mr. upton. then i'd yield to mr. green two minutes. mr. green: thank you, my colleague on energy and commerce committee and my good texas friend. madam speaker, i rise in support of the amendment and ask unanimous consent to place my full statement into the record. the amendment i'm offering with my friend, congressman joe barton, would authorize the energy department to establish a pilot nuclear waste program. congress passed the nuclear waste policy act, directing d.o.e. and n.r.c. to open a permanent repository for our nuclear spent fuel. over 30 years later, tens of thousands of nuclear waste -- the reason behind this failure is well-known. it's imperative this congress and the administration act to open a safe and permanent storage facility. until that date, we must find interim storage to ensure that the 70,000 tons of spent fuel sitting in our nation's nuclear plants are safe from harm's way. the pilot program authorized in this amendment would be paid for by funds already available in t

i appreciate mr. upton and mr. terry, the chairman of our -- the chairmen of our committee and subcommittee, and mr. waxman, the full committee ranking member for helping bring this legislation to the floor. i strongly support brand u.s.a.'s mission of promoting international travel to the united states, and i have heard from travel and tourism professionals across my district about the need to re-authorize this program. but it's not just the chicago area that benefits. brand u.s.a. supports 350,000 jobs and $3.4 billion in visitors' spending each year from coast to coast, according to the u.s. travel association. i would like to thank mr. bilirakis and mr. welch, the sponsors of h.r. 4450, for their continued commitment to the promotion of international tourism. the sponsors worked with me to make some important improvements to this legislation during the committee markup process. the amendments we made to the bill will make brand u.s.a. even more accountable and economically viable moving forward. due to our effo

i want to express my appreciation to the chairman of the energy and commerce committee, mr. upton, and the chairman of the telecommunications subcommittee for their efforts, mr. walden, for their efforts on this re-authorization as well, and i look forward to continue to work with them on this important issue, important to all of our constituents. and i yield back. mr. walden: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from vermont is recognized. mr. welch: i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield three minutes to a member of the judiciary committee, the member from new york, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 4572, the stela re-authorization act of 2014, which renews for another five years the statutory license that allows satellite providers to retransmit distant signals into a local broadcast area in certain circumstances. the satellite distance contained in section 119 of the copyright act is set to expire o

waxman said he's never seep anything like this, i know this is a unique and special moments to you mr. upton and you mr. gett for convening us in what i hope would be a series of conversations. to try to answer your question, certainly what desperately need to get a study predictable project ri ory of support. we've not seen that. we have lost over 20% of our purchasing power. it has put the system under tremendous stress. it has caused the loss of jobs. maybe most importantly and most worriso worrisome. if we want to see innovation continue at the level that it could need to have confidence that there is going to be a panel for them that their dreams are going to be possible to pursue. we're not lacking their ideas. this is a unique moment in terms of search potential. it is also perhaps an occasion where we're missing out on the kind of return on that investment that might be there. i want to mention that as well because i think your questions reflect an interest in that. don't know if you saw just today a publication that did an analysis of the economic returns of the women's health initi

. >> now recognize mr. upton for five minutes for an opening statement. >> i yield back my time. i'll just submit my statement. >> chair thanks the gentleman. we have two panels today. on our first panel, janet woodcock, u.s. food and drug administration. thank you for coming again today. and you'll have five minutes to summarize your written testimony. so at this time, the chair recognizes dr. woodcock for five minutes for opening statement. >> thank you. we are here to discuss how drug development better meets the needs of patients. decades ago health care was very physician centric and very paternalistic. we all recognize that today. it was kind of the doctor knows best, don't ask any questions, right? today the model is collaboration between a patient and a health care team. these changes, though, have evolved slowly in our society and thinking in drug development has slowly changed in parallel. the fda safety and innovation act of two years ago took significant steps in this direction of patient-centric development. it contained agreements that fda would sponsor at least 20

mr. whitfield, for his leadership and fine work on this. and also chairman upton for his outstanding work. nd i want to congratulate my friends, mr. pallone and mr. waxman, for the good work they have done on this legislation. indeed, the staffs on both sides of the committee have been remarkable in what it is they have done on this matter. and it's interesting to note that we have the strong support of the american academy of dermatology, the american cancer society action network, the melanoma research alliance, the environmental working group and the melanoma research foundation. and i ask unanimous consent to insert letters from those agencies into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dingell: i'd like to observe that the staff has performed extraordinary work on this matter. i want to congratulate and thank greg on my staff as well as taylor, john, carley, eric for their hard work on the legislation. and i want to recognize members p-a-s-s, t coalition, for their hard work on this coalition. i reserve the balance of my time.

