), each donor in the group 
     of donor-patient pairs is biologically compatible as a donor 
     of a kidney for a patient in such group.
       ``(E) All donors and patients in the group of donor-patient 
     pairs (whether two pairs or more than two pairs) enter into a 
     single agreement to donate and receive such kidneys, 
     respectively, according to such biological compatibility in 
     the group.
       ``(F) Other than as described in subparagraph (E), no 
     valuable consideration is knowingly acquired, received, or 
     otherwise transferred with respect to the kidneys referred to 
     in such subparagraph.''.

     SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE MEDICARE PHYSICIAN 
                   ASSISTANCE AND QUALITY INITIATIVE FUND.

       Section 1848(l)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395w-4(l)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end the 
     following: ``In addition, there shall be available to the 
     Fund for expenditures during 2009 an amount equal to 
     $30,000,000 and for expenditures during or after 2013 an 
     amount equal to $470,000,000.''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) in the heading, by striking ``furnished during 2008'';
       (B) by striking ``specified in subparagraph (A)'' and 
     inserting ``specified in the first sentence of subparagraph 
     (A)''; and
       (C) by inserting after ``furnished during 2008'' the 
     following: ``and for the obligation of the entire first 
     amount specified in the second sentence of such subparagraph 
     for payment with respect to physicians' services furnished 
     during 2009 and of the entire second amount so specified for 
     payment with respect to physicians' services furnished on or 
     after January 1, 2013''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Inslee) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.


  Permission for Member to Be Considered as First Sponsor of H.R. 710

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter 
be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 710, a bill originally 
introduced by Representative Norwood of Georgia,

[[Page 5437]]

only for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings 
pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here today to pass the Charlie W. Norwood Living 
Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act. We do so both to honor Dr. 
Norwood, who provided such great service to his district and to the 
country for many years; of course, Dr. Norwood did so as the result of 
being a recipient of lung transplants himself; but also to honor the 
thousands of Americans who are today waiting for kidney transplants. 
This bill, we believe, will be a great step forward to hasten the day 
when those folks can potentially have kidney transplants.
  It is a fitting tribute to Dr. Norwood for his tireless efforts to 
improve our Nation's health and his great work in fighting as a 
patient's advocate. I will submit for the record a statement from Dr. 
Norwood in support of this legislation.
  Second, I would like to thank the staff of both of the committees, as 
well as Dr. Norwood's office and personal staff, for their work to make 
this bill a reality.
  This legislation would allow a procedure commonly known as paired 
donation to be legal, to make that clear, and to provide hope to 
patients waiting for kidney transplants. Paired organ donation will 
make it possible for thousands of people who wish to donate a kidney to 
a spouse, a family member or a friend but find that they are medically 
incompatible to still become living kidney donors.
  This is very important, because, as of February 23, we had over 
70,000 patients who are now on the waiting list for a kidney 
transplant, and yet we performed only 16,500 kidney transplants in 
2005, of which only 6,500 were living kidney donors. H.R. 710 will take 
a significant step towards reducing the number of patients on the 
waiting list and giving many more the hope that their wait will not be 
endless.
  Further, this bill is supported by numerous medical organizations, 
including the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American Society of 
Transplant Surgeons, the American Society of Transplantation, the 
National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Pediatric 
Nephrology.
  I have sort of a local person who gives me advise about this, Dr. 
Connie Davis, who is a transplant expert, a physician, and she says 
that this bill is a huge step forward for the transplant community as 
clinical efforts in the direction of paired donation have been severely 
hampered by concerns over the legal status of such activity.
  I believe it is imperative that we make it clear that there is no 
intent by Congress to bar this procedure. It is my hope that the Senate 
will act quickly on this. Simply put, we want this legislation to save 
lives immediately.
  So, for the 70,000 patients waiting for lifesaving kidney 
transplants, with time spent on costly and often arduous dialysis 
treatment, their time on the waiting list can be significantly 
shortened with passage and implementation of this bill.
  It is an honor to stand here working for the name of Dr. Charlie 
Norwood. I want to thank all those who have worked on this bill, and I 
hope very shortly we can have this on the President's desk and help 
those 70,000 people to a healthy future and great productive years, 
just like Dr. Norwood had in the U.S. Congress.

