Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, May 19, 2003, had I been present for rollcall vote Nos. 192, 193, and 194, I would have voted the following way: rollcall vote No. 192--``aye,'' rollcall vote No. 193--``aye,'' rollcall vote No. 194--``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 8, 2003, had I been present for rollcall vote Nos. 170, 171, and 172, I would have voted the following way: rollcall vote No. 170--``aye''; rollcall vote No. 171--``aye''; and rollcall vote No. 172--``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, April 29, 2003, had I been present for rollcall vote Nos. 146, 147, and 148, I would have voted the following way: Rollcall vote No. 146 ``Aye''; rollcall vote No. 147 ``Aye''; rollcall vote No. 148 ``Aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, April 7, 2003, had I been present for rollcall vote Nos. 109, 110, and 111, I would have voted the following way: Rollcall vote No. 109--``aye''; Rollcall vote No. 110--``aye''; Rollcall Vote No. 111--``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, March 31, 2003, despite all my efforts, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present for Roll Call Vote Nos. 93 and 94 I would have voted the following way:

Roll Call Vote No. 93,--``Aye''.

Roll Call Vote No. 94,--``Aye''.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 27, 2003, despite all my efforts, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present for rollcall vote No. 91, on H. Con. Res. 118, Concerning the Treatment of Members of the Armed Forces Held as Prisoner of War by Iraqi Authorities, I would have voted as follows: rollcall vote No. 91--``aye.''

As the United States Armed Forces and its international allies continue to liberate the oppressed Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, we pause today to recognize their bravery and professionalism. In addition, Congress extends heartfelt sympathies to the families of servicemembers who have been injured, killed, or taken prisoner in Iraq.

For more than 50 years, the Third Geneva Convention has prescribed guidelines for the proper and humane treatment of prisoners of war. Sadly, Iraq--which has agreed to abide by the Third Geneva Convention-- views these international standards with the same callousness and disregard for human life that Saddam Hussein's murderous regime has demonstrated for decades. Iraqi troops unwilling to die for a corrupt, diabolical regime can be comforted by the fact that American and coalition forces will treat prisoners of war humanely, supplying them with food, shelter, and medical assistance--in other words, treating them in full compliance with the Third Geneva Convention.

Iraqi television recently has broadcast, in direct violation of the Third Geneva Convention, footage of American Prisoners of War. I join my colleagues in thanking America's brave men and women serving their country on the front lines. I also unequivocally condemn Iraq's mistreatment of prisoners of war and remind the Iraqi regime that, if it chooses to ignore America's demand to abide by its commitment to the Third Geneva Convention, then these war criminals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 27, 2003, despite all my efforts, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present for rollcall vote No.'s 87, 88, and 90 I would have voted the following way:

Rollcall vote No. 87, Amendment offered by Rep. Feeney of Florida-- ``aye''

Rollcall vote No. 88, Amendment offered by Rep. Smith of Texas-- ``aye''

Rollcall vote No. 90--``aye''

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 27, 2003, despite all my efforts, I was

unavoidably detained. Had I been present for rollcall vote No. 89, on final passage of H.R. 1104, The Child Abduction Prevention Act, I would have voted as follows: rollcall vote No. 89--``aye.''

Protecting our children is a top priority of this Congress. Child abduction and exploitation cannot and should not be tolerated. The Child Abduction Prevention Act not only creates new methods for finding and recovering abducted children, but it also takes steps to prevent them from happening in the first place.

To help recover abducted children, it establishes a national AMBER Alert communications network and doubles the annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to $20 million through 2005.

To get tough on perpetrators and bring justice to sexual predators, it eliminates the statute of limitations for child abductions and sex crimes, denies pretrial release for child rapists or child abductors, requires a mandatory life sentence for twice-convicted child sex- offenders and a minimum 20-year prison sentence for the kidnapping of a person under 18 by a nonfamily member. It also punishes persons who travel to foreign countries to engage in illicit sexual relations with minors and criminalizes the actions of sex tour operators.

To provide law enforcement officers the tools they need, it authorizes COPS funding for a Sex Offender Apprehension Program, so local law enforcement may track sex offenders that violate the terms of their release.

I fully support this strong measure, ``The Child Abduction Prevention Act,'' that will help protect America's children.

Mr. Speaker, I will have to say it is rather amazing that when the minority is wrong on policy, they focus on process.

Mr. Speaker, as a family physician, I have always tried to do what is best for patients, and as a Member of Congress I still try to do what is best for patients in Kentucky and all across America.

Not at this time. I have 3 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, what is best for the patient? I believe that unlimited medical liability awards are bad for patients, because they cause malpractice insurance prices to climb, resulting in more expensive care, fewer doctors, and problems obtaining access to needed care.

H.R. 5, the HEALTH Act of 2003, actually ensures fair compensation for everyone. We need to keep in mind that everyone is entitled to full compensation for their losses, medical bills and wages under H.R. 5.

It is not unusual to hear stories of doctors moving from Kentucky to Indiana, where they have enacted comprehensive liability reform, to take advantage of lower costs of medical liability insurance.

Passing the HEALTH Act, which reasonably reforms our liability system, will hold premiums at a lower, more predictable rate. That will ensure patients are not left without their local physician, who may be otherwise driven out of their practice. And to say that this bill will not reduce frivolous lawsuits and reduce malpractice premiums is truly laughable. Lawsuits do not prevent injuries, they do not reduce medical errors, but they do create an atmosphere of fear, defensiveness and distrust in the doctor-patient relationship.

In fact, a recent study estimated that defensive medicine cost $163 per person per year in Kentucky. That means Kentucky spends about $655 million on unnecessary care due to fear of litigation.

Let me give you specific examples, too. Blue Grass Orthopedic Group in my district has never lost any of the handful of claims filed against its eight doctors. Yet their premiums, which were $222,000 last year, shot up to $635,000, nearly tripling in a single year. Why? Because personal injury lawyers, hoping to hit the jackpot, file frivolous lawsuits.

More than 70 percent of Kentucky physicians say their medical liability insurance premiums increased in 2002. Emergency physicians saw increases greater than 200 percent, general surgeons and orthopedists saw increases between 87 and 122 percent, and obstetricians and internists saw increases between 40 and 64 percent. Several saw several hundred percent increases in their premiums. In other words, this is just unsustainable.

It is estimated that for every obstetrician that leaves a practice in Kentucky, 140 women are left without their physician. That means that women during prenatal care will have to drive an extra 30 or 50 minutes to see a doctor. That also means during labor if that unborn child is in fetal distress, there is an extra 30 minutes of fetal distress, which could blankly rob that child of all their hopes and future of what they potentially could be.

As a family physician, I took an oath to do no harm. The only bill today that will help physicians keep that oath is one that ensures safe and timely access to care through reasonable, comprehensive and effective health care liability reform, and that is H.R. 5. I urge my colleagues to support this rule and vote yes on H.R. 5.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?