Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time this afternoon.

Supporting H.R. 1222 is important. This is the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act. This important piece of legislation passed this House by a vote of 394-7 10 months ago. Our Senate colleagues passed an amended version of this bill by unanimous consent last week. Clearly there is a hearty consensus that this bill will make a positive impact on public health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defects. Congenital heart disease affects roughly 1 percent of births in the United States. This legislation strengthens the ability of the Department of Health and Human Services to collect data related to congenital heart disease and to increase public awareness.

The Secretary will be required to carry out activities through a national cohort study and a nationally representative, population-based surveillance system to further understand the epidemiology of congenital heart disease.

This bill authorizes a total of $10 million each year for fiscal years 2020 through 2024 for the purpose of carrying out these activities.

This bill does not focus on a particular subpopulation of individuals. It aims to improve data regarding incidence, prevalence, and outcomes among all age groups, races, ethnicities, and both sexes.

The Secretary will also look at evidence-based practices for the treatment and care of individuals with congenital heart disease.

Overall, the legislation is intended to improve our Nation's approach to caring for individuals with congenital heart disease.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our House champions on this legislation, Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Adam Schiff. They fought alongside Chairman Greg Walden to get this bill across the finish line. And, of course, I want to thank the staff on the Subcommittee on Health and the full committee for bringing this to the floor last year.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation which will improve the lives of Americans suffering from this terrible disease.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the recognition.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6615, the Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act.

For those watching last week, the House passed this bill by a voice vote. Now our Senate counterparts have passed the bill with a small amendment. It is important to note that should this bill pass the Chamber today, as I believe it will, the legislation will be sent to President Trump's desk and signed into law.

I thank our House leaders on this bill, Representative Bill Pascrell and Representative Thomas Rooney, for pushing this important initiative. This legislation reauthorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traumatic brain injury initiatives.

The aggregation of these programs that will be reauthorized by this legislation provide much hope to the individuals and families who are affected by traumatic brain injury. We still have a lot to learn about the risks and the short- and long-term effects of traumatic brain injury. This legislation will help increase our goal of increasing knowledge, awareness, and treatment of traumatic brain injury.

Once again, I thank my colleagues for supporting this legislation last week, nearly identical legislation, now sent back to us from the Senate with a small amendment, and I urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the recognition, and I rise to speak in support of S. 2076, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act.

This bill was introduced on the Senate side by Senator Susan Collins and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and it promotes public awareness of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

But I also need to thank the champions on the House side of this legislation, Representatives Brett Guthrie and Paul Tonko, both valuable members of the Health Subcommittee.

Alzheimer's is a devastating disease that affects families across our Nation. Every 65 seconds, another person in the United States develops Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, with one in three seniors dying of Alzheimer's or a related dementia.

Over the past several years, Congress has doubled down on its commitment to researching Alzheimer's disease and the related dementias by substantially increasing our appropriations for the initiatives housed at the National Institutes of Health.

This legislation will require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to establish or support regional centers to address Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The purpose of these centers of excellence is to increase awareness among public health officials, healthcare professionals, and the public as it relates to Alzheimer's disease and the related dementias.

By empowering our healthcare workforce, and our patients with more information, there will be increasing awareness of the disease, the impact it has on individuals' lives, and the possibility of treatments or interventions.

The effects of this disease are daunting for both the individual and for their families. This bill is a step toward building an infrastructure to support the ever-growing population of individuals with Alzheimer's and their related dementias.

I support S. 2076, and I urge my fellow Members to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to rise in support of S. 2278, the State Offices of Rural Health Reauthorization Act of 2018.

This bill, which was introduced by Senators Pat Roberts and Heidi Heitkamp, reauthorizes grants to State Offices of Rural Health.

I also need to thank our House champion of this effort, Representative Markwayne Mullin, a valuable member of the Health Subcommittee.

This legislation already passed the Senate, and today we have the opportunity to pass it on the floor of the House and send it down to the President for his signature.

The majority of counties in the United States are rural. While urban and suburban counties are growing in population, certainly in my own community back in the 26th District of Texas, we have a significant percentage of the population living in rural areas.

Citizens of rural America reap many benefits of their communities, but they

are also faced with unique challenges, particularly when it comes to healthcare. S. 2278 will enable States to maintain and improve upon healthcare in rural areas by reauthorizing grants to State Offices of Rural Health.

