mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, i have great respect for my colleague from pennsylvania, but i just think that more and more of what i'm hearing from my republican colleagues is what i call fantasy land. this isn't the america we know where in the past few years when the affordable care act has taken effect so many americans who didn't have health insurance now have it. something like 19 million americans who were uninsured now have health insurance. millions of young adults have health insurance because they were able to stay on their parents' plan. 129 million americans no longer can be denied health insurance for having a pre-existing condition. seniors have saved so much money on the prescription drugs. i could go on and on but i don't need to. americans like the affordable care act. it is working. we cannot go back. we cannot let -- turn over the health care sy

mr. pallone: mr. speaker how much time is now on the republican side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 13 1/2 minutes. mr. pallone: and i reserve. mr. upton: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from north dakota, mr. kramer. mr. cramer: i spent several minutes articulating the benefits of this bill. and i thank you for introducing it in the senate. there are legitimate concerns being raised by my friends on the other side. with regard to the price of oil being about $50 and being low and therefore somehow that negates the need for the pipeline. 2,336 days ago, the price of oil was approaching $50. transcanada still applied for the pipeline. in fact, at low prices the cost of transportation is a more important consideration and oil transported by rail costs about $10 a barrel more than it does by pipeline. the pipeline is even more important. with regard to the pump station spill in north dakota on the original keystone pipeline. i cited that line. the good news was everything

mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, i have great respect for my colleague from pennsylvania, but i just think that more and more of what i'm hearing from my republican colleagues is what i call fantasy land. this isn't the america we know where in the past few years when the affordable care act has taken effect so many americans who didn't have health insurance now have it. something like 19 million americans who were uninsured now have health insurance. millions of young adults have health insurance because they were able to stay on their parents' plan. 129 million americans no longer can be denied health insurance for having a pre-existing condition. seniors have saved so much money on the prescription drugs. i could go on and on but i don't need to. americans like the affordable care act. it is working. we cannot go back. we cannot let -- turn over the health care sy

mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, i have great respect for my colleague from pennsylvania, but i just think that more and more of what i'm hearing from my republican colleagues is what i call fantasy land. this isn't the america we know where in the past few years when the affordable care act has taken effect so many americans who didn't have health insurance now have it. something like 19 million americans who were uninsured now have health insurance. millions of young adults have health insurance because they were able to stay on their parents' plan. 129 million americans no longer can be denied health insurance for having a pre-existing condition. seniors have saved so much money on the prescription drugs. i could go on and on but i don't need to. americans like the affordable care act. it is working. we cannot go back. we cannot let -- turn over the health care system again to the insurance companies that will have skeletal plans, don't have good benefits, raise premiums to whatever they want and not act

mr. pallone is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he wishes to use. mr. pallone: i rise in support of h.r. 734, the f.c.c. consolidated reporting act of 2015. congress is charge -- has charged the federal communications commission with overseeing industries that make up one sixth of our national demism communications and technology sectors are driving economic growth across the nation, connecting businesses to markets large and small and delivering innovative new products and services to consumers. a part of this -- as part of this critical mission, congress has tasked the f.c.c. with compiling reports to provide the public with information about these dynamic markets. democrats and republicans agree that the f.c.c. needs to collect good day tafment consumers and businesses rely on this information. and we here in congress need this information too in order to make sound policy decisions and conduct effective oversight of

mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, ms. compleark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. ms. clarke: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to h.r. 596, a bill that will completely repeal the affordable care act, which was signed into law in 2010 and declared sound by the supreme court. it gives health care coverage to all americans regardless of their gender, health condition or ability to pay. unlike other republican repeal efforts, h.r. 596 does have a bit of a new twist. this legislation instructs the appropriate committee to include provisiones that will provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage and provisions designed to increase the number of insured americans. i'm not sure where the republicans have been in the past five years, but those two provisions is already in the affordable care act, which is already the law of the land. in fact, the number of uninsured a

mr. pallone: mr. speaker how much time is now on the republican side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 13 1/2 minutes. mr. pallone: and i reserve. mr. upton: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from north dakota, mr. kramer. mr. cramer: i spent several minutes articulating the benefits of this bill. and i thank you for introducing it in the senate. there are legitimate concerns being raised by my friends on the other side. with regard to the price of oil being about $50 and being low and therefore somehow that negates the need for the pipeline. 2,336 days ago, the price of oil was approaching $50. transcanada still applied for the pipeline. in fact, at low prices the cost of transportation is a more important consideration and oil transported by rail costs about $10 a barrel more than it does by pipeline. the pipeline is even more important. with regard to the pump station spill in north dakota on the original keystone pipeline. i cited that line. the good news was everything

mr. pallone's positive discussions about chip. i've always been a strong supporter. and as of july 2014 476,000 children were enrolled in this affordable coverage option for their care in new york. so i think that that is really really important. i was pleased, therefore to see what the budget proposal for fy 2016 included funding for chip for the next four years through fy 2019. so can you elaborate on why you believe increasing tobacco taxes is a viable means for funding this program while we sort out the transition issues associated with the affordable care act? >> we believe one of the things in being fiscally responsible and how we are paying for things we believe this is a legitimate way to pay for things especially in the context of we are providing health care and something that will create a deterrent and help health care in the issue of a tobacco tax. as one analyzes across the department or cdc the impact that tobacco has on health care in our nation and the cost in our nation we think is a fair place to go to pay for this care for the children. >> i agree

