Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and legacy of

Fairfield, AL, Fire Chief Kevin D. Sutton. Chief Sutton was a native of Birmingham, AL, who tragically passed in an auto accident on April 30, 2017. His seasoned leadership, engaging personality, and heart for his community will certainly be missed.

Chief Sutton attended Birmingham public schools and was a 1981 graduate of Phillips High School. Upon graduation, he pursued higher education at Mississippi Valley State University on an academic and football scholarship. Chief Sutton would later receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Safety Administration from Athens State University.

Chief Sutton served with the City of Fairfield, AL, for 23 years, the previous 13 years as Fire Chief. Prior to serving as Fire Chief, he served the city as a firefighter then as the city's Fire Marshal. Under his leadership, Fairfield Fire Department became an integral partner with the Fairfield community. Chief Sutton coordinated several programs in the city for seniors and children, including the annual ``Safety is Fun Day,'' which involves all city and private elementary schools in Fairfield. Chief Sutton also led the department's involvement in charitable works such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ``Boot Drive,'' which collects money for Jerry's Kids.

Previously, Chief Sutton served on the Executive Committee of the State Fire Marshal's Association and was the past President of the Central Alabama Fire Chief's Association. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Alabama Fire Chief's Association, and was the immediate past president of the Board of Directors for Better Basics, a nonprofit that provides literacy intervention, enrichment programs, and educational opportunities for elementary and middle- school students throughout Alabama. Chief Sutton was also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Chief Sutton is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and daughters, Tabathia Norman, Karmen Patterson, and Taylor Sutton.

On a personal note, I will also remember Chief Sutton's warm smile, generous heart and servant leadership. Although he left us too soon, his family should find comfort in the exemplary life he led. Chief Sutton made a tremendous impact on our community that will have a lasting significance. Chief Sutton will live on in the hearts and minds of the many people he touched.

On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama, and this nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Fire Chief Kevin D. Sutton--an outstanding servant leader who faithfully served the Fairfield, AL community.

Mr. Speaker, the GOP healthcare bill today marks a disappointing abdication of now more than 50 years of work to invest in the health care of our citizens. The bill strips coverage from at least 24 million Americans. WHAT A SHAME.

This GOP bill is being rushed to passage without an updated CBO score. My Republican colleagues should be ashamed of themselves for playing such silly, political games with the health of the American people and 1/6th of the American economy.

In my home state of Alabama, this GOP bill will exacerbate the cost of uncompensated care, which already exceeds $694 million annually in Alabama. Alabama's hospitals collectively would see an increase of more than $97 million (at least) in uncompensated care costs due to the coverage losses in this bill.

This GOP bill will gut Medicaid, which is the single largest insurer for children in America. It is a lifeline for disabled and nursing home patients across my district and across this country yet this GOP bill slashes Medicaid by more than $800 billion.

This GOP bill will be devastating to America's hospitals. Children's Hospital of Alabama, for example, is projected to lose $752 million in Medicaid revenues through 2026 under this bill. In 2018, the hospital would lose $1.4 million in uncompensated care costs. I am honored to represent UAB here in Congress, which is Alabama's largest employer and is set to lose $613 million in Medicaid revenues. Bad debt would increase by 90 million a year for the hospital. The CEO of UAB health, Dr. Will Ferniany, says the bill is ``bad for Alabama, bad for older people, bad for Alabama hospitals, and bad for the poor.''

The good, hard-working people of America have much to lose under this GOP bill.

Our rural hospitals can absolutely NOT afford these cuts as this GOP bill will only worsen the rural hospital closure crisis. Almost 80 percent of rural hospital closures since 2010 have occurred in states that haven't expanded Medicaid under the ACA. As Representative of a state with one of the most bare-bones Medicaid programs in the country, I know full well that capping and cutting Medicaid is not the direction we want to go in.

Our sacred responsibility to make strategic investments in the health of every American has the stark and immediate urgency of right and wrong.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this harmful GOP bill, which will result in higher costs, less coverage, and fewer protections.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, this week marks the end of the first 100 days of the Trump Administration. It's an important time to reflect on the legislative progress of a new President and the path forward for our country. Today, I'm disappointed to report that this President has broken every important promise that Candidate Trump made to the American people.