               Statement of the Honorable Charlie Norwood

       Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 710, the Living 
     Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act. This bill will 
     explicitly state that Americans in need of a kidney will have 
     a greater chance of receiving one through the process of 
     paired donation.
       Over 70,000 Americans are currently in need of a kidney 
     transplant. As a result of significant demand and limited 
     supply, most transplantees wait for over four years before 
     receiving a kidney. Four years for their lives to be saved or 
     lost.
       During this time, if their kidneys fail, End Stage Renal 
     Disease can set in. These patients must undergo dialysis. 
     While dialysis extends patients' lives, their condition often 
     prevents them from being fully engaged in their community and 
     career. Dialysis is life-extending, but not life-bettering.
       Sadly, in many cases, this is where patients lose their 
     battle. In 2004 alone, 3,823 transplant candidates died 
     awaiting a kidney. As our population ages, that figure is 
     going to increase.
       Mr. Speaker, medical science has enabled us to perform more 
     successful organ transplants than ever before. These 
     transplants give patients a new lease on life. Many Members 
     in this body or their loved ones have been touched by the 
     lifesaving gift of organ donation, myself included.
       Kidney transplants from living donors tend to be highly 
     successful, but in many cases, those who want to give a 
     kidney to a loved one feel they cannot help because they are 
     not biologically compatible with the patient in need.
       H.R. 710 is very simple. It clarifies that paired donation 
     is legal under the National Organ Transplant Act. As a 
     result, a pair consisting of a kidney transplant candidate 
     and an incompatible living donor can be matched with another 
     such incompatible pair to enable two transplants that 
     otherwise would not occur.
       Remember those 3,823 souls and ask yourself--could you 
     justify not allowing a process of simply cross-matching to 
     save their lives?
       I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
     legislation in memory of those who have died waiting for a 
     kidney as well as the thousands of Americans who are seeking 
     a transplant or trying to become a living donor to save a 
     loved ones' life.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank Chairman Dingell and Subcommittee 
Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Deal and Congressman Inslee for 
expediting consideration of this specific piece of legislation.
  As I have pointed out earlier on the House floor after notification 
of Congressman Norwood's passing, he wrote me a letter the last day he 
was in Washington before he flew home to Georgia, and this particular 
piece of legislation was the primary issue in that letter. It is very, 
very heartwarming, and I am very grateful that the majority would move 
this piece of legislation as quickly as they have done. I want to thank 
them sincerely for doing that.
  As has been pointed out, this piece of legislation will be called the 
Charlie Norwood Living Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act, and it 
is in honor of Congressman Norwood, the late Congressman from the Tenth 
District of Georgia.
  There are over 78,000 Americans who need kidney transplants. The 
average wait is over 4 years. Paired donation can create greater access 
to kidney transplants. A paired donation consists of a transplant 
candidate and an incompatible living donor who are matched with another 
similar pair so as to enable two transplants that would otherwise not 
occur.
  The legislation before us today clarifies the ability to perform 
paired transplantations through the National Organ Transplant Act, or 
NOTA. This legislation clarifies that paired donations are not 
considered a valuable consideration.
  This legislation has received the strong support of all the major 
transplant organizations, including the United Network for Organ 
Sharing, the American Society of Transplantation, the Association of 
Organ Procurement Organizations, the National Kidney Foundation, the 
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, the Cedars Sinai Health 
Systems, Johns Hopkins, and the American Society of Transplant 
Surgeons.
  As a consequence of the legislation that Congressman Norwood and 
Congressman Inslee have crafted, we assume that at least an additional 
2,000 organ transplants a year will occur. That is truly a gift of 
living that will keep on giving for many, many years to come.
  This legislation, unfortunately, will be the last of many great 
pieces of legislation that Congressman Norwood helped to pass when he 
was a colleague of ours in this body. He was a true statesman and 
sincerely a warm, personal friend of mine. I will miss him greatly.

