House Advances Four Energy & Commerce Public Health Bills

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following news release:

The House of Representatives today advanced four Energy and Commerce Committee bills to improve public health. All four of the bills considered by the House of Representatives today previously passed the House in the 114th Congress by voice vote.

"These bipartisan bills mark a strong start to the new year," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). By picking up where we left off on important measures to better coordinate care and clarify existing law, we're one step closer to seeing these bills become law and making improvements to public health."

The bills passed by the House today include:

* H.R. 309, the National Clinical Care Commission Act, authored by Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX), would establish a National Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordination and use of federal programs relating to supporting care for people with metabolic syndromes and related autoimmune disorders. H.R. 309 passed the House unanimously by voice vote.

* H.R. 315, the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act, introduced by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), increases data collection by HHS to help place maternal health professionals in more appropriate geographic regions through their existing participating in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). There is no new authorization of appropriations for this bill nor does it expand participation in the NHSC. H.R. 315 passed unanimously by a vote of 405-0.

* H.R. 302, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2016, introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), would ensure that sports medicine professionals are covered by their malpractice insurance when providing care to their athletes or teams in other states. H.R. 302 passed unanimously by voice vote.

* H.R. 304, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016, introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), would improve the Drug Enforcement Administration registration process for emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and clarify that EMS professionals are permitted to administer controlled substances pursuant to standing or verbal orders when certain conditions are met. H.R. 304 passed unanimously by a vote of 404-0.

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