As a Member of Congress, my top priority is to represent the best interests of my constituents. When leaders from either party, Republican or Democrat, propose REAL solutions to the challenges my constituents face, I want to work with them. So when President Trump said he had a plan to improve our healthcare system with more affordable ``insurance for everybody,'' I was ready to see what he had to offer. When President Trump promised to create 25 million jobs across the country, I wanted to see his plans on day one. When the President said he would restore a government by the people, I wanted to believe him.

I am truly disappointed to report today that President Trump not only failed to follow through on any of his biggest promises, but he has failed to make any real effort to even address the big issues he promised to tackle.

After 100 days in the White House, President Trump has not put forth a single job-creation bill. Instead of draining the swamp, President Trump has filled his cabinet with lobbyists and insiders. Instead of offering a healthcare plan to insure everybody, President Trump has proposed a plan that would eliminate insurance coverage for 24 million Americans.

For Americans struggling to pay their bills or afford their health premiums, empty rhetoric is not going to cut it. Not when my constituents' health, their jobs, and their futures are on the line.

In the state of Alabama, ten hospitals have closed in the past six years as residents struggle to afford care for themselves and their families. When it comes to healthcare reform, the stakes for my constituents could not be higher.

But instead of following through on his promise of healthcare for everybody, President Trump has pushed a plan in Congress that asks my constituents to pay more for less. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that TrumpCare would increase premium costs in some of the counties in my district by thousands of dollars. That's not healthcare for everybody--that's healthcare for the privileged few.

My district has a 10 percent unemployment rate. So when the President said he had a plan to create 25 million jobs over the next decade, the stakes, again, could not be higher.

But rather than helping to find employment for those Americans who want to rejoin our workforce, President Trump's proposed budget slashes jobs training and guts funding for infrastructure programs.

I come from a district where most constituents have never been to Washington, D.C. So when a candidate promises to bring their voice to our nation's capital, it means something.

But instead of working to drain the swamp, President Trump is leading the least transparent administration since the days of Richard Nixon. Rather than opening up our democracy, President Trump has become the first President in decades to keep his tax returns hidden, leaving the public in the dark when it comes to any potential conflicts of interest.

So what has President Trump's administration accomplished in its first 100 days in office? In his budget, President Trump has proposed cutting programs that seniors rely on like Meals on Wheels, and he has eliminated programs our rural areas depend on for infrastructure investment like the Appalachian Regional Commission.

In his first 100 days, President Trump has put the programs and policies most important to working families on the chopping block. I want the President to deliver on his promises to increase employment and reduce the cost of healthcare for everyone. But what our nation has witnessed so far is an assault on working families and policies that undermine our core democratic values.

Mr. Speaker, as we mark the President's first 100 days in office, I implore my colleagues to put aside the empty promises and actually work with Democrats to put forth smart and sensible legislation that moves our country forward and benefits all Americans. I truly hope that after 100 days of broken promises, this Administration will refocus its agenda on helping America's families rather than Washington's special interests. My constituents can't afford another three years of big talk and no action.

Mr. Speaker, for 7 years, our Republican colleagues have railed against the Affordable Care Act, but is this the best they can offer now: TrumpCare? The Republican bill, TrumpCare, is a bad deal for Americans, and it is a bad deal for Alabamians.

By every matrix, cost, coverage, and care, it is a bad deal. On cost, TrumpCare will cost more and give us less. For Alabama hospitals, TrumpCare will mean a $97 million increase in uncompensated cost care, and it is an age tax for seniors. Seniors will pay five times more than the young for their health insurance.

On coverage, TrumpCare will mean 24 million Americans and 243,000 Alabamians will lose their healthcare coverage. On quality of care, TrumpCare will mean that essential benefits will be lost: essential benefits like rehabilitative care, mental health, and preventive services.

