Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor and supporter of the bipartisan Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act, which provides better care for patients who are suffering from end-stage renal disease, also known as kidney failure.

Currently, there are about 9,000 Minnesotans who suffer from end- stage renal disease. Many of these patients spend hours and hours enduring multiple hospital visits each and every week to treat this disease; and, on top of that, they oftentimes also have to travel to a different location to get treatment for other health conditions they may have as well.

This legislation will allow dialysis centers to provide integrated care for patients by bringing in providers so that people can receive comprehensive treatments all in the same place. These patients will also be able to see additional benefits, like transportation services, dental care, and vision care.

Mr. Speaker, let's pass this bill so we can improve the quality of life for this vulnerable patient population by coordinating the care system and making it easier for them to receive their treatments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act. This bill would strengthen States' abilities to combat pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths.

Unfortunately, the number of these deaths in the United States has increased, according to the CDC. We also have the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country, and we are the only country where maternal deaths continue to rise.

That is why this bill is so important: It helps States establish and support maternal mortality review committees to examine the causes of these deaths and then identify solutions that fit their community. It addresses disparities in maternal health outcomes and offers these committees the tools to collect the data they need to address--and, hopefully, to eliminate--the causes of these unnecessary tragedies.

Minnesota's committee has already shown promise but would benefit from

the additional resources this legislation provides.

Mr. Speaker, this bill enjoys bipartisan support and could reduce the number of unnecessary pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths. By taking this important step, we can and will save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Jack Hong from Edina High School who won this year's Congressional App Challenge in Minnesota.

Every year, the Congressional App Challenge encourages students to create an original app by writing computer code. The competition inspires students across the country to explore computer science and STEM fields, fosters innovation, and promotes involvement by some who are historically underrepresented in tech fields.

Jack won this year's competition by designing an app called Pomo Timer that blocks distracting websites on the user's computer for short periods of time.

I would also like to recognize Madiha Rizvi of Brooklyn Park who won runner-up for creating an app called Jobscope that helps young adults find jobs in their communities.

Zara Thomas and Omar Elamri from Minnetonka Middle School were also both honorable mentions for their apps.

Mr. Speaker, these students have shown ingenuity, imagination, and intellectual curiosity, and their inventive talent will take them far. I congratulate them on their achievement and wish them the best in future academics.

Mr. Speaker, when one thinks of poverty, it is likely they envision poverty in an urban or maybe a rural setting; and it may come as a surprise, but poverty in suburban communities is on the rise.

In fact, the number of people living in poverty outside of the Twin Cities' urban core in Minnesota increased 93 percent between 2000 and 2015.

The suburbs are often thought of as places of comfort, if not wealth. However, when considering suburban areas, it is estimated there are more than 187,000 people in poverty in the Twin Cities.

Organizations within our community, like People Reaching Out to People, PROP; the Lakewinds Food Co-op; Southwest News Media; and Chanhassen DECA students, Mark Self, Brian Taylor, and Alex Walther, are shedding light on the issues of suburban poverty and making a difference.

Mr. Speaker, the holiday season that we are in now is a time to come together and think about others who may need a little extra help and generosity. It is the perfect time to start helping neighbors and friends in our communities who are struggling. Awareness is just the first step. Taking action should follow.

Mr. Speaker, November is National Adoption Month, which is an opportunity to remember the more than 400,000 children across the country who are waiting for a family to provide them with a loving home, one they can call their own. The backbone of American society is the family unit. The children in foster care systems around the country deserve to know the love and warmth of a supportive family, and more and more across the country are promoting awareness of adoption and the children waiting to be shown support by adoptive families.

The best way to help children grow up to be good citizens, hold jobs, invent new technologies, discover cures for diseases, and become role models for other children is to provide them leadership, love, and support as they grow up.

Mr. Speaker, adoption brings so much joy to so many children as well as their new families. During National Adoption Month, let's continue to devote resources to ensure we can continue spreading this joy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak in opposition to this legislation, and here is why: it threatens Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area; it stops the scientific environmental review that is going on right now; it weakens the Antiquities Act; and it singles out Minnesota's national forests as not being allowed the same environmental protections that national forests in every other State receive.