[[Page 5438]]

  Before I yield back, I want to tell a story about Charlie and then 
read something into the Record.
  Congressman Norwood always considered himself to be very prepared. He 
was always ready for almost any contingency.
  The night that we voted the Medicare Modernization Act part D 
prescription drug benefit on this floor will be a time that will long 
be remembered because it was such a close vote and it took so long to 
get it passed. Charlie and myself and three other members of the Energy 
and Commerce Committee on the Republican side had been a part of a 
group to craft an alternative program for the part D prescription drug 
benefit. Some of our alternative program was in the final legislation, 
but not all of it. As a consequence, Charlie was listed as a ``lean 
no.'' He was in reality a ``hard no,'' but he listed himself as a 
``lean no.''
  As we all know, when the climactic vote occurred, there weren't 
enough yeses on the board to pass it. So I went to one of the senior 
leaders of the majority party, I am not going to say which one, but I 
went to one of the senior leaders and I said, ``I think we can get 
Charlie Norwood to vote for this bill.'' They said, ``No, you're not 
going to get Charlie to vote for the bill.'' I said, ``I think we can, 
if you'll talk to him.''
  So I went to Charlie and I said, ``Would you talk?'' Charlie said, 
``I don't want to talk to anybody. I'm going to vote against the 
bill.''
  I went back and forth. I finally arranged a meeting back in the 
Republican cloakroom where Charlie would discuss this particular piece 
of legislation.
  Now, he had been a no, no, no, no, no for the last 2 weeks. So when I 
finally got the two parties together, Norwood immediately pulled out a 
list from his pocket. Now, he is deceased, so whatever the statute of 
limitations is has expired. And this Congressman, who had been a lean 
no, lean no, lean no, had a list of 10 things, 10, that if the senior 
leadership on the Republican side would consider, he would consider 
voting for the bill. Ten.
  Obviously, that discussion didn't go too far, so he ended up voting 
no. But he was prepared, and he had a list of things.
  Now, in that same sense of being prepared, Mr. Inslee has already put 
into the Record Congressman Norwood's statement on this bill. Isn't 
that amazing? I am going to read it into the Record. This is the floor 
statement in support of this bill by the late Congressman Charlie 
Norwood of the 10th District of Georgia.
  ``Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also offer a sincere thank you to Ranking 
Member Barton, Chairman Dingell and Mr. Inslee for all of their help 
moving this bill. Committee staff, including Katherine Martin, John 
Ford and Peter Goodloe should be acknowledged for their aid as well. A 
special thank you to Nick Shipley with Mr. Inslee's office who worked 
with J.P. from my staff from day one as a tireless advocate to get this 
bill into law.
  ``It has been said that common sense is the knack of seeing things as 
they are and doing things as they ought to be done. Well, let me tell 
you how things were being done. For years, people missed or were 
delayed in an opportunity to have a life-saving kidney transplant 
simply because a member of the executive branch couldn't grasp the true 
intent of the National Organ Transplant Act's valuable consideration 
clause. The valuable consideration clause was meant to outlaw the 
buying and selling of organs, which everyone agrees is proper.
  ``Now, there are two types of transplant donors, living and 
cadaveric, or deceased. As a lung transplant recipient, I benefited 
from the latter, but in the case of the first, a friend or a relative 
wanting to spare their loved ones from death or dialysis graciously 
offers to give up one of their kidneys. Regardless of the method, both 
patient and donor must be biologically compatible.
  ``In recent years doctors discovered that by using the simple 
database methods that we use in our everyday lives and business, a 
paired donation could take place with these living donors.
  ``In the process of a kidney paired donor transplant, a pair 
consisting of a kidney transplant candidate and an incompatible living 
donor is matched with another such incompatible pair to enable two 
transplants that otherwise would not occur.
  ``Now, I'm just an old country dentist, but isn't this just common 
sense? I want to give to someone, but I'm not compatible, but I can 
give to another patient. Their willing, yet also incompatible, friend 
can give to my loved one. As a result, two people live; two more slots 
are opened on the list for even more transplants to take place. Common 
sense, Mr. Speaker.
  ``However, instead of every single transplant center undertaking this 
commonsense approach, some folks were denied the chance to be cross-
matched and, instead, their loved one suffered and even died while 
awaiting a transplant.
  ``73,652. That is roughly the number, Mr. Speaker, of people waiting 
for a kidney transplant. I can't imagine looking at any of those people 
and telling them `I am sorry, some bureaucrat 10 years ago inspired 
fear around the simple process to save you today, so you will have to 
languish on the list and hope for the best.'
  ``I will tell you what: That is hogwash. Times have changed. Paired 
donation is saving lives today and will save even more once we get this 
bill done. H.R. 710 has the support of every major transplant 
organization, from the United Network for Organ Sharing, who will 
manage the national list, to the surgeons who will perform the 
transplants, to the patient advocates to the hospitals.
  ``In fact, a study published in the Journal of Transplantation 
predicts a 14 percent increase in the live kidney donor transplants 
performed each year if paired donation were allowed. Moreover, for each 
patient who receives a kidney, Medicare will save $220,000 in dialysis 
costs.
  ``In fact, Johns Hopkins just did a five-way paired donation where 
five people were saved instead of being put on the waiting list. Now 
imagine the good a national list will do. Thousands will be saved 
through simple common sense. Paired donation is the way things ought to 
be done.
  ``How often can we stand in this well on this floor and know what we 
are doing will save the government money, improve patient quality of 
life and save lives? Not too often, Mr. Speaker. I can testify to that.
  ``What the bureaucracy has failed to correct, this Congress will now 
step up and take care of, unfortunately for all of those who have not 
been able to benefit, not a minute too soon.
  ``I yield back the balance of my time.''
  That is the floor statement of the late Congressman Norwood on a bill 
that, at the time he prepared this, he wasn't sure would get to the 
floor.