Grantees will be required to maintain a clearinghouse for collecting and disseminating information on rural healthcare issues, research related to rural healthcare, as well as innovative approaches to rural healthcare delivery. The grantees will also be tasked with identifying both Federal and State programs to address rural health and to provide technical assistance to public and nonprofit private entities regarding participation in these programs.

State Offices of Rural Health provide much value to the 57 million Americans that live in these areas around the country. Many of us represent towns and counties that are largely dependent upon the strength of rural Members of Congress. For these reasons, I ask Members to join me in supporting S. 2278.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7217. This is a bipartisan Medicaid package that moves forward House priorities with responsible offsets. The Energy and Commerce Committee has been working to draft and perfect the legislation before us, and it is encouraging to see this reach the House floor.

Not only does this package include a new program to improve access to care, it reauthorizes important and effective programs from which Americans benefit each and every day. Title I of this package is based upon Representative Joe Barton and Representative Kathy Castor's ACE Kids Act.

But I do want to assure families that have children with chronic illnesses that this legislation is intended to help them, if they want help, to obtain care coordination services. However, I also want to clarify that this legislation is not intended to limit families or their physicians from selecting their provider of medical services.

There is nothing in this legislation that restricts the child's family and their physician from deciding who is the best provider amongst those accepting Medicaid and qualified to offer the medical services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has provided assurances that current freedom-of-choice rules will apply to new care coordination activity.

As a doctor, I know that many children with chronic illnesses have a strong relationship with their doctors and with other members of their healthcare team. I want to make certain that this new law will help families coordinate their care without affecting the relationship that families have with their current medical care providers or with other providers in their communities from whom they may wish to receive their care.

This package also extends funding for the Money Follows the Person Demonstration, an effort that was led by my Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Vice Chair Brett Guthrie and Representative Debbie Dingell from Michigan.

This Medicaid demonstration was established in 2005 for individuals in States across our Nation, including Texas, to receive long-term care services in their homes or other community settings rather than institutions such as nursing homes. The funding for this program has already expired, and a funding extension is already overdue. While it would have been nice to extend this for longer, it was essential to get this extension across the floor.

A 3-month extension for the protection for Medicaid recipients of home and community-based services against spousal impoverishment was also included. This effort was championed by Representatives Fred Upton and Debbie Dingell.

Mr. Speaker, in an effort to be fiscally responsible, this legislation includes several offsets to make this package, on net, a saver.

While it is largely a Medicaid package, there is one small but important Medicare provision. This provision excludes complex medical rehabilitative wheelchairs from Medicare's Competitive Acquisition Program. Currently, these chairs are not included, but because the statute did not provide the same clear exemption that power wheelchairs received, there is fear that this unintended omission can lead to them being included.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the additional time, and I include my full statement in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7217, a bipartisan Medicaid package that propels forward House priorities with responsible offsets. The Energy and Commerce Committee has been working diligently to draft and perfect the legislation before us, and it is encouraging to see this package reach the House floor. Not only does this package include an exciting new program to improve access to care, it reauthorizes important and effective programs from which Americans benefit each and every day.

Title I of this package is based upon Rep. Joe Barton and Rep. Cathy Castor's ACE Kids Act. I want to ensure families who have children with chronic illnesses that this legislation is intended to help them, if they want help, to obtain care coordination services. However, I want to clarify that this legislation is not intended to limit families and their physicians from selecting the provider of medical services. There is nothing in this legislation that restricts the child's family, and their physician, from deciding who is the best provider among those accepting Medicaid and qualified to offer the medical services. CMS has provided assurances that current ``freedom of choice'' rules will apply to new care coordination activity. As a physician, I know that many children with chronic illnesses have a strong relationship with their physician and with other providers. I want to make sure that this new law will help families coordinate their care without affecting the relationship that families have with their current medical care providers or with other providers in their communities from whom they may want to receive such care from.''

This package also extends funding for the Money Follows the Person demonstration, an effort led by my E&C Subcommittee on Health Vice Chair, Brett Guthrie, and Rep. Debbie Dingell. This Medicaid demonstration, which was established in 2005, has enabled eligible individuals in states across our nation, including Texas, to receive long-term care services in their homes or other community settings, rather than in institutions such as nursing homes. The funding for this program has already expired, and a funding extension is already long overdue. While we would have like to extend the funding for longer, it was essential that we get an extension across the floor, even if a small one.