. >> i recognize mr. upton for five minutes. >> thank you. this is a very serious hearing, for sure. two years ago after allegations about problems in cdc building 18, home of the deadliest agents and pathogens, investigations about compliance in the operation of its main lab facilities. in response to concerns, cdc director tom frieden sent the committee a letter. the letter outlined the agency's efforts to ensure better oversight in safe handling of select agents at cdc labs, including rigorous training, constant review of safety measures, and multiple layers of systems. the letter stated that a senior official who was not identified would be designated to report directly to the cdc director on safety at cdc labs. these measures sound very similar to the corrective actions dr. frieden outlined last week to address the current lab crisis. why should we believe this time that things are in fact going to be different? we asked cdc two years ago to invite each biosafety issue that had taken place since 2005. cdc provided us with a list in 2012,

. >> i recognize mr. upton for five minutes. >> thank you. this is a very serious hearing, for sure. two years ago after allegations about problems in cdc building 18, home of the andliest agents pathogens, investigations about compliance in the operation of its main lab facilities. in response to concerns, cdc sent thetom frieden committee a letter. the letter outlined the agency's efforts to ensure better oversight in safe handling of select agents at cdc labs, including rigorous training, constant review of safety measures, and multiple layers of systems. the letter stated that a senior official who was not identified would be designated to report directly to the cdc director on safety at cdc labs. these measures sound very similar to the corrective actions dr. frieden outlined last week to address the current lab crisis. why should we believe this time that things are in fact going to be different? we asked cdc two years ago to invite each bi-safety issue that afety issue--bio-s that had taken place since 2005. cdc provided us with a list

. >> recognize mr. upton for five minutes. >> this is a very serious hearing for sure. allegations about problems in cdc's building 18, the home to the world's deadliest agents and pathogens, this committee investigated whether the cdc was complying with federal safety requirements in the operation of its main lab facilities. in response to our concerns, cdc director sent the committee a letter in september of '12. thec dc letter which i would like to include outlined the agency's efforts to ensure better oversight and safe handling of a select agents at cdc labs. the measures included rigger owe us training, multiple layers. a senior official who was not identified would be designated to report directly to the cdc director on safety at cdc labs. these measures sound very similar to the corrective actions that dr. frieden outlined last week to address the current lab crisis. why should we believe this time that things are, in fact, going to be different? we asked cdc two years ago to identify each biosafety incident that had taken place at its main lab since january 1st

recognize the chairman of the full committee, mr. upton.inutes for opening statement. >> i yield back my time. i will submit my record, my statement in order -- >> chair thanks the gentleman. we have two panels today. on our first panel we have dr. janet woodcock, center of drug valuation research, food and drug administration. thank you again for coming today. you will have five minutes to summarize your testimony, written testimony. it will be placed in the record. so at this time, the chair recognizes dr. woodcock, five minutes for opening statement. >> thank you. we are here to discuss how drug development better meets the needs of patients. decades ago health care was very physician-centric and actually very paternalistic. we all recognize that today. it was kind of the doctor knows best, don't ask any question, right? today the model is collaboration between a patient and the health care team. these changes show have evolved solely in our society and the thinking and drug development has slowly changed in parallel. the fda safety and

mr. speaker. i thank chairman upton for his leadership, again, subcommittee chair, chairman terry, doing an outstanding job, all those who have contributed to this bill. our lead co-sponsor, mr. peter welch, and my co-chair of the tourism caucus, mr. farr, who i believe will speak in a few minutes, for their work on this legislation and also the ranking member of the subcommittee ms. schakowsky. i support this prudent, narrow, re-authorization of the travel promotion act. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. ms. schakowsky: it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from california, from . beautiful area of the country carmel. there it is. to mr. farr. mr. farr: thank you for yielding. thank you for your leadership on this bill. i rise in support of this bill for many reasons. the first reason is that america needs to market itself. you'd think -- you think, oh, everybody loves america. what i found in my travels is that not everybody has the same opinion about america. if you

mr. chairman. >> thank you. let me thank chairman upton congressmen to get for putting this together. i think it's a freshman congressman to, if of those participating. i just want to sort of as the general question, dr. collins or mr. gray, or anyone really could answer it. you know, i constantly hear, within the white paper, dr. collins mentioned, and mr. waxman mentioned, about funding. in other words, obviously there's not as much money available to nih as they used to be. you mentioned a researcher who went to china because he thought there were better opportunities there. mr. gray mentioned the technical infrastructure, you know, that we are falling behind or i'm just ready to handle. we are constantly told that we are falling behind, the sense that we're not keeping up. is it because of lack of federal funds? is it because we're not investing in labs or technical infrastructure? when you use china it's hard for me to figure out what that really means is of course china is a communist state run, here we have money for research or res