                              {time}  1430

  Yet because of his tenacity and preparedness and the willingness of 
Mr. Dingell and Mr. Inslee and Mr. Pallone and Speaker Pelosi, the bill 
is on the floor. I would urge all of my colleagues to support this 
bill. I do intend to ask for a rollcall vote and let us leave a living 
legacy of life for the late Congressman Charlie Norwood.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Barton for reading Dr. 
Norwood's eloquent statement into the Record.
  I want to note that kidney donation is not just for the recipients. 
It is for their families and the places they work, and even the U.S. 
Congress. The reason we had the benefit of Dr. Norwood's wisdom for 
years in the U.S. Congress was because of a lung transplant. I want to 
note that what we are doing today is not only helping those 70,000 
people, but also their families and workplaces and the whole U.S. 
economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Deal), the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee.

[[Page 5439]]


  Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for 
yielding me this time.
  I too wish to express appreciation to the sponsor and all of those 
who have made it possible to bring this bill to the floor today. It is 
certainly altogether fitting and proper that we name this bill after 
the late Charlie Norwood.
  This bill does two very important things that Charlie really believed 
in. The first is he believed in organ transplant. As Mr. Inslee 
alluded, he was the recipient of a lung transplant that extended his 
life. He believed in organ transplants.
  The second thing that it does is something that he really believed in 
as well, and that is overcoming bureaucratic red tape that made no 
common sense. And that is what this bill does. Pairing of donations for 
kidneys makes all of the common sense in the world. It will save lives 
and money. Certainly in the tradition of Charlie Norwood, it will 
perpetuate the importance of organ donations and do so in the memory 
and in the honor of a great Member of this body.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I would yield to the dean of the House whose 
leadership helped bring this bill to the floor today, the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), for such time as he may consume.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have said strongly why this 
is a good piece of legislation and why it should be enacted. I strongly 
support it, and I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 710, the Charlie 
W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act. I am delighted that the Commerce 
Committee could report this good piece of legislation to the House 
floor, and I am pleased by the consequences of it because we will 
achieve more help to those in need of organ donation, something which 
is of great importance to the country and to those who are in such 
grave and serious need.
  Charlie Norwood wanted this bill very badly. It is a good bill. We 
are delighted that we could bring to the House floor a good bill which 
not only does good but which honors its author, Charlie Norwood, by 
carrying forward his goals, his purposes, and his intentions with 
regard to helping his fellow Americans. I am delighted we can do this 
for Charlie Norwood who was a valuable member of the committee and who 
will indeed be missed by his colleagues in Congress on both sides of 
the aisle.
  I have a longer statement which will appear in the Record which I 
believe sets forth some of the things already said by my colleagues. I 
thank my good friend, the manager of the bill on this side, and the 
former chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Barton), my dear friend, for their leadership on this matter.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 710, the ``Charlie W. Norwood Living 
Organ Donation Act.''
  Representative Charlie Norwood was a dear friend and colleague of 
mine. Beginning in 1995, Charlie served the people of the tenth 
district of Georgia admirably and honorably in the House of 
Representatives. Sadly, Charlie lost his long battle with cancer on 
February 13, 2007, but he shall not be forgotten and we will pass this 
legislation in his honor.
  H.R. 710 would modify the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) to 
clarify that ``paired'' kidney donations do not violate a clause of the 
act regarding ``valuable consideration,'' which outlaws the buying or 
selling of kidneys and other organs.
  A ``paired'' donation occurs when a donor who is willing to give a 
kidney to a family member or friend, but is biologically incompatible, 
donates to another patient, who also has an incompatible donor. By 
cross-matching two or more incompatible donor-recipient pairs, more 
patients can receive kidneys and more donors can give them.
