Kathy Castor

But we shouldn't take a step backwards and we shouldn't undermine the Clean Air Act and not continue to move forwards.

I hope the committee and this Congress will not weaken the Clean Air Act or undermine the important progress America has made in cleaning our air since the 1960s.

Michigan's intent is to ensure that the children and pregnant women that get their health services through Medicaid are entered into a registry and are tracked over time?

I am also concerned about the levels across the country.

I also want to thank the committee for calling this hearing because the Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the Safe Drinking Water Act.

I am disappointed that, once again, your budget eliminates funding for this critical program, and I'm troubled by EPA's apparent lack of concern over potential for waterborne pathogens or pollution affecting coastal recreation and public…

One of the strengths of the law is that it allows some flexibility among the medical specialties.

The goal eventually is to ensure that our neighbors can live longer and healthier and not just get the test or medicine earlier.

Because in the Western Hemisphere, as Dr. Hotez says, we are so interconnected, Florida to Brazil, and Latin America and Colombia, and Puerto Rico, to Mexico, to Haiti.

So we spend a lot of time if they do have to travel talking about preventative measures.

I'm also especially concerned with the American citizens in Puerto Rico because we now have 117 confirmed cases.

I think Ebola was something of a wake-up call, but the Zika virus and other viruses, diseases, we've got to be better prepared.

I think the U.S. Government needs a more active role in coordinating what's going on in Haiti.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Mr. Secretary. It is good to have you here.

It's a very important message for the millions, and millions, and millions of our neighbors who travel across the Americas and in the Western Hemisphere.

Could you name those specific areas so that we have that?

We want our states and our communities to be well prepared and we want to better understand the impacts of the virus.

We have 12 million Americans now living with a neglected tropical disease in the United States.

So we're going to need extensive research on all that, and that is just starting. Is that right?

The Zika outbreak began in Brazil nearly a year ago, and it's rapidly spread across the Americas.

It is very important as you know to families across America and it is in our national interest to strengthen long-term care across the spectrum from home and community-based care to skilled nursing.

I wanted to recommend one to my colleagues. Congressman Gregg Harper, my Republican colleague, and I are cosponsoring H.R. 3009.

We can all agree that the rising cost of the baby boomers coming into long-term care need situation is going to be untenable and unacceptable.

The reason I really recommend it to you is it passed the Senate.

For the first time ever, more than 90 percent of Americans have health coverage.