Congratulating the American Dental Association for its 150th year of working to improve the public's oral health and promoting dentistry, supporting initiatives to improve access to oral health care services for all Americans, and emphasizing the benefits of prevention of disease through support of community prevention initiatives and promotion of good oral hygiene.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to offer this resolution congratulating the American Dental Association on its 150th year of advancing the art and science of dentistry and advocating on behalf of the oral health of the American people. I know many of you join me in offering those congratulations, as the resolution before the House today has 104 cosponsors.

The ADA is the professional association of dentists committed to the public's oral health, ethics, science, and the advancement of the dental profession.

The ADA traces its origins to the mid-19th century, when representatives of eight regional dental societies and two dental colleges came together in Niagara Falls, New York, to establish a representative body of stability and character. They called their fledgling organization the American Dental Association. Today, seven out of 10 U.S. dentists belong to the ADA, with membership of more than 157,000 dentists. The ADA has 53 State and territorial and 545 local dental societies. It is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world.

The association has long been a leader, advocating for improved health care and access for underprivileged Americans. Even today, as Congress wrestles with the issue of health care reform, the ADA is continually reminding us that oral health is an integral part of overall health. The ADA's health care reform principles focus on three things; prevention and wellness, fixing Medicaid, and improving the public oral health infrastructure.

The Association is active in cutting-edge dental research. At the Paffenbarger Research Center, housed on the National Institute of Standards and Technology campus just outside of Washington, D.C., ADA scientists are working on improving dental materials, tissue engineering, and cavity-repairing therapies. Some of Paffenbarger's research accomplishments include the development of modern high-speed dental drills, panoramic x-ray machines, protective tooth sealants, tooth-colored composite filling material, calcium phosphate, bone cements, and more.

The ADA's Give Kids A Smile is an annual centerpiece to the National Children's Dental Health Month. It is observed every year on the first Friday in February. At more than 1,600 sites nationwide this year, some 45,000 dental professionals provided free services to more than 450,000 children. I can tell you, the spirit behind that one-day event carries over throughout the year. The ADA encourages its members to donate time and services to the underserved. In fact, dentists provide more than $2 billion in charitable and uncompensated care to specific underserved populations each year. That's $2 billion worth of free dental work.

I congratulate them on this 150th year of their founding of the American Dental Association. I hope that Members will join me in congratulating the ADA by voting in favor of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my good friend from Indiana, who has been a supporter of the dental profession for many years, Representative Buyer.

I appreciate the gentleman's comment. I should note that I also come from a family of dentists; I just couldn't escape. I ended up going into the dental profession where he went into the law profession. We will argue for some time who made the better choice. But I appreciate everyone's support and would encourage their positive vote on this resolution.

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

I thank my dentist friend for yielding, and I thank him for bringing this resolution to the floor.

I come from a family of dentists. My grandfather is a dentist, my father is a dentist, my brother is a dentist, my sister is a dentist, my uncle is a dentist. I chose not to follow halitosis, so I became a lawyer, which means that I sit in the kitchen with the children at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

I come to the floor to honor my grandfather, Dr. Clarence Cornelius Buyer, my father, Dr. John Buyer, Sr., who on February 24 turned 80 and 4 days later retired from his dental practice. That's a lot of years, isn't it, practicing dentistry?

My deceased uncle, Dr. Earl Moore, was an orthodontist in Indianapolis. My sister, Dr. Diane Buyer, practices dentistry on the north side in Indianapolis. And my brother, Dr. John Buyer, Jr., is a periodontist and recently retired in January from the United States Army.

One thing I note about growing up in a family of dentists that has helped me is when you mention the words ``prevention'' and ``wellness,'' when I think of the professions in health that are out there, dentists take the lead. It is almost to the point where I believe that anthropologists, a thousand years from now, are going to dig us up, and they are going to look at our bones and say, look at the stress on those bones, but look at those teeth. They've got to

be Americans. Because, see, Americans, what has happened to us? I will eat what I want, I will drink whatever I want; by golly, the health system better be there to take care of my body, but I'm going to take care of my teeth because my smile means everything to me. I just wish the people would put the same focus they have in their teeth that they also place in their bodies. If we were to do that, how much better in wellness as a society would we be?