  Currently, an estimated 6,000 individuals nationwide have offered 
kidneys to family members and friends, only to have the donation 
rejected because they are incompatible. Many providers will not perform 
paired donations, however, for fear of violating NOTA. If paired 
donations were allowed, a study published in the Journal of 
Transplantation by Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology predicts that there would be a 14 percent 
increase in the number of live kidney donor transplants performed each 
year.
  The controversy over paired organ donation began with an 
interpretation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 
stating that paired donation MAY be in violation of NOTA's valuable 
consideration clause. The clause was intended to outlaw the buying or 
selling of transplantable human organs. This stigma against paired 
donation elicits concern within some areas of the transplant community, 
which desperately wants clear legislative guidance on this issue.
  This legislation is supported by leading organ donation and organ 
transplant organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation, the 
American Society of Transplantation, the American Society of Transplant 
Surgeons, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, the 
Organization for Transplant Professionals, and the United Network for 
Organ Sharing (UNOS).
  Paired transplantation is a way to solve the dilemma faced by people 
who want to become living organ donors for a family member or friend, 
but are unable to do so because they are biologically incompatible. And 
one of the added benefits of this bill is that it produces savings. 
Since Dr. Norwood was dedicated to making sure that physicians were 
treated right and paid properly, we will be using this savings to do 
just that.
  I would like to sincerely thank Representatives Norwood and Inslee 
for their leadership, dedication, and diligent work on this important 
legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in strong support 
of H.R. 710, the ``Charlie W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act.''
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Before I yield to Dr. Gingrey, I want to thank 
the gentleman from Michigan for his excellent leadership and his 
willingness to expedite this process. It is because of John Dingell 
that this bill is on the floor this afternoon. We on the minority are 
very appreciative of that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey).
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for recognizing 
me, and I have a longer speech that I want to submit for the Record. I 
think my staff must have been looking over the ranking member's 
shoulder when they wrote it. He has already said those nice things 
about our good friend, Charlie Norwood.
  I was touched, though, in the letter that he received and read, the 
phrases ``hogwash'' and an ``old country dentist.'' I was sitting here 
thinking, I can see Charlie saying those things on this floor. That is 
the way he was and that is the way we remember him. He wasn't an old 
country dentist, let me assure you. He was a prosperous dentist in 
Augusta, Georgia, a population of 130,000, the home of the Masters; but 
that was Charlie.
  Let me join Joe Barton, the ranking member, in thanking Chairman 
Dingell. I mentioned this bill to the chairman last week, and he looked 
at me and said, Doc, and he had a little mist of tear in his eye, he 
said, Don't worry about this; we are going to do this. And I knew then 
that the chairman and Representative Inslee and others were fully 
supportive of what Charlie was trying to do.
  If he was thinking just of himself, Mr. Speaker, this bill probably 
would say the Living Lung Organ Donation Act, which also would be 
possible; but that wasn't Charlie. He was thinking about those 70,000 
other people who are waiting for a kidney.
  Charlie himself had to wait a long time to get that lung. Too long, 
we think. I don't know if it would have saved his life if he would have 
had an opportunity for a paired living lung donor, but he was thinking 
of others who were suffering, and as others have said, to bring a 
commonsense solution to problem solving in a bipartisan way. They 
described Charlie as a dog that has got ahold of a bone and won't let 
it go. Well, we can say to Charlie today, as part of our legacy to him, 
that he has succeeded.
  Mr. Speaker, let's support this bill as a legacy and tribute to the 
great Member, Charlie Norwood
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors a dear friend and former 
colleague in this body, the late Congressman Charlie Norwood. Charlie 
worked tirelessly as an advocate for patients across our Nation, and 
this bill is a fitting tribute to the tremendous impact he's made on 
healthcare in America.
  Mr. Speaker, in this country, there are more than 74,000 men, women 
and children on the