Mr. Speaker, what is clear, TrumpCare is not a healthcare bill. It is a tax-cut-for-the-wealthy bill--$600 billion in tax cuts. So I say to you, my Republican colleagues know what they are against, the Affordable Care Act. But what are they for? What are they for? I ask all of you.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, today I rise in support of bipartisan work to enhance recruitment and retainment strategies at VA medical centers. While we focus on strengthening the VA workforce, we must also

focus on making sure the geographic diversity of our VA workforce is reflective of the veteran patient population and that rural populations are adequately represented.

I thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for working with me on this critically important amendment and for their dedication to our Nation's veterans.

My amendment is simple. It allows the Secretary to select eligible employees for the fellowship program who represent or service rural communities in order to alleviate the systemic burdens of rural healthcare workforce shortages for our Nation's veterans. In order to best serve our Nation's heroes from rural America, we must invest in training VA workers who understand the unique needs of rural America.

This amendment would help ensure that veterans who are serviced by rural VAs have access to the most cutting-edge healthcare industry procedures and practices. My amendment also helps address an issue that is indicative of a larger systemic issue in rural America where healthcare workforce recruitment is a barrier to improved population health. Workforce shortages, especially in health care, permeate every aspect of rural life, aggregating already long driving distances and minimal access to care.

There is significant evidence that increased recruitment and retention of professionals to underserved areas can exist if we recruit people from rural areas to come into our healthcare profession. To help address concerns of veterans' access to care, Congress established the Office of Rural Health within the VA in 2007. This office has done outstanding work over the years to recruit, train, and retain rural healthcare professionals. Everything we do in Congress in relation to the VA workforce must complement that work.

Approximately 25 percent of our Nation's veterans live in rural communities and comprise nearly 11 percent of the adult rural population. Rural veterans account for 36 percent of all VA enrollees. 43 percent of rural veterans earn an annual income of less than $26,000, and more than 40 percent do not have access to broadband internet. This limits the accessibility of our rural veterans to online healthcare services.

According to the Census, the rates of uninsurance, disability, poverty, and unemployment among veterans all increase as the levels of rurality increases. Four in ten have at least one service-connected disability. The Seventh Congressional District of Alabama is home to more than 36,000 veterans and over 5,000 VA employees at eight facilities. I visited with the VA staff at several of these facilities, and I am always impressed with the work that they do every day on behalf of our Nation's veterans. With all of the negativity surrounding our VA employees over the past several years, I want to take this opportunity to commend those public servants who rise every morning to help our veterans lead productive and healthy lives.

I hope my colleagues, both urban and rural, will work with me to ensure that rural veterans thrive in their communities and rural Americans are included in this outstanding VA workforce recruitment bill. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for supporting this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to express my opposition to the GOP healthcare bill.

On Monday, we received from the CBO a report that the House repeal bill will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 24 million in 2026. Fifty-two million Americans will be uninsured in 2026, which is more than ever before, and definitely more than the Affordable Care Act.

The intentions here are clear. The bill's drafters are choosing to ration care for the elderly and the working class to fund tax cuts for the Nation's highest earners.

Under the GOP bill, a 64-year-old, with an income of $26,000, will have to pay a net of $12,900 more each year for her coverage than she currently does. In addition to the disproportionate harm that this bill will do to seniors, it will also accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare trust fund by 3 years.

Mr. Speaker, the GOP plan cuts $880 billion from projected Medicaid spending over the next decade, while providing almost $600 billion in tax cuts to the wealthy and to corporations. Sixty-four percent of the tax cuts would go to millionaires and billionaires, while an additional 20 percent would go to those making between $500,000 and $1 million. Mr. Speaker, less than 1 percent of my constituents make more than $200,000, so it would be irresponsible of me not to voice my concern for a bill that contradicts the interests of my constituents so blatantly.

When I first got a copy of the bill less than 2 days before we marked it up in the Ways and Means Committee, I was left wondering if the bill was written to address our Nation's healthcare challenges or just to relieve the wealthy few of their tax obligations.

