Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

3938

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Hand Sanitizer Guidance Extension Act of 2020''. SEC. 2. FEDERAL GUIDANCE ON HAND SANITIZER.

(a) Extension of Federal Guidance.--The Food and Drug Administration guidance entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Temporary Policy for Preparation of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products During the Public Health Emergency (COVID-19)'', initially released on March 23, 2020, and updated on April 15, 2020, and on June 1, 2020, shall remain in effect until the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) Effect of Extension.--During the 2-year period described in subsection (a), the Food and Drug Administration shall permit the production, sale, and use of hand sanitizer, consistent with the guidance described in subsection (a), provided that such hand sanitizer is manufactured using only the following ingredients in the preparation of the product:

(1)(A) Subject to subsection (c), alcohol (ethanol) that is not less than 94.9 percent ethanol by volume; or

(B) United States Pharmacopeia grade isopropyl alcohol.

(2) United States Pharmacopeia grade or Food Chemical Codex grade glycerin (glycerol).

(3) Hydrogen peroxide.

(4) Sterile water meeting United States Pharmacopeia specifications for purified water.

(c) Ethanol Produced in Certain Facilities.--Ethanol produced in facilities normally producing fuel or technical ethanol may be used as described in subsection (b)(1)(A) only if such ethanol--

(1) meets United States Pharmacopeia or Food Chemical Codex grade requirements;

(2) has been screened for any other potentially harmful impurities not specified in the United States Pharmacopeia or Food Chemical Codex requirements; or

(3) has otherwise been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.

(d) Automatic Extension.--The effective period of the guidance described in subsection (a) shall automatically be extended for 1 additional year if the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that a public health emergency exists at the time that the 2-year period described in subsection (a) expires.

(e) Exemption.--If the Commissioner of Food and Drugs determines that a public health emergency requires that the requirement for the use of denatured alcohol be reduced, or requires a waiver of any other requirement with respect to hand sanitizer under the guidance, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs may waive or reduce such requirement, as applicable.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, like most other sectors of our economy, agriculture has taken a huge hit from the coronavirus. The pandemic has caused significant market volatility, sending many commodity futures prices plummeting.

Increased consumer demand for beef led to significant increases in boxed beef prices, while cattle prices plummeted, which led to significant gaps between cattle producer and packer profit margins. To make the situation worse, temporary closures and reduced processing capacity at U.S. meatpacking plants as a result of the virus further diminished demand for livestock and depressed prices. This has aggravated an already difficult situation for farmers and ranchers.

Unlike the majority of the economy, which was thriving before the coronavirus pandemic, the agricultural economy has been struggling for a while. Low prices, extended trade disputes, and natural disasters have meant a tough few years for farmers and ranchers even before the coronavirus hit. Now things are even more challenging.

Agriculture is the lifeblood of my State of South Dakota. So supporting farmers and ranchers during the crisis has been one of my top priorities. I fought to get agriculture relief money included in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, which was signed into law in late March. The final bill included $14 billion to replenish the Commodity Credit Corporation to allow the Department of Agriculture to provide income and price support for farmers and ranchers, plus an additional $9.5 billion in emergency support for agricultural producers affected by the pandemic.

Days after the bill passed, I led a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urging him to use a portion of the funds to provide support for hard- hit cattle producers. In mid-April, the Department of Agriculture responded to that letter and other petitions by announcing that it would issue $16 billion in direct payments to agriculture producers affected by the virus. Signups for this funding began at the end of May, and, as of June 8, South Dakota agriculture producers had received approximately $80 million.

Over the past 2 months, I kept in constant contact with the Department of Agriculture and others to amplify producers' concerns and to urge swift relief. I have also been focused on developing additional legislation to help farmers and ranchers weather this crisis.

Last week, I introduced legislation to allow emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres for the duration of this crisis. Under current law, ag producers can hay or graze their CRP acres during weather-related disasters without a reduction in their CRP payments. My legislation would extend that provision to cover pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to low prices and a reduction in capacity of meatpacking plants as a result of the pandemic, farmers and ranchers are having to hold on to their livestock for longer than expected. This bill would help ensure they have adequate forage for their animals.

Earlier this week, I introduced another bill, the Paycheck Protection for Producers Act, which would help more farmers and ranchers benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program. The coronavirus relief legislation that we passed in late March established the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses to help them keep their employees on their payroll during this crisis. Self-employed Americans, which describes many farmers and ranchers, are eligible for these loans, but, in practice, the program's guidelines have excluded a lot of agricultural producers.

Low commodity prices and a challenging planting season meant that many farmers and ranchers had a negative income in 2019. And right now, the program's guidelines excludes farmers and ranchers without employees with a negative net income for last year. My legislation would allow more farmers to access the Paycheck Protection Program by allowing them to use their 2019 gross income instead of their 2019 net income when applying for a loan. I am hoping to get both of these bills through Congress in the near future.

In addition to direct relief, another thing that we can do to support our Nation's agriculture producers is to support the ethanol industry. Ethanol and biodiesel producers buy up a significant amount of American corn and soybean oil, but decreased demand for fuel as a result of coronavirus has significantly diminished this crucial market for our farmers, and that is why, in addition to direct relief measures for farmers and ranchers, I have also focused on what we can do to support the ethanol industry.

American ethanol has stepped up to help during the coronavirus crisis by providing ethanol or alcohol for hand sanitizer. Thanks to the FDA's temporary policy for preparation of certain alcohol-based hand sanitizer products during the public health emergency, qualifying ethanol can be used as an alcohol content in hand sanitizer.

I imagine there are few Americans who haven't significantly stepped up their purchase of hand sanitizer during the current crisis. In addition to measures like social distancing and mask wearing and frequent hand washing, it is key to preventing the spread of the virus. When water and soap are not immediately available, hand sanitizer can step in as a substitute. We need a steady supply of hand sanitizer to help curtail virus transmission.

To help us meet this need and support our Nation's ethanol producers, today I am introducing the Hand Sanitizer Guidance Extension Act of 2020. Put simply, my bill will extend the FDA's temporary ethanol-based hand sanitizer policy for at least 2 years. This will give ethanol producers that have made investments or changes in operations to meet the need for hand sanitizer a longer time to recoup their investment costs.

I recognize that there is ongoing deliberation with the FDA about denaturants and other accepted chemical limits for hand sanitizer ethanol, and my bill would not hinder those discussions. My bill would simply provide ethanol producers with a baseline of certainty while still allowing the FDA to make case-by-case approvals and to waive or reduce other requirements as necessary to meet the public health emergency.

Now, the amount of ethanol required for hand sanitizer is just a drop in the bucket for our ethanol producers, and I am committed to finding additional ways to bring this clean American-grown fuel to market. Every little bit helps, and this legislation will at least give a small measure of certainty to producers while helping to meet the nationwide demand for hand sanitizer.

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted just how much we rely on our Nation's agriculture producers. I am grateful every day for their work, and advocating for them will continue to be one of my top priorities. I am committed to helping our farmers and ranchers through the challenges they are facing and seeing our Nation's agricultural economy thrive. ______

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, and Ms. Harris):

S. 3946. A bill to require certain helicopters to be equipped with safety technologies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source