Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the University of Tennessee College of Law's Legal Clinic on its 70th anniversary. The UT Legal Clinic is a national leader in clinical education.

The clinic has been ranked one of the top 10 legal clinical programs among public universities and 19th among all U.S. law schools. The UT Legal Clinic was founded in 1947, by Professor Charles Miller, and is the longest, continually existing legal clinic in the country.

The clinic provides law students many opportunities to learn by doing. This approach prepares students for both the practice of law and providing legal services to the underprivileged. The work at the clinic has further advanced the cause of justice by serving thousands of indigent clients who cannot afford legal representation.

I want to honor and congratulate the UT College of Law's Legal Clinic on its 70th anniversary and thank it for its honorable service to the legal profession, the people of the State of Tennessee, and to the entire Nation. I wish only the best for the Legal Clinic in future years training and educating outstanding law students.

Mr. Speaker, a distinguished business owner and close friend of mine from my district, Larry G. Cox, will be honored by the North Knoxville Business and Professional Association at an event that benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tennessee Valley on November 14th 2017.

Larry has one of the biggest hearts of all the people I have known in my lifetime. Larry has served the people of Knoxville for many years by giving his time and effort to the Emerald Youth Foundation, Kiwanis Club, and his church. He also helped make our city a better place through his tenure as a Knoxville city councilman for two decades.

Father of Shane and Brooke, Grandfather of Brielle and Kingston, and Husband of Brenda, Larry Cox has created a legacy that few can

match, and he has touched thousands of people's lives in good and positive ways.

His passion for promoting a connected community focused on the success of our youth has helped many young people who are faced with challenging life situations with little hope in their lives.

His dedication to fundraising for the Boys and Girls Clubs has helped to provide resources to make the lives of many young people better through their renewed sense of self, ability to participate in sports, and boost in self-confidence.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing the impact Larry Cox has made on so many lives through his selflessness and devotion to others. This Nation is a much better place because of the life he has led.

Mr. Speaker, there is a heartbreaking photo in today's Washington Post showing two small boys, toddler-size, in a hospital in Yemen being treated for cholera. The story says the International Red Cross is now being prohibited by the Government of Saudi Arabia from shipping chlorine tablets into Yemen to treat this disease that has now affected more than 900,000 people there.

This is a humanitarian crisis of the first magnitude and it should not be tolerated. Many people are dying. Most of the victims of this disease are women, children, and senior citizens.

In yesterday's American Conservative magazine, Daniel Larison wrote: ``The Saudi-led blockade of Yemen has been starving the population of essential goods for years, but the complete shutdown of all ports threatens to cause massive loss of life if it is not reversed immediately.''

The head of the U.N. World Food Programme is warning that hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen will be ``on the brink of starvation if the Saudi-led coalition's blockade of air, sea, and land access lasts for even 2 weeks.''

David Beasley, of the U.N., told the Associated Press, if access remains shut down, ``I can't imagine this will not be one of the most devastating humanitarian catastrophes we have seen in decades.''

Mr. Speaker, Saudi Arabia is supposed to be an ally of ours. Those of us in Congress should demand, urge, or at least plead with officials in Saudi Arabia to end this very cruel, inhumane blockade, and allow the Red Cross to get crucial food, medicine, and other supplies in to these people before many more die needlessly.

Mr. Speaker, on October 11, a great Tennessean and very

patriotic American, Van Michael, passed away at the age of 82.

Van was a longtime friend and supporter of both me and my late father.

He was a lawyer, successful businessman, and served as City Judge for Sweetwater, Tennessee.

He also enjoyed his work in Washington as the lobbyist for the National Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Van was the primary developer of a popular Tennessee tourist attraction called the Lost Sea, an amazing body of water in an underground cavern in Monroe County.

I still remember riding in a boat with my dad at the Grand Opening of the Lost Sea.

He also was a leader in bringing about Cherohala Skyway, one of the Nation's most beautiful scenic highways.