A 3-month extension for the Protection for Medicaid Recipients of Home and Community-Based Services Against Spousal Impoverishment program is also included. This effort was championed by Representatives Fred Upton and Debbie Dingell. Our seniors are among our most vulnerable citizens, and it is programs like this one that help to protect them from financial ruin.

In an effort to be fiscally responsible, this legislation includes several offsets that make this package on net a saver, which is something that Energy & Commerce insists upon and is critically important.

While this is largely a Medicaid Package, there is one small but important Medicare provision. This provision excludes manual Complex Rehabilitative wheelchairs from Medicare's Competitive Acquisition Program. Currently, these chairs are not included but because statute did not provide the same clear exemption that power wheelchairs received, there is fear this unintended omission could lead them to being included. This provision also delays the application of competitive bid pricing with CRT accessories used with a CRT manual chair for 18 months. This mirrors a similar protection last provided by Congress for power wheelchairs in the 21st Century Cures Act.

This package contains must-pass provisions that the Energy and Commerce Committee have long fought to pass. The provisions included in this legislation will improve access to care for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, which is a laudable and important goal. Not only are these provisions imperative, but they are responsibly offset. I would particularly like to thank Energy and Commerce Committee staffer Caleb Graff, who has spent countless hours negotiating to get this package to the floor. I support this legislation, and I urge my fellow members and our friends in the Senate to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2465) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a sickle cell disease prevention and treatment demonstration program and to provide for sickle cell disease research, surveillance, prevention, and treatment.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of S. 2465, the Sickle Cell Disease and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2018.

The policy included in this legislation is something on which Congress has been working towards for years, as improvements for individuals with sickle cell have largely remained stagnant.

This text is similar to H.R. 2410, which was introduced by Representative Danny Davis and myself and passed this Chamber unanimously in February.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Davis, in addition to Senator Tim Scott and Senator Cory Booker for working with me on this important policy.

Since the passage of the Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act of 1972, the first law to address sickle cell, individuals living with this disease have seen a substantial drop in mortality rates; however, there remains work to be done.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States with sickle cell. Additionally, the disease occurs in 1 in 365 African American births, and in 1 in 13 African American births, the newborn has the sickle cell trait.

In the 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration approved hydroxyurea, which stimulates the body to resume production of fetal hemoglobin to treat sickle cell disease.

Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved Endari, which was the first new approved treatment in over 20 years.

I met with Dr. Janet Woodcock and Dr. Peter Marks to learn more about why the approvals have taken such a long time.

This bill would further our commitment to helping those with sickle cell by both continuing the Health Resources and Service Administration's Sickle Cell Disease Prevention and Treatment Demonstration Program and by allowing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct surveillance of the disease and other heritable blood disorders.

The CDC's surveillance activity will allow for identification of health disparities, analysis of utilization of existing therapies, and evaluation of genetic, environmental, behavioral, and other risk factors.

Having worked with patients with sickle cell disease while at Parkland Hospital, I have seen firsthand the real consequences that this disease can have on people.

This bill provides an important step forward in ensuring that we have the resources to better understand this illness and maintain access for services for those affected by the disease.

While sickle cell disease has been addressed in bills like the 21st Century Cures Act, among other rare diseases, it has been a long time since this illness was substantially addressed in legislation.

The future of sickle cell disease treatment is bright if we pass this legislation and send it to President Trump. Better understanding of the landscape of sickle cell disease across the Nation and investing in new research for new treatments holds much promise for individuals and families who spend every day managing their disease.

Think of the children who have been unable to play or had to quit competing, or who have had to struggle through school because they are frequently absent due to the complications or pain from their underlying sickle cell illness.

The support this bill provides will enable public-private partnerships to take the reins to fight this disease head-on in communities across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation so we can send it promptly to the President's desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I want to point out, Mr. Speaker, that this bill we are passing today has already passed the Senate. While we did work on a similar bill well over a year ago, this bill has passed the Senate. With our passage today, this bill goes down the street to the White House for signature to become law: the first major sickle cell bill to be enacted in quite some time.

