mr. pallone. >> thank you mr. chairman and members of the committee. i am not going to talk much about the appropriations part but rather the authorizing part that relates to the energy and commerce committee which of course is health telecommunications energy and environment. in terms of the health provisions of the bill as ms. lowey said, chairwoman lowey said the heroes act continues our ongoing commitment to providing the health care resources needed to combat the virus. most in my opinion is the way the original cares act that we had pre-testing. we are now expanding that to free treatment drugs and ultimately a vaccine. what i mean by that is no one should be afraid that if they seek treatment or seek drugs or seek a vaccine ultimately they will have to incur a pocket costs whether it's the dockable's, co-pays for the cost in general. i think that's the most significant thing. second, we add $75 billion to the $25 billion that was provided in the last bill. specifically for national testid isolation plans. i think the responsibility has fallen ma

mr. pallone has helped shape into our infrastructure proposal based on the task force mr. clyburn chairs, that the task force on infrastructure and broadband , that we might be able to get a piece of this, as it is so necessary. telemedicine, distance learning, so many other ways it is important for people to be connected. with that, i would be pleased to take any questions you may have. yes. >> [inaudible] speaker pelosi: i will answer your question at the end, but we are here to say something very important for how we fight the coronavirus, and the entrepreneurial way of addressing that. i would hope you would have some interest in that. any questions on the subject brings us together here? reporter some states are : reopening. how critical do you think it is to get state and local funding within the next two weeks? aunt do you think that is possible? speaker pelosi: i cannot answer to the timing because we are at , ine mercy of the virus terms of when the capital physician and sergeant at arms say we can come together in a large number. and is very important, thank you

mr. pallone, the chair of the energy and commerce committee. mr. pallone talked about what's in the bill, the heroes act. the energy and commerce piece, which is about a robust and rapid testing initiative. a strategy. a strategy with a timetable, benchmarks, milestones, and the resources necessary to get the job done. and the job is to save lives. and those who are gathered here yesterday were pointing out how affected communities of color are by this. but there's not adequate testing there. we've got to get a handle on the challenge that we face. and we can only do that if we test, if we trace and then if we treat, we can reduce the number of deaths. and of course the isolation that goes with it. and wearing masks and following common sense and good guidance. so this -- i'm here today to say to you, 100,000 -- how many more of those -- how many of those could have been saved? we have example after example after example. poor anecdote of others saying, appropriations is not data. but the fact is it's illustrative of the fact that people are dying w

mr. pallone, for his five minutes of opening statement. >> thank you, madam chair, and thank you, ms. eshoo, for initiating this hearing and putting all your energy into it so that we're here today with dr. bright. we are here as part of the energy and commerce committee's ongoing work to confront the largest public health and economic crisis of our lifetimes. it has been mentioned more than 80,000 americans have lost their lives while more than 36 million others have lost their jobs as of today. this is a national emergency that requires every aspect of government to work together to reduce the spread of this terrible virus so we can confidently begin to reopen our economy. while this congress and the president have worked together to enact four laws to combat the pandemic and provide economic assistance to the american people, new laws are simply not enough. president trump and his administration have failed to provide the consistent and stable leadership that is necessary to guide our nation through this public health and economic crisis. for months the president has delivered mixe

mr. pallone, for his five minutes of questions. mr. pallone: thank you, madam chair. and let me just say, dr. bright, thank you for your courage in being here. when i was younger, we used to read a book by president kennedy called "profiles and courage," and, you know, your courage in being here reminds me of some of the people i read about in that book. i am concerned, dr. bright, that the trump administration does not have plans for a nationwide vaccine program to ensure that once a vaccine is approved we'll be able to quickly make it available to everyone. in other words, i don't want to see the same mistakes by the trump administration, the incompetence that they had with the supply chain and the testing repeated with the vaccine. and you stated at the outset of the pandemic in january, you began urgently pressing h.h.s. officials to provide the necessary resources to begin vaccine development but that your pleas fell on deaf ears. as the pandemic progressed, you said you were alarmed by the pressures coming from some administration officials for your agency to in

mr. pallone: as a member designated by representative coleman and will vote yea on the esolution. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 228, the nays are 189. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or a vote is objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. the house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass s. 2746. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2746, an act to require the director of the federal bureau of investigation to provide information on suicide rates in law enforcement and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler, and the gentleman from

mr. pallone for his five minutes of questions. >> thank you, madam chair. let me say, dr.right, thank you for your courage in being here. when i was younger, we used to read a book by president kennedy called "profiles in courage." your courage in being here remind me of some of the people i read about in that book. i am concerned, dr. bright, that the trump administration doesn't have plans for a nationwide vaccine program to ensure once a vaccine is approved, we'll be able to quickly make it available to everyone. in other words, i don't want to see the same mistakes by the trump administration, the incompetence that they had with the supply chain and the testing repeated with a vaccine. you stated at the outset of the pandemic in january, you began urgently pressing hhs officials to provide the necessary resources to begin vaccine development, that your pleas fell on deaf ears. as the pandemic progressed you stated you were alarmed by pressures from some administration officials for your agency to invest in drugs and vaccines, i quote, without proper scientific vetting