Van was a very well-informed conservative with strong views on the great issues of the day.

As Sweetwater Mayor Doyle Lowe said, ``Sweetwater and the County will miss him. He was a large part of the community.''

Van Michael touched thousands of lives in good and positive ways. This Country is a better place because of the life he led.

I would like to include in the Record the following article about Van Michael from the Monroe County newspaper The Advocate & Democrat.

[From the Advocate and Democrat, Oct. 15, 2017]

Lost Sea Developer Van Michael Dies at 82

(By Michael Thomas)

A man who helped bring The Lost Sea to prominence among

many other life accomplishments died Oct. 11 at the age of

82.

Van Reeves Michael was known for a lot of things throughout

his long life, but it was his part in the development of the

former Craighead Caverns into the Lost Sea that will mark his

legacy.

``I can't think of anyone that knows more about The Lost

Sea than him,'' said Lisa McClung, director of The Lost Sea.

``I used to get him to come out and talk to the new tour

guides and share some of the history of it with them so they

would know it firsthand. He was a wonderful person. He

stopped by to see us frequently and tell us stories about The

Lost Sea. I can't believe he's gone. We will definitely miss

him.''

McClung said she did not know anyone who loved The Lost Sea

more than Van Michael.

``He was passionate about it becoming an attraction and he

worked relentlessly in the early 60s to get it open,'' she

said. ``He kept on and on until he was able to see it become

reality. He said he would stand on Main Street and count the

car tags of people who were coming through going to

Chattanooga or Knoxville and he knew if it were open to the

public, they would stop and see it.''

In a story commemorating the 50th anniversary of The Lost

Sea, Michael said, ``It was called the `Lake Room' until

1965. People had come and gone in the cavern before that, but

only a few had actually seen the big room with the cave.

Nobody in Sweetwater believed it existed.''

According to family members, Michael was also instrumental

in helping bring the Cherohala Skyway into existence,

something his father, W.E. Michael, helped start.

Michael was also well known in the City of Sweetwater,

where his law office was known as the ``Michael and Michael

building.''

``Everybody knew that building on Oak Street,'' Sweetwater

Mayor Doyle Lowe said. ``I hated to hear that Van had died.

He was quite a character. He always had a joke ready and a

lot of times, he would make your day. We were friends for

more than 40 years and he was always encouraging, always

thinking of ways to make things better.''

``Sweetwater, and the county, will miss him,'' Lowe added.

``He was a large part of the community.''

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, W.E. Michael

and Claudia Francis Michael, and son Richard Michael. He is

survived by his wife of 57 years, Margaret (Peg) Bowland

Michael, his daughter and son-in-law, Teresa Michael Glasgow

and Steven Glasgow of Franklin, and his grandchildren, Carson

and Campbell Glasgow.

He was a 1952 graduate of Tennessee Military Institute. He

went on to receive his bachelor and law degrees from

Cumberland University and practiced law in Sweetwater for 57

years at Michael and Michael Attys.

Madam Speaker, the new term of the U.S. Supreme Court begins this week. I was a judge for 7\1/2\ years before I came to Congress, so I have great interest in their proceedings. It seems to me that our courts have become far too political over the last many years.

Up until the mid-1930s, most Federal courts seemed to try to stay out of politics and paid great deference to actions by Federal and State legislative bodies as being expressions of the will of the people.

For many years now, though, some Federal judges believe they should have been elected to Congress or to State legislatures. One of many examples involves the drawing of congressional, legislative, and local government voting districts. The word ``gerrymandering'' came into use in 1812, but it really has only been in very recent years that the Federal courts have become heavily involved in drawing specific lines in so many States.

If the court has a liberal judge, he or she will seemingly go to great lengths to throw out any lines that seem to benefit conservatives.

I was at the U.S. Supreme Court recently to introduce some lawyers from Knoxville. That day, the Court was hearing a challenge to some lines drawn by the Virginia Legislature. This is something that the Federal courts should really stay out of and leave to the State legislatures.

