Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing on “The Fiscal Year 2021 HHS Budget and Oversight of the Coronavirus Outbreak.”

As Prepared for Delivery

“Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank Secretary Azar for being here today to discuss President Trump’s Budget Proposal for fiscal year 2021 and the 2019 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak.

“I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to health care, especially lowering health care costs and the reducing the complexity of the health care system so that patients can more easily access care. One thing the Administration, particularly you, Secretary Azar, has led on is advancing kidney health for Americans. That trend continues in the Health and Human Services Budget Proposal’s support for H.R. 5534, the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019.

This bill would extend Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs past the current 36-month limit for kidney patients who do not obtain other health coverage.

“A patient with a kidney transplant must take their immunosuppressive drugs or their body will ultimately reject the kidney causing the patient to return to dialysis treatment. A kidney transplant is an investment into the future of the recipient patient. This bill will protect that investment. I have worked on this policy for nearly a decade, and I am thankful that this has been highlighted as a priority by the Administration. This Congress is the time to finally pass this common-sense legislation.

“This budget also continues the work of the SUPPORT Act, by making clear that the opioid epidemic and response programs are a priority.

“In the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee we heard from various states about the efforts they are making to help those with substance use disorder. Funding for these State Opioid Response Grants is imperative to allow states to find innovative ways to combat the opioid crisis.

“I also appreciate that the Administration included Hyde Amendment and pro-life protections in all proposed funding language. It is important to ensure that federal funds are not used to perform abortions, and I hope that as this subcommittee moves forward with reauthorizations and the Appropriations Committee puts together the bills for fiscal year 2021, that they will maintain those protections.

“Other important programs and policies receiving increased funding including the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal Health in America Initiative, and the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Funding increases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s influenza program is particularly important now as we face a worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

“This novel coronavirus, named COVID-19, has infected over 81,000 individuals worldwide and has proven to be more deadly than SARS. I appreciate the Trump Administration’s vigilance and rapid response efforts. The State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory for China and the Administration has been appropriately restrictive in allowing non-citizens who had traveled to China within the last 14 days from entering the U.S. It is a relief to know that our country is taking this outbreak very seriously and has successfully limited the number of cases in the United States; however, with increased global spread and community spread in countries such as Italy, COVID-19 will become more difficult to contain.

Our agencies have worked together to protect the American people from this outbreak and have been successful in limiting infection of those in the U.S. This is proof that the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 is working. Thanks to the work of this subcommittee in the last Congress and the leadership of Rep. Susan Brooks and Chairwoman Eshoo, our public health system is working as intended. I believe that our response efforts thus far have shown that our public health system has adapted and improved since the Zika and Ebola responses. Throughout those responses, Chairman Upton ensured that we had robust hearings on those responses to ensure proper Congressional oversight and understanding of the situations. I hope that we will be able to stick to that tradition and hold a standalone hearing on COVID-19.

“I do appreciate the CDC and other agencies’ transparency in providing multiple telebriefings for Congressional staff each week so that Congress can be as informed with the most up-to-date information as possible. I look forward to learning more about COVID-19 and the challenges and successes of these response efforts.

“Thank you for holding this important hearing. I yield back.”

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