WASHINGTON DC –Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today was named the Ranking Member of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health for the 113th Congress.  Pallone previously served as the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member during the 112th Congress and as its Chairman during the 111th Congress.

The subcommittee has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee.  It oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction and all health care homeland security-related concerns.

“I am honored to continue to serve as the Ranking Member of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health in the 113th Congress,” said Pallone. “This subcommittee has an important role shaping health policy and I am proud to help lead it and fight for legislation that will expand access to high-quality, affordable health care.”

While the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Rep. Pallone served as a principal author of the Affordable Care Act, which expands coverage to millions of Americans, improves health benefits and instates patient protections.  During the 112th Congress he introduced the bipartisan FDA Safety and Innovation Act, which will result in critical advancements for the FDA, millions of patients across the country, and the medical industry as a whole. 

According to an analysis prepared by the Democratic staff of the Energy & Commerce Committee, of the 30 bills negotiated by the Democrats and Republicans together, 18 became law.  However, just two of the 30 bills Republicans reported from the Committee without Democratic support became law in some form. 

“I look forward to building on past legislative accomplishments and working on a bipartisan basis with my subcommittee colleagues to address remaining health policy issues. As we know, when we work together, we are much more successful in improving our nation’s health system and lowering overall health care costs,” Pallone added.

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