Also, opinions now are much longer than in the first 150 years or so, as some judges seem to believe they know almost everything.

Madam Speaker, what we really need is more judges at all levels who have a little more humility.

Many of the issues that the courts are dealing with involve freedom of religion. Our Founding Fathers came here to this country to get freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

I think it was very sad that a very intolerant group from Wisconsin went to great lengths to get a Bible verse removed from the Knoxville Police Department. It seems that people who proclaim their tolerance the loudest are some of the most intolerant people in this country today, and aimed primarily at conservative Christians.

In Zorach v. Clauson, a 1952 U.S. Supreme Court case, Justice William O. Douglas wrote that the law should not prefer ``those who believe in no religion over those who do believe,'' and that there is ``no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence.''

Justice Douglas was one of the most liberal Justices who ever served on the U.S. Supreme Court.

It surprises many when I tell them that we open every session of the House and Senate with prayer, that there is a prayer room in the center of the Capitol, and several Bible studies go on in the Capitol each week.

Madam Speaker, on an unrelated topic, because we are dealing with the budget proposals this week, I think it is ironic that the only President in the last 70 or 80 years who has tried to rein in defense spending is the only one who spent his career in the military: President Eisenhower.

I spoke out in every way and voted against most of the major initiatives of the Obama administration, but it was false to say that the military has been depleted.

We spend well over $700 billion on defense and military construction each year. Last year, we spent $177.5 billion on new planes, tanks, weapons, and equipment, and similar amounts to that for many years. Most of this equipment does not wear out after just 1 year.

In the book ``Ike's Bluff,'' when Eisenhower was told he could not cut defense spending, he replied that if he told every general who reduced his budget that he would get another star, you would have to get out of the way of the rush.

He also said: ``Heaven help us if we ever have a President who doesn't know as much about the military as I do.''

Over 80 percent of those in Congress today have never served in our Armed Forces. I am proud to have been one who was privileged to serve.

Most of the Members of Congress today are afraid to oppose or even question wasteful defense spending for fear of some demagogue calling them unpatriotic or saying they are not supporting the troops. But, Madam Speaker, we need to wake up and realize that there is waste even in the Defense Department.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague

Trent Franks for his hard work on this important issue. I rise today in support of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Children are gifts from God--before and after they are born. They are tiny humans with endless potential and complete innocence.

This bill would stop the practice of ending these precious lives after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest or necessity to save the mother's life.

Similar laws have been passed in about 16 states, and this Chamber passed similar legislation in 2015. The United States is 1 of only 7 countries that does not ban abortions of these 20-week-year-old unborn babies.

Science indicates that, at about this age, these children have the physical structures needed to feel pain.

We do not want anyone to have an unwanted pregnancy, but we want mothers to know that abortion is not their only option. And we want these children protected from pain and harm.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to protect our Nation's most innocent from inhumane suffering and premature death.

Mr. Speaker, my constituent, Tanner Lee Jameson, was just 13 when he died from cardiac arrest during a basketball game. His school had an automated external defibrillator, or AED, in a nearby office, but it was inaccessible when Tanner needed it most.

Since Tanner's passing, his mother, and my constituent, Rhonda Harrill, who is in the gallery today with her husband, has been a passionate advocate for increased AED access.

Early this year, I introduced the AEDs resolution, H. Res. 35, which would encourage schools to have AEDs and to provide annual AED training.

In 1998, I introduced, and Congress passed, the Aviation Medical Assistance Act, the law that requires, among other things, passenger airplanes and airports to have AEDs and flight crews to receive additional first aid and AED training.

Today, I am pleased to participate in this year's AED Hunt on the Hill, sponsored by my friend, Dr. Phil Roe, and hosted by the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to remember Tanner Jameson's life, and I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H. Res. 35 to hopefully help save lives in the future.