mr. pallone: thank you mr. speaker. president obama's budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 lays out a fiscally responsible plan to invest in our future and makes sure that hardworking americans are able to benefit from an economy that is finally improving. and i'm particularly pleased that the president is committed to make strategic investments. the budget invests $146 billion for r&d across the federal government which is a 6% increase. the budget provides for $7 billion in clean energy funding throughout the federal government, and $2.4 billion to further advance manufacturing technologies. this funding improves our scientific knowledge, creates technologies with widespread benefits and strengthens u.s. global competitiveness. the budget also makes investments in public health, including $31 billion for the national institutes of health, a $1 billion i crease over the 2015 level. and $1.2 billion across several agencies to combat anti-y buy ottic re-- antibiotic resistance and targeted therapies for patients. i menti

mr. pallone for three minutes. >> thank you chairman and ranking members. and thank you administrative mccarth for being here. a clean environment isn't a luxury. it is essential to a strong economy. and epa is on the effort of making the air safer to breathe and the water safer to drink. the president's 2016 budget funds the epa at $8.6 billion, an increase of $450 over the fiscal year 2014 level and that is the minimum amount of money epa needs to address to many challenges we are facing which happen to be the greatest threat to the planet we have seen and that is climate change. the funds represent a small portion of the overall budget. less than one quarter of one percent and 40 percent is shared with states and tribes to help implement laws squawchieve national goal. those funds support local economies and communities big and small. it includes significant funding for brown field cleanup and protething human health and the environment the cleanup projects are promoting growth and gains in community and property value. according to a recent analysis on

mr. pallone i've attended enrollment process after process.as recently as the sunday before last, 400 people at that church enrolled. i agree with my friend from georgia, his point to the president's statement in the statement of the administration of being opposed to this, that it was fully integrated, i disagree with that statement of the president. i do not believe that it is fully integrated. i believe it is capable of being fully integrated. if people like me had our way we would have universal health care . i did not think this went far enough to help the american people. we have slowed the rate at which health care premiums increase and extended the life, this is someone has said nothing about extended the life of the medicare trust fund by 13 years. we are helping our most vulnerable americans gain access to health care and saving money through preventative measures. instead of working to create jobs, raise the minimum wage, renew emergency unemployment insurance, address immigration reform or any other of the many urgent priorities ou

mr. pallone is right. i had legislation that if it were repealed that this particular section we would immediately have a vote and it would remain in effect. it has very little to do with obama care. but let's be real about why this was in there. >> i'm mentioning it because i'm trying to make the point i believe there are so many aspects of the affordable health care act integrated into the health care system now it would be total chaos if you just repealed it. it could be chaos. >> there is just no question that on so many issues of health care as they affect families the president started this debate, and he won the hearts and minds of the american people. i don't believe preexisting conditions will ever come back into the conversation in america. i think the president persuaded america that if through no fault of your own you're in a situation why you have been playing by the rules and you can't find a health plan to cover you there ought to be a program for you. he won that debate. children that can't

mr. pallone: to address the house for one minute mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, myrick. there are 16 calendar days and only six legislative days until the department of homeland security shuts down on february 28. and let me repeat that. the department charged with keeping america safe is set to run out of funding in just two weeks all because the republican majority insists on pandering toon anti-immigrant -- to an anti-immigrant extremist in their party. in fact, when asked to take up a new d.h.s. response bill, the republican response is, why do we have to? well, my brazen colleagues across the aisle who won't do this here's why. keeping americans safe should be the first responsibility of this congress. at a time of increased threats around the world, holding this hostage for a sake of a partisan stunt is the height of irresponsibility. without funding, d.h.s. would be unable to manage and support the homeland security infrastructure that was built following the 9/11

mr. pallone: there are two days left until the department of homeland security shuts down. the department charged with keeping americans safe is set to run out of funding tomorrow all because republicans in congress insist on manufacturing political crises instead of working to help hardworking americans get ahead. a shut down would mean that those charged every day with protecting our safety would all be expected to report for duty without any promise of a paycheck. in my home state of new jersey nng, that would mean over 4,000 department of homeland security employees including nearly 1,600 active duty coast guard members, would go to work without any pay. payments to help sandy victims recover would also not be able to be processed in the event of a shut down. and those families have already suffered enough. they don't need a republican shut down making things even more difficult. ensuring the safety of the american people should never be a partisan issue. now is the time to come together and do what's right to protect all of our families. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous co

mr. ranking member pallone mr. green. and other sides of the aisle to improve that document.k about it from a budget perspective. one part of the initiative is creating a very large database of 1 million people through nih, but we'll access that from other channels to get the information we need, because as we're talking about what this is precision medicine or personalized medicine is getting the information so that we can do treatments that are to the individual. i was at nih recently had the opportunity to both see the tumors and meet the cancer patient of a kidney cancer patient where he had had a group of tumors removed. they came back. but then, using precision medicine, which meant looking specifically at the genetic makeup of his tumors, they could be treated in a different way. i met him. that happened months ago, and now he the patient was there, discussing with me and is in a very different place. so one that large database. two, specifically focussing on the area of cancer because we already are seeing some progress there, and we believe that place is ripe for it.

mr. ranking member pallone mr. green. and other sides of the aisle to improve that document.t it from a budget perspective. one part of the initiative is creating a very large database of 1 million people through nih, but we'll access that from other channels t