Now, northern Minnesota has a rich history of taconite mining. But the mine that is being proposed on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters, America's most-visited wilderness, is a massive copper-sulfide mine, something we have no history of in Minnesota. It would threaten some of the cleanest and most pristine water and lakes in the country.

Today, there is a 2-year review going on of the mining leases to analyze the risks of copper-sulfide mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. It is based on science. It is supported by Secretary Perdue. It is supported by Secretary Zinke. And I should note that Secretary Zinke is supporting a similar review of a proposed mine in Montana that borders Yellowstone National Park.

But this bill halts that scientific review and automatically grants the leases for the mine. If this becomes law, Minnesota's land and water would be singled out as not worthy of the exact same environmental review and protections that exist in every other State in the country.

It carves out a special exemption for Minnesota from the Antiquities Act, which has been used on a bipartisan basis by 16 Presidents as a conservation tool to protect America's history for future generations. And why should the land and history in Minnesota be less worthy of protection?

There are the public comments from more than 100,000 people, Mr. Speaker, that would be tossed aside.

Mr. Speaker, the Boundary Waters is Minnesota's Yellowstone. Hundreds of thousands of people canoe and fish

there annually every year. It is a national treasure.

Some of the best memories of my life have taken place in the Boundary Waters as I grew up or, now, with my daughters. We owe it to future generations to understand the impact that copper-sulfide mining poses to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area; and that is why I am voting ``no'' on a bill that undermines science and puts Minnesota's water at risk.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Eden Prairie boys football team for winning their 11th

Minnesota State championship this last week.

The Eagles prevailed 38-17 in the championship matchup. They finished their 2017 season with an undefeated 13-0 record.

Eden Prairie was led by senior running back Solo Falaniko, who rushed for 90 yards on 22 carries and scored a touchdown, as well as senior all-purpose Antonio Montero, who had 58 yards rushing with three touchdowns.

Mr. Speaker, it takes commitment, perseverance, and hard work to become State champions. It is even more impressive, considering that these team members and student athletes consistently and successfully balance schoolwork and other extracurricular activities with their athletics. That is why I commend these athletes.

Congratulations to the players, the coaches, the parents, and all the fans of the Eden Prairie football team on your State title. Our entire community is very proud of your accomplishment.

Go Eagles.

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in a generation, middle- income and hardworking Americans are closer to a Tax Code that works for them rather than against them.

It has been 31 long years since we last reformed our broken tax system, and, in that time, our Tax Code has become one of the most complicated, unfair, and uncompetitive in the world. It has led to a stagnant economy and sluggish growth. American businesses of all sizes have some of the highest tax rates in the world, sending our jobs, our manufacturing, our research, and our headquarters overseas.

And you know, the economic recovery hasn't been all that great since the Great Recession--not that great for a lot of Americans. Half the population is living paycheck to paycheck. Many either have or are at risk of having a lower standard of living than their parents. Young people, like my daughter's generation, will go backwards if this country is not fundamentally more competitive. And then seniors and those baby boomers preparing for retirement, who have a lifetime of savings, are now at risk without a growing economy.

The reforms in this bill today will help real people with tax cuts aimed to help middle-income families that want to save for the future and improve their own standard of living. The bill focuses on helping small businesses, Main Street Minnesota businesses with a simpler, clearer, and fairer Tax Code that is critical for job creation. It lowers small business rates to 25 percent and even provides a 9 percent rate for the smallest Main Street startups.

Modernizing the Tax Code is essential to allowing American businesses of all sizes to compete around the world and bring those jobs home. We need to be able to sell where the customers are, and 95 percent of the world's customers are outside the United States. The international reforms in this bill will incentivize businesses to bring their money home to invest in our communities.

And importantly, this bill includes bipartisan legislation that I authored, the Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act, which helps those entrepreneurs and startups attract and retain talent. Hardworking taxpayers, Mr. Speaker, deserve a Tax Code that is simpler, flatter, and fairer so that every American family and employer can file their taxes without having to hire an Army of lawyers and accountants.

Mr. Speaker, we have a choice. The choice is Americans. We can either truly grow the economy and put ourselves back on the path to real prosperity, or we can continue the actual trend we have right now of weak economic growth, which only benefits the few and the privileged and will do nothing for regular folks when the next economic downturn hits.