mr. pallone: mr. speaker, as the member designated by mrs. bonnie watson coleman, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that mrs. bonnie watson coleman will vote yea on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> as the member designated by ms. roybal-allard, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that ms. roybal-allard will vote aye on moving the previous question. as the member designated by mr. tony cardenas -- cardenas, i inform the house that mr. cardenas will vote aye on oving the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california see recognition? >> as a member designated by the honorable john garamendi of california, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that representative garamendi will vote yea on t previous question. mr. sherman: and as the member designated by representative can hanna of california, pursuant -- row can hanna of california, -- khanna of california, i inform the house th

mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. r. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of the heroes act. is the health y and safety of the american people, and the heroes act lays need to ation we will safely reopen the economy. and contrary to my republican this legislation is directly related to the pandemic. builds out ion national testing and contract tracing by finally requiring the trump administration to develop comprehensive plans with clear benchmarks and timelines. we also mandate a national czar and supply chain to guarantee supplies, testing equipment, and drugs and ultimately vaccines are americans.o all the bill also provides states with additional increases for programs, to ensure that americans don't lose their health insurance. covid-19 all treatments and vaccines are free sharing for patients, as we did with previous legislation for testing. act, mr. chairman, protects vulnerable patients in nursing homes by providing to establish ates and deploy strike teams, manage outbreaks, and assist with ca

mr. pallone: madam speaker, as designated by mrs. bonnie watson coleman, pursuant i house resolution 965, inform the house that mrs. bonnie watson coleman will vote yea on the motion. for peaker pro tempore: what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> madam speaker, as the member designated by mr. blumenauer, resolution house 965, i inform the house that mr. blumenauer votes no on the resolution. as a member designated by mr. lowenthal, pursuant to house 965, i inform the house that mr. lowenthal will the motion. as a member designated by mr. lieu, pursuant to house 965, i inform the ouse that mr. lieu will vote yes on the motion. as a representative by ms. lugs pursuant to house 96 -- resolution 965, ms. moore will vote yes. a member designated by mr. foster, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the foster will vote yes on the motion. as a member designated by mr. ohen, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that will cohen will vote yea on the motion. designated by mr. veasey, pursuant to house resolu

mr. chairman frank pallone, assistance to hospitals, all that goes into that, it has a strategic plan, a strategic plan for testing, tracing, treating, and isolating. it's what this country needs. to defeat the covid-19 virus. secondly, honor our heroes. that's the title of our bill. the h.e.r.o.e.s. act. the health care workers, the first responders, police, fire, emergency services, sanitation, food workers, our transportation teachers, transportation workers, and the rest. the list goes on. many of them risk their lives to save lives, and now they may lose their jobs because of the coronavirus. and the cost that it is to their communities. third, -- no, first, open the economy, test, test, test. two, two, we want to honor our heroes. by helping state and local entities. and three, we want to put money in the pockets of the american people. we're doing that with direct payments to american families, with unemployment insurance, with child tax credit, low-income tax credit, employment retention tax credit, a number of different ways. until it is necessary -- not necessary anymore. this

mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. r. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of the heroes act. is the health y and safety of the american people, and the heroes act lays need to ation we will safely reopen the economy. and contrary to my republican this legislation is directly related to the pandemic. builds out ion national testing and contract tracing by finally requiring the trump administration to develop comprehensive plans with clear benchmarks and timelines. we also mandate a national czar and supply chain to guarantee supplies, testing equipment, and drugs and ultimately vaccines are americans.o all the bill also provides states with additional increases for programs, to ensure that americans don't lose their health insurance. covid-19 all treatments and vaccines are free sharing for patients, as we did with previous legislation for testing. act, mr. chairman, protects vulnerable patients in nursing homes by providing to establish ates and deploy strike teams, manage outbreaks, and assist with ca

mr. chair. first i want to say that chair woman lowy and chairman pallone i think they've done a marvelous job on this. your usual first-rate job my district is devastated by this virus. just to give you an example of why the state and local money is important in the other money that is here for unemployment miami beach has about 90000 residents has 10 million visitors that's what had last year the restaurants cannot open up because i represent the hotels on the beach, the port of miami, the crews lines that came in, so all of those conventions and cruise lines florida now has 2 million people who have applied for unemployment and in my district, almost everyone that was involved in anything related to the hospitality industry which probably is 80% of my district have lost their jobs and are applying for unemployment they are applying for ppp. i hope on ppp we can at some point talk about the transition for those restaurants they will not fully open up and they are concerned that if they open up and they only have 25% of the business because they have to spread people out, they're still going to

mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record letters of statement of support of h.res. 965 from chairman pallone, representive trahan, representative thompson, and representative peters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's request will be covered by general leave. mr. mcgovern: i'm glad the gentleman who previously spoke said he wants to stand up for nurses, doctors, and teefsers. he has a chance to do that in the next bill we'll talk about. there is money in there to provide them more assistance in terms of testing and treatment and tracing and more money for p.p.e. but i -- my guess is the gentleman will vote no on that. the same people out here who are talking about being brave and standing up with our first responders are the same people whose leader has said that his proposal is to prioritize members of congress ahead of all of our constituents in terms of testing so we can operate here. . my constituents who are on the rontlines, the doctors, the nurses, the first responders, deserve to be tested first house.anybody in this i yield to ms. tra has. trahan. the speaker pro tempore: the