Expressing Congressional support for the goals and ideals of National Health Care Decisions Day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 323, expressing congressional support for the goals and the ideals of National Health Care Decisions Day.

National Health Care Decisions Day was recognized by hundreds of organizations across the United States last Wednesday, April 16, and it is appropriate for this body to stand with those organizations in recognition of this important day.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, though, I want to thank the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Dingell, and his staff for their cooperation in helping us get this to the floor. I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Barton, and the minority staff and the 100 Members, many of them members of the Energy and Commerce Committee who are cosponsors of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, the goals of the resolution are twofold. First, it aims to raise awareness of the importance for everyone at all stages of life to take the time to discuss important end-of-life medical decisions with their loved ones.

Second, this resolution recognizes the emphasis of over 450 organizations spanning all 50 States that worked together on April 16 to educate Americans about their options in preparing advanced medical directives and appointing medical powers of attorney.

Of these groups, 75 are national organizations, including AARP, the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association, National Right to Life, and an additional 370 State and community organizations participated in the National Health Care Decisions Day efforts.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the National Health Care Decisions Day, thousands of people across the country have received information on advanced directives through newspaper articles, television, and radio broadcasts, all released last week on April 16. I want to thank and congratulate all those involved for their hard work on this important cause. I am also proud of the broad bipartisan support this resolution has garnered.

Companion legislation sponsored by Senators Wyden and Enzi has already passed the Senate, and now over 100, as I mentioned earlier, of my fellow House Members of both sides of the aisle have signed on to this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I want to urge the American people to invest time and effort into seeking out information on advanced directives. Advanced directives allow individuals to maintain control over their health care decisions even at the end of their lives, regardless of the circumstances they may face at that time. And I also encourage Americans to educate themselves on the options and details of the various types of advanced directives so that their wishes may be correctly documented and carried out.

Let me be very clear: This bill does not express what an individual's end-of-life decision should be. Those are the decisions that should be left to the individual undertaking this difficult but important step.

This resolution merely seeks to raise awareness about advanced directives themselves. And that's why this resolution is being supported by such a diverse range of organizations. Educating individuals and making them aware of their choices is a key to respecting and preserving life.

Mr. Speaker, as a physician, I cannot stress enough that these decisions should be made with the input of medical professionals and should be accessible to the patient's doctor in the time of greatest medical need. Too many times, families are left to guess what medical decisions their family member would have wanted. Think about the Terri Schiavo case a couple years ago. But physicians are sometimes left to guess as well.

A recent study by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality

found that 75 percent of physicians whose patients had advanced directives were not even aware that those directives existed. This is a problem, Mr. Speaker, and I hope that as we get electronic medical records and HIT, Health Information Technology, becomes more sophisticated and intraoperable, these advanced directives can be stored electronically and be made accessible to the medical staff in an instant, really, in a timely manner.

So, in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage all Americans to set aside time to have what may very will be one of the most vital conversations that any family can have.

I urge my fellow Members to vote in support of this resolution and to recognize the critical role of education in allowing Americans to effectively express their end-of-life wishes.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank my friend from New York for his support of this resolution. And again, I want to thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Dingell, for allowing this to be brought to the floor under suspension and for his support, and for the support of the majority staff, and also to my distinguished colleague, the ranking member of Energy and Commerce, Representative Barton, and the minority staff.

I urge all of my colleagues to support the resolution, as Representative Towns just said.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 323, expressing Congressional support for the goals and ideals of National Health Care Decisions Day. I would first like to thank my distinguished colleague Phil Gingrey of Georgia for introducing this important piece of legislation. This legislation recognizes an important initiative to encourage patients to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be.

National Health Care Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness for the need to plan ahead for health care decisions related to end-of-life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important decisions. The Federal Patient Self-Determination Act requires that all Medicare- participating healthcare facilities inquire about and provide information to patients on Advance Directives; it also requires these facilities to provide community education on Advance Directives (42 C.F.R. Sec. 489.102). All healthcare facilities are required to: provide information about health care decision-making rights; ask all patients if they have an advance directive; educate their staff and community about advance directives; not discriminate against patients based on an advance directive status.