Mr. Speaker, on September 4, 4 days ago, The New York Times International Edition carried a story, entitled, ``The Empire Stopper,'' which said foreign powers have tried to control Afghanistan since the 19th century. The story had a very interesting first paragraph:

``When the American author James A. Michener went to Afghanistan to research his work of historical fiction `Caravans,' it was 1955 and there were barely any roads in the country. Yet there were already Americans and Russians there jockeying for influence.''

Continuing the Times' quote:

``Later, the book's Afghan protagonist would tell an American diplomat that one day both America and Russia would invade Afghanistan and that both would come to regret it.''

Michener wrote that 62 years ago. Since then, Afghanistan has been described many times as the ``Graveyard of Empires.''

This 17-year war in Afghanistan has always been more about money than anything else, and it should have been ended long ago. Many people wonder why we keep sending so many soldiers and military contractors to Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, it has always been about money, increased appropriations for the Defense Department, and huge profits for the contractors who hire retired admirals and generals.

There have been so many examples of waste, fraud, and abuse in these Middle East wars that it is sickening. One recent example was reported this way by Newsweek:

``U.S.-based security firm Sallyport Global has been accused by two former internal investigators of smuggling alcohol, stealing, keeping two different account ledgers, and even human trafficking of prostitutes while executing an almost $700 million contract to protect Balad Air Base in Iraq, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.''

Military bases should be protected by military personnel, not highly paid contractors, but most Members of Congress are afraid to criticize anything the Defense Department does for fear of someone saying they are not ``supporting the troops.''

We now have over 11,000 troops in Afghanistan and probably that many or more contractors in addition to no telling how many Federal civilian employees. Then we are also paying more than

330,000 Afghan military and police personnel.

The international community is now providing 60 percent of the Afghan GDP, and almost all of these so-called peacekeeping--really, U.N. wars--the U.S. taxpayers are paying over 90 percent of the cost.

When the so-called coalition bombs go astray killing civilians and women and children, they are really seen by the locals as being U.S. bombs, creating even more hatred and resentment for our country.

We have now had almost 2,500 young American soldiers killed in Afghanistan and 20,000 wounded, many maimed for life. We have spent $1 trillion directly on this war and even more indirectly.

Mr. Speaker, the American people don't want forever, permanent wars. This Afghanistan folly has lasted four times longer than World War II. We should have come home a long time ago.

Mr. Speaker, one of my constituents, Pastor Clarence Sexton, has provided years of exceptional service through his devotion to helping others grow in faith.

I want to extend congratulations to Pastor Sexton for reaching the 50th anniversary of his Christian ministry.

Since 1967, he has served others through his work as a pastor with several churches in Tennessee and even one in New Jersey.

He and his wife Evelyn married the same year that he began preaching. They have two sons, Shannon and Matt, and six grandchildren.

Pastor Sexton and his family have devoted the last 25 years of their lives to service at Temple Baptist Church, in my district, in Powell, Tennessee.

When the Sextons arrived at Temple Baptist, the church was averaging fewer than 500 people in attendance. Now, thousands attend weekly.

Using the principles and teachings of the Bible, Pastor Sexton also leads as the President and founder of Crown College, across from Temple Baptist.

His sacrifice, leadership, and Godly ways have helped make our community, state, and Nation better places.

Mr. Speaker, I hope you and my colleagues will join me in recognizing this milestone of service and dedication Pastor Sexton has reached.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I received this message from a very respected businessman in Knoxville, Randy Greaves.

He wrote:

I just received a letter from Humana stating that they are

leaving the State of Tennessee next year.

This leaves no one to write individual health policies in

the State. Aetna only writes group policies, and they may

withdraw, as well. Please let anyone with a vote know that

families are being failed miserably, as you already know.

The insurance that Humana wrote for my family, in 2017,

required that we pay the first $37,000 between premiums and

the deductible before insurance would contribute only 50

percent.

