Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 788, the DOE and SBA Research Act.

As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains, I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation with the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaLota) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Thanedar).

This bill would require the Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration to enter into a memorandum of understanding that would improve collaboration between these two agencies. This joint agency effort would expand opportunities for small businesses to participate in research and development opportunities at DOE and its national laboratories.

It is in our economic and national security interests for the United States to remain a leader in R&D and technological advancement. In order to maximize our impact, we must tap into talent wherever we can find it. Too often, small businesses are overlooked when it comes to research and development opportunities.

Small businesses are not only the backbone of our economy, but they also drive forward American innovation and ingenuity. The DOE and SBA Research Act will help ensure that small business owners continue to play a central role in the United States' leadership in these areas.

I thank my colleagues for their collaboration on this critical legislation. I thank Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their support. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 804, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act.

As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains, I am pleased to put forward this commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will ensure rural small businesses can operate on a level playing field.

This bill requires the Small Business Administration to ensure that small businesses located in rural areas have full access to SBA disaster assistance in the wake of a natural disaster.

The SBA's disaster loan program serves as a lifeline for small business owners in need of capital to repair, rebuild, and recover from of the physical and economic losses of a natural disaster.

Unfortunately, the Government Accountability Office recently found that rural communities face unique barriers that inhibit recovery from severe weather events like hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires.

A lack of reliable broadband, cellular service, or physical infrastructure can make it more difficult for small business owners in these communities to learn about and apply for disaster assistance.

We also know that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe. In my home State of Minnesota, natural disasters have caused about $20 billion in damage and economic loss over the last 5 years alone.

Small businesses are among the most vulnerable to injury. FEMA has reported that more than 40 percent of small businesses do not reopen after a natural disaster.

We can all agree that every small business owner in this country should have fair access to disaster assistance, regardless of where they live. The Rural Small Business Resilience Act will address this disparity by requiring the SBA to conduct targeted outreach to small business owners in rural communities.

I will close by thanking the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing), the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), and the gentleman from

Florida (Mr. Bean) for their partnership on this important, bipartisan legislation. I also thank Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their support of this bill.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise not only as the Congresswoman from Minnesota's Third District but as an OB/GYN who has had the honor and privilege of caring for patients for more than 20 years.

As I have said many times throughout those years, being an obstetrician is the greatest job in the world. Being present and helping people during one of the most joyful moments of their lives is an incredible privilege. It is also a serious responsibility.

On most days it is the best job in the world, but sometimes it can be absolutely tragic and heartbreaking. Sometimes medical complications can prevent a patient's dreams of building her family from coming true. The moment when a patient and her family learn about a lethal fetal medical condition that is incompatible with life is devastating. The pain and the grief in that moment is unfathomable. You can never unhear the mother's cries of despair.

Meeting each patient where they are and making a care plan that meets their needs is essential. Knowing that their baby will not survive, some want to plan a delivery that enables them to meet and hold and care for their baby for the precious little time they have together, the time and the space to say good-bye.

This shameful legislation would insert the government into this tragic situation and deny families the care they want for their baby. Instead of allowing parents to hold their dying baby, this bill would require doctors to forcibly take the dying baby from their parents and, even though there is no chance of survival, place the baby directly on a medical table under bright lights and perform interventions that will not work.

Sometimes it is chest compressions, intubation, when a breathing tube is placed in the baby's trachea, and IV lines. If those measures were not taken, the doctor could be charged with murder.

This bill is cruel. It singles out patients who are facing the worst days of their lives. This bill does not solve a

problem. Doctors are already both honored and obligated to provide appropriate care for their patients. It is illegal to kill a newborn infant in all 50 States.

This bill is designed to confuse, to frighten, and to misinform people and criminalize medical providers. It would inflict further and unnecessary tragedy and trauma on patients and their families. We should do everything we can to support pregnant women, mothers, families, and their care providers, not attack them.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you as an obstetrician on behalf of patients and providers across the country, who should never be subjected to this cruel and harmful mandate. I implore my colleagues to reject this legislation.