Greg Walden

Madame Chair, the work you, Dr. Burgess, Rep. Susan Brooks, and I did over two Congresses resulted in one product: The Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act.

The world is coping with an historic, deadly pandemic that we always knew was possible, but prayed would not happen.

We need to get to the heart of the matter, and we need to look forward to see what we haven't done right as a Congress and a country.

The world is coping with an historic deadly pandemic that we always knew was possible, but we prayed would not happen.

So I know we are operating under really unusual conditions.

I think they have been laser-focused on this. And it is clear the President is committed to fighting against this massive form of illicit trade that inflicts harm on American consumers and businesses.

We can all agree that counterfeit products threaten our economy, public safety, and consumer trust.

I believe collaboration can and must occur between online platforms and marketplaces, law enforcement, and rights owners.

We, of course, have seen these supply channels come via China, touch every part of this committee's jurisdiction.

Today's hearing builds on I think that really important work we did in this committee last Congress.

I want us to do work that points us to targeted solutions. I want us to do work that will bring meaningful results.

Germany demonstrates this very problem. As it chose to shut down its nuclear industry, it has doubled down on expanding renewables like solar and wind.

The report noted that nuclear and hydropower 'form the backbone of low-carbon electricity generation,' responsible for three-quarters of the global low-carbon generation and the reduction of over sixty gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions…

The most cost-effective way, indeed, the only reasonable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster our national economic and security interests is through innovation, especially nuclear innovation.

The focus of today's hearing obviously is fundamental to addressing climate change risks and one that Republicans have logically and proudly championed: advanced nuclear technology.

Let me welcome the panel today, which I am pleased to see represent several important perspectives.

Our nuclear energy exports boost our national security priorities.

So, I think the answer is obvious about the importance of nuclear energy.

U.S. global leadership here is sorely needed. Exporting clean power and clean power technologies will do more to drive down global CO2 emissions than some arbitrary cap that countries fail to meet.

However, I am disappointed that H.R. 2062, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, a bipartisan bill that would make meaningful changes to 42 CFR Part 2, was not included in today's hearing.

I'm disappointed at the rushed nature of today's hearing, and that the majority has seemingly combined a SUPPORT Act implementation hearing with a legislative hearing.

I hope that today's testimony will allow us all to learn more about the Federal Government's shared efforts and to drill deeper to learn what's working and what's not working.

The United States remains in the midst of an opioid crisis that is a national emergency.

Meanwhile, marijuana products are not covered by the bill. Go figure. I urge my colleagues to vote against this legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I want to point out again that if you want to do something about kids, if you want to do something about lung disease, then we need to do something about marijuana and the oils it gets mixed with that this bill does not address. These are…