The drafters of this bill made the disappointing choice to favor value tested

and failed trickle-down economics over investing in a stronger, healthier America. Large numbers of unhealthy and uninsured Americans are not reflective of the governing bodies that make good choices.

The Republican health plan directly slashes funding for people with disabilities by $12 billion, cutting the program that helps people live in their communities and reach their full potential.

I represent a historically underserved constituency in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District. The median income in my district is less than $34,000. The majority of the health providers in my district have a patient population that is disproportionately dependent on Medicare and Medicaid and is uninsured. These healthcare providers cannot withstand caps to Medicaid or increases in their uninsured population. If this bill is implemented without substantial changes, rural health care will be lost and rural lives will be at risk.

In my district, I have met constituents who have weekly made choices between whether to buy medicine or to put food on the table. I have a pediatrician in my district in Birmingham who will stop what she is doing to track down patients newly infected with STDs so they do not transmit it.

In States with so many high rates of STDs in this country, every attempt to curb the spread of disease is critical. The GOP bill guts the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which helps community doctors provide preventative care and reduce the threat of public health crises.

Mr. Speaker, over the past several weeks, my office has received over 600 emails from constituents about health care. Many shared positive stories about the Affordable Care Act. Others, particularly those from low-income areas, fall in that gap, that Medicaid gap; and the State of Alabama, like so many Republican-led States, did not choose to expand Medicaid.

Unfortunately, the GOP health bill is not the answer. This bill will take Medicaid away from America's children, working parents, and seniors in nursing homes. By 2026, nearly 30 percent of Americans aged 50 to 64 earning $30,000 will be uninsured. Surely, Mr. Speaker, this is not what this body intended.

This bill is not only morally unsound, but fiscally irresponsible, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' for the GOP repeal bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in protest of President Trump and his Justice Department's failure to protect Americans' voting rights. The right to vote is a sacred right for which Americans have fought for generations. From the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, to the Women's Suffrage Movement, to Bloody Sunday in my hometown of Selma, Alabama, Americans have risked their lives for the right to vote.

Unfortunately, The Trump Justice Department recently decided to dismiss their discriminatory purpose claim against Texas's voter ID law. Texas's current draconian Voter ID law places harsh restrictions on minorities and young voters. In 2013, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas claiming that their voter photo identification law, SB 14, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Since then, two courts have agreed that this law is discriminatory. So it is incredibly disturbing that the new Department of Justice reversed their position and withdrew their lawsuit. This action represents a dramatic shift from the Obama Administration's policy of protecting Americans' voting rights.

The American people deserve a Justice Department that values and protects the right to vote. New barriers to voting are being erected across the country, threatening the integrity of our electoral process and our democracy. For example, after the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, many states, like Alabama and Texas responded to the Supreme Court's decision by imposing voter ID laws similar to those of the Jim Crow era. These laws are blatantly discriminatory, undemocratic, and un-American.

In Alabama, the state government passed a law requiring a photo ID to vote while simultaneously closing 34 DMW offices. Doing so had a discriminatory effect on 8 out of the 10 counties in Alabama with the highest percentage of Black registered voters. Clearly we cannot yet trust certain states to protect their citizens' right to vote. As Americans, we should all be horrified of these laws and the Department of Justice's failure to fight these regressive measures.

States must not be allowed to return to an era of mass-voter discrimination, and historically, it has been the responsibility of the Justice Department to protect Americans from new Jim Crow like laws. Unfortunately, President Trump's Justice Department seems to be rolling back this policy.

In 2015, I introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would require states with a recent history of voter discrimination to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before making any changes to their electoral laws. Specifically, this bill will restore Section 4(b) of the VRA which the Supreme Court invalidated in Shelby County v. Holder. Under the new Trump Administration, it is more important than ever that we pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, and have an independent Justice Department that is committed to protecting Americans' right to vote.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in response to the recent and unfounded claims of voter fraud made by President Trump. Throughout our nation's history, it has been tradition for a newly inaugurated president to try and establish common ground across party lines and heal divisions to ensure that our society transitions between administrations with a positive outlook. However, many of the President's actions have been contrary to this tradition, and his obsession with voter fraud is just a senseless distraction from the real issue of voter suppression in this nation.