It was basically worthless, and now they won't even make

that lousy policy available because people on subsidies,

mostly with no personal accountability for their own health,

cost a fortune to the rest of us.

ObamaCare may have helped 20 million people, but it has hurt 200 million people in the process.

About a month ago, The Irish Times, the largest newspaper in Ireland, reported that they had over 660,000 people on waiting lists for healthcare. That is in a country of less than 5 million people. If you multiply that times 60 or 65, you have got the United States.

Medicare, when it started, when it was first passed, there was a CBO prediction that it would cost $9 billion after 25 years. Instead, it cost 12 times that after the first 25 years, and now it costs six times more than that, or about 70 times more than the original estimates.

California, as liberal and leftwing as that State is, a few days ago, I read that they tried to pass a healthcare, or medical care for everyone, bill. They had to withdraw the bill because they found out that it would cost $400 billion for the first year. If you multiply that times 10 or 11, you are talking about the whole United States. We are having trouble affording the Medicare that we have now for 14 percent of the population, so Medicare for everyone is not going to work in this country.

We took what was a very minor problem, for very few people in the mid-sixties, and turned it into a major problem for everyone so that now only Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, and people like that, multibillionaires, can afford healthcare. And the reason is, is that anything the Federal Government subsidizes, the costs just explode because you remove the incentives and pressures to hold costs down.

The American people don't want a Russian or Cuban type of medical system in this country. They don't want a totally federally run system, like they have in so many countries, with medical care that is not even a fraction of what we have.

We are still under ObamaCare today, and it is not working. These insurance companies are pulling out all over the whole country, and The Washington Times reported yesterday, or the day before, that, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, premiums went up 63 percent in Tennessee in 2017 alone.

Mr. Speaker, this system is not working. We need to move more in the direction of a free market medical system if we are ever going to hope to bring down healthcare costs for the American people with the kind of healthcare that everyone is demanding and wanting and that we want to give to them.

Mr. Speaker, 2 days ago The Washington Times published a chart from the Department of Health and Human Services showing that medical premiums went up 116 percent last year in Arizona, 69 percent in Oklahoma, 63 percent in my home State of Tennessee, 59 percent in Minnesota, 58 percent in Alaska, and on and on and on.

President Obama promised, if we would pass his healthcare bill, that people could keep their plans, yet millions were forced onto ObamaCare because either their premiums went up too high or they lost their insurance altogether. He promised that the average family would save $2,500 a year. It has been almost impossible to find any family that has saved that $2,500.

ObamaCare has been great: great in making healthcare unaffordable for almost every family in America.

Mr. Speaker, this is the fourth year I have had the privilege of chairing the Members and former Members golf tournament to benefit Warfighters Sports and Tee It Up for the Troops, two charities that work with the most severely wounded warriors. This year, we had our biggest turnout ever. We had well over 200 participants, including 35 severely wounded golfers.

When I play golf, sometimes people ask me how I did. I tell them, ``Unbelievable.'' It could be either way. But the most unbelievable thing happened in this tournament. Finally, after many years of losses, we Republicans decided to let the Democrats win one year. The Democrats won by 4 points, and that is out of a several-thousand point system. So it was a very close match.

I want to offer my congratulations to my co-chairman, Gene Green, and thank every Member and former Member who participated. We had a great turnout.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

Mr. Speaker, heroes come into lives in different ways through the challenges people face during their lives.

A very special hero from my district came up with a heartwarming way to share her choice to be an organ donor for her husband who has been suffering from kidney disease for 14 years.

Heather Winfree took her husband's love for baseball and used it as a way to share the good news that she was a donor match.

Because of his diagnosis as a teen, Steve Winfree was never able to achieve his dream of playing college baseball.

Steve collects baseball cards on a regular basis, but the most rare card he has ever received is a custom Topps card that Heather designed for him.

It included Steve's picture and text on the back that read ``Steve will be a rookie recipient at Vanderbilt Transplant Center where his wife, Heather, will be pitching a new kidney to him.''

