CRAMER-SUPPORTED BILLS ON HEALTH, SUICIDE PREVENTION AND PRECISION AG PASS HOUSE

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Kevin Cramer is a co-sponsor of three of several bills passed today in the House of Representatives addressing health, environment, and telecommunications issues. Earlier this month Cramer participated in the hearings of the three bills he co-sponsored in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“This broad package of legislation touches folks in many fields, including education, workforce development, health professional training, and increased access to broadband,” said Cramer. “I am pleased to support these bills and hope the Senate quickly follows.”  

Highlights from the bills passed:

H.R. 1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, establishes education centers to train health professionals and provide fellowships for students. It creates special preferences in existing nurse education law for hospices and palliative nursing and directs the National Institutes of Health to expand national research to improve the delivery of palliative care to patients with serious illnesses. Cramer is a co-sponsor.

H.R. 2345, the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2017, directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in consultation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to study and report on the feasibility of designating an N11 dialing code to be used for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system. Cramer is a co-sponsor.

H.R. 4881, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, requires the FCC and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to form a task force to evaluate the best ways to meet the broadband needs of precision agriculture. Cramer is a co-sponsor.

H.R. 959, amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2022 to support for nursing workforce programs and grants.

H.R. 3728, the EMPOWER Act, reauthorizes health professions workforce programs that support loan repayment and provider training experiences in primary care, dentistry, rural or underserved areas, and in community-based settings.

H.R. 5385, Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, reauthorizes payments to Children’s Hospitals that operate graduate medical education (GME) programs.

H.R. 3994, the ACCESS BROADBAND Act, requires the Department of Commerce to establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

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