Frank Pallone

Medicare beneficiaries are some of the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

I always worry that when CBO, MedPAC, and these other agencies look at overutilization, they don't pay enough attention to whether or not--yes, OK, maybe there is more utilization because it is actually better.

When the pandemic was beginning to take hold in America, we moved quickly to significantly expand access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries.

President Biden has set forth a national plan to crush the virus. With this bill, Congress is providing the President with the resources and tools to implement a national plan that was sorely lacking under President Trump. States competed…

Months of disinformation about the Presidential election results helped fan the flames for the attack on the Capitol on January 6--an abhorrent attempt to overturn a free and fair election.

This culture of fear is unjust....

The Majority appears to be quasi-legislating its attack on the First Amendment by using their public positions of power to coerce private companies to censor political speech.

To stay silent could undermine the First Amendment.

At a time when autocratic governments around the world are using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to suppress press freedoms, we must reaffirm--not undermine--America's commitment to a free press.

We are all staunch defenders of the First Amendment and its mandate that Congress make no law abridging the freedom of speech.

Any effort to undermine that truthfulness is an effort at--to undermine and dismantle our democracy.

There are not two sides, in my opinion, when it comes to the acceptance of basic facts

This debate--in my view--is our best hope for addressing one of the challenges confronting our country.

We owe it to our constituents and our democracy to examine how and why disinformation is being aired on traditional media and social media.

So, if Moderna is already taxing its manufacturing capacity at its current level, how will you be able to rapidly produce new vaccines or booster shots, if necessary?

Are you planning to partner with other manufacturers to boost production?

All options for expanding capacity and increasing supply must be on the table.

Because of the inaction by the Trump administration, availability of the vaccine is not where the country needs to be.

I hope my Republican colleagues will join me, without delay, in supporting this bill for the American people. There is simply no time to waste.

This nationwide vaccination campaign is truly historic, and it will require substantial support from Congress to succeed.

I hope to learn today what more Congress and the Federal Government can do to provide more certainty and help accelerate vaccinations across the country, while ensuring equitable access for those most vulnerable to COVID-19.

We are now in a race to keep vaccines ahead of new virus variants--and the stakes could not be higher.

This committee's top priorities this year are to combat this pandemic, provide relief to struggling families, and rebuild our economy.

If we all work together, I'm confident that this historic vaccination campaign will succeed and we will crush COVID-19.

The pain and devastation inflicted by this pandemic cannot be overstated as we mark the tragedy of half a million lives lost...