[[Page 5440]]

waiting list for a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, if the current 
trend of kidney transplants continues, only about half of these 
candidates will ever receive a life-saving transplant. Tragically, in 
2004, nearly 4,000 listed patients died while awaiting a kidney.
  One way for individuals to avoid the kidney transplant waiting list 
all together is to find a living donor, like a friend or family member 
who is willing to selflessly donate a kidney to save a loved one. The 
limitation on this compassion is that only compatible matches can 
donate kidneys; if your friends and family are not a match, they can't 
be your donor.
  But those of us who knew Charlie know that he was an excellent 
problem solver, always turning challenges into opportunities. With the 
limited donor options individuals face within their community of family 
and friends, patient advocates and healthcare providers have pushed for 
living organ donors. Charlie was convinced of the unlimited potential 
that could be realized when the pool of living donors would be expanded 
beyond one's immediate family and friends. In fact, there have been 
success stories of hospitals doing just this--finding pairs of living 
kidney donors who aren't matches for their own loved ones, but are 
matches for someone else's loved one.
  Unfortunately, due to conflicting interpretations of the National 
Organ Transplant Act, hospitals across the country are hesitant to make 
this type of procedure a rule--and this where the Charlie Norwood 
Living Kidney Organ Donation Act will create miracles.
  H.R. 710 would clarify in statute that this type of paired living 
kidney donation would be allowed under Federal law. This will alleviate 
the concerns of hospitals and healthcare providers that want to give 
all kidney patients the hope that transplants represent but ambiguity 
in law currently prevents.
  Mr. Speaker this is a win-win situation. More patients would benefit 
from a kidney transplant, thereby reducing the number of individuals on 
the waiting list. In turn, more Americans--both on the waiting list and 
off--will have that miraculous second chance at life.
  Mr. Speaker, passing this legislation will be a lasting tribute to 
Charlie Norwood's selfless efforts to help those in need. While we all 
wish our friend's lung transplant had saved his life, we can honor him 
by giving Americans across our Nation greater access to the potential 
miracle of an organ donation.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to another 
distinguished member of the Georgia delegation, Congressman John 
Linder.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I rise in support of the underlying legislation, and in support of 
the memory and legacy of its author, my friend and colleague, Charlie 
Norwood.
  Many people may remember the story of Nicholas Greene, the 17-year-
old boy who was killed during a family vacation in Italy. The tragic 
and sudden loss of this young boy was turned into a story of hope and 
love when his parents generously donated his organs. Out of his tragic 
death sprang life, as seven people received Nicholas' heart, liver, 
kidneys, corneas, and pancreatic cells.
  If there is one lesson we can take from Nicholas' great gift to the 
world and from the strong humanitarian legacy of Charlie Norwood, it is 
that we must support life whenever we have that opportunity.
  H.R. 710 specifically excludes kidney-paired donation from the 
National Organ Transplant Act's valuable consideration clause. The 
valuable consideration clause has a noble purpose, which is to keep 
people from buying and selling human organs. In the case of kidney-
paired donation, which is held to the highest of medical ethical 
standards, that purpose is obstructing the ability to save lives. By 
supporting this bill, we can give countless people a better chance for 
survival.
  Let me be clear: paired-organ donation does not constitute the buying 
or selling of organs. If we believe as much, then we accept the idea 
that the gift of life has a monetary value. Charlie vehemently opposed 
this concept, and so should we.
  Thousands of people die each year waiting on a transplant list, 
praying for the right match for a kidney. Paired donation will 