Because of Heather's heroic efforts to save the life of her husband, he could receive the transplant as soon as the end of July this year.

I am proud to see people from my district like Heather show us the true meaning of love while people like Steve show us what perseverance looks like.

Please join me in wishing them the best as they both undergo surgery in the near future.

I would like to include in the Record the following story about the Winfrees from CBS News.

[From CBS News, July 11, 2017]

Man Learns Wife Is Kidney Transplant Match From a Custom-made Baseball

Card

(By Jennifer Earl)

Steve Winfree was excited to rip open up a brand new pack

of Topps baseball cards. It has become a family tradition

over the years. But this time, as he shuffled through the

deck, he spotted something unusual--his very own playing

card.

As he read the stats on the back, Winfree, who has been

suffering from kidney disease for the past 14 years, broke

down in tears.

``What the heck?'' he asked, as his wife, Heather, sat

beside him.

``What is it?'' Heather asked, grinning.

Winfree began to read out loud: ``Steve has had a lot on

his plate. With his health issues, he's been striking out a

lot. He was not sure how he was going to wind up,'' the

card's bio said. ``His wife, Heather, thinks he's a great

catch so she's just dying to go to bat for him. Now Steve

will be a rookie recipient.''

It was at that moment, Winfree realized his wife was giving

him the best gift of all--a new kidney, and a whole new life.

Heather Winfree surprised her husband, Steve, with his very

own Topps playing card.

Heather had been tested to see if she could be a match a

week earlier. Before she even received the results, she came

up with the creative way to share the good news.

``I had already started planning how I was going to tell

him before I knew I was a match,'' Heather told CBS News. ``I

never considered I wouldn't be a match. I guess I had to have

faith I was going to be a match--that was keeping my hope

alive.''

Steve Winfree was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at

the age of 18. He was getting ready to play college

basketball when doctors discovered he had high blood pressure

during a pre-season physical.

After running more tests, Winfree was told he only had 50

percent kidney function. His dreams of playing college ball

were over.

``He's been through a lot,'' Heather said. ``Kidney disease

is really hard. It's been really hard.''

Since the couple met seven years ago, he's developed severe

gout, arthritis, undergone several surgeries and had to have

a toe amputated. He's been on dialysis for over a year.

``A year ago, they put a port in his chest and he ended up

going into septic shock,'' Heather added. ``He spent seven

days in the intensive care unit. I can't tell you what that

grief felt like, feeling like I was going to lose my

husband.''

Steve Winfree is told his wife is a perfect match for a

kidney transplant, and he could have surgery as early as the

end of July.

So when doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

told Winfree he was eligible to get onto the transplant list

in late June, Heather jumped at the opportunity to offer

herself up as a living kidney donor.

``I said, `I want to expedite this. I want to help my

husband get better,' '' she explained.

Her wish came true when doctors confirmed the match. If

everything goes well, Winfree could have surgery by the end

of the month.

``Here I am, I have two kidneys and he needs one--why

wouldn't I improve his quality of life?'' Heather said. ``For

14 years of his life he's been battling this disease and

finally we have the relief of knowing the end is on the

horizon. We've got hope.''

Mr. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to speak, and thank you, Congressman Collins, for your leadership and persistence on this critical issue.

Community pharmacies are so important to our Districts. There is nothing like walking into your local pharmacy, and the pharmacist knows you by name. He knows your medical history. He knows what you need. He knows you.

As one community pharmacist described, ``People call me all hours of the day and night. They know where I live, and they come to my house if they need me.''

These local pharmacies are in danger of disappearing across the Nation. Why? Because PBMs are running them out of business.

Pharmacy Benefits Managers, or PBMs, claim to act as middlemen and help pharmacies and manufacturers find the best deals for their patients. It's a great idea.

Despite these PBMs' promises, I have heard from more and more pharmacy owners in my District who say that many PBMs are in reality ripping them off with various unethical tricks of their trade.