It is estimated that only a minority of Americans have executed advance directives, including those who are terminally ill or living with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. Advance directives offer individuals the opportunity to discuss with loved ones in advance of a health care crisis and decide what measures would be appropriate for them when it comes to end-of-life care. The preparation of an advance directive would advise family members, health care providers, and other persons as to how an individual would want to be treated with respect to health care. Forty-two percent of Americans have had a friend or relative suffer from a terminal illness or coma in the last 5 years and for a majority of these people and 23 percent of the general public, the issue of withholding life sustaining treatment came up. An overwhelming majority of the public supports laws that give patients the right to decide whether they want to be kept alive through medical treatment. By more than eight-to-one (84 percent-10 percent), the public approves of laws that let terminally ill patients make decisions about whether to be kept alive through medical treatment. One of the most striking changes between 1990 and 2005 is the growth in the number of people who say they have a living will--up 17 points, from 12 percent in 1990 to 29 percent now.

Patients and families are often not fully informed of the relevant risks and potential benefits of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH). In addition, financial incentives and regulatory concerns promote the use of ANH in a manner that may be inconsistent with medical evidence and with the preferences of patients and their families. Because ANH is associated with uncertain benefits and substantial risks, it is essential to ensure that decisions about its use are consistent with the patient's medical condition, prognosis, and goals for care. Therefore, decisions about ANH require careful consideration of its risks and potential benefits.

Establishing National Health Care Decisions Day will encourage health care facilities and professionals as well as chaplains, attorneys, and others to participate in a collective, nationwide effort to provide clear, concise, and consistent information to the public about health care decision-making, particularly advance directives. As a result of National Health Care Decisions Day, recognized on April 16, 2008, more Americans will have conversations about their health care decision, more Americans will execute advance directives to make their wishes known, and fewer families and health care providers will have to struggle with making difficult health care decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient.

I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 323, expressing congressional support for the goals and ideals of National Health Care Decisions Day.

As a cosponsor of this resolution, I understand the importance of making our health decisions clear to our family members and other loved ones through advanced directives. While it is very difficult for us to face the prospects of our own mortality, many of us write wills in order to ensure that our loved ones are adequately provided for in our absence. Unfortunately, we often do not take that care in making provisions regarding our end-of-life medical care.

Nobody can predict when disease, tragedy, or other medical conditions will render one unable to make medical decisions for ourselves. Accordingly, we must plan ahead in case of such a tragedy to ensure that our wishes are properly carried out.

Advanced directives are an integral part of any care-delivery plan. They are simply a statement by a competent person that articulates the medical, legal, and personal wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of future incapacity.

Where advanced directives are present, medical professionals, families, and loved ones are best able to make critical care decisions should a patient become unable to make sound judgments about their health care.

The resolution before us commemorates National Health Care Decisions Day on April 16, 2008. Although this specific day occurred last week, the goals and ideals of today should be recognized perpetually.

This resolution encourages those 18 years of age and older to prepare advance directives. It also encourages medical, civic, educational, religious and other nonprofit organizations to promote advance directive preparation, particularly among their constituents.

I would like to thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle, Representative Phil Gingrey, for his work in raising this important issue. Our colleagues in the Senate have already recognized the need to highlight advance directives, and I urge us here in the House to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on National Health Care Decisions Day in support of health organizations all over the country who are educating the public about what it means to have an advance directive, or a living will.

Mr. Speaker, advance directives allow individuals to maintain control of their health care decisions even at the end of their lives, regardless of the circumstances that they may face at that time. It is crucial for individuals to understand the options that presently exist so that they may convey their end-of-life medical wishes accurately and effectively. Accordingly, I have introduced a resolution, H. Con. Res 323, supporting the goals of the National Health Care Decisions Day, which has garnered broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, this bill does not express what those end-of-life medical decisions should be, rather, it simply encourages Americans to educate themselves about these very difficult issues and to talk about them with their loved ones.

I want to thank the more than 100 Members of Congress who have already joined me in cosponsoring this resolution. And of course I look forward to it being considered on the floor very soon. And I encourage all Americans to set aside time to have what may very well be one of the most important conversations a family can have.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 323) expressing Congressional support for the goals and ideals of National Health Care Decisions Day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I reserve the balance of my time. My good friend from Georgia, I know, has some important comments.