significantly increase the number of available kidneys each year, 
allowing even more people to live productive, healthy lives.
  H.R. 710 honors the memory of our friend Charlie Norwood, it honors 
the memory of Nicholas Greene and his family, and it honors all those 
Americans who have lost their lives while waiting on a transplant list. 
As such, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing this 
critically important vehicle for giving the gift of life to others.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to make a point. I think 
this is a great bipartisan success, to try to improve organ donation 
prospects for these 70,000 Americans. But we have more work to do. This 
bill is not the end of our efforts. I worked for 2 years with Mike 
Bilirakis, a great Republican, to try to have people in hospitals work 
with families on transplant donation issues. We need to fund that bill, 
and I hope we can have a bipartisan effort to do that.
  We have work to do to fund immunosuppressant drugs. Right now, we are 
not funding the drugs that donees need to suppress the immunological 
response to donation.
  So I hope we can continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to help 
these 70,000 Americans. We will remember Charlie Norwood's efforts in 
this regard and on future successes
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to another 
distinguished member of the Georgia delegation, Jack Kingston from 
Savannah.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Thank you, Mr. Barton, and I thank Dr. Burgess for 
letting a noncommittee member go first. I appreciate the courtesy; and 
I wanted to thank Mr. Inslee for his help on this bill and all of the 
work and leadership by both parties on this.
  If Charlie Norwood were here today, he would be sitting there and he 
would be embarrassed. He would be deflecting all of these sweet things 
that are being said about him. But if this bill was controversial and 
was having a tough fight, Charlie Norwood would be right in the middle 
of it and pushing it along and making sure it got done and standing up 
for the folks outside the 70,000-plus folks who are in line for an 
organ transplant right now. That is who he always answered to.
  I remember the Norwood-Dingell bill on the Patients' Bill of Rights, 
how he did not appreciate the leadership in our party's position on it, 
so he went out and found alternative ways to get it done. And in that 
case, he cobbled together a bipartisan group of Democrats and 
Republicans to push his Patients' Bill of Rights because Charlie 
Norwood was a fighter, and he was always a fighter for a good cause. So 
it is fitting and proper for him to be recognized in this bill.
  A couple of weeks ago I was at the University of Georgia, which is 
located in Athens, my hometown and in Charlie Norwood's district. And I 
met with Dr. Steve Stice. He told me he is doing a lot of work on stem 
cell, and he casually mentioned that the University of Georgia had 
cloned about 50 cattle and sheep. I could not believe they had cloned 
that many.
  But as I listened to him and all of the technological breakthroughs 
that are happening in the world of science and medicine today, I think 
what lies out there in organ transplant, we have not even scratched the 
surface. There will be medical revolutions in the years to come because 
of the technology that is out there.
  So our laws and what we are doing today is keeping the law current 
with the technology and with the science. That is why it is a good 
thing to do this. Think about Floyd Spence, our colleague from South 
Carolina, who had a lung transplant for 12 years, and our brave Charlie 
Norwood. Think about what they do; they educate the rest of us.
  Our day in office for all of us will end. Either politically or 
biologically or for whatever reason, but what a great thing it is to 
have that service time in the House be used to hold a baton high that 
you can pass on to the next generation and have true national impact. 
That is what we are doing here today.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. How much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 1\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.