It is a banner day for this institution that we are providing this help to citizens, fundamentally, on this very crucial problem that affects so many of our fellow citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3029) to revise and extend the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act (PREEMIE Act).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3029, the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2018. This bill passed the Senate with robust bipartisan support, and I expect it will do the same in this Chamber.

This bill reauthorizes a program that is vital to the health and well-being of premature babies and their mothers. It is fitting that we have called this legislation to the floor following Prematurity Awareness Month, which took place the month of November.

While we are taking up the Senate bill, which was led by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Chairman Lamar Alexander and Senator Michael Bennet, I would like to thank our House champions of this legislation, Representative Anna Eshoo and Representative Leonard Lance. I am pleased that we were able to rally bicameral, bipartisan support around improving the health of premature infants.

Preterm and low birth weight, combined, make up the second leading cause of infant death following birth defects. This legislation will increase research relating to preterm labor and delivery and the care, treatment, and outcomes of preterm and low birthweight infants.

Preemies and low birthweight infants are at risk for various health challenges and disabilities, and we still have much to learn about factors relating to prematurity. This bill allows for continued collection of maternal-infant clinical and biomedical information in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Such data collection and surveillance will allow the CDC, and national, State, and local health officials to have a better picture of what prematurity, including its causes and impacts, looks like in our country.

This legislation also requires the Advisory Committee on Maternal and Infant Health to publicly publish and submit to Congress a report on its activities and recommendations. That advisory committee has been tasked with

developing strategies to address gaps in Federal research, programs, and education efforts related to the prevention of severe maternal morbidity, maternal mortality, infant mortality, and other adverse birth outcomes. This ties nicely into H.R. 1318, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, which will also be on the floor of this House this afternoon.

Additionally, this legislation establishes an interagency working group, directing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with other departments to improve coordination of programs and activities to prevent preterm birth, infant mortality, and related adverse birth outcomes. The working group is required to submit a report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 3029, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), one of the authors of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a second and thank Representative Davis for his kind remarks, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 3029, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6615) to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury program, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6615, the Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act, and I would like to thank Representatives Bill Pascrell and Representative Thomas Rooney for introducing this important legislation.

Traumatic brain injuries impact many families each and every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last month that found that young children have one of the highest rates of TBI-related emergency department visits.

These injuries can harm the developing brain and have the potential to impact a child's cognitive abilities in the long term.

Whether the result of a hard hit during a football game as a teen, a car crash in middle age, or a fall as a senior, traumatic brain injuries pose various and serious risks to Americans.

This legislation reauthorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traumatic brain injury initiatives at a level of $675 million per year for fiscal years 2019 through 2023.

Additionally, this bill authorizes the National Concussion Surveillance System at a level of $5 million per year through fiscal year 2023. This is important in ensuring that we have adequate data regarding who is getting concussions, how they are treated, and if there are any trends.

This data will help identify where individuals are seeking healthcare treatment, if they are seeking treatment at all. Additionally, we do not currently have national estimates of the number of individuals living with disabilities due to brain injury, and this system will help to establish such estimates.

The Centers for Disease Control plans to conduct its data collection via telephone surveys and a pilot test to ensure that we will get the best data from a wide range of households. The bill also reauthorizes State grants for protection and advocacy services at the Administration for Community Living.

These services protect individuals with disabilities by providing them with legal support, especially when it comes to their ability to make certain lifestyle choices, such as living independently. This is particularly important given that individuals who suffer from traumatic brain injury, such as concussions, may experience a disability.

According to the CDC, more than 61 percent of children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury experience a disability. We have yet to see what cost to these individuals and to society these disabilities convey in the long term.

The culmination of the programs that will be reauthorized by this legislation provides hope to individuals and families that are affected by traumatic brain injury. We still have much to learn about the risks and the short- and long-term effects of traumatic brain injury, and this legislation will chip away at our goal of increasing knowledge, awareness, and treatment of traumatic brain injury.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 6615, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6615, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1318) to support States in their work to save and sustain the health of mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the postpartum period, to eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes for pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths, to identify solutions to improve health care quality and health outcomes for mothers, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1318, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act. I am glad that we are finally calling up this bill for a vote, as it is a truly important bill that will impact the lives of pregnant women and new mothers across this country. The media's attention to the issue of maternal morbidity and mortality has shed light on serious problems within our healthcare system in terms of pre- and postpartum care and complications in the delivery room.

