It was a full week! Between visitors, sub-committee work, and committee work, but with a limited time to get our procedural work done, things move at a rapid pace. That does not mean that policy is rushed, many bills are worked on and vetted over several years and at the minimum over the interim between sessions. We are problem solvers, and most bill ideas come from constituents who see a problem that might need to be solved. I won’t say that we can or even will solve every problem, and in some cases, one may see a problem, but others disagree. We sift through what comes up most often and go from there.
This week the House Commerce Committee had two committee blocks. My goal as chair is to move what we can as early as possible, to allow other committees the time they need during funnel week (next week). Commerce is a very bi-partisan committee, rarely do we have a bill that divides our members. My ranking member is Kenan Judge and he and I work very well together. There are no secrets or gotcha games as we communicate daily and keep each other informed about any issues that may arise in our caucuses. I appreciate him very much. He also has two grandchildren and we enjoy having that in common.
I also have two wonderful ladies who keep me organized and on task. Natalie Ginty is a House Republican Research Staff member who staffs my Commerce Committee. She has been with me for nearly six years and she is amazing! Not only do we work well together, but she is also like a daughter to me (we even go to Ash Wednesday Mass together each year). I couldn’t do this job without her. Candy Bradly is my clerk. Candy is the wife of State Rep. Steve Bradley and a good friend. She ensures my agendas are ready for committee meetings, minutes are taken and published she schedules my sub-committee meetings, and ensures that I know when a visitor is at the Capitol so I can make time to see them. I love my relationship with Candy and am very appreciative that she does double duty by clerking for both Steve and I. (BTW, her daughter Melanie is my dentist at Falrey Dental – shout out to them, they are fantastic!)
A couple of key issues we are working on in commerce this week include;
Prior Authorizations in Health Care – HSB 641 our medical providers are spending countless hours having procedures and medications authorized by the insurance companies. Prior Auths cost providers time and money at the expense of the patient.
Fire Arms Tracking HSB 671 – This bill prohibits the government and payment processors from using firearm/ammunition-specific merchant category codes – if you are following Congress right, now you know that this is starting to happen which is an illegal way to track legal gun owners purchases.
Breast Imaging HF 71 requires health insurers to cover supplemental breast examinations and diagnostic breast examinations
Biomarker Insurance Requirement HF 2157 requires that insurers provide coverage for biomarker testing when the testing has demonstrated sufficient medical and scientific indicating the use of a specific biomarker test will affect treatment decisions and improve the patient’s outcome.
Thank you again for the opportunity to serve District 65. I love hearing from you and look forward to your comments, questions, and suggestions.