[[Page 5441]]


  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I, unfortunately, can only yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), a member of the committee.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Barton for the time, and I 
thank Chairman Dingell for bringing this bill to the floor. This is a 
wonderful legacy for Charlie Norwood. Charlie was all about 
clarification and common sense. We miss him on the committee. 
Personally, he was my mentor and had seen me through many issues on the 
committee. But I can think of no more fitting way to close out the 
legacy of Charlie Norwood than with this act that brings clarification 
to Federal law and allows paired donations to proceed apace.
  Charlie Norwood, from life hereafter, has reached back to this House 
and delivered one last dose of common sense. Thank you, Charlie.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, could I ask unanimous consent for 3 
additional minutes to tell one last Charlie Norwood story.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, before I close, since we have 
painted Charlie Norwood to be such a saint today, I have got to kind of 
get a little bit truer picture of him.
  In the Energy Policy Act debate of 2005, there was a provision in the 
bill that was not controversial in the overall part of the bill, but it 
was very controversial in certain areas of the country. One of those 
areas was in Charlie's area of the southeast.
  I had been working with him all through the debate to try to get him 
to help me forge a compromise on this particular issue, and he agreed 
that the compromise was the best public policy, but it wasn't the 
policy that his region supported. So he was in a difficult position of 
agreeing with me, the chairman, on what the good public policy was, but 
knowing that that was not a vote that he would be supported in taking 
for his region.
  I went round and round with him about how to convince him to support 
this particular item in the bill, and he just flat couldn't do it. But 
I finally got him to agree that, at the critical moment, he would not 
be there to vote against it. In other words, he would be absent, 
meeting a constituent or something, and he just couldn't be there. He 
and I agreed on this, and our staffs had worked it out so that when the 
time came to vote, Mr. Norwood would not vote ``no,'' which would make 
me happy, but he wouldn't vote ``yes'' either, which would have made me 
even happier. He just wouldn't vote.
  So, sure enough, the critical moment came, and the vote occurred. 
True to his word, Charlie Norwood was not around, but as soon as I 
gaveled the vote, he burst into the room, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman, 
could I be recorded. I said, no, the vote has already expired. He said, 
what kind of hogwash is this and just raised holy cane, purely for 
theatrical purposes, but you know, the point had been made.
  So his constituency felt justified in his support, and I felt 
justified in he didn't vote against me, and yet he had upstaged his 
chairman, but in some cases, that was Charlie Norwood.
  We rise in support of this bill. It does save money. It saves $30 
million or $40 million the first year and I think $400 million to $500 
million over the 10-year scoring period. So we are going to work with 
the majority to find a way to put these savings to use so, once again, 
Congressman Norwood not only is doing a good thing, providing a gift to 
the living, but this piece of legislation, if it becomes law, will also 
save the taxpayers money.
  I would strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support legislation by 
Congressman Jack Inslee that will save thousands of lives by speeding 
the kidney donation process.
  By making paired kidney donation legal, this bill will facilitate the 
identification of kidney donors and speed the process by which donors 
are matched with patients. In fact, this bill could increase the number 
of live kidney donor transplants performed each year by 14 percent 
according to a study by the Journal of Transplantation.
  In addition to the positive effects for kidney transplant patients, 
speeding the donation process will also help reduce federal spending. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will reduce 
Medicare spending for dialysis by $500 million over 10 years.
  This legislation has a wide base of support from the medical 
community, including the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American 
Society of Transplantation, the Kidney Fund, the Transplant Surgeons, 
and the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. I am proud to 
add my vote of support to this list.
  This bill will give much needed hope to the more than 95,000 people 
who are waiting for a life-saving organ donation. I commend Congressman 
Inslee for introducing this important bill.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 710, as amended.
  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. BARTON of Texas. 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 and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed

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