Greg Walden

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize and commend Mr. Sherm Olsrud for his extensive community service and philanthropy efforts in Rogue Valley and the rest of the southern Oregon region over the last 40 years. Sherm passed away in May at the age of 95, survived by his wife, Wanda, and their children. Today, I'd like to pay tribute to Sherm's service to our nation and his commitment and generosity to Oregonians in need.

Sherm's sense of duty and service began early in life when he left North Dakota to serve as a United States Marine in the South Pacific during World War II. Following the war, Sherm settled in Eugene, Oregon and met his wife-to-be, Wanda, while working in his Uncle's restaurant. They immediately fell in love and were happily married in February 1947.

Over the next decade, the couple's love and ambition would bring them great success. Sherm used his GI Bill benefits to train as a meat cutting apprentice and in 1958 he and Wanda would buy Wilson's Sausage Kitchen establishing their first family business in Eugene. After several years of building their small business they opened Eugene's first all-day market in a new 10,000 square foot grocery store named Sherm's 24 Hour Market.

With the resourcefulness, adaptability, and integrity of a United States Marine he kept Sherm's running successfully for nearly ten more years before selling the business in order to expand his business throughout the southern Oregon. Sherm and Wanda built a family store chain purchasing the old Thunderbird Market in Medford in 1967, the Mayfair Market in Klamath Falls in 1974, the Bazaar department store in Medford in 1977, the Food 4 Less franchise in 1985, and Food World in Roseburg in 2000. They often worked more than 12 hours every day of the week to maintain their vision while employing more than 600 people. Sherm would also say ``the customer is still the boss, always has been and always will be because the customer has a lot of options.''

Although his business accomplishments demonstrate a record of success, none of it would have been possible without the distinguished character and value system of the man himself. Sherm believed in sharing the fruits of his success with those less fortunate in the community by supporting programs to help them get back on their feet. For instance, every year Sherm and Wanda donated nearly 50,000 pounds of food and toiletry items to the Jackson County ACCESS community assistance program.

Sherm has also supported fun educational programs for local children and young adults. Sherm and Wanda generously donated to local programs like Future Farmers of America, 4H Club, and Kids Unlimited, as well maintaining Bear Creek Park, building a $20,000 fence for McLoughlin Middle School, and covering ticket costs for all children twelve and under for the Jackson County Fair. Even upon receiving a share of a winning Powerball ticket he sold, he quickly donated the funds to two local elementary schools. Well known as a sports enthusiast, Sherm was able to bring the Portland Trail Blazers to Kids Unlimited to play ball with the children.

Additionally, Sherm always believed that pursuing higher education is foundational for the well-being and success of communities. Sherm would say, ``As time goes by, our society demands educated people. Our country needs educated people.'' Therefore, he and Wanda established a series of scholarship funds to promote education and help students in financial need. These include The Sherm and Wanda Olsrud Scholarship Fund and The Olsrud 4H and FFA Scholarship Fund that offer renewable $5,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors, as well as the Sherm & Wanda Olsrud Endowed Scholarship that offers up to $5,000 to students attending Southern Oregon University.

Over his long life, Sherm has demonstrated integrity, duty, and true generosity in every community in which he lived. Sherm's business acumen and benevolence are well known across most of the southern Oregon region including Douglas, Lane, Josephine, Jackson, and Klamath counties for the past 40 years and his legacy will continue for many years into the future. In fact, the Olsrud family has opened Sherm's memorial service to the broader public due to widespread interest in celebrating Sherm's accomplishments and philanthropy.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in thanking Sherm for his many years of service and generosity throughout southern Oregon, and I give my condolences to Wanda, and the Olsrud family.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise today in strong support of this bipartisan bill that extends several key Medicaid programs, H.R. 3253, the Empowering Beneficiaries, Ensuring Access, and Strengthening Accountability Act of 2019.

Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that strengthens the healthcare safety net for our communities and provides long-term certainty for patients.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Chairman Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, for his partnership and willingness to work in good faith on both sides of the aisle to get this done.

We passed a short-term extension of these programs back in March, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that patients were still protected as we ironed out the details. Today, we are delivering the long-term deal that I know we all wanted all along.

A big priority of mine in this package is the 2-year extension of the Excellence in Mental Health demonstration program at CMS. Eight States, including my home State of Oregon, are currently participating in this pilot program, which is designed to increase access to mental health and substance use treatment services.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Oregon AFSCME Council 75.

Oregon AFSCME Council 75,

June 18, 2019.

Members of the Oregon Delegation,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representatives: On behalf of the more than 25,000

Oregon AFSCME Council 75 members, we ask you to approve the

Empowering Beneficiaries, Ensuring Access, and Strengthening

Accountability Act of 2019 (H.R. 3253) when the House of

Representatives considers the bill this week.

We strongly support H.R. 3253 because it extends the

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) program

through December 2021. On June 30, the CCBHCs in our state,

along with those in Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey,

New York, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, face extreme financial

threat. We appreciate that Representative Walden, in his

capacity as Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce

Committee, worked in bipartisan effort to avert the March 30

fiscal cliff in Oregon and Oklahoma and is an original co-

sponsor for H.R. 3253.