I thank Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler and Representative Diana DeGette for their leadership on this critical legislation. Ms. Herrera Beutler testified before the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health this September in support of her bill, which she and her staff have been working on daily to get across the finish line. She and I have shared a goal to improve maternal outcomes, and I am grateful that we had an opportunity to continue to push this priority forward together.

I also thank the committee staff, which has been working through the language with the various stakeholders over the course of the past year. Their work has been imperative in getting this bill to the floor.

Having spent nearly three decades as an OB/GYN, I believe it should be a national goal to eliminate all preventable maternal deaths. A single one is too many.

The alarming trend in our country's rate of maternal mortality first came to my attention in September 2016 when I was reading in my professional journal called The Green Journal, the journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The original research found that the maternal mortality rate had increased in 48 States and Washington, D.C., from 2000 to 2014 while the international trend was moving in the opposite direction. Since reading that article, I have spoken with providers, hospital administrators, State task forces, and public health experts. The more I dove into this troubling issue, the more I realized how little we understand about how our data is lacking.

The Health Subcommittee has held both a member briefing and a hearing on the issue of maternal mortality. Our hearing this past September had a varied panel of witnesses, including Charles Johnson, who lost his wife, Kira, following the birth of their second child in 2016. Mr. Johnson's wife was a healthy and energetic woman, yet he now has to explain to his two sons why their mother is never coming home.

The Johnson family is not alone in living through such tragedy. However, if we pass this bill today and send it to the President's desk, we will be taking a step in the right direction toward preventing future maternal deaths.

This is a problem that we cannot address without accurate data. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States' maternal mortality rate was 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1999 and increased to 18 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014. These are statistics that deserve our full attention.

Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler's bill will address the complex issue of maternal mortality by enabling States to form maternal mortality review committees to evaluate, improve, and standardize their maternity death data. Once we fully understand the problem, there will be an opportunity to use the data to implement best practices.

Texas is an excellent example of a State that has created and sustained a maternal mortality and morbidity task force. Texas has put time, effort, and funding into reviewing maternal deaths in order to identify trends and causes.

Most of the pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths--or many, I should say--are preventable, but they are all tragic. We should not be losing women to such a fixable problem, leaving their newborn babies and their families to have to wake up each day to face the unsolved mystery of why the mother did not make it home from the hospital or died shortly thereafter.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Herrera Beutler), who is the principal author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), who is a valuable member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Just in addition to all the other people who have been thanked, I want to acknowledge the work of my personal staff, Mr. Ed Kim and Elizabeth Allen, who have worked so hard on this bill, as well as Dr. Kristen Shatynski on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health staff, who really helped push this along and made sure that we got here today in a successful manner.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Chuck Carpenter for his 36 years of service and leadership with the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

Chuck first arrived in Denton as a recent Baylor University graduate, and joined the Denton Chamber to launch and lead the Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) as its first director. In this role, Chuck was tasked with promoting the City of Denton and bolstering tourism. In 1982, Chuck was selected to be the President of the Denton Chamber of Commerce. He has remained at the helm ever since as a steady figure for the community.

During his 36 year tenure as president, Chuck has been a major player as Denton has grown to our current population of more than 137,000 citizens. This growth included the relocation of Peterbilt's Divisional Headquarters and dozens of other businesses that comprise the strong employment base of the city. Chuck established the joint Chamber-City Office of Economic Development to continue the work in drawing employers to the City and launched to first official relocation guide to assist these companies and their employees in becoming a part of the community.

Chuck supported community interests and awareness by starting the Small Business Development Center, Adopt-a-School and the creation of the Discover Denton Welcome Center on the Square. He engaged the community in civic and community matters through Denton County Days in Austin, the DC Fly-In and his Chamber Action column in the Denton Record Chronicle. He also launched Leadership Denton, the Small Business Development Center and Women in Business to better engage both current and future leaders. In addition, he sought to recognize leaders and community milestones through the Volunteer of the Year Award and the celebration of both the 75th and 100th Chamber anniversaries.

For more than 36 years, Chuck has been an institution to leaders representing business, industry, non-profits, and elected office. Chuck's daily community presence, his wisdom, and community knowledge will be sorely missed as he moves into retirement. On behalf of the 26th District of Texas, I extend my sincere thanks to him for the impact he has made, and wish him and his family the very best.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for bringing us together for this hour to pay tribute to our American hero who served on the front lines of our Nation's history for, really, almost a century.

