Madame President,
I come to the floor today with serious concerns about the Biden administration’s implementation of H.R. 2544, the “Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act.”
I’m joined by my colleague, Senator Moran, who’s speaking next. He’s worked with me and championed this important issue.
On September 22 of this year, President Biden signed H.R. 2544 into law.
It’s been less than three months, and from what I’ve been told, the Health Resources and Services Administration is already ignoring congressional intent while asking Congress for money to implement the law.
I’m proud to have been a co-sponsor of this bipartisan bill.
I worked closely with my Republican and Democratic colleagues.
We fought alongside patients with the hope and expectation that things would finally change.
Our goal: Competition to manage our organ donation system would finally be introduced.
Congress unanimously passed H.R. 2544, without what I call “poison pill” amendments, and that’s important.
These potential amendments, which Congress resoundingly defeated, would shut down competition to manage the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
Those amendments were pushed by the same non-profit monopolies that have called the shots in our nation’s failed organ donation system for the last 40 years.
So here is where we are within three months after passing reform. Now, the Health Resources and Services Administration, led by Administrator Carole Johnson, has attempted to restrict competition out of the gate by inserting – via the contracting process – the very “poison pills” that Congress fought and kept out of the law.
For example, the agency’s limited the initial board contract in a way that keeps the same company running the board of directors.
Specifically, the agency announced plans to install the existing United Network for Organ Sharing board as a new “so-called” independent board.
Regarding limiting competition for the board contract, Health Resources and Services Administration officials told my staff, “It's just this once and we won’t do it again.”
Later, agency officials told my staff and staff from other congressional offices that, “The agency can place restrictions on any contracts, including the IT contract.”
Again, the purpose of the law is to create competition, not stifle it with the same government restrictions and sweetheart deals in place for 40 years.
The legislation was for the purpose of righting the wrongs of 40 years. My bipartisan oversight has shown that the United Network for Organ Sharing IT system is failing at every level. The United States Digital Service’s report titled “Lives Are at Stake” reached the same conclusion.
There’s nothing independent about this.
The point of the law is to create competition, not stifle it by rigging the system.
The agency has pointed to a July 17, 2023, letter addressed to me and Senator Wyden as evidence that the agency can ignore congressional intent.
My goodness, a letter from an agency about what it wants to do doesn’t override congressional intent or the law.
I’ve heard from patient groups and leaders with these same concerns – including the Global Liver Institute, the National Kidney Foundation, the chief of transplant at Vanderbilt, and the leaders of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Patient Affairs Committee.
The organizations all told me that the agency’s plans to implement the law don't live up to the promise we fought for in passing the legislation.
These advocacy groups rightfully concerned that the Biden administration’s Health Resources and Services Administration is once again caving to bad actors who’ve been running our nation’s organ donation system since 1986.
This is exactly what my and Senator Wyden’s 2020 bipartisan Senate Finance Committee investigation uncovered, that our nation’s transplant system is broken.
As the President of the Global Liver Institute wrote, “I never imagined that industry could so quickly dictate the terms of the law’s implementation.”
The National Kidney Foundation wrote that these proposals “continue to empower those who have been responsible for the problems that have plagued the transplant system.”
From what my staff has been told, Health Resources and Services Administration officials have threatened the very patient groups who wrote to me and other members of Congress.
The Health Resources and Services Administration allegedly told some of these patient groups to retract their letters of concern. The agency allegedly told them that their letters were a lie.
All of this is unacceptable. I started working to fix our nation’s corrupt and broken organ donation system in 2005.
Since then, more than 200,000 Americans have needlessly died on the transplant waiting list — disproportionately people of color and rural residents.
Since 2020, my colleagues and I’ve worked across the aisle to implement long-overdue reforms in our nation’s organ donation system. This law is a bipartisan, commonsense win for patients and the American people.
Patients fought for this bill.
Congress fought for this bill.
Now the Biden administration’s Health Resources and Services Administration needs to fight alongside us to implement this bill.
I stand ready to work with my colleagues in Congress and with the Biden administration to make sure we get this right for patients.
We need to finish what we started. Patients’ lives depend on it…
I yield the floor.
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