Tax reform for me is about one thing and one thing only. It is about restoring hope for a prosperous future for

ourselves, our parents, and, most importantly, our children. I want to thank the chairman for his guiding leadership through this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I offer my congratulations to the Wayzata girls and boys cross country teams, who both won Minnesota State high school championships this season.

The Wayzata girls' team was led by sophomore Emma Atkinson, who finished in third place overall at State. Three of their runners placed in the top 10, which helped them beat second-place Edina by 19 points. Dave Emmans, who was the 2014 Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year, did an outstanding job leading the Trojan girls' team.

On the boys' side, Wayzata senior Khalid Hussein, led the boys' team to victory after coming in first place at State. Six of Wayzata's runners placed in the top 25. This was the Trojans' 10th State championship in 25 years, and Head Coach Mark Popp has now led the team to victory in two of the last three seasons coaching.

Mr. Speaker, cross country takes an immense amount of dedication, passion, and endurance, and it was evident that these Wayzata teams have worked so hard.

Congratulations to the runners, the coaches, and the families for their success this year of the Wayzata cross country boys and girls teams for becoming State champs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Paul Fogelberg from Orono, Minnesota, on receiving the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Disease's RareVoice Abbey Award from the EveryLife Foundation.

No one, Mr. Speaker, deserves this recognition more than Paul because of his tireless work on behalf of those suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that stiffens and scars the deep tissue in the lungs, making it increasingly difficult to breath until eventually you die.

Every year, more than 14,000 people die from the disease, essentially the same number of people who die from breast cancer.

Paul himself has pulmonary fibrosis and is a strong advocate for research, for awareness, and for more clinical trials to help those who have contracted this deadly disease. There is no known cure for pulmonary fibrosis, yet Paul is a fighter, a leader, and a great advocate who is doing all he can to find one.

Congratulations again to Paul Fogelberg for being recognized as the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Disease's RareVoice Abbey Award.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Edina Girls Tennis Team on winning the Minnesota State Championship Title.

The Hornets won the state finals with seven wins in seven contests. Sophomore Nicole Copeland and Senior Sophia Reddy both beat their opponents in two straight matches, clinching the victory for Edina in a decisive fashion.

This was a big year for the Hornets. Edina has won the state championship in girls tennis in 20 out of the last 21 years, a tremendous feat by any standard. Many of the matches in this year's tournament were decided by one point. They know what it's like to play under pressure and still clinch a victory.

Mr. Speaker, the Hornets' victory is a tribute to their hard work throughout the season and their ability to play under pressure. And most importantly, I commend these student athletes, who have also excelled in the classroom and our community.

Congratulations again to Coach Steve Paulsen and the Edina High School Girls Tennis Team. Their families, teachers, friends, neighbors, and our entire community are very proud to call them state champs.

Mr. Speaker, I offer congratulations to the Wayzata High School Boys Soccer team on winning the Minnesota State Championship Title.

The Trojans topped off their incredible 20-0-2 season by coming home with the state championship trophy. It is inspiring to see a team that shows up with their best every day, and consistently comes out on top. After losing in the championship last year, they came back stronger than ever to win the state title in 2017.

After a scoreless first half, sophomore Patrick Weah netted a goal that eventually decided the match. The Wayzata keeper, Daniel Weshons delivered a shutout after facing thirteen shots. Just before the buzzer, Ethan Wagner put a second goal in the net to secure Wayzata's victory.

Mr. Speaker, the championship title earned by the Trojans shows how hard work throughout the season and the ability to play under pressure always pays off. These outstanding student-athletes have lived up to their obligations in the classroom and in the community.

Congratulations again to the players, coaches, and parents of the Wayzata High School Boys Soccer team on becoming state champs. Go Trojans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the patriotism of West Lutheran High School in Plymouth, Minnesota, and their annual Veterans Day celebration.

Every day, the students at West Lutheran recite the Pledge of Allegiance, even when they did not have enough flags for their classrooms. So the senior American Government class raised $1,200 to purchase flags that will honor their alumni who have answered the call to serve in uniform.

The West Lutheran Veterans Day ceremony is now a central part of life in the Plymouth community, and every year they recognize contributions and sacrifices made by those in uniform. This year, veterans will be treated to breakfast, the music of the West Lutheran band, and remarks by Tom Warren, Sr., a veteran of the U.S. Army and Operation Desert Storm.