The reality is that there is quantifiable evidence that voter fraud is so rare it never influences the outcome of any major U.S. election. Instead of investigating these baseless claims of voter fraud, our taxpayer dollars would be better spent looking into how millions of Americans were denied their constitutionally protected right to vote because of modern-day voter suppression tactics, like voter ID laws, across the country.

In my home state of Alabama, nearly 250,000 Alabamians who don't have a valid voter ID, could not vote in the 2016 election. This is unconscionable and should not be allowed to continue. The solution to the voting issue is a simple one. We can strengthen our democracy by making it easier, not harder, to vote. We should work in a bi-partisan way, as has been our history, to restore the full protections of Voting Rights Act of 1965. The narrative of voter fraud is a myth. However, voter suppression is a real and overly prevalent national issue that must finally be addressed once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to President Trump's recent nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. I now call on my Senate colleagues to rigorously vet his nomination and ensure that his values and constitutional philosophies align with those of mainstream America. At this critical juncture in our nation's history, it is important that this nominee be a fair and impartial adjudicator of the laws that protect the rights of all Americans.

In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to learning more about the judicial opinions and constitutional philosophy of Judge Gorsuch. Unfortunately, Republicans did not extend this same courtesy to President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland. For 300 days, Senate Republicans defied the Constitution, ignoring President Obama's nominee, and refusing to even give him a hearing. However, I along with my Democratic colleagues value the Constitution over partisan politics.

Therefore, I hope for a fair and vigorous vetting process of Judge Gorsuch and his judicial record. The Supreme Court will likely make many critical decisions in the upcoming decades, affecting issues from voting rights to privacy rights to consumer protections. America needs a justice whose interpretation of the Constitution aligns with American values and the rule of law.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 68.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in opposition to President Trump's disgraceful Executive Order indefinitely suspending the settlement of Syrian refugees and banning anyone from six other Muslim-majority countries from coming to America. This ill-conceived and unconstitutional action is immoral, un-American, and a threat to our national security.

The refugees President Trump is turning away are in desperate circumstances. Like the millions of American Immigrants who came before them, they are searching for a better future for themselves and their families. By banning their entry, the Trump Administration dishonors the commitment we made to countless women and children from Syria who have successfully complied with our strict vetting process. This irresponsible executive order does little to protect us from terrorism, but it does institutionalize a prejudice against Muslims. Moreover, it makes us more susceptible to home-grown terrorism. In a nation founded by immigrants, it is our duty as Americans to call upon President Trump to rescind this executive order.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 66.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on the Affordable Care Act and the Trump administration's efforts to repeal the health care of millions of Americans.

Every person in this body has constituents who have health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act. Whether you represent the rural community in Kentucky where the uninsured rate declined 60 percent under the ACA or you represent the most liberal district in the country, you should be committed to working across the aisle to fix what is wrong with the ACA and build upon what is working.

While the law and President Obama may not be popular in many districts, political expediency has no place in this hallowed body, especially when the economy and American lives are at stake. It is not just Democratic districts that benefit from the ACA. Everyone-- everyone--has Americans in their districts that benefit from the ACA.

While I am the only Democrat in Alabama, my district has only the fifth highest population of enrollees in Alabama, behind four Republican districts. Alabama's First Congressional District has over 29,000 enrollees, and the Fifth District has over 25,000 enrollees. The Sixth and Fourth Districts of Alabama both have over 23,000 enrollees. My district has 22,000 people who are enrolled in the ACA.

In total, there are 165,000 Alabamians who have coverage through the healthcare marketplace, and over 20 million nationwide. There are many who benefit in Alabama and across this Nation from the ACA. And while we all benefit from not having to have preexisting conditions be a deterrent to getting health care, all of us will not benefit from the repeal. In fact, it should not surprise many of us that the repeal of the ACA will benefit the wealthiest Americans.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, ACA repeal will lavish Medicare tax cuts on our Nation's 400 highest income households, while 7 million low- and moderate-income households will lose premium tax credits. The average annual income of those top 400 families is $300 million apiece, and they will benefit from an average annual tax cut of approximately $7 million apiece. What my Republican colleagues do not want Americans to know is that the repeal of the ACA will not benefit the majority of Americans but, rather, only the rich.

