Frank Pallone

I think at all times that public monies are expended, no matter how they are done, they should be done in a transparent manner and in a fair manner, to where every person has an opportunity to participate, to do justice and to be…

6 million children in this country who are currently eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid do not have health insurance. These children's parents work, but they cannot afford to ensure that their children have well-child care, and they have to…

After 2 years of trying to get this bill enacted, we are now nearing the finish line and with not a moment to spare. As the Nation moves deeper into a recession and unemployment rates continue to rise, millions of Americans are joining the…

I've been trying to explain that the reason that the money is saved pursuant to this provision is because physician self- referrals inherently are not a good thing. We are trying to discourage it as much as possible and not having it be…

The answer to that is that we believe that the legislation, as it is before you today, accomplishes that goal. In other words, as I said, these hospitals within 18 months of enactment, they can essentially reconfigure, so if no physician…

At a time when crime rates are increasing all around our country, we invest $1.2 billion over the President's budget to help local communities make their neighborhoods safer. At a time when significant infrastructure improvements are…

I would hope that the Members on the other side of the aisle, including the ranking member, who I have a great deal of respect for, would use the time to contemplate, perhaps go to an emergency room.

I just want to thank everyone, particularly the staff that were involved in putting this legislation together and all the negotiations. [...] This bill I think effectively addresses those issues. I hope and expect that it will be noticed…

We're talking about $50 billion over the next 5 years, about $10 billion more per year, to cover the rest of the kids that are currently eligible for this program.

It is so important for those that are watching this when you have veterans out there. We have the oral history of our veterans that is going to the Library of Congress. Veterans need to be remembered for everything that they have done for…

You are absolutely right. I appreciate the fact that you talk about how, by covering kids or even adults, you save money in the emergency room or in hospitalization or whatever it is. But also, you mentioned the outreach, because I talked…

The reality is we are getting to a crisis now where many physicians simply will not accept payment from some of these programs because the reimbursement rate has gotten so low. Now, you mentioned Medicare, because that is the big one for…

I would say if you were going to use the tax policy or the tax system as a way of addressing this in some meaningful way, it would be a lot more meaningful to a low-income person if it was a refundable tax credit than as a tax deduction…

The President talks about health care costs, but in my opinion the biggest thing that could be done or one of the major accomplishments would be if he would simply go along with what we passed in the first 100 hours, which is negotiated…

I don't know the specifics in terms of each line item. It is a 400-page bill. But I would point out, we have that language in the bill that I read before that specifically says that any suggestion that there be an earmark, even if it is…

If I may interrupt, this continuing resolution is essentially continuing the same level of funding; and yet it is making these advances, including a number in the health care area. Veterans' health care goes up, as does funding for the…

The other thing that bothers me is that a lot of people will either individually negotiate with their employer, or if they are part of a union, negotiate through their union, a better health package, and call it a Cadillac or gold-plated…

Understand that we are very supportive of the PREEMIE Act and the underlying legislation. It is just these additional provisions that have been added. I was going to suggest that the majority simply take out those 10 pages or so at this…

I want to support this legislation. I think that it is a very important and comprehensive bill that updates our Nation's fisheries management laws, but I want to mention two provisions that are critically important to my constituents in…

I really think that in this case, that we are making a huge mistake. First of all, this is on the Suspension Calendar. It should not be. This is a very controversial issue. It is still a huge controversy in the scientific community, and…

We strongly support H.R. 4545, championed by our colleague from Lakewood, California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez). This authorization will authorize Federal financial assistance for a unique water reuse and conservation project in the Los…

S. 2464 will allow the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Department of the Interior to revise their respective responsibilities under the 1990 Fort McDowell Indian Water Rights Settlement Act in a mutually acceptable way. I want to…

Once again, we support this resolution and thank the sponsor, my colleague from New Jersey, for introducing it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I think, Mr. Chairman, we were told in advance that we would do Energy and Commerce first, so that is the way we would prefer to proceed.

We support this legislation that would transfer the Paint Bank and Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Both hatcheries have been operated by the Commonwealth for several years under a long-term management…