PBMs are often dictating the prices charged by manufacturers and pharmacists or insurance plans. PBMs are a key problem behind drug price inflation.

One critical aspect of their strategy is gag orders that they impose on pharmacists and manufacturers in contracts, thereby silencing dissenters under threat of being excluded from networks or formularies . . . in other words, under threat of being blocked from buying and selling in the drug market altogether.

Often, PBMs use what they call clawbacks. The outright cost of a drug might only be $40, but the patient might have to pay double or more than that price through their insurance.

Too many times, pharmacists have to decide between two choices: either violate their consciences by watching often low-income patients pay exorbitant prices--or tell the patients to buy the drug outright, saving them money.

But the second choice comes with a threat . . . because if a pharmacist informs her patients about how to save money, she is violating her contractual gag order imposed by PBMs.

A pharmacy consultant recently interviewed by the LA Times accurately described PBMs like this--``The PBMs are sitting at the center of a big black box. They're the only ones who have knowledge of all the moving pieces.''

But awareness of PBMs' deceitful practices is increasing. More and more pharmacists and manufacturers are speaking up and exposing PBMs.

One endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington recently said, ``It's becoming very, very common to see patients intentionally withholding their insulin.'' Doing so can be deadly, but patients are often facing $300 per vial and need two vials a week.

There are three PBMs that control the market: ExpressScripts, OptumRx, and CVS Caremark. These three PBMs rake in over $200 billion a year and are responsible for 290 million Americans through their contracts with both private insurers and government programs like Medicare.

CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is ``wising up'' to PBMs. In June, CMS proposed a new guideline for Medicare Part D PBMs. If finalized, this guidance will address PBMs' common practice of imposing retroactive fees.

One of the pharmacists in my District told me these retroactive fees, known as DIR fees, can cost him tens of thousands of dollars months after the claims have been processed with no clarification, no explanation, no reasoning from the PBM.

No business or even individual can plan a budget, if months later they may be forced to pay thousands of dollars more for something they thought they had already paid for.

According to one expert and pharmacy owner in my District, he has seen three causes for recent increases in prescription drugs:

(1) FDA involvement, including requiring ``modern clinical trials'' of old drugs that have worked for decades;

(2) drug manufacturers' needlessly hiking the price of generic drugs;

(3) PBMs charging ridiculous prices for drugs and pocketing the profits.

According to my constituent, PBMs are the main culprit of the three.

A number of lawsuits are being filed against PBMs, including one class action lawsuit. More and more people are realizing what one lawyer said recently: ``We describe this as basically a massive fraud.''

We need to address artificially high drug prices right away. A good place to start is PBMs and their ``massive fraud.''

As one small town pharmacist said, ``. . . The pharmacy benefit managers . . . set rates I cannot control. I can complain, but it does no good whatsoever. And in a town of 3,000, I cannot make it up on volume.''

PBMs must be more transparent in their operations, so they can be held to their promises and to the laws.

PBMs must not be able to get away any longer with conducting business with their unethical, at best, methods.

In short, PBMs must be held accountable for their roles in the Nation's drug price crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe I have ever seen a bigger mountain made out of a tinier molehill in my 29 years in Congress than what is being made out of Donald Trump, Jr.'s, meeting with the Russian lawyer. It reminds me of the Wendy's ad several years ago that asked: ``Where's the beef?''

I know that hindsight is 20-20 and holier than thou, but this is ridiculous.

Do you really believe that Chelsea Clinton would have refused to meet with a Russian lawyer who she was told had evidence that would incriminate Donald Trump?

Donald Trump, Jr., met with this woman for a few minutes, saw she had nothing, and nothing came out of it. No action was taken. Even Director Comey testified he had seen no evidence that even one vote was altered by anything the Russians did.

They have been investigating this for months, and this is the best they can come up with?

It is time to stop crying over the election and do something about some real problems.