So, Mr. Speaker, I commend the West Lutheran community for keeping this tradition alive, and I also thank our veterans for the selfless acts of courage that keep our country safe.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 600, I call up the bill (H.R. 849) to repeal the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act providing for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the bill into the Record.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act. This discussion is not new. Republicans and Democrats came together to pass this same bill back in 2015. This year there is, once again, strong bipartisan support with 45 Democratic Members and 225 Republican cosponsors. It passed out of the Ways and Means Committee last month with bipartisan support, too.

This bill will repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, created in ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act. The IPAB puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of Medicare spending with significant unilateral powers to slash payments to providers, forcing them to stop seeing Medicare patients without any accountability, judicial review, or transparency.

The board's unprecedented authority to alter Medicare policy could ultimately reduce seniors' access to healthcare and put the government, rather than the patient, at the center of the healthcare system.

Putting Medicare on a sustainable financial footing is a top priority for all of us here in Congress, but passing the buck to a handful of unaccountable bureaucrats is not the right approach.

Last year, the Medicare Trustees Report stated that this was to be the year that the IPAB's authority to make cuts would be triggered. Fortunately, this year's Medicare Trustees Report has given us slightly more time, but next year, they can come back and move that date up once again. This is a cloud that will hang over providers and beneficiaries, unless we act and pass this bill today.

Now some have stated that this bill does not solve any immediate problem, and they have questioned the need to act on the bill today. I believe that our seniors and our healthcare providers are a priority. Why should we kick the can down the road when we can stop this today?

There are letters of support from over 700 bipartisan groups representing patients, employers, hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals all voicing strong support for IPAB repeal.

They believe that the threat of this board is enough to warrant repeal and to place the decisionmaking back in the hands of elected Members of Congress, and I agree.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and let me just start by saying that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have called on us to work with them over and over again to find common ground, to make fixes in the flaws in ObamaCare.

Today we have an opportunity to do exactly that. We should all be joining together. There is bipartisan support on this bill to eliminate this unnecessary and potentially very destructive body, one that I would define as a major flaw in the law. This is the exact process that we have been asking for--you have been asking for.

The bill has been through regular order. We have had countless hearings on this topic. We have actually voted not once, but twice, in past Congresses to repeal the IPAB to keep it from harming access to seniors' care.

So today we are bringing this bill forward--this legislation forward--as a stand-alone provision, not tied to any other policies, to once and for all allow Members to say whether they support or oppose this unaccountable board.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), who has been a tireless champion for seniors in Tennessee and, since day one, has been working on this legislation to repeal the IPAB.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), who has been a tireless advocate working on Medicare issues as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer), a member of our leadership team.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), who is an original cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers.

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have supported this bill in the Ways and Means Committee in regular order last month and in a prior vote, I will add, back in 2015.

Rather than take control away from the American people and from our seniors, we should be expanding choice, expanding access, and expanding flexibility and competition in Medicare, and we can start that right now, today, by passing this legislation to terminate the IPAB once and for all.

Now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have also called on us to work with them to find common ground, to work with them to fix those flaws in the Affordable Care Act. Well, today, with this vote, we have the opportunity to do just that, to join together to eliminate this unnecessary

and potentially destructive provision--certainly, it is a major flaw in the law--and pass this bipartisan legislation.

Repealing IPAB is crucial to maintaining and expanding access to high-quality care for our Nation's seniors and ensuring that Medicare payment policy is not dictated to us and our constituents by a board of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Roe and I want to thank Dr. Ruiz on the other side of the aisle for their leadership on this bill, along with the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committee members.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 849, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Oakwood Elementary School in Wayzata for being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for academic excellence.

This is a big honor. It is a big deal. I visited Oakwood myself, and only eight schools in Minnesota have received this recognition this year. That is because exemplary, high-performing schools like Oakwood rank among the highest performing schools with top scores in State assessments.

One important note worth mentioning is that Oakwood Elementary School has done significant work addressing the achievement gap in their community so that every one of their students has what they need to be successful.

Mr. Speaker, every one of Oakwood's teachers, staff, students, and parents should be commended for this accomplishment. Congratulations, again, to Oakwood Elementary School for being named a National Blue Ribbon School.