mr. speaker, i rise today in full support of h.r. 1528, the veterinary medicine mobility act. i want to thank my cliges, chairman upton, chairman goodlatte, mr. pitts, for helping bring this important measure to the floor and a special thank you to my friend and fellow vet, kurt schrader, from the state of oregon, who laid the initial groundwork. i also want to thank the senate for unanimously passing this important piece of legislation out of that chamber. i spent over 30 years in the veterinary profession and the passage of this bill will allow for the continued use of drugs necessary to perform the work we do for our four-legged patients. the animals i've helped on ranches and in the field have no voice of their own and they require a certain degree of service that only veterinarians can provide. vets must have the ability to treat animals onsite and in the field. limit that ability and you hurt a profession, you cripple ranchers acrolings the country and most of all you unfairly restrict life-saving treatments for the animals, the patients who need them the most. imagine what it would be like if the cattle rancher

upton deserved to die? >> no, i'm saying that i saw a mafioso and i was afraid of him. >> reporter: mr.no offense, but it sounds like you're detached from reality. this is a fight over shrubbery. this had nothing to do with the mafia. >> no. he encroached on the road. >> reporter: so you expected to shoot him. >> i expected to act in self defense. >> reporter: regrets? not even a few. >> if you spit in my face, i will not just turn around and leave. >> reporter: you don't turn the other cheek? >> no, no. and upton was, figuratively speaking, was spitting in my face the whole year. >> reporter: but probe beneath all the bravado, and it's clear vilkin knows he knows he's shattered the person he loves most. do you feel badly for your wife? for tamara? >> yes, yes, of course. >> reporter: because you know that this has destroyed her. she loves you more than anything in the world. >> i know. >> reporter: vilkin, his beard whiter after 18 months in jail, tells me he'll appeal, saying his lawyer was incompetent. and he has a hand-written note that he wants us to read, listing his complaints. >

thank them for their leadership, and i want to thank, too, chairman upton and ranking member waxman for his leadership and, of course, mr. pallone and mr. pitts. i yield back and urge my colleagues to support h.r. 4709. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman from new jersey reserve his time? mr. pallone: yes, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentlelady from tennessee, vice chairman of the energy and commerce committee, another leader on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. and i want to thank the chairman for his work on this issue, for working with congressman marino and congressman welch and congresswoman chu as we sought to move the issue forward. we also thank chairman upton for working with us as we brought the issue forward. the gentleman from vermont mentioned the epidemic and the widespread abuse that is taking

mr. popps, you're recognized for your opening statement. [inaudible] >> i just want to thank chairman uptonow it is. thank you. i'd also like to express my respect for and appreciation for the focus on the panel and for dr. woodcock. we'll all partners in this together and it's an incredibly important mission. the simple and powerful concept of incorporating insights and patients is important to the future of the nation's health care system. it's also one of the great opportunities us to have a transformative impact. i have said at this is ceo of alkermes for over 20 years. our company develops medicines for people living with chronic, debilitating diseases such as opiate, and depression but our approach is dependent upon considering the patient perspective early and consistently throughout the process. i serve on the boards of both bio and pharma, and deeply involved in the five negotiations as well as the preparations ongoing for the douches six where elevating patients voice is a key theme for the initiative. today i'd like to propose a new framework for patient involvement in developing

mr. serrano: should be interesting to note that chairman upton has legislation that has spoken out on this issue. and the whole issue here is to allow cities to do what they need to do without having major cable companies and so on lobby the state to stop them from doing so. broadband is something we need to expand. that may something like a pun, to make it broader, not to make it limited and should be available everywhere and should be available in every possible and, innerl, subburr city, homes and schools and we have to build the infrastructures to make that happen. again, i repeat, i think her intent is not being met by her amendment and that's why i oppose it and hope we would all oppose it. i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. serrano: i would like a roll call vote on that. the chair: pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from tennessee will be pos

. >> recognize the chairman of the full committee, mr. upton for five minutes. >> this is a very serious hearing for sure. two years ago after allegations about problems in cdc building 18, the home to the world's deadliest agents and pathogens, this committee investigated by the cdc was complying with federal safety requirements in the operation of its main lab facilities. in response to our concern, cdc director tom frieden said the committee a letter september 12. the letter i would like to include and record outlined the agency's efforts to ensure better oversight and safe handling of select agents at cdc labs. these measures included rigors of training, constantly good safety measure, multiple layers of engineering and operational systems. the letter also stated that a senior official who was not identified would be designated to report to rec league to the cdc director on safety at cdc labs. these measures have very similar to the corrective actions that dr. frieden outlined last week to address the current lab crisis. why should we belie