At Cascadia Behavioral Health in Portland Oregon, AFSCME

Council 75 members who are therapists, care coordinators,

crisis counselors, residential counselors, support staff and

other workers, deliver whole health care--integrated mental

health and addiction services, primary care and housing--

through the CCBHC program. These health care workers never

stop working to help those who want to get healthy and

recover. It is not just a job; it is a calling.

That core commitment to helping people heal is why

Alexandra Birch, a Qualified Mental Health Associate, cares

deeply about the CCBHC program. It has helped innovate and

improve the delivery of care. She was hired in 2017 as a Care

Coordinator at Cascadia because of an investment Congress

provided to the CCBHC program. In that role she is the glue

that connects primary care with behavioral health care and

makes sure care is focused on the whole patient.

In her work, Ms. Birch treats clients with anxiety and very

high blood pressure but who do not have an established

doctor; she is able to connect them to a doctor. She cares

for clients on certain anti-depressants that experienced

weight gain as a result, which put them at higher risk of

developing diabetes. Because of the investment Congress

provided in establishing CCBHCs, Ms. Birch can direct those

clients to inhouse primary care to monitor and prevent

diabetes.

For practitioners like Ms. Birch, Cascadia's capacity to

bring primary care into the outpatient behavioral health care

clinics is a game-changer. It enhances their delivery of

services and outcomes for their clients. From the frontline

perspective, the integration of behavioral health and primary

care in a CCBHC removes logistical and other obstacles to

consultation between providers. These consultations translate

into improved identification of the best route of care for a

client with complex physical and mental conditions with the

result of getting a client on the road to wellness much

quicker.

Cascadia's capacity to sustain and expand this level of

high-quality coordinated care to a vulnerable population

depends on the dedication and skills of workers like Ms.

Birch and congressional action to continue investing in the

CCBHC fiscal model that covers 100 percent of costs.

With the fiscal investment in CCBHCs, Congress allows

Cascadia staff to reach into the community to expand access

to behavioral health services for individuals with serious

mental illnesses. Cascadia works with Portland's 24-hour

mental health crisis emergency room, Unity Center Behavioral

Health. Cascadia staff establish crisis patients with

Cascadia primary care providers immediately after Unity

hospital care. This enables patients to continue medications

that ensure mental stability until they have fully connected

with Cascadia's mental health providers.

We urge you to pass H.R. 3253 and extend the CCBHC program.

It would be tragic to lose this funding that has sustained

and expanded vital behavioral and medical services to our

community.

Sincerely,

Stacy Chamberlin,

Executive Director.

Mr. Speaker, this is really important legislation.

Last year, my legislation, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, our opioids legislation, the most comprehensive bill to address a single drug crisis in our Nation's history, was signed into law. Our committee has made major strides in addressing the substance use disorder crisis that is plaguing our communities.

The Excellence in Mental Health demonstration continues that good work by increasing Medicaid reimbursement for community-based mental health and addiction treatment services. This 2-year extension for the participating States will give us time for a full evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the program and whether it should be expanded.

Also included in this bill is an extension for the Money Follows the Person program through fiscal year 2024. This provides resources to State Medicaid programs to help individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities transition back into their communities.

We also secured an extension of what is known as the spousal impoverishment provisions in Medicaid. To be

clear, this bill actually helps keep spouses of elderly patients from impoverishment and out of costly nursing home settings. For spouses of patients receiving home or community-based care, the bill will protect them from impractical reductions in their income or resources and ensures that they can live out their lives with independence and dignity.

Finally, we clarified the authority of State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units that investigate and prosecute abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries. This is simply good government. It is good government oversight, and it protects patients who are some of America's most vulnerable.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friends on the Energy and Commerce Committee for their work on the bill: Dr. Burgess, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Upton, Mr. Walberg, and their counterparts on the Democratic side, Ms. Eshoo, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Welch, and, of course, Chairman Pallone.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize one Vietnam veteran, nine World War II veterans and thirteen Korean War veterans from Oregon who are visiting their memorials on the National Mall on Friday, June 14, 2019, through Honor Flight of Oregon. Every time I have the chance to meet one of these heroes, I am reminded of the poignant words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a message to Allied troops just before D-Day, he said, ``The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.''

He was right then, of course, Madam Speaker. But over seventy years later, liberty-loving people everywhere continue to owe these heroes for their extraordinary service and their incredible stories of sacrifice and bravery on behalf of our country. That's why it is my privilege to include in the Record their names today.

The veterans on this Honor Flight from Oregon are as follows: David Bagley, Marine Corps; Willis Bennett, Navy; Mount Blevins, Army; William Cadman, Marine Corps; William Collins, Navy; Marjorie Cook, Army; Lorin Culver, Army; Frederic DeGanna, Air Force; Walter Dye, Navy; Charles Elson, Army; Morris Fruitman, Navy; Ronald Gutekunst, Air Force; Harry Krogman, Air Force; Jack Lakey, Navy; Vernon Lesher, Navy; Harold Mehrten, Air Force and Navy; Charles Nagy Jr., Navy; Henry Nussbaum, Navy; Walter Ridge, Navy; Bobby Ruth, Army; Jack Thompson, Army; Gerald Wellington, Air Force and Navy; and William Wilson, Army.