From the skies of the Pacific to the Yale baseball diamond, to the oilfields of Texas, to the floor of the United States House of Representatives, to the streets of Beijing and the halls of the White House, President George Herbert Walker Bush led a life of humble leadership, courage, and conviction.

Over five decades, he built an unmatched resume. His accomplishments, while impressive on their own, are extraordinary when bundled together.

After the war, he left his New England home to move his young family to west Texas, where he pursued an oil career and later served the people of the Seventh Congressional District here in the United States House of Representatives.

As a leader, President Bush faced some of the greatest challenges of his time: He worked to open new paths of diplomacy in China; he helped to restore confidence in the Central Intelligence Agency; and he worked alongside President Reagan to make America great.

Though he is perhaps better known for making waves overseas, our 41st President achieved new heights at home when he opened new doors for Americans with disabilities.

While President Bush had a robust resume stacked with prestigious jobs at critical times in American history, most of us will remember him from the roles he held most dear: for 73 years, President Bush was a devoted husband of Barbara Pierce, a legend in her own right, with whom he built an honorable family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Together, President and Mrs. Bush wove their own story of the American Dream.

There is no doubt that President Bush made the State of Texas, the United States of America, and the global community a better place to live. On behalf of my constituents in the 26th District of Texas, I thank him for his matchless service to our country, and I join a grateful nation to thank the Bush family for sharing him with us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a trailblazer and dedicated public servant. Judge Mary Horn has served our North Texas community for decades.

Although she was born and raised in Minnesota, Judge Horn has deep roots in the Lone Star State. After a successful business career, she won her 1992 bid for Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector, becoming the first woman to serve in the position. After nearly a decade, she once again set out on the path to blaze a new trial.

In 2002, Judge Horn made history as the first woman to serve as a Denton County Judge. Over the last 16 years, Judge Horn has helped to lead our county through unprecedented growth. During her tenure as the longest serving Denton County Judge, she has shown great wisdom, compassion, and dedication.

It has been a great joy to count Judge Horn as a friend and fellow public servant. Her achievements are numerous, her contributions are significant, and her accolades are well-deserved. On behalf of the 26th District of Texas, I extend my sincere thanks to Judge Horn upon her retirement, and I wish her and her family well as they enter this new season together.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6753) to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a public- private partnership for purposes of identifying health care waste, fraud, and abuse, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 6753, the Strengthening the Health Care Fraud Prevention Task Force Act of 2018, authored by Chairman Greg Walden and Ranking Member Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 6753 seeks to codify the Health Care Fraud Prevention Partnership, which would better equip public and private organizations to combat and prevent fraud and abuse in our healthcare system.

Tens of billions of dollars are lost to healthcare fraud in the United States every year, and much of this fraud is preventable or, at the very least, detectable. Fraud and abuse within our healthcare system comes in various forms, ranging from telephone or email scams to obtain patient information to fraudulent billing practices.

Healthcare fraud is not only costly to the Federal and State governments and an avoidable waste of taxpayer dollars. Fraud and abuse is costly for, and often hurtful to, American patients.

For example, in May of this year, a doctor in Texas was indicted in a fraud case involving $240 million worth of claims. A Department of Justice investigation found that the rheumatologist had given patients false diagnoses, followed by chemotherapy and other treatments that they did not need.

Americans should feel confident in and be able to trust their doctors. The unfortunate reality is that there are bad actors who make decisions based solely on financial interests and not on what is best for the patient or for their fellow citizens.

Another Texas case was settled just last month as a hospital administrator in Houston was convicted for his involvement in a $16 million fraud scheme. In this particular case, the hospital administrator had orchestrated a system of kickbacks with various individuals in return for sending Medicare patients to certain partial hospitalization program services. Thanks to various investigative bodies bridging the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, this fraud was uncovered and investigated in an effort to protect both patients and taxpayer dollars from exploitation.

Lastly, near my district in north Texas, there was a scheme in which a semiretired doctor signed off on fraudulent paperwork, including payments for fake patients. What started as a retirement gig rubber- stamping documents ended in his conviction, due to his involvement in a $13 million home healthcare scam. The scam in its entirety stole $373 million from Medicare and Medicaid.

