Ranking Member's Press
Enzi: FDA Should Expedite Review of Applications for Drugs in Shortage
WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a committee hearing on prescription drug shortages today, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that it was essential to move quickly to get lifesaving drugs to patients in need. He also said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should do more to address the shortage situation. "It is crucial to understand the causes that lead to the tragic problem of prescription drug shortages so that w… Continue Reading
12.14.11
Committee Approves All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Bill Cosponsored by Sen. Enzi
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today passed S. 1855, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) Reauthorization of 2011, cosponsored by Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.). The bill, sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), will help ensure that our nation is prepared for and able to respond to a wide range of medical and public health emergencies, including chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear events. Last week, the H… Continue Reading
12.08.11
Enzi: Congress Should Encourage Job Creation like Keystone XL Pipeline Project
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said Congress should encourage job creation instead of new regulations that threaten the nation's fragile economy. "The biggest barrier to getting a job for most unemployed people is the lack of jobs available," said Senator Enzi. "Instead of discussing misguided legislation that will actually discourage new hiring and harm long term unemployed individuals,… Continue Reading
12.02.11
Enzi: New Health Care Rule Will Cost Thousands of Jobs, Do Nothing to Address Rising Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said the Medical Loss Ratio rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will do nothing to address skyrocketing health care costs and will instead cost thousands of jobs. "The rule published today represents more of the heavy handed regulations that are keeping our nation from regaining its economic footing," said Senator Enzi. "Un… Continue Reading
12.01.11
Senators Enzi, Coburn, Burr, and Isakson Mark World AIDS Day with Call to Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joined with Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) to send a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius with a call to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS both at home and overseas. The letter, sent in advance of World AIDS Day, reflects on progress that has been made against… Continue Reading
11.29.11
Enzi Concerned with Delayed Nominations for Labor Agency
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent letters today to Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and White House Chief of Staff William Daley expressing concerns about why the President has not submitted a nomination for the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Senator Enzi noted that the current commissioner's term expires in early January 2012, yet no nominee has been sent forw… Continue Reading
11.28.11
Enzi Appoints Nicholas Geale as Oversight and Investigations Director for HELP Committee GOP
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today appointed Nicholas C. Geale as the director of Oversight and Investigations for HELP Committee Republicans. "Nick has been a valuable member of my staff for more than two years and I am pleased that he will now be taking on a new role for HELP Committee Republicans," said Senator Enzi. "His primary responsibilities will include oversight of government progr… Continue Reading
11.15.11
Opening Statement of Senator Mike Enzi
The purpose of today's hearing is to evaluate the performance of FDA's device center. There are two main premarket pathways for medical devices. Premarket approval applications - or PMA's - are for high risk devices. Few devices go through PMA. The vast majority of devices go through a different pathway, known as 510(k). According to FDA's own data, product review times have skyrocketed. The average time to approve a PMA doubled between 2000 and 2008. The average time to clear a 510(k) rose 5… Continue Reading
11.10.11
Hatch, Enzi, Coburn Question Role of New CMS Innovation Center
WASHINGTON - Three members of the Senate Finance Committee are concerned that the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will place unnecessary financial strains on the nation's health care entitlement programs, further threatening their future solvency. Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) along with U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) today wrote two separate letters to the Government Accountabilit… Continue Reading
11.10.11
Senators Burr, Harkin, Enzi and Casey Introduce Bill to Better Prepare Nation for the Threat of Pandemics or Bioterror Attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) along with Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011, a bipartisan effort to ensure that our nation is prepared to respond to a wide range of medical and public health emergencies, whether naturally occurring or the result of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack. As a result of the passage of the Pandemic and All-… Continue Reading
11.08.11
House and Senate Education Leaders Respond to President's Head Start Announcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) issued the following statements on President Obama's changes to the Head Start Program: "Despite claims of Congressional inaction, the plan announced by President Obama today is already law - and his own administration has delayed its implementation for nearly three years," said … Continue Reading
11.08.11
More Changes Needed for School Reform Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a hearing today on the Elementary-Secondary Education Reauthorization Act, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that more changes were needed for the school reform legislation that was reported out of the HELP Committee last month. "Last month's markup of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was a major step forward in the reauthorization process, which has been stagnate over … Continue Reading
10.31.11
New GAO Report Shows 24 Companies Received Almost Half of Funding for Early Retiree Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said a new report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in conjunction with recently released data from HHS, shows that twenty-four companies received almost half of the funding for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program created by the President's new health care law. The intent of the program was to offset the cost of retiree health benefits … Continue Reading
10.26.11
Enzi Disappointed In President's Partisan Tone on Student Loans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said while he supports efforts to help struggling graduates with their student loan debt, he is disappointed that the President has chosen to blame Congress for failing to act before working to find a bipartisan solution. Enzi urged the President to work with both Republicans and Democrats on issues like higher education and the economy. "While I agree that … Continue Reading
10.20.11
Enzi: Still Much Work to Do on Education Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today made the following statement after the Committee reported the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011:"Today's markup of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was an important first step, but we still have a lot of work to do when the bill reaches the floor of the Senate," said Senator Enzi. "We must keep working in order to have t… Continue Reading
10.19.11
Enzi: ESEA Bill Represents Good Starting Point in Legislative Process
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today made the following statement during the Committee's markup of the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your willingness to work with me to get a bill to this point in our reauthorization efforts. Neither of us can say this is a perfect document. It is a starting point in the legislative process that is… Continue Reading
10.14.11
Enzi: CLASS Act Unsustainable and Fiscally Unsound from Start
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today praised Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' decision not to implement the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program because it was unsustainable and fiscally unsound. Senator Enzi noted that the full effects of the health care reform pushed through Congress last year are still unknown, even as health care premiums for families are rising quic… Continue Reading
10.11.11
Enzi: Post-Secondary Education Adds Value to Employment Opportunities
WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a field hearing on higher education and employment opportunities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at Gallaudet University, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that educational institutions like the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and Gallaudet are successful because they work with employers to demonstrate the value of hiring their students. "The significance of a college… Continue Reading
10.07.11
Enzi: Essential Health Benefit Mandates Will Continue to Push Premiums Higher
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said new Essential Health Benefit mandates will continue to push health care premiums higher. The Institute of Medicine released a report today laying out a process for Secretary Sebelius to follow when determining mandated benefits. Senator Enzi noted that a report by the Kaiser Foundation released last week shows premiums going up by 9 percent this year, wh… Continue Reading
10.06.11
Enzi: NLRB Should Cancel New Regs Instead of Postponing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should cancel its recent regulation to require businesses to post a notice of employee rights instead of just postponing it. He said the proposed regulations will cause real harm by imposing new mandates and penalties on small businesses that are already fully complying with the law. In addition, several lawsuits… Continue Reading