An average income of $300 million is more than 6,000 times the average household income in Alabama and nearly 9,000 times the average household in my district. Mr. Speaker, 99.9 percent of my constituents make incomes below $200,000. I know that they will never see the tax breaks that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act will give to the wealthy.

While healthcare costs have been growing nationwide at the slowest rate in over 50 years under the ACA, we cannot ignore the hardworking Americans who are facing outrageous premium hikes in States that have not expanded Medicaid like Alabama. On average, States that have been hostile to the law are facing the largest premium increases for 2017. One study showed that States that fully embraced the ACA will see increases of 18.2 percent, as opposed to States that have fully resisted the law--like Alabama--which saw increases of 29.8 percent.

Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable to Americans that we have this rise in premiums at any level, but my point is simply this: We should not be looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act without replacing it with something; because the fact of the matter is, in this great country that we live in, no one--no one--should not have access to affordable, quality health care.

Alabamians enrolled in employer-based healthcare insurance are paying more in their employee contributions than those in California, even though Californians have a significantly higher cost of living. This is one of the reasons why I have worked across the aisle to try to make meaningful changes to the ACA that don't compromise the law's benefit.

The American people deserve Representatives that will work together to fix what is wrong with the ACA and build upon what is working. We need to

work together to increase access, market stabilization, and minimize premium cost rises. We need to work with States that haven't expanded Medicaid to bring down premium costs for the self-insured.

I stand ready to work with my colleagues to achieve these goals and protect the millions of Americans and thousands of Alabamians who are more financially secure today because of the protections of the ACA.

Mr. Speaker, More than 20 million Americans woke up today with the security of health coverage they didn't have 8 years ago. Of the Americans who stand to lose their health insurance under the GOP repeal plan, 82 percent are from working families, including 150,000 enrollees in my State of Alabama.

Despite facts, Republicans have done a remarkable job convincing the American people, even those who are on the exchanges, that the ACA only benefits people who don't work. They perpetuate the tired fallacy that ACA, Medicaid, and even Medicare recipients are living off the government without contributing to our economy.

Mr. Speaker, this brings me to a story about Hank Adcock. Hank is a life-long farmer who has been working on his family farm in Alabama for the majority of his 62 years. Back in 2015, his hands got stuck in a hay baler and he lost his right hand. Before the ACA, Hank's family hadn't had health coverage since the 1980s. His ACA policy ended up covering his entire hospital bill, which he says could have cost him his farm if he hadn't had insurance. If the farming work that Hank, his wife, Sharon, and their children have committed their lives to isn't enough to qualify as ``hard work'' to my Republican friends, then I suggest we let Hank and Sharon come up here to Washington while we all go down to North Alabama to trade jobs for a few days.

The ACA is far from perfect. This is why I have worked across the aisle to try to make meaningful changes to the ACA that don't compromise the law's benefits. But after 7 years of engaging in a fact- free, taxpayer-funded crusade against the ACA, the GOP should have a stellar replacement plan that we can all agree on.

Every member in this body has constituents who have insurance because of the ACA. While I understand that the law is unpopular in many districts across the country, political expediency has no place in this hallowed body, especially when the economy and American lives are at stake.

The American people deserve a Congress that will work together to fix what's wrong with the ACA and build upon what's working. We need to work towards increased access, market stabilization and cost reduction. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to achieve these goals and protect the millions of Americans who like Hank were at one time just one medical emergency away from financial ruin.

Mr. Speaker, during the votes held on January 10, 2017, I was inescapably detained and away handling important matters related to my District and the State of Alabama. If I had been present, I would have voted YES on the Velazquez Amendment, YES on the Clay/Waters Amendment, and YES on Final Passage of H.R. 79.