{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-jones-lead-colleagues-in-urging-hhs-cms-and-hrsa-to-improve-opo-performance-and-increase-access-to-organ-transplantations", "Booker, Jones Lead Colleagues in Urging HHS, CMS, and HRSA to Improve OPO Performance and Increase Access to Organ Transplantations", "2022-11-29", "2022", "2022-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "NJ", "Cory A. Booker", "B001288", "www.booker.senate.gov", "booker", "https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Representative Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.-17) urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to increase access to organ transplantations by ensuring that the organ procurement and transplantation system functions at its optimal level.\n\nThe letter also urged the HHS, CMS, and HRSA to reduce racial inequities in receiving organ transplants and waiting times for organ transplants by mandating additional transparency for HHS-certified organ procurement organizations (OPOs), which are responsible for facilitating organ recovery, and breaking up the federal monopoly contract called the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is responsible for managing the national organ donation system and has only ever been held by one contractor, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Multiple government reports and Congressional investigations have found that the system is woefully underperforming, with disproportionate harm for patients of color.\n\n\u201cWhile we commend the steps that have already been taken to address this crisis, the timeline for enforcement of these performance metrics is lengthy,\u201d wrote Senator Booker and Representative Jones in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. \u201cWe encourage CMS to take measures to oversee and improve OPO performance in the interim given the lives at stake and equity implications.\u201d\n\nThe Members urged HHS to outline steps \u201cto ensure that UNOS does not maintain a monopoly over our nation\u2019s transplant system, following the recommendations from the Senate Finance Committee\u201d as well as actions \u201cto open OPO process data for evidence of effective and equitable performance, and to hold failing OPOs accountable before 2026, given that any delay costs lives and constitutes an urgent health care equity issue.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe must ensure that the U.S. organ procurement and transplantation system functions at its optimal level to prevent any missed opportunity for organ donation. No American should die while waiting for a transplant, especially while thousands of lifesaving organs go unrecovered,\u201d wrote Senator Booker and Representative Jones.\n\nThe letter is cosigned by: U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); U.S. Representatives Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.-16), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Donald Payne, Jr. (D-N.J.-10), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18), Katie Porter (D-CA-45), Troy Carter (D-LA-02), Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Andr\u00e9 Carson (D-IN-07), Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.-15), and Al Green (D-TX-09).\n\nThe letter is supported by: Ben Jealous (former NAACP President), Organize, Federation of American Scientists, Project on Government Oversight, Just Equity for Health, Health Justice, Empower Her Health, Institute for Antiracism in Medicine, American Medical Student Association, and Global Liver Institute.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-jones-lead-colleagues-in-urging-hhs-cms-and-hrsa-to-improve-opo-performance-and-increase-access-to-organ-transplantations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 5.617098184302449, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}