I could go on with stories of healthcare fraud just in Texas, because these three examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, rampant healthcare fraud is not a Texas-specific issue. It is prevalent across our Nation. This is why we need to pass H.R. 6753 and codify the Health Care Fraud Prevention Partnership.

The partnership was established by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Attorney General in September 2012 through the signing of a charter. It is currently operated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has allowed for increased coordination in addressing healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse, but has not been codified in statute.

This partnership is voluntary among both private and public entities to reduce fraud in our healthcare system. Participants in this critical partnership include the Federal Government, State agencies, law enforcement, private health insurance plans, employer

organizations, and other associations. The partnership allows for robust analyses of healthcare across different players, including Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.

While these partners have access to their own data, cross-payer analyses are crucial in identifying savings and increasing detection of fraud, waste, and abuse. Collaborating through data sharing and other methods, the partners can paint a broad picture of the fraud networks and cast a wide net, increasing the ability to intervene and stop payments, and establish new and effective fraud prevention techniques.

It is worth noting that, in addition to codifying and formalizing the Health Care Fraud Prevention Task Force, the bill requires the task force to perform an analysis of abnormal or fraudulent billing patterns and trends by providers and suppliers of substance use disorder treatments. This effort fits nicely into what Congress has accomplished this year with the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act being signed into law.

H.R. 6753 will make a difference in cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in our healthcare system. I support this legislation and urge fellow Members to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2422) to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve essential oral health care for low-income and other underserved individuals by breaking down barriers to care, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that good oral health is important for all Americans: our children, our seniors, and our families in north Texas and other neighborhoods across the Nation. It affects our ability to speak, eat, and show emotions. Yet, good oral health remains an unmet medical need for many Americans, particularly in rural or underserved communities.

Increasing access to vital healthcare services like dental health is a priority for many on the Energy and Commerce Committee. So I am pleased that today the House is again considering H.R. 2422, the Action for Dental Health Act of 2018, following recent action in the Senate.

This bill, introduced by Representatives Robin Kelly and Mike Simpson, takes several steps to improve essential oral healthcare for disadvantaged patients by breaking down barriers to care and giving them the dental health treatment and disease prevention services they need through existing Federal dollars.

Also, most of us are aware that poor oral health can raise the risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer. These oral diseases can lead to pain and disability for millions of Americans.

It also costs taxpayers and employers billions of dollars each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average, the Nation spends more than $124 billion per year on costs related to dental care. More than $6 billion of productivity is lost each year because employees miss work because of dental problems.

Poor oral health can even be linked to other chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Many of these conditions can be avoided by simple preventive measures, such as regular cleaning and water fluoridation.

Dentists and dental specialists from Texas discussed similar concerns with me during meetings in the district and here in Washington. H.R. 2422 aims to address these issues and has the support of several national dental groups like the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, to name two.

Specifically, the bill seeks to reauthorize activities for oral health promotion and disease prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In many rural and underserved regions in Texas, these activities would expand school-based dental sealant programs and further support community water fluoridation.

The bill also establishes an Action for Dental Health Program within the Department of Health and Human Services to improve oral health education and reduce barriers to oral healthcare by awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to dental associations, health departments, accredited dental education programs, or nonprofit, community-based organizations.

These grants and agreements could be used by these eligible entities to collaborate with State or local public health officials, Tribal health officials, oral health professionals, or other appropriate groups to support initiatives under the Action for Dental Health Program.

Lastly, this legislation reauthorizes and expands a grant program through the Health Resources and Services Administration for innovative dental programs at over $13 million annually for fiscal years 2019 through 2023. These grants will help States increase their oral health workforce and offer needed dental care in dental health professional shortage areas.

Some of the eligible activities for States include establishing dental homes, which refers to comprehensive oral healthcare, for children and adults and creating initiatives to reduce the use of emergency departments for dental services.

I believe targeting resources to facilitate the provision of dental services to those in need in addition to improving oral health education will help prevent dental diseases before they start. This will ultimately reduce medical complications, emergency room visits, and poor dental health outcomes in underserved communities, not only in Texas but across the United States.

Benjamin Franklin once famously stated that ``an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'' We can heed those famous words by passing H.R. 2422 today and sending it to the President's desk. I urge all Members to support this important and bipartisan legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 41 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, November 29, 2018, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.