The contribution that dentistry has had to me, as a leader in health policy for the country, even goes back to the 1990s, when we began to examine Medicare, for example, and we noted that one-third of our Medicare expenditures was diabetes-related. Well, I spoke up and said, I come from a family of dentists, and we focus on preventive medicine. If we spent billions of dollars on the front end, we wouldn't be spending the multibillion dollars on the back end. So it's about wellness of the whole body. So I want to compliment the dentists.

Now I want to pause and talk about military dentistry, too, for a second. If we are going to compliment the ADA, it is not only in their contributions to our society, but also to military dentists. Military dentists are combat multipliers because there are so many non- battlefield casualties, individuals who are taken off the battlefield because of what happens with regard to the deterioration of their dental hygiene. It is those dentists that put them back in, and I want to truly applaud them.

Let me close with the infinite wisdom of the United States Army. I came out of The Citadel. I received my commission as a second lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. My first assignment in the United States Army was with a dental clinic. I did everything I could, dad, to get away from dentistry, but for whatever reason, it totally consumes me, even in my life today.

Let me say congratulations to the ADA and to all the dentists and the dental assistants and the dental hygienists and the specialties for which the ADA represents. Thank you, and good job.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 204, which honors one our nation's oldest African-American medical professional organizations, the National Dental Association. For nearly 150 years, the NDA has committed itself to opening the doors to the dental profession--a profession that has traditionally been dominated by the privileged few who could afford dental training--to men and women of color.

Even more importantly, the NDA has been a voice for the under-served in our society, often speaking out about disparities in access to dental care when others in the provider community would not. The dentists who make up the NDA, like I, believe that the right to dental care must be a fundamental human and civil right--not a privilege. In the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, there is no reason that some Americans lack access to a dentist or oral surgeon.

We all mourn the loss of Demonte Driver, a young African-American boy who died in 2007 as the result of not getting timely and medically necessary dental care because his family was uninsured. I am committed to working with the NDA and all other provider groups to ensure that our country reaches a point where stories like Demonte's will become increasingly rare and, eventually, cease to exist. We must work to ensure that young dental students who wish to practice in communities served by Medicaid have the fiscal flexibility to do so. This necessarily means addressing the $145,000 debt the average dental student incurs during the course of his or her education.

To this end, I will soon introduce legislation that expands funding for the National Health Service Corps. The program provides for medical and dental students' reasonable educational expenses and a monthly stipend for room and board. After school, the student must apply for pre-approved positions in underserved areas. By increasing the funding levels between 2009 and 2019 by $100 million each year, my bill will ensure that every citizen in every community has access to the doctor and dentist of their choice.

I applaud the NDA for their 150 years of excellence and compassionate advocacy and I wish them 150 more. Together, we will end dental access disparity once and for all. I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 204) congratulating the American Dental Association for its 150th year of working to improve the public's oral health

and promoting dentistry, supporting initiatives to improve access to oral health care services for all Americans, and emphasizing the benefits of prevention of disease through support of community prevention initiatives and promotion of good oral hygiene.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to extend and revise their remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 204, a resolution that congratulates the American Dental Association on its 150th anniversary.

The American Dental Association is the largest and oldest professional association for dental providers. Its more than 157,000 members play a vital role in improving access to oral health services.

Former Surgeon General David Satcher has noted that oral health is integral to general health. The American Dental Association has been a lead advocate in ensuring that these important health services are not forgotten.

I would like to thank and applaud my colleague, Representative Simpson, for his leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution that commends the American Dental Association for its important work to promote good oral hygiene and community prevention strategies.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.