[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H7745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KENNY CALLAHAN ACT

  (Mr. ROGERS of Alabama asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 
2881, the Kenny Callahan Act, a bill I recently introduced.
  Kenny Callahan was a friend and a cameraman in a local TV station in 
east Alabama. Recently, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 
December of 2008 and died less than 2 months later.
  Kenny worked two jobs to support his family, but when he got sick, he 
couldn't work any longer. Given only a short time to live, he could not 
outlive the waiting period required to receive Social Security and 
Medicare benefits. This bill, named for Kenny, would eliminate the 
waiting period for Social Security and Medicare benefits for folks 
diagnosed with terminal illness.
  This legislation is about starting a compassionate conversation to 
help these people and their families. It's about a moral obligation to 
help those most vulnerable in our communities.
  If ending the disability waiting periods for everyone is not included 
in the health care reform package, at a minimum, it should be 
eliminated for the terminally ill.
  I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

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