This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 1 ALDERSON COURT REPORTING 2 MARVIN OLTMAN 3 HIF276140 4 A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: THE GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA 5 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 6 House of Representatives 7 Committee on Energy and Commerce 8 Subcommittee on Health 9 Washington, D.C. 10 The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in 11 Great Hall at Kennedy King College, 6301 South Halsted 12 Street, Chicago, IL, Hon. Anna G. Eshoo, [chairwoman of the 13 subcommittee] presiding. 14 Present: Representatives Eshoo, Rush, Schakowsky, 15 Butterfield, Clarke, Kelly, and Kinzinger. 16 Also Present: Representatives Davis and Garcia. 17 Staff Present: Stephen Holland, Health Counsel; John 18 Marshall, Policy Coordinator; CJ Young, Press Secretary; 19 Rebecca Tomilchik, Hearing Clerk; Aisling McDonough, Policy 20 Coordinator; Robyn Wheeler-Grange, District Director, Office This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 21 of Hon. Bobby L. Rush; Yardly Pollas, Chief of Staff, Hon. 22 Bobby L. Rush; Jeremy Edwards, Communications Director, Hon. 23 Bobby L. Rush; Lauren Citron, Legislative Analyst, Hon. Bobby 24 L. Rush; Nishith Pandya, Legislative Director, Hon. Bobby L. 25 Rush; Michael Brady, Press Assistant, Office of Hon. Anna 26 Eshoo; Osaremen Okolo, Health Policy Advisor, Office of Hon. 27 Jan Schakowsky; and Kristen Shatynski, Minority Professional 28 Staff Member..; Paul Laurie, Minority Legislative Analyst, 29 Office of Hon. Adam Kinzinger; Austin Weatherford, Minority 30 Chief of Staff, Office of Hon. Adam Kinzinger; and Lanette 31 Garcia, Legislative Assistant, Office of Hon. Chuy Garcia. 32 This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 33 Ms. Eshoo. Good morning, everyone. 34 The Subcommittee on Health will now come to order. 35 Before we begin, per an agreement between the majority and 36 the minority, I would like to ask for unanimous consent for 37 the House members who are with us today who are not members 38 of the committee, that they be recognized for three minutes 39 to ask questions after committee members have asked theirs. 40 And note, only committee members will be allowed to make 41 opening statements. Hearing no objections, so ordered. 42 The chair now recognizes herself for five minutes for an 43 opening statement. First of all, thank you everyone for 44 being here this morning. It is an honor for those of us that 45 are not from Chicago to be here. 46 I am Anna Eshoo. I have the honor of chairing this 47 subcommittee and I have many relatives in Chicago. So this 48 is -- this is the Midwestern part of my family and it is an 49 honor to be here with my colleagues on a very serious issue. 50 This is the very first Energy and Commerce Committee 51 hearing on the gun violence epidemic in our country as a 52 public health issue and this subcommittee has jurisdiction 53 over public health issues in our country. 54 I want to recognize first the members of the committee 55 who represent parts of Chicago and the region, starting with 56 Congressman Bobby Rush, whose district we are in. 57 Thank you, Bobby, very much for inviting us -- asking This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 58 the subcommittee to come here. 59 Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who is here to my left, 60 Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky from the Chicago region, and to 61 Representative Adam Kinzinger, who is also a representative 62 here from the state of Illinois, a little farther away -- I 63 think next door to Robin. 64 Mr. Kinzinger. Yeah. Yeah. 65 Ms. Eshoo. And Mr. Kinzinger makes this hearing a 66 bipartisan hearing, and we are grateful to him for being here 67 today for his leadership and the leadership of each member 68 that is here today. 69 We are also grateful to have with us, and we welcome our 70 congressional colleagues who are guests of the committee 71 today, Representative Danny Davis, whom I always say is the 72 voice of God when you -- 73 [Laughter.] 74 Mr. Rush. Yeah. 75 Ms. Eshoo. -- hear that magnificent voice of his, and 76 Chuy Garcia, who is here, the vice chair of the Energy and 77 Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and I 78 already mentioned Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. 79 Now, on this -- on the subject matter that is before us 80 today, it is important to note that 100 Americans are killed 81 by a gun and hundreds more are shot and injured every day in 82 our country. Millions of Americans have watched in horror to This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 83 see the shootings and the massacres that have taken place in 84 our country. 85 They have watched families bury their loved ones, and 86 there are too many that live in fear of what could happen 87 next and some are here with us today. 88 They are in the audience, they are at the witness table, 89 and they are on the dais as members of Congress. Congressman 90 Rush buried his son as a result of gun violence. 91 I think this collective heartbreak will move us to work 92 with real purpose. We are here to treat American gun 93 violence for what it is -- an epidemic. 94 And to treat an epidemic we have to study it, we have to 95 understand what works to prevent it, and we need to learn how 96 to treat the trauma that is caused by it. 97 We know that a public health approach can work. 98 Consider anti-smoking efforts or preventing injuries from car 99 crashes. We have achieved life-saving results through 100 funding data analysis, encouraging research, and adopting 101 common sense product improvements with these epidemics. 102 Another simple, yet profound and proven method is 103 listening to people from the communities most affected by an 104 epidemic and the public health it represents. 105 We are here in Chicago's South Side where so many have 106 lived with the epidemic of gun violence and for decades. 107 Thank you, again, Congressman Rush, for inviting our This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 108 committee to hold this hearing in your district and for your 109 years of work to address gun violence. 110 The gun Gun homicide is the leading cause of death for 111 African-American boys and men ages 15 to 34 and it is the 112 second leading cause of death for Hispanic boys and men ages 113 15 to 34 as well. 114 African-American men make up 52 percent of all gun 115 homicide victims despite only being 7 percent of the 116 population of our country. 117 Compared to the rate of gun homicides for white boys and 118 men of the same ages, the rate for African Americans is 21 119 times greater and the rate for Hispanic men is nearly four 120 times greater. 121 Notably, the communities most impacted by gun violence 122 are the most knowledgeable about how to treat it and prevent 123 it. 124 It is why our witnesses include Mr. Spencer Leak, Sr., 125 owner of a family-run funeral home in the Chatham 126 neighborhood, who has comforted hundreds if not thousands of 127 families whose loved ones have been killed by a gun. 128 It is why we are listening to Pastor Brenda Mitchell and 129 Mr. Norman Kerr, who have taken their experiences with gun 130 violence and used them to promote common sense, evidence- 131 based policies. 132 And it is why we are hearing from the physicians who This is a preliminary, unedited transcript. The statements within may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misattributed to the speaker. A link to the final, official transcript will be posted on the Committee’s website as soon as it is available. 133 work every day to heal the physical, mental, and generational 134 trauma from shootings and who see the bodies that are ravaged 135 by gun violence. 136 Today's hearing will not be enough to stop the daily 137 violence. But we can broaden our understanding of how best 138 to treat this epidemic and provide resources for public 139 health research. 140 I am proud that the House voted to provide $50 million 141 for gun violence research at the CDC and the NIH, and the 142 Senate needs to do the same. 143 I want to thank Congresswoman Robin Kelly, a leader on 144 the issue of gun violence and for introducing -- 145